*"Farming is the proper place for man. All else is thanks to those men who know their proper place, when you have forgotten."* ~ My Dad (after I made a derrogatory statement about farmers)
Hi Pete, we have a small cattle ranch in a very remote part of Idaho (85 acres) and totally agree with your approach to small scale farming. I work for a software company, which allows me to work my 8 hrs remote, and run the ranch during the other 16 hrs of my day. When we decided to "restart" the ranch in 2000, it had been idle for over 30 yrs. The fences were gone, the sage reclaimed the pastures, ditches in bad shape, heavy rains washed debris (trees, boulders, etc.) down from the mountains, and carved gullies in the fields... we started with just 2 horses and 4 cows on the 15 acres that would still grow grass, purchased 20 steers in our 2th year to help with the de-brushing of about 60 acres... amazing what 20 hungry steers can do... areas we couldn't walk through due to the overgrowth, by the end of that summer, were open and navigable. Like you we run 40 to 60 yr old equipment, and I have never paid over 2500.00 a unit, for any of it... It amazes me how dependable a 60 yr old tractor is, they were built like a tank back then. The following year I applied for a NCRS small ranch/farm grant and after a ton of interviews, inspections, and government bureaucracy, the ranch was awarded the grant. This allowed us to fast-track many projects on the "to do" list, e.g., convert from flood irrigation to a gravity-fed sprinkler system, replant the pastures with a more drought tolerant plant mix, fence off the creeks and add cross fencing to the pastures for a rotational grazing program, along with a few other smaller projects like weed control and nutrient management. At first I wasn't sure we made a good decision by applying for the grant, as they impose deadlines on when certain things must be completed to get paid, which kept us humping right up to the deadline dates, but looking back, it provided 60-70% of the capital we needed to get the ranch back in shape, 10x faster, and I learned a ton about grass management and fencing from the USDA folks... We did much of the work ourselves, which allowed us to save a ton on the improvements and then move some of the monies paid by the USDA around to other projects we knew we had to hire out. The USDA proved to be invaluable... In our area we not only have cattle being hard on fences, we have Elk, Moose, and Deer. I do more fence repair from Elk movement, than from the cows. The USDA showed me by lowering the top wire to a max height of 42", it would stop 80% of the Elk damage... I was skeptical, but, it worked... I tell this story because I want perspective farmers/ranchers to know, there's a ton of resources out there (like the USDA and yourself) if you're willing to do the research to find them... like you, my friends and family keep asking me "why?" why work so hard, only to have to work hard again the next day, but they will never understand the feeling you get to see a calf born in the spring, or that calf grow into a good looking adult animal, or the pasture that was dirt last year, green and lush this year... its a reward that the average man just doesn't experience and should. In my job, it seems like projects never end, and deadlines continually get pushed out... I tell my coworkers that I wish I had the option to push out calving season, or not worry about how productive my pasture will be... if I stop for one minute, my animals will suffer and I would never let that happen. Fast forward to 2020, we are now at about 50 useable acres, supporting 25 head of grass-fed natural beef, and growing every year. I wish I would have kept a video diary like you are doing... There's been so much learned over the years I would have loved to share. This is a life I wouldn't trade for any amount of money, or time back, and one I've never asked the question "why do I do this?" Keep the videos coming!!!
Lol small cattle ranch? It's all relative isn't it. I'm looking for a couple acres in northern Ireland to expand my homestead (ACORN stands for Adorable Canadian Openly Requires New... Homestead)
Well done bvrcrkrnch don!! It sounds like you are living the American Dream! You are doing what many of our ancestors did when they arrived here from foreign countries. ( Europe) You are starting from the ground up. So many farmers start out in a 3rd or 4th generation farming family. They start their own business but it’s all in the family and they can borrow or rent equip/land from their relatives. You’ve done it all on your own and utilizing the government’s resources the way they were meant! Way to go!
I love what you're doing I farmed during the seventies not the best time. I'm seventy one years old if I had the capital I'd have another go at it .beside my love for JESUS and my family farming is next. May God bless you richly.
I have been a lawyer for 45 years and a livestock farmer for 22 years. It is very difficult but very enjoyable to have two full time jobs. But, as I am staring at 70, I realize that something has to give, so I am cutting down on the number of animals. I would encourage you to pursue it. The kids have grown, my wife has asthma and cannot help with hay, so FFA. Father farms alone.
We bought a 45acre farm when we were in our mid fifties. We had enough money from the sale of our home to buy outright and erect steel framed kit buildings. We would not have done it if we had to find finance. We farmed it with the same ethos you have but are now too old to run our own stock. We have dairy calves in the summer that apparently do better than the calves reared elsewhere. So the pasture management must be working. Also we take in mountain ewe lambs for the winter which double in size on our winter grass. So why do we still lime for other farmer’s stock? We want them to do well and after all we get paid to rear the stock and take a pride in doing it well.
You know when I drive through farming areas I see very expensive brand new equipment sitting out side like tractors and combines and you know I think to my self there's over 100K$ sitting there well what I'm trying to say is that making older less expensive equipment get the job done is probably one of the most affective ways to keep your cash flow at home , Great job and mind set , thanks .
Most guys are not running brand new equipment- now a lot of guys run NEWER equipment, which may be a difference of 100k-200k per tractor and still look new- but not many guys are buying brand new. The problem is a 30 year old John deere that's been well cared for can still fetch the price of a brand new pick up. It's a bit different for crop production where you need horsepower- but what do you do? Do you spend 30k on a 160 horse tractor that's 30 years old or get financing and buy a similar horsepower tractor 15-20 years newer, with more technology for 20k more? The other piece of the puzzle you're not looking at is what to do with the money you make. what should a guy do come the end of the year if hes made a profit? Hand his money over to the government or spend it on machinery/land/herd and pay less come tax time? Plus those guys are depreciating that new equipment so they will also be receiving a higher tax credit based on the age and value of the equipment. Obviously a guy like me or this farmer wont be seeing the cab of a brand new tractor any time soon, but you have to do what makes sense for your operation, and that may mean buying late model/new equipment, or buying older used machinery. It just depends on the operation.
It is my dream to have my own farm. As I near 50 myself the money just isn’t there yet , but I will never give up chasing my dream. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for being you.
Where are you looking for farm land? There are affordable farms that can be purchased, but they likely will need work. I don't think that there is anything affordable in the northeast, but just keep looking
It took me 30 years to find a place that my wife would agree to. It's small at just under 9 acres, but it's ours and it's something we can maintain with me still working full-time. We have more debt now and I commute 2+ hours a day total, but the price is worth it and we have something we can pass down to our kids who are now adults. If you're breathing, it's not too late! You have the right attitude about never giving up. Good luck!
@@JustaFewAcresFarm Hi Pete you are so cool, I love your work keep making your videos, it really inspires me.You are the best.I hope you are going to be the best farmer.Keep doing what you love
IT would be so easy to say "well you inherited the land", but you created everything that makes that gift work your hard work made this happen. You get the extra benefit of keeping and upgrading significantly your families legacy. Well done
One thing I've noticed is that most of your buildings appear to be multipurpose buildings which I'm sure helps a lot. As one who has farmed for a living, your advice is dead on.
