Few topics today evoke emotional responses as much as starting a homestead. Our agrarian ways long behind us, many people today cannot conceive of anyone wanting to leave the “safety” and creature comforts they love so much. When we moved to the country no one at first thought it was odd. Except for the longer commute our friends and family seemed to be okay with the move. Buying a large parcel of land seemed to some like a good investment, to others it gave our daughters more room to play.
The well wishes and positive waves came to a screeching halt when I started saying things like, “I’m thinking of getting a cow or a goat”. No one I know thought it was a good idea. In fact, most thought I was having a serious breakdown and were very concerned for my physical and mental health. There was even talk of an intervention.
Why would a computer engineer want anything to do with animals other than dogs or cats? Who in their right mind thinks they can start a homestead from scratch? What does he know about anything anyway? In truth, they were right on the mark with most of these concerns. I certainly knew virtually nothing about livestock, larger scale planting or operating a homestead. However, I figured I was smart enough to learn, ask the right questions and read everything I could find on these subjects.
Our move occurred before the world wide web began and there was no internet connectivity in the area for a few years to come. So off to the library where I spent many hours combing the shelves and catalogues looking for info and finding very little. A farming community with virtually no books of farming or raising livestock above a third grade level. No Amazon.com yet, so I was on my own. I started scouring every magazine I could find looking for ads that might point me in a direction. Companies selling equipment, other magazines closer to my goal, even feed companies.
When I found a small ad for the Countryside & Small Stock Journal, then published by the great Jerome D. Belanger, I knew I hit pay dirt. I immediately subscribed and the fun began. However, as my search for knowledge raged, I started to meet people who lived in the area and were of like mind and interest. They grew their own food and raised livestock, which they harvested for meat, eggs and milk.
So over 25 years later our family still thinks we, mostly me, are crazy, but they have accepted that we aren’t returning to the city. Some like to tell funny stories about the times they came to the farm and met our “pets”. The current resurgence by young families to find a better way to raise their children means homesteading will continue to grow. Now that my children are having children I feel comfortable that my “insanity” may take root in yet another generation. If this crazy farmer has his way.
