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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll of electric…

I really wasn't sure what to expect from my first day as an intern with Lazy B Farm, so I wore jeans and boots and brought my notebook and pen along too, just in case. I was greeted by half of the children on the farm, and had a lovely conversation with them while we waited for Cyndi to finish up a little household stuff before we headed outside.

First, we fed the animals. Chickens, guineas, cows, dogs and goats. We gathered a few eggs from…

The Cheese Doctor

Its basic, we all know how to wash and clean right?  We step in the shower, use soap and come out clean. There are products for getting grease off mechanics hands, products for washing the milking parlor and products for the dishwasher.  There must be a product for the Cheese Room, you would think so?  But it’s not that simple, it’s a changing world and perhaps we need to…

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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll of electric…

Okay, first things first: my husband has accepted a job that requires our family relocate from Athens, GA to Pennsylvania - IN APRIL. We made our first trip up there this past weekend to scope out the area and searched for three straight days for a home to rent that is reasonably close to his new place of work. The problem is - he will be working out of western NJ for the majority of this year, and then from Central PA starting in the fall. That means, finding a place that is "reasonably…

Urban Adamah, based in Berkeley, CA, is a three-month intensive residential leadership training program for young adults ages 20-29, that integrates urban organic farming, social justice work and progressive Jewish living and learning. Twelve Urban Adamah Fellows are selected each season to operate an organic farm and educational center, intern with community organizations addressing issues at the intersection of poverty, food security and environmental…

The Practical Prepper

Sponsored by: Nitro-Pak

In my last post, we talked about the basics of water preparedness.…

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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll of electric…

The Happy Homesteader Blog

Sponsored By: Gurneys! - Get $20 off any $40 Order!

We are taught to believe that we need an expert to heal us.  If we have an ailment then we must immediately make a doctor appointment and trust whatever prescription they give us.  If our symptoms are less severe then  we are supposed to visit the closest…

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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll of electric…

The time is ten AM on New years Day, I am all amped up about my new little start up business. Im facebooking, tweeting, or is it twiting or twittering, my kids will think that is sooo funny.  So anyhow, In my manic mood on New years day I kinda, no REALLY announced to EVERYONE on the internet and especially my 640 or so face book friends that I was doin it ! that I was taking the plunge,no looking back. In my present "manic" state I kinda made a big hubub by posting and reposting and…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog

Considerations in Choosing a Farm Location

Since we finally locked in a location and started telling friends and family about “the plans” we’ve been getting a lot of “Why Tennessee”. Not in a bad way, just in a “Wow, if I ever had to pick a farm location how would I ever choose” kind of way. If you have land in the family then you don’t even have to give it a second thought. You take what…

I spent the day Wednesday & Thursday going thru my house and purging. Between the books and the craft supplies it was getting out of hand. I started with the books and went thru all my gardening , homesteading and how-to books boxing up any that I haven’t opened since the day I got them, I figured if I hadn’t looked at them by now I never would so they were just taking up space. I whittled them down from 2 piles waist high to 1 1/3 piles hip high. I did keep most of the how-tos, all the…

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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll of electric…

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 Featherman Poultry Processing Equipment, including pluckers, knives and more!

Second Prize: A 164' roll…

The Food Lawyer

Every new, beginning, and aspiring farmer will have to face the issue of acquiring land for their operation. Land prices are always high, and one of the best ways to get a patch of your own on limited capital is to lease good agricultural land. 

As I always say, treat the farm like a professional business. In this context that means you must get your lease in writing. Consult an attorney that is…

The Cheese Doctor

As new Cheesemakers it is so easy to dive off the cliff assuming there is water at the bottom. You looked over the edge and saw water; however, so often what you see is a mirage. It looked like water but, it was really dry sand.  It is my experience that the entrepreneurial gene/spirit can be flawed.  The entrepreneur seems to have the “I’ll figure it out gene”, a gene so powerful that when it’s satisfied, the holder…

The Practical Prepper

Sponsored by: Nitro-Pak

In my last post, we talked about priorities in your prepping…

For me, the definition of farmstead is trying (or actually becoming) self sufficient.  We raise animals for one reason, and one reason only!  To provide meat for our table.

I recently read a thread about someone owning a Barbados Blackbelly Ram (their Flock Shire from a very small registered breed pool) that had butted them severely… and not only was the author scared of him, but her husband as well.  This brings to mind a couple of things.  First off , and at least for me,…

The Happy Homesteader Blog

Sponsored By: Gurneys! - Get $20 off any $40 Order!

When we decided to leave the suburbs and move to the country one of the biggest reasons was to seek a slower pace of life.  Now I don't understand why our previous life was so busy because I really don't know what we did all the time, but I think it all…