I was raised on a small mountain farm. Pigs, chickens, milk cows, mules for plowing and hauling, and acres for hay and raising corn plus our gardens for raising our food. I loved to work in the garden, can and dry the food, pick berries to put up and to sell at the farmers market. It was a hard but wonderful life. I love the way you are with your animals, they know they are cared for!! You and your wife are wonderful farmers!!! Thank you for your videos.
Great story, I was on a farm to the age of 4 and it took me 10 years to stop missing it. Great way to grow up as a child and it gives you a real sense of the value of hard work. Your advice on finance is really good (I spent 25 years in finance) and the fact that you succeeded shows you got it right.
Great video! Full of info! My wife and I have started farming. In total our place is close to 40 acres. We moved here about 5 years ago. Before we had a small place. We've always had horses and chickens and done a good deal of gardening. Last year we decided that my wife was going to leave her job at the hospital and work the farm full time. She hatches and sells chickens. Makes jellies and jams to sell give horse back riding lessons and we have some cows. It's hard getting started. We are hoping that over the next 5 to 6 years I can follow her and we can expand enough to support us both. The kids will be gone by then and it just might be doable.
To be a good farmer is so simple. You just need to be an accountant, carpenter, veterinarian, meteorologist, mechanic, plumber, gardener, cook, and animal husbandry expert. Oh, and you need to be willing to work from sun up to sundown. I think you nailed when you said that it is living “the way people were meant to live.”
Hello my friend . It's a really nice honest story and video. We run a modern intensive livestock farm in Canada. I am in my fifties now, and realize how am trapped in the cycle of producing more for less $ . And now , i would love to do what you do , but i am trapped in the demands what big corporations want me to produce , with my banker breathing in my neck. We have a son who wants to take over the family farm . My grandfather made a living with some beef and dairy cows. My dad expended on that with additional pig farming. When i took over , we expended in pigs . Now we run thousands of pigs , and barely make a living. But its your genes , you don't give up. Snd my son wants to grow bigger again. I guess its the energy and positivity of the youth , versus the life experience of the older generation. Keep up your videos, there really good.
Thanks for the video. I have started my own organic vegetable farm about four years ago. It started small, but has doubled in size every year. Since exactly one year to the day today, I left my job in the IT industry and live the free and happy life I always dreamed of. Yes, as you rightly say, it is hard physical work, but I enjoy it and it is a small price to pay for the freedom it gives me.Most of the things you say in your video I subscribe two and have made similar experiences. We sell exclusively directly to customers. That is a very rewarding experience, not just in the financial sense. Farming will never make me rich financially, but it makes me happy and allows me to lead a very rich life.
Good wisdom here. It is indeed as we were intended to live. All of the elements of family working together on the land. Wife and I are engineers who have "stopped" and settled just the same. Have never worked so hard and been so satisfied.
I'm teaching the same thing to potential small farmers in the Uk how to get a small farm up and running Bootstrapijng it and explaining how to educate potential customers of the benefits of small farms. You will never get the bargain hunter to purchase your produce but there are customers out there ready to pay for quality. Great Videos
This really hits the mark. People spend too damn much money. After you have enough to eat and a dry place to sleep, everything else is a luxury you can do without. Trying to make a living producing a commodity has always been a losing game. Commodities are things that are produced in such quantity that the price has fallen nearly to the cost of production and the cost of production will continue to fall as long as there is technological progress. You definitely must produce a unique, artisanal product that you can brand. There are a few fine examples in the US, Vadalia onions and Avery Island Tabasco sauce are two that have gone national.
Great common sense explanation and advice-We operate a family farm in Taranaki, New Zealand running 150 dairy cows mainly on grass, silage and hay- outdoors all year with our temperate climate. We supply a farmer co operative processor and export most of our quality NZ dairy products. Having a good manager and helping out ourselves- being involved in keeping costs down and being sensible in our decision making is vital to the success of our farm. Our stock quality, fences, pasture, water distribution and management have all improved out of sight from the run down outfit we took over- buying two of the family members out who'd been running it for 20 years, So pleasing and to live amongst our workplace is so rewarding.,
45 acres is huuuuuge!:-) I have 5 acres here in Kenya that I'm planning on fencing in the coming weeks and doing a permaculture farm after I build a small bungalow on it. I plan to use all your methods - direct to consumer, being frugal, buying equipment second hand and tinkering with it etc. I also plan on going 100% solar and developing a 1 acre lake on it for tilapia production (does really well here in the tropics). Will also keep a few chickens and sell organic eggs. Fruits too. And timber (after 20 years!) My goal is sustainable self sufficiency more than it is making roaring profits. Thankfully the cost of living here is dirt cheap so this is easily achievable. Thanks for the inspiration, all the best and God bless!
I grew up on farm in Russia but then came to the US when I was 18, got a degree and a well paying job. Met a Russian girl, got married, had 4 children but always wanted fantasized living on self sustaining farm, even when I was still dating my future wife I telling her how I would bake bread from my own grain and make sausages from livestock I raised… We were in our early 30s when we finally made a decision to start transitioning to farm life, although we did decide to make it a slow, very slow transition(big mistake), didn’t want the children to leave the city, the school, friends and city life in general. We decided to gradually invest in buying land, tractors, outbuildings, etc so that by the time all 4 of our children graduate college, basically 13-15 years out, everything on the farm would be paid for and we move there. We bought 36 acres, 28 of them were pastures, paid that off in 6 years. Bought a brand new tractor and some used implements, paid that off. During all these years we were working on the farm from time to time, getting it ready, planting trees, etc Although we still live in the city, we already make some money off of the farm, some on hay, some on honey, we have 12 beehives. We are not even close to breaking even but it is nice to be able to cover all yearly maintenance expenses and taxes for the farm. Already have my own corn, grain in test mode. Farming is natural for a human being., it is so calming, fulfilling and satisfying but it cannot be a job! Thank you for your channel, I wish I was as astute with numbers as you are!😀
I liked your video. You spoken a very simple English for your audiences- more engaging. I liked other video at auction as well. My great great grandparents settled in Southern Vietnam in 1800, purchased a small fishing boat- not vessel. Within few years, purchased small land, then years after purchased lands and built bigger fishing vessel in southern Vietnam. This was how we established wealths after initial settlement in Kien Giang, Vietnam. Simple long term planning withbendurance hardships. But after 1975, the fall of Saigon, we lost everything, we became who have nothing as well served in concentration camp, for other in the families got sent to served in re-education and after released we escaped the new party.
I appreciate the gentleness in your words. Your love of your farm and how you walk in life shines through in each video! We need more of this on the planet! Blessings to your family and farm!
I subscribed after Al at Lumnah Acres (off grid 500 acres, NH) purchased a 1950 New Idea manure spreader and asked his subscribers if he should restore it this winter, or not. A lot of people in the comments section recommended your channel. I came; I watched a couple of videos; I subscribed. Looking forward to getting to know you!
