[dlskidmore]

@drafthorsey 29512 wrote:

dlskidmore …. If I’m not singing to the choir here …. and “if” I’ve read your post correctly …. you’re in the middle of the great old question, “When’s the best time to buy a washer and dryer?”

Yeah. I know I need to get a lot of ducks in a row, but I’m not sure what order they’re supposed to be in. My sketchy business plan is going to involve liability concerns, so I definately need a lawyer and an insurance agent involved. I may need layers of organizational seperation between family and clients, so I may need an accountant. I will probably need professional help either repairing or building structures… It goes on and on. The only relevant tax law I know about is that farm land is usually taxed at a cheaper rate, and forests over 50 acres are taxed at a still cheaper rate. I think though the definition of agricultrual land can vary by the municipality, as there’s no state land tax. We’re looking at four differnet counties, so who knows wich rule set we will end up with.

We’re actually looking for a place with run down but barely useable structures or no structures. That way we can build as we can afford to, and not buy into dream farm all at once, while still getting the location as good as possible the first time around. Buildings can be changed, location changes are harder to pull off.

I am planning to keep working until after we have moved and I’ve made most of the infrastructure upgrades the farm needs to go into full time business. I’ve got no real idea of how much time that will be. I’m hoping I’m valuable enough to the boss to get a part time concession after a couple years of working the farm on the weekend, and work a split week between office and farm.

Hubby would really like me to cold turkey on office work sooner, but I don’t know if that’s financially viable. At this point we need a second income to make the payments on the farm, although all the rest of our bills can be handled on his income alone. If I’m exceedingly lucky, I will be able to rent out a good deal of the land to make ends meet while my own business is starting up.

[dlskidmore]

@dominiquer60 29387 wrote:

If you post now, you could be waiting for years, or worst case something shows up quick and maybe you can make some plans with someone thinking of retiring.

Ok, I’m working on the application. With 0 farm experience, should I stick to personal references, or include non-related work references?

[dlskidmore]

@dominiquer60 29384 wrote:

dl,
Are you familiar with the NYFarmnet’s NYFarmlink program, they have a website with a list…

Wow! There is an ideal listing on there, but we are still working towards a down payment. Not sure I should list myself when I don’t yet have the cash? Looks like you have to post your own ad to respond to one.

[dlskidmore]

@near horse 29381 wrote:

Have you thought about some type of “working agreement” with the landowner (assuming you’re buying existing farm ground)?

Yeah, that also has occurred to me, buy a farm from someone that’s thinking of retiring, and can slowly turn management of acres over to me over time. Those sort of situations may be a bit harder find than fallow land, especially if I want to split costs on draft power equipment or smaller powered equipment instead of big tractors. There’s also the factor that it would have to be a very good financial deal if we were not going to be able to move in to an existing house right away. We’d need enough money left to build a second house if the old farmer wanted to retain lifetime residency rights in the sale.

[dlskidmore]

@bivol 29358 wrote:

can’t say, i like this idea more and more the more i think about it.

I wasn’t exactly recomending it. The author mentioned was an experienced teamster and even he did not get reliable results out of it. He was a pioneer, so stopping to spend time training slowly wasn’t really an option. Walking the whole way with the new steer under close supervision was an option, and they didn’t have to do a whole lot besides pull straight ahead most of the time.

[dlskidmore]

@mitchmaine 29220 wrote:

usually when the state gets involved in an industry, logging fishing and or farming, it seems to come with some new restriction or fee or something,

It’s nearly impossible to get government involved without making it a hassle for somebody who was trying to do the right thing.

I’m for incentives over regulation or handouts you do nothing for, but the money for funding incentives is a bit short at the moment, so I probably wouldn’t vote for any until the economy bounces back. If folks were taking care of their forests all along, they’d be able to pull out some good wood in a bad year to balance the books without terribly impacting the long term health of the forest.

[dlskidmore]

Tandy Leather is good if you need full hides. If you need smaller peices you really need to find a local shop where you can pick over the scrap bin.

You might find some other hardware sources from these shoe makers: Toe Salad: Supplies for DIY projects

[dlskidmore]

@bivol 29328 wrote:

2. “adult oxen”. captions are here on purpose: they could be 3 years old, etc. not fully mature, but up to the task, unless your task includes hauling logs down from mountains on a daily basis. if you could source some diary or crosbred steers from some fattening program, you could start from there.
if so, you have two options:
1. classic training
2. driving with nasal control – faster and more “disobey proof” when starting with older cattle.

In Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail the author frequently used animals raised for beef. He’d hook up the new steer alongside his trained one, and off they’d go, training on the way. I think once or twice he even got a raw pair without one trained one to start with. He preferred to train them his own way rather than pay more for a trained one and end up with a beast with a broken spirit. Unfortunately it says little to nothing about how he trained, besides the fact that he didn’t believe in yelling and hitting to get his way, and the results were a bit variable.

[dlskidmore]

@Baystatetom 29298 wrote:

I wouldn’t be afraid to buy a well broke team except if you start with calves you will learn together, if you start with a grown team you have to catch up quick.

I plan to raise a couple beefers with unecessary amounts of training before I decide I know enough about handling them to raise a couple handy steers. Even if they go to slaughter, the training won’t be a total waste when they need medical work or when loading them on the trailer on their last day.

[dlskidmore]

I’ve no practical experience myself, but am considering oxen as part of my future enterprise. I think you’re right about the eating, and if you can switch to smaller paddocks you should also reduce the hit-or-miss grazing pattern.

As for speed, I’m not sure mowing can be done well at slow speed? Back in ox days hay harvest was usually done by hand? Everything else you can do at ox speed, and since they have a little more power than the horse you might be able to use some wider implements to make up for the reduced travel speed with a reduced number of passes down the field.

Do you have neighbors with horses for those few things you have trouble getting done with an ox? I’m not firm on the animal-powered principle, I’d be willing to rent a neighbor’s tractor for haying…

[dlskidmore]

Did you ever give duck or pig puddling a try?

[dlskidmore]

Forgive my ignorance, but wasn’t animal fat the original mechanical lubricant? Does it not hold up as well at motorized implement temps as veg oil does?

[dlskidmore]

@Glenn Rogers 28697 wrote:

They had me out 5-6 times for group drives/ plow days/ canning days. Oh no! I want a small place, a couple of horses, maybe a wagon/cart to go to town in, “nothing serious you understand, just somthing to have fun with”, maybe a few acres that I can crop, I can take the produce to town in the wagon I buy…

Welcome Glenn. I’ll be on the edge of the “hobby farm” side you’re on. I have no confidence in my ability to turn a dollar at this business, and will be keeping my day job until we have enough debt settled to quit work and work the place full time.

[dlskidmore]

What breed is the dog? What training method did you use?

I love working with dogs, but I’m concerned there may be issues having both house dogs and livestock guardians. You can’t mix livestock guardians with herding dogs, can you?

[dlskidmore]

@Jean 28681 wrote:

Has anybody heard from David Fisher? Shelburne Falls Mass. got hit hard.

My relatives out that way lost power and therefore internet access. He may be alright but unable to post.

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