The Practical Prepper

A few weeks back, we talked about some basics of water storage. The response to that post was quite good, and many people had questions about collecting and purifying water.

So, let's cover some…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purch

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purchase of…

The Happy Homesteader Blog

If you've been reading this series, then hopefully you have added a few doses of reality to your farm dreams.  A transformation will take place in you when you move from city to country life and extricate yourself from the rat race.  You will experience things that you had previously been sheltered from and your fortitude will be tested in many unfamiliar ways.  Whether or not you can endure these…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog



Well, it’s really going down this Friday. We’re packing up the truck and heading out early Saturday morning. By Sunday night we’ll be settled into our new home in TN. Well, new to us anyway. On Monday morning we’ll wake up for the first time without having to leave anytime soon.



It’s really started to sink in these past few weeks. Saying goodbye to long-time friends. Having last meals at our…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purch

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purchase of…

This week's hour long podcast is now live. You can listen/subscribe directly here, or at itunes here.  If you prefer to just hear this week's episode click here to listen right here, right now.

In this episode we discuss:…

The Food Lawyer

Late last week, NPR ran a pretty compelling story on Michigan’s latest attempt to control its wild hog population. It is a fascinating story of how well-intentioned but overzealous regulators have disrupted the livelihoods of some of the state’s most innovative and entrepreneurial farmers. 

Feral…

Wild Wanderings Blog – February 23, 2012

Wilderness survival skills are unappealing to most and those that think they have the skills to survive, really don’t. A good example is your average outdoorsman. Guys and gals that grow up hunting, fishing, and hiking, in my opinion, have a false sense of security in the woods. Many have had some training via Boy Scouts or the military, but most have had none! They think that because they have a knife, maybe a gun and…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purch

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purchase of…

The Practical Prepper

The more we develop a self-reliant lifestyle and work on our preparedness, the more my family appreciates the value of simpler things in life. This doesn't mean that we shun technology (in fact, I work with technology as a part of my career), but it does mean that we aren't obsessed with it.

Like many…

Guest Post by Chris Seltzer

In this post we’ll be covering:

• Why you need to rotate cattle
• How to check for gut fill
• What manure is telling you about the condition of your cattle
• Determine and implement an adequate recovery period for your grass…

The Happy Homesteader

Anyone considering homesteading will get a strong dose of reality once they jump in, but it can be helpful to have an idea of what you're jumping into before you take the plunge. In the past posts of this series I've prompted you to imagine yourself in a few situations that…

     I have a dream. A dream of walking through a colorfully lush yard brimming with fruit, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. A few hens scamper on by while my rabbits wrinkle their noses at me as if to say, "Hey, fruit basket! Are you sure you can do this? It's not too late to wake up." Meanwhile, the deer are simultaneously squashing melons while munching on squash, the wild rabbits are nibbling on the lettuce, the birds are snatching the blueberries, and the chipmunks are digging  in the…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog



Saturday was a 21 hour day and gave us a little dose of the farm life. Firstly, we’d been sick all week with a cold passed along by Sweetbreads’ best friend’s baby. Note: Drinking too much wine around a sick child is a surefire way to catch a cold. Not a big deal, we thought. Just a minor cold and we’d be over it in a few days. Well, that little sucker stuck around all week and before we knew it we were…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purch

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purchase of…

This week's hour long podcast is now live. You can listen/subscribe directly here, or at itunes here.  If you prefer to just hear this week's episode click here to listen right here, right now.

In this…

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purch

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A $300 gift certificate toward any purchase of…

The Food Lawyer

Starting or expanding a farm is an expensive proposition. A few weeks back I posted about using leases to expand acreage without massive capital investment. If you do need capital, however, either for new land or for equipment that will make you work more efficiently, there are sources of financing an agricultural business that are available to no other industry.

For…

Wild Wanderings Blog – February 16, 2012

Hello everyone!

I appreciate the responses and emails I’ve received from my first post….many thanks! A question I’d like to address…How does “Traditional / Primitive” skills fit into farming / prepping etc? Well, obviously traditional fits well into the homesteading and farming mind-frame. But what about primitive? Sounds a bit outdated…doesn’t it? This is something I’ve struggled with for years promoting…

The Practical Prepper

First aid is an important part of our preparedness planning. Of course, we rely on medical professionals, but we also know how to handle basic first aid in an emergency too. We feel it's important to be able to respond to immediate crises a.s.a.p., since it can make the difference between life and death.…