Pete I'm not a farmer, but you tell people how it is in a way that I can understand. I don't know how you're sweet wife Hillary puts up with you're jokes. You both are a delight to watch.
Pete I came across your videos here in Northern Ca. I have a small orchard and adequate vegetable garden on my property as a hobby. Really enjoyed your videos, philosophy and communication style and skills. So I googled your farm…. Lansing NY 😳. I’m Ithaca born and raised, IHS class of 81. I hope you continue at the Ithaca farmers market I will reach out to you when I am back in town via the market. Hope to get to see your farm someday and wax poetic on the benefits of growing locally, raised 4 kids with this exposure, 2 have a strong interest in environmental science ( one in plant genetics). Pay it forward, your story 200 years is extraordinary and encouraging. Hope to be a regular customer down the road.
I am new on farming I just got 28 acres of land 7 Acres are clear the rest is Woody I've been working with all equipment are you doing it's hard because I don't know much about mechanical stuff but I'm learning through the way God help me I got two boys lovely hard-working wife all we can do is keep trying thank you for your videos very good information God bless the farming way a lot of work for no pay
Love the financial information. This is the best and most relatable information I have found for our situation. We won’t be starting out debt free because we didn’t get our land from family, but we are in our early 30’s so we have time to grow slowly while still making out of farm income. Hopefully by the time we are nearing 50 we will have our farm and land infrastructure done and my husband will be home and able to help me full time. We have a little different plans than you but diversifying, being careful of cost vs income and maximizing our land are definitely at the top of our priority list. We will be doing heritage breeds as well and using rotational grazing methods.
Thank you for sharing the financial side and the habits and mindset you need to make a small farm work. It is awesome that your family had maintained the farm for generations. I hope your children continue to conserve and value it and keep it for many more generations. It is also wonderful that you kept the skills that you learned growing up on the farm. I think it is good that you had your chance of pursuing a different career and once that season was over you were able to make the choice to come back to farming.
Another thing is start simple and as you make money start investing the income into more complex higher return stuff. For example if you have 10 acres and an old tractor. Then build a little open walled barn that you can tarp the walls in for winter and buy a little tiller attachment for a few hundred bucks. You can get all that stuff for a few grand including some vegetable seeds. Then when you've made 15 grand selling the vegetables at farmers markets build a big freezer so you can sell year round or pig shed or whatever compliments your situation the most profit wise.
Pete, have you ever considered adding to your product range? You produce chicken, veal, pork. All this must be grown. It is difficult, but you are successfully selling it. Have you tried making fresh sausages for frying with purchased meat from nearby farmers? They are easy to sell frozen and people love it. If this goes well for you, then you can go about your farm well and calmly, but get a nice extra turnover from the sausages and support your family.
The fact that your making it work as a livestock farm on such a modest piece of land is even more inspiring. I’m a relatively small farmer too in an area full of small farms, we all grow specialty crops because of the value of the crops, it’s much more profitable in our area to do that and considering the cost per acre of land here it’s really a necessity
You are a smart man and an honest with yourself and others, that is why you are successful. Farm growth is like human growth. Raising children on farms is safer than raising them with common children who use drugs and weapons to kill each other. You are on the right track.
Thank you for a very thoughtful video - I’m a numbers geek so I especially appreciated it. I hope some of your children decide to join you in the family business because it will help perpetuate your very pragmatic and positive philosophy of life and farming.
I’m an HVAC guy, but my family has a small crop farm that goes back to the 20s. They added a retail market, and now have some new equipment. I always looked up to the men that farmed decade by decade doing everything a farm required. The summers were long our days, with the winter bringing the winter crops and mechanic work getting ready for spring. I paid my first social security taxes at the age of ten working on the farm for three consecutive summers and during school breaks. It was invaluable experience. I inherited my grandmother’s house on an acre and a half near the family’s farm. Being 51 years old now, I would love to spend the rest of my good years doing what you are doing. You are blessed to have that life without debt. I wish more people were inclined to keep the farm and pass it on.
I am an engineer and see improvements to your method that I think you could benefit from. Here they are; 1. Eat less sugar and carbohydrates, and stop eating seed oils like canola and vegetable oil. Changing your diet will give you benefits of energy, body size (lose your fat belly like I did), clarity of thought, slow your aging, deeper sleep, less time sleeping (look for low carb or keto on youtube). 2. Second you could do with some lifting weights. You look strong but tired, and lifting weights could reduce your risk of injury. Every two days, do squats, deadlift, press. I think what you are doing is a real challenge, but I am in admiration of your courage. Please accept these suggestions with the goodwill they are meant. Keep them coming - subbed.
Hi Pao, a few years back I changed my diet to eliminate all ultra-processed foods and refined sugars. Now I eat a small amount of whole grains, and my plate is mostly simply prepared vegetables and our meat and eggs. We use olive oil and butter for cooking fats. I lost quite a bit of weight and feel much better. If I look tired, it's because I haven't slept well in 10 years, but that's another story.
@@JustaFewAcresFarm Glad to hear of your intelliegent health - you are ahead of me. Sorry to hear of your tiredness. I always sleep well after doing weights though, it's a great sedative and my hypertension is miles better after a workout and for days afterwards.
You give practical and valuable information on running a farm and we plan to watch every video you put out...this is just the third one we have watched. This is our first year on a farm and we have been setting up our systems, and hope to work your wisdom into them as well. We recognize from just six months into our farm, you are absolutely on point. We have subscribed and will continue to follow you. Thanks for taking time to share, knowing you have suck a busy life. We appreciate it!
You and my dad would have gotten along like gangbusters. He grew up on a small family farm in northeastern Oregon. When he was in his 20's, he and his parents bought a MUCH bigger farm in Central Oregon, selling the NE Oregon farm. I grew up in the early 1960's playing in the huge (now historic) barn, climbing fruit trees, playing in ditches. My playmates were the spring calves. The farm had been a big sheep ranch before the grandparents bought it, and there were still several early 1900's hand-crank sheep shears in the equipment bay when I was a kid. My brother and I wanted to see if they still worked (I was 9 and he was 6), so we picked one, got it going, and tried it out right down the middle of my brother's head, front to back. It still worked all right. My dad couldn't stop laughing when he saw it. My mother, on the other hand, was NOT amused. We both got in big trouble for that (from Mom, anyway....). Everything on the place was second hand - my dad knew how to get a lot of bang out of his buck. Daddy bought two World War II era trucks to work the wheat, barley and potato harvests, as well as haul sand and gravel from the local pit to the winter feed lots. He overhauled all the equipment every winter in the wood-heated machine shop. I don't think Daddy ever ran into anything he couldn't fix, rebuild, build from the ground up, or overhaul. In the spring, everything got pushed out of the winter feed lots and Daddy spread a couple of feet sand and gravel from the pit in them. The compost pile every spring was left to sit for two years and then got spread on the fields. So there were always three piles "cooking"....the one that was ready to use, the one that was a year old, and the "fresh" one. We grew field corn for winter cattle silage. It got chopped when it was ready late summer and put in the silage pit. We ate what we grew, milked our own cows, made what we needed and had fun at home. It was a good way to grow up. Watching your vids brings back a lot of good memories for me.
Pete you just have a new subscriber from Philippines, who happens to be a USRN. Hello to your wife Hillary. I'm encouraged to do the same as you did, when the right time comes.
Hats off to you and your family! 200 years is impressive. My wife and I recently built a house on her family's farm of almost 100 years, but it is no where near as upkept as yours. Lack of buisness knowlege I'll call it. I would love to take hold of it someday, as I am an auto/diesel mechanic of 20+ years. Love the work, hate my job if that makes sence. I love animals and nature, being outdoors. Love your channel, this is a great video!
You became a wise man doing that move to that life. And those advice are not just for farming. I am doing the same in a totally different market and I’m happy. Is about growing and being independence.
Pete it must give you a unique sense of satisfaction to look back at how far you and Hillary have come since you started. You folks have really done well it seems. Thanks for having us along for the journey.
I just bought my first piece of land a hole 1 acer, I plan to grow pumpkins, garlic. and ducks with a area set aside to fix and flip cars. I know I can't support my family on just one acer but I hope that I can just save the revenue from it to buy more land some time latter. since this lot is on a main road in time I will transition it so be a farm markit. for all my outlying fields.
Great video. Grew up in a dairy community in Delaware Co. NY in the 60-70's. You are correct it is the best way to raise children. Loved every minute and wish to go back...had a small farm in Virginia but nothing like what you have. Keep up the great work and have subscribed.
Very wise and reality based advice. Most important you didn't base your success on a invisible deity creature and you fails on other people like many channels here on youtube.
This information is exactly why I am a new subscriber. I told my lady about the channel and I plan to apply these principles to our own garden business. Thank you sir, you’re a life changer!!!
A most excellent episode. The only thing not mentioned was land cost. Today one has to either buy acreage at retail of buy an existing farm. Land is the largest expense.
What an incredible contribution to society you are making with this series. I am practically “binge watching” these (probably first time I’ve used that phrase). My own process will be different - one week into retirement on 7.5 acre, so primarily personal consumption with maybe some supplemental income. Point, though, is the ethic you bring to the taskings and communications. Many thanks for much to think about.
I love this video! Debt free is the way to do it! Someone straight out of college shouldn't be buying their own farm straight away. A young person who wants to own their own farm needs to have patience. They need to work in the industry, learn from the old-timers, save their money, and when the time is right, then they can own their own farm. But for Pete's sake, don't go into debt!
I don’t think it was an accident that Pete was loading some of the tools from the past-cream seperater, was it a pedal saw or tool sharpening outfit, steel wheels, and I didn’t have the privilege of being “farm raised “! Thanks Pete! I’m a retired nurse but never saw the birth of a piglet or a calf! Was it a plus Hilery?❤️👋JME
Hey, P! Thank you for this. I´m somewhat in the same situation, and i needed to hear this. I tend to forget what it´s all about, and just focus on what needs to be done all the time. Now i´m gonna go out in the pasture with the animals and just stand there for a minute and take it all in. Thank you for sharing! E
Just wanted to leave a comment and thank you so much Peter (wife and family) for your dedication, hard work, information and effort! Never shying away from hard work, my husband and I have recently purchased and restored home / 5 acres in south FL. and can relate to property taxes., etc. I found your channel today while trying to research and understand ag. exemption. (As another 5 acres is up for sale next to us) Lots to learn and unserstand. We love the idea of connecting to the land with a desire to make something of it and preserve it; even if a little 5 acres + for the next generation. I look forward to learning from you!!! Thank you again for the inspiration and intelligent, palatable, realistic info.! (not to mention ...Our son has been in the youtube business - fishing / outdoor adventure for nearly 6 years and we can very much apprreciate the effort that goes into your channel... along with all you are doing for your family and farm community! Awesome work! Thank you.
Love this! .Very inspirational! This is my dream, to “retire” as a full time farmer. Clean farming is in my blood...Love your philosophy and attitude. My wife and I are hard workers and I am a “jack of all trades”...But my wife is a pragmatist. “Will we ever be able to take a vacation to travel?”... So, how do you manage 1-2 week vacations? My guess is you hire a trustworthy laborer to take care of daily chores while you are away?
My younger brother who lives and works in US shared your channel with me. I am also farming our ancestral land in another part of the world after completing 30 plus years in military service. Loved your tractor, is it a Belarus? Yours and mine work environment, weather and availability of human help are very different, yet we work and plan the same way ☺️. I purchased a 1979 model Fiat 480 to support this years wheat harvest. Thanks for sharing
Hi Pete and Hilary! Thoroughly enjoy your films, personalities, ethics, humor, and the knowledge it gives me while entertaining at the same time. Coincidentally you have only red tractors like me. I have two and only 1.5 acres outside of Tacoma WA. I'm a retired cabinet/furniture maker about to turn 70, was raised on a hog farm in central MO. A lot of your daily routines resonate with me and my past on the farm. My dad was in farm management, educated on the G.I. bill post WWII. Like a lot of others he was into chemical farming and we watched as the family farms in MO turned huge corporate and way less interesting. I was told a family of 4 required 500 acres in the mid 70's when I was out of HS about 5 years. My dad had an independent grain handling/feed store which was very successful in the late 60's but went down in the early 70's due to world commodities as you are mentioning. I love your approach and enjoy all of your films. I've had to get into my Cub, less on the H, but I've never been much of a mechanic. It is empowering to replace a clutch or rebuild a carburetor (with a little help from friends). Fun! Love you guys and what you are all about! Paul
Of course I will subscribe. I am a retired German teacher who grew up on her grandparets' farm of 120 acres. I always lived here but did no farming. The farmland was rented to neighbor farmers, but all the machinery was kept in good shape. Now, that I am farming myself I am glad being able to use all that old but well cared machines, e. g. my 60 horsepower Fords on Super Major, my 100 HP Deutz and my 28 HP Lanz (=German John Deere), all the hay machines and so on. I raise horses, keep some cattle, hens, pigs... I am retired after having been a teacher for 40 years and don't have to worry about money, I get a good monthly income. So life makes fun and I enjoy each day. Many greetings from Germany and God bless you!
Quite a few years ago at breakfast I welcomed spring out loud in front of my family on what turned out to be the first day i built a raised garden. I had no idea where it would lead or how long it would take to be happy in what I was doing. Now my point is this not one of my family knew it was the first of spring or when the first of any season was. I have known all my life. It amazed me. How can they not know? So I started teaching them through what I did and when and it was all for nothing The wife will not go near the garden unless I can guarantee no spiders or other creepy crawlie will attack her. My children will not join in the happiness I get for growing my own. I supplied my son with a few corn cobs and he questioned why they were not full cobs. I frustratingly explained the pollination of that particular cob was just a little less than desired on that day week or whatever time period it took. I asked him if it still tasted good and he told me he threw it out not knowing what was going on with it. So many thoughts went through my mind over this none of them good. The best of them was I have failed in educating this person in the art of common sense. Now at 40 I have found out about his political views and have seen even more proof of my failing him. I envy you your wife Pete. What a woman seemingly backing you up or in fact maybe even leading the way sometimes at the very least partnering you through all your trials and tribulations on the farm.
Just came across your video. You made your case for your choice for raising your family on a farm very well. I presume you inherited your farm land and your attachment to farming because of your early life experiences. There is no case for a city dweller to contemplate a choice such as yours without a similar background. You have a philosophy of life that you laid out very well. The rest of us must move with the times and occasionally take a look at your experiences through your videos.
My wife and I sold our +1100 acre Family Dairy Farm (some of the land was in the family over 200 years) west of Syracuse last year. We were following the get bigger advice and we came to realize that we were never going to get out of debt by chasing more and more cows and lbs.milk. We are happy on our tiny Kentucky Farm trying to figure out growing vegetables. You are offering great advice and we hope that others are appreciative of your wisdom. If you enjoy whatever you are doing, then it will be easier. Yes, I miss cows some days, but I don't think that we really have enough usable land for cows and livestock. Take care and GOD bless
@@pedro97w ,if I was not going to be Farming the land that had been in our family for over 200 years, then there was no way I could stay in the state. We love the GOD Fearing and Freedom Loving folk in Appalachia.
Pete, you remind me so much of the 70's when i grew up in FAR northern Minn, right on the Canadian border. There were so many small farmers back then with maybe 120 acres. That is what made small towns, all the small farms. With the death of the small farms, came the death of small towns. It makes me so sad to remember that downfall. We had a bigger farm, maybe 1200 acres and ran about 150 head of beef, feeder pigs and a small bit of grain. OH how i would love to return to that. I envy your life, and all that you've done to get there. Good luck brother.
My grandfather bought 127 acres of farmland in western New York many years ago, he wanted to make it a farm, long story short, he never committed and was always preoccupied, and as a result never succeeded in becoming a farmer. My fathers dream is to become a small farmer, at least to the point for the farm to cover most of our taxes. He too like his father before him, is always working, and never really got the chance to start the farm. When I 9 or so, we got 4 goats for my birthday, it was more my fathers present than my own and I was skeptical because I knew that i was going to have to care for them, but after several years of caring for them, I began to like it. I am now 14 and my father and I share the same dream. In the past year, We have properly (we always had chickens) raised over 3 dosen Rhode island reds (Laying hens), 3 pigs, and still have two of our goats. (goats get sick easy, and die even easier). I just found this channel, and it has helped my primarily understand the financial aspect of farming. Thank you for making these videos, It helps to see people in similar situations have your ideal outcome, it makes success seem more realistic. (You are very good at explaining things.) Have a lovely afternoon, -Wisniewski Farms
All i can say is WOW ...the best video i have seen on utube ever...L grew up on a small farm back in the late 50s and the 60s in Ontario Canada so i understand where u are coming from. You have a very clear and precise way of explaining things and i will watch all of ur videos in the future...Thanks again.
I used to drive one hour thirty minutes to my job in Midand Michigan, people used to ask why I did it. I had great health care plan. I'm not as good a physical condition that I was as a young person. You have a great life Pete, you and Hillary look healthy, and that's important. Keep the videos coming. I enjoy watch you do farm stuff.
my wife and I just bought a second house on 2 acres where we live in California. our old home should rent for a bit over what we pay in mortgage. right now we are taking our savings and buying the materials to set up fencing and buildings for the animals and orchard areas. my wife left the job and will work it full time while i support our main costs of living with the added boost of the rental to support buying some of the acreage that is available in the surrounding areas. still might decide to sell the old house to give a fast boost of capital to jumpstart things financially, but the idea of rental income is very appealing.
Thank you Pete. You are doing what I wish I had done 20 years ago when I retired from the Navy. Now, at least I have the benefit of your experience. I plan to sell my 1/2 acre on a lake in rural Fl and buy some acreage in Texas and start my own little farm. I have enjoyed several of your videos today and will continue to as I prepare for the move. Thanks again.
Great to hear I feel exactly the same, doing exactly the same, raising 4 kids on an even smaller farm in Norway .. im doing it all myself. Its a tough, but good life. And i love it👍🐏🇳🇴
Hi I am new subscriber from South India place called Tamilnadu. I love your channel...and going to watch continuously and i am just 2 acre farmer in India....
I've told people all my life if you have a product you believe in and know is right then you can sell it, most importantly is being honest! The information in this video is just a beautiful example for folks to take and run with ,no matter if farming of something different!
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*"Farming is the proper place for man. All else is thanks to those men who know their proper place, when you have forgotten."* ~ My Dad (after I made a derrogatory statement about farmers)
Your grandfather would be so proud of you. You did a great renovation on the house and brought the farm to life. Well done.
Hi Pete, we have a small cattle ranch in a very remote part of Idaho (85 acres) and totally agree with your approach to small scale farming. I work for a software company, which allows me to work my 8 hrs remote, and run the ranch during the other 16 hrs of my day. When we decided to "restart" the ranch in 2000, it had been idle for over 30 yrs. The fences were gone, the sage reclaimed the pastures, ditches in bad shape, heavy rains washed debris (trees, boulders, etc.) down from the mountains, and carved gullies in the fields... we started with just 2 horses and 4 cows on the 15 acres that would still grow grass, purchased 20 steers in our 2th year to help with the de-brushing of about 60 acres... amazing what 20 hungry steers can do... areas we couldn't walk through due to the overgrowth, by the end of that summer, were open and navigable. Like you we run 40 to 60 yr old equipment, and I have never paid over 2500.00 a unit, for any of it... It amazes me how dependable a 60 yr old tractor is, they were built like a tank back then. The following year I applied for a NCRS small ranch/farm grant and after a ton of interviews, inspections, and government bureaucracy, the ranch was awarded the grant. This allowed us to fast-track many projects on the "to do" list, e.g., convert from flood irrigation to a gravity-fed sprinkler system, replant the pastures with a more drought tolerant plant mix, fence off the creeks and add cross fencing to the pastures for a rotational grazing program, along with a few other smaller projects like weed control and nutrient management. At first I wasn't sure we made a good decision by applying for the grant, as they impose deadlines on when certain things must be completed to get paid, which kept us humping right up to the deadline dates, but looking back, it provided 60-70% of the capital we needed to get the ranch back in shape, 10x faster, and I learned a ton about grass management and fencing from the USDA folks... We did much of the work ourselves, which allowed us to save a ton on the improvements and then move some of the monies paid by the USDA around to other projects we knew we had to hire out. The USDA proved to be invaluable... In our area we not only have cattle being hard on fences, we have Elk, Moose, and Deer. I do more fence repair from Elk movement, than from the cows. The USDA showed me by lowering the top wire to a max height of 42", it would stop 80% of the Elk damage... I was skeptical, but, it worked... I tell this story because I want perspective farmers/ranchers to know, there's a ton of resources out there (like the USDA and yourself) if you're willing to do the research to find them... like you, my friends and family keep asking me "why?" why work so hard, only to have to work hard again the next day, but they will never understand the feeling you get to see a calf born in the spring, or that calf grow into a good looking adult animal, or the pasture that was dirt last year, green and lush this year... its a reward that the average man just doesn't experience and should. In my job, it seems like projects never end, and deadlines continually get pushed out... I tell my coworkers that I wish I had the option to push out calving season, or not worry about how productive my pasture will be... if I stop for one minute, my animals will suffer and I would never let that happen. Fast forward to 2020, we are now at about 50 useable acres, supporting 25 head of grass-fed natural beef, and growing every year. I wish I would have kept a video diary like you are doing... There's been so much learned over the years I would have loved to share. This is a life I wouldn't trade for any amount of money, or time back, and one I've never asked the question "why do I do this?" Keep the videos coming!!!
Lol small cattle ranch? It's all relative isn't it. I'm looking for a couple acres in northern Ireland to expand my homestead (ACORN stands for Adorable Canadian Openly Requires New... Homestead)
Well done bvrcrkrnch don!! It sounds like you are living the American Dream! You are doing what many of our ancestors did when they arrived here from foreign countries. ( Europe) You are starting from the ground up. So many farmers start out in a 3rd or 4th generation farming family. They start their own business but it’s all in the family and they can borrow or rent equip/land from their relatives. You’ve done it all on your own and utilizing the government’s resources the way they were meant! Way to go!
ACORN Homestead sounds awesome
Joel Salatin threw brush into his gullies to silt them up into primo soil.
What was your break even time for the ranch? When was it able to supply your financial needs?
i know i am just a teen but i already want to own my own farm. You have really helped me know what it is like! Keep it up 👍🏻
@@darshanbadsha6305 ohh mmhh
Congratulations on your future!!
Good for you. Sometimes I wonder about our future. People like you will keep it strong!! ❤️❤️❤️
Same I want to have a small farm/ranch when I’m older and I just got chickens and trying to get pigs and sheep
Same here man
Pete gives the “dad advice” all of us need from time to time. So great.
Pete is totally fascinating. He has the knack of explaining subjects simply and clearly so even a non farmer like myself get it. Thanks maestro👍🙏
I love what you're doing I farmed during the seventies not the best time. I'm seventy one years old if I had the capital I'd have another go at it .beside my love for JESUS and my family farming is next. May God bless you richly.
As an Attorney for 36 years who has visited Polyface farm with my family from Miami.....your living my DREAM ... keep it up
Thanks Robert! We love what we do!
I have been a lawyer for 45 years and a livestock farmer for 22 years. It is very difficult but very enjoyable to have two full time jobs. But, as I am staring at 70, I realize that something has to give, so I am cutting down on the number of animals. I would encourage you to pursue it. The kids have grown, my wife has asthma and cannot help with hay, so FFA. Father farms alone.
@@richardmuntz3496 what will happen to your farm? Will your kids take it over?
We bought a 45acre farm when we were in our mid fifties. We had enough money from the sale of our home to buy outright and erect steel framed kit buildings. We would not have done it if we had to find finance. We farmed it with the same ethos you have but are now too old to run our own stock. We have dairy calves in the summer that apparently do better than the calves reared elsewhere. So the pasture management must be working. Also we take in mountain ewe lambs for the winter which double in size on our winter grass. So why do we still lime for other farmer’s stock? We want them to do well and after all we get paid to rear the stock and take a pride in doing it well.
You know when I drive through farming areas I see very expensive brand new equipment sitting out side like tractors and combines and you know I think to my self there's over 100K$ sitting there well what I'm trying to say is that making older less expensive equipment get the job done is probably one of the most affective ways to keep your cash flow at home , Great job and mind set , thanks .
Most guys are not running brand new equipment- now a lot of guys run NEWER equipment, which may be a difference of 100k-200k per tractor and still look new- but not many guys are buying brand new.
The problem is a 30 year old John deere that's been well cared for can still fetch the price of a brand new pick up. It's a bit different for crop production where you need horsepower- but what do you do? Do you spend 30k on a 160 horse tractor that's 30 years old or get financing and buy a similar horsepower tractor 15-20 years newer, with more technology for 20k more? The other piece of the puzzle you're not looking at is what to do with the money you make. what should a guy do come the end of the year if hes made a profit? Hand his money over to the government or spend it on machinery/land/herd and pay less come tax time? Plus those guys are depreciating that new equipment so they will also be receiving a higher tax credit based on the age and value of the equipment.
Obviously a guy like me or this farmer wont be seeing the cab of a brand new tractor any time soon, but you have to do what makes sense for your operation, and that may mean buying late model/new equipment, or buying older used machinery. It just depends on the operation.
@@jacobpgood724 👍🏽 exactly right. Economic and financial principles are important to consider for success.
Pete, you are an inspiration and have shared wonderful words of wisdom.
It is my dream to have my own farm. As I near 50 myself the money just isn’t there yet , but I will never give up chasing my dream. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for being you.
Thank you Francois! Never give up on your dream!
Where are you looking for farm land? There are affordable farms that can be purchased, but they likely will need work. I don't think that there is anything affordable in the northeast, but just keep looking
It took me 30 years to find a place that my wife would agree to. It's small at just under 9 acres, but it's ours and it's something we can maintain with me still working full-time. We have more debt now and I commute 2+ hours a day total, but the price is worth it and we have something we can pass down to our kids who are now adults. If you're breathing, it's not too late! You have the right attitude about never giving up. Good luck!
You can do it God willing.
@@JustaFewAcresFarm Hi Pete you are so cool, I love your work keep making your videos, it really inspires me.You are the best.I hope you are going to be the best farmer.Keep doing what you love
IT would be so easy to say "well you inherited the land", but you created everything that makes that gift work your hard work made this happen. You get the extra benefit of keeping and upgrading significantly your families legacy. Well done
One thing I've noticed is that most of your buildings appear to be multipurpose buildings which I'm sure helps a lot. As one who has farmed for a living, your advice is dead on.
I was raised on a small mountain farm. Pigs, chickens, milk cows, mules for plowing and hauling, and acres for hay and raising corn plus our gardens for raising our food. I loved to work in the garden, can and dry the food, pick berries to put up and to sell at the farmers market. It was a hard but wonderful life. I love the way you are with your animals, they know they are cared for!! You and your wife are wonderful farmers!!! Thank you for your videos.
Great story, I was on a farm to the age of 4 and it took me 10 years to stop missing it. Great way to grow up as a child and it gives you a real sense of the value of hard work. Your advice on finance is really good (I spent 25 years in finance) and the fact that you succeeded shows you got it right.
Great video! Full of info! My wife and I have started farming. In total our place is close to 40 acres. We moved here about 5 years ago. Before we had a small place. We've always had horses and chickens and done a good deal of gardening. Last year we decided that my wife was going to leave her job at the hospital and work the farm full time. She hatches and sells chickens. Makes jellies and jams to sell give horse back riding lessons and we have some cows. It's hard getting started. We are hoping that over the next 5 to 6 years I can follow her and we can expand enough to support us both. The kids will be gone by then and it just might be doable.
That old cream separator brought back some great memories...as a 5 or year old was turning that wickedly hard crank... great return for me....
I am not a farmer, I got 2 right hands, and I can't stop watching!!! really love this!!!
To be a good farmer is so simple. You just need to be an accountant, carpenter, veterinarian, meteorologist, mechanic, plumber, gardener, cook, and animal husbandry expert. Oh, and you need to be willing to work from sun up to sundown. I think you nailed when you said that it is living “the way people were meant to live.”
Hello my friend . It's a really nice honest story and video.
We run a modern intensive livestock farm in Canada.
I am in my fifties now, and realize how am trapped in the cycle of producing more for less $ .
And now , i would love to do what you do , but i am trapped in the demands what big corporations want me to produce , with my banker breathing in my neck.
We have a son who wants to take over the family farm .
My grandfather made a living with some beef and dairy cows.
My dad expended on that with additional pig farming.
When i took over , we expended in pigs .
Now we run thousands of pigs , and barely make a living.
But its your genes , you don't give up.
Snd my son wants to grow bigger again.
I guess its the energy and positivity of the youth , versus the life experience of the older generation.
Keep up your videos, there really good.
Thanks for the video. I have started my own organic vegetable farm about four years ago. It started small, but has doubled in size every year. Since exactly one year to the day today, I left my job in the IT industry and live the free and happy life I always dreamed of. Yes, as you rightly say, it is hard physical work, but I enjoy it and it is a small price to pay for the freedom it gives me.Most of the things you say in your video I subscribe two and have made similar experiences. We sell exclusively directly to customers. That is a very rewarding experience, not just in the financial sense. Farming will never make me rich financially, but it makes me happy and allows me to lead a very rich life.
Good for you, Andre! I've never looked back.
Good wisdom here. It is indeed as we were intended to live. All of the elements of family working together on the land. Wife and I are engineers who have "stopped" and settled just the same. Have never worked so hard and been so satisfied.
I'm teaching the same thing to potential small farmers in the Uk how to get a small farm up and running Bootstrapijng it and explaining how to educate potential customers of the benefits of small farms. You will never get the bargain hunter to purchase your produce but there are customers out there ready to pay for quality. Great Videos
This really hits the mark. People spend too damn much money. After you have enough to eat and a dry place to sleep, everything else is a luxury you can do without. Trying to make a living producing a commodity has always been a losing game. Commodities are things that are produced in such quantity that the price has fallen nearly to the cost of production and the cost of production will continue to fall as long as there is technological progress. You definitely must produce a unique, artisanal product that you can brand. There are a few fine examples in the US, Vadalia onions and Avery Island Tabasco sauce are two that have gone national.
Great common sense explanation and advice-We operate a family farm in Taranaki, New Zealand running 150 dairy cows mainly on grass, silage and hay- outdoors all year with our temperate climate. We supply a farmer co operative processor and export most of our quality NZ dairy products. Having a good manager and helping out ourselves- being involved in keeping costs down and being sensible in our decision making is vital to the success of our farm. Our stock quality, fences, pasture, water distribution and management have all improved out of sight from the run down outfit we took over- buying two of the family members out who'd been running it for 20 years, So pleasing and to live amongst our workplace is so rewarding.,
45 acres is huuuuuge!:-) I have 5 acres here in Kenya that I'm planning on fencing in the coming weeks and doing a permaculture farm after I build a small bungalow on it. I plan to use all your methods - direct to consumer, being frugal, buying equipment second hand and tinkering with it etc. I also plan on going 100% solar and developing a 1 acre lake on it for tilapia production (does really well here in the tropics). Will also keep a few chickens and sell organic eggs. Fruits too. And timber (after 20 years!) My goal is sustainable self sufficiency more than it is making roaring profits. Thankfully the cost of living here is dirt cheap so this is easily achievable. Thanks for the inspiration, all the best and God bless!
@@fhuber7507 true!
I grew up on farm in Russia but then came to the US when I was 18, got a degree and a well paying job. Met a Russian girl, got married, had 4 children but always wanted fantasized living on self sustaining farm, even when I was still dating my future wife I telling her how I would bake bread from my own grain and make sausages from livestock I raised… We were in our early 30s when we finally made a decision to start transitioning to farm life, although we did decide to make it a slow, very slow transition(big mistake), didn’t want the children to leave the city, the school, friends and city life in general. We decided to gradually invest in buying land, tractors, outbuildings, etc so that by the time all 4 of our children graduate college, basically 13-15 years out, everything on the farm would be paid for and we move there. We bought 36 acres, 28 of them were pastures, paid that off in 6 years. Bought a brand new tractor and some used implements, paid that off. During all these years we were working on the farm from time to time, getting it ready, planting trees, etc Although we still live in the city, we already make some money off of the farm, some on hay, some on honey, we have 12 beehives. We are not even close to breaking even but it is nice to be able to cover all yearly maintenance expenses and taxes for the farm. Already have my own corn, grain in test mode. Farming is natural for a human being., it is so calming, fulfilling and satisfying but it cannot be a job! Thank you for your channel, I wish I was as astute with numbers as you are!😀
I liked your video. You spoken a very simple English for your audiences- more engaging. I liked other video at auction as well.
My great great grandparents settled in Southern Vietnam in 1800, purchased a small fishing boat- not vessel. Within few years, purchased small land, then years after purchased lands and built bigger fishing vessel in southern Vietnam.
This was how we established wealths after initial settlement in Kien Giang, Vietnam. Simple long term planning withbendurance hardships.
But after 1975, the fall of Saigon, we lost everything, we became who have nothing as well served in concentration camp, for other in the families got sent to served in re-education and after released we escaped the new party.
I appreciate the gentleness in your words. Your love of your farm and how you walk in life shines through in each video! We need more of this on the planet! Blessings to your family and farm!
I couldn’t have said it any better than you. I echo your sentiments exactly. Thanks.
I subscribed after Al at Lumnah Acres (off grid 500 acres, NH) purchased a 1950 New Idea manure spreader and asked his subscribers if he should restore it this winter, or not. A lot of people in the comments section recommended your channel. I came; I watched a couple of videos; I subscribed. Looking forward to getting to know you!
Pete I'm not a farmer, but you tell people how it is in a way that I can understand. I don't know how you're sweet wife Hillary puts up with you're jokes. You both are a delight to watch.
Pete I came across your videos here in Northern Ca. I have a small orchard and adequate vegetable garden on my property as a hobby. Really enjoyed your videos, philosophy and communication style and skills. So I googled your farm…. Lansing NY 😳. I’m Ithaca born and raised, IHS class of 81. I hope you continue at the Ithaca farmers market I will reach out to you when I am back in town via the market. Hope to get to see your farm someday and wax poetic on the benefits of growing locally, raised 4 kids with this exposure, 2 have a strong interest in environmental science ( one in plant genetics). Pay it forward, your story 200 years is extraordinary and encouraging. Hope to be a regular customer down the road.
I am new on farming I just got 28 acres of land 7 Acres are clear the rest is Woody I've been working with all equipment are you doing it's hard because I don't know much about mechanical stuff but I'm learning through the way God help me I got two boys lovely hard-working wife all we can do is keep trying thank you for your videos very good information God bless the farming way a lot of work for no pay
Get yourself a headset, make a Watch Later playlist and listen to this site and others while you work on the farm
Love the financial information. This is the best and most relatable information I have found for our situation. We won’t be starting out debt free because we didn’t get our land from family, but we are in our early 30’s so we have time to grow slowly while still making out of farm income. Hopefully by the time we are nearing 50 we will have our farm and land infrastructure done and my husband will be home and able to help me full time. We have a little different plans than you but diversifying, being careful of cost vs income and maximizing our land are definitely at the top of our priority list. We will be doing heritage breeds as well and using rotational grazing methods.
Thank you for sharing the financial side and the habits and mindset you need to make a small farm work. It is awesome that your family had maintained the farm for generations. I hope your children continue to conserve and value it and keep it for many more generations. It is also wonderful that you kept the skills that you learned growing up on the farm. I think it is good that you had your chance of pursuing a different career and once that season was over you were able to make the choice to come back to farming.
Another thing is start simple and as you make money start investing the income into more complex higher return stuff.
For example if you have 10 acres and an old tractor.
Then build a little open walled barn that you can tarp the walls in for winter and buy a little tiller attachment for a few hundred bucks.
You can get all that stuff for a few grand including some vegetable seeds.
Then when you've made 15 grand selling the vegetables at farmers markets build a big freezer so you can sell year round or pig shed or whatever compliments your situation the most profit wise.
Pete, have you ever considered adding to your product range? You produce chicken, veal, pork. All this must be grown. It is difficult, but you are successfully selling it. Have you tried making fresh sausages for frying with purchased meat from nearby farmers? They are easy to sell frozen and people love it. If this goes well for you, then you can go about your farm well and calmly, but get a nice extra turnover from the sausages and support your family.
Ok done,subscribed.
Best wishes, Ive just acquired a small two bedroom cottage with one acre down the country.
Irish and EU Citizen retired,
The fact that your making it work as a livestock farm on such a modest piece of land is even more inspiring. I’m a relatively small farmer too in an area full of small farms, we all grow specialty crops because of the value of the crops, it’s much more profitable in our area to do that and considering the cost per acre of land here it’s really a necessity
Farmer Tyler SSI & pension?
Fly High what does that have to do with what u said...
You are a smart man and an honest with yourself and others, that is why you are successful.
Farm growth is like human growth.
Raising children on farms is safer than raising them with common children who use drugs and weapons to kill each other.
You are on the right track.
Thank you!
Thank you for a very thoughtful video - I’m a numbers geek so I especially appreciated it. I hope some of your children decide to join you in the family business because it will help perpetuate your very pragmatic and positive philosophy of life and farming.
This channel is awesome. I have the land but no idea what i'm doing or what to do even.
I need to be near a hospital and society sadly, but I'd still love to have a homestead.
There are many areas found in the more rural states, that offer both a rural setting and closeness to “society”.
Pete, I'm here in Australia, contemplating homesteading. Your videos have had a profound impact on my thoughts about this new adventure. Thank you
This is pure gold!
Thank you for your honesty. I am trying to get as much information on starting a farm and you’re giving me better info than most I’ve found.
I’m an HVAC guy, but my family has a small crop farm that goes back to the 20s. They added a retail market, and now have some new equipment. I always looked up to the men that farmed decade by decade doing everything a farm required. The summers were long our days, with the winter bringing the winter crops and mechanic work getting ready for spring. I paid my first social security taxes at the age of ten working on the farm for three consecutive summers and during school breaks. It was invaluable experience. I inherited my grandmother’s house on an acre and a half near the family’s farm. Being 51 years old now, I would love to spend the rest of my good years doing what you are doing. You are blessed to have that life without debt. I wish more people were inclined to keep the farm and pass it on.
Love your explanations. I was brought up on a farm, my Dad was a large animal vet. I loved the lifestyle.
I am an engineer and see improvements to your method that I think you could benefit from. Here they are; 1. Eat less sugar and carbohydrates, and stop eating seed oils like canola and vegetable oil. Changing your diet will give you benefits of energy, body size (lose your fat belly like I did), clarity of thought, slow your aging, deeper sleep, less time sleeping (look for low carb or keto on youtube). 2. Second you could do with some lifting weights. You look strong but tired, and lifting weights could reduce your risk of injury. Every two days, do squats, deadlift, press.
I think what you are doing is a real challenge, but I am in admiration of your courage. Please accept these suggestions with the goodwill they are meant. Keep them coming - subbed.
Hi Pao, a few years back I changed my diet to eliminate all ultra-processed foods and refined sugars. Now I eat a small amount of whole grains, and my plate is mostly simply prepared vegetables and our meat and eggs. We use olive oil and butter for cooking fats. I lost quite a bit of weight and feel much better. If I look tired, it's because I haven't slept well in 10 years, but that's another story.
@@JustaFewAcresFarm Glad to hear of your intelliegent health - you are ahead of me. Sorry to hear of your tiredness. I always sleep well after doing weights though, it's a great sedative and my hypertension is miles better after a workout and for days afterwards.
You seem suit and fitted for your endeavors. I read you as a man who, can sleep when the wind blows. 👍
You give practical and valuable information on running a farm and we plan to watch every video you put out...this is just the third one we have watched.
This is our first year on a farm and we have been setting up our systems, and hope to work your wisdom into them as well. We recognize from just six months into our farm, you are absolutely on point.
We have subscribed and will continue to follow you.
Thanks for taking time to share, knowing you have suck a busy life. We appreciate it!
Thank you ISayFinn! Best of luck with your farm. Getting comments like yours makes taking the time to create videos worthwhile.
You and my dad would have gotten along like gangbusters. He grew up on a small family farm in northeastern Oregon. When he was in his 20's, he and his parents bought a MUCH bigger farm in Central Oregon, selling the NE Oregon farm. I grew up in the early 1960's playing in the huge (now historic) barn, climbing fruit trees, playing in ditches. My playmates were the spring calves. The farm had been a big sheep ranch before the grandparents bought it, and there were still several early 1900's hand-crank sheep shears in the equipment bay when I was a kid. My brother and I wanted to see if they still worked (I was 9 and he was 6), so we picked one, got it going, and tried it out right down the middle of my brother's head, front to back. It still worked all right. My dad couldn't stop laughing when he saw it. My mother, on the other hand, was NOT amused. We both got in big trouble for that (from Mom, anyway....). Everything on the place was second hand - my dad knew how to get a lot of bang out of his buck. Daddy bought two World War II era trucks to work the wheat, barley and potato harvests, as well as haul sand and gravel from the local pit to the winter feed lots. He overhauled all the equipment every winter in the wood-heated machine shop. I don't think Daddy ever ran into anything he couldn't fix, rebuild, build from the ground up, or overhaul. In the spring, everything got pushed out of the winter feed lots and Daddy spread a couple of feet sand and gravel from the pit in them. The compost pile every spring was left to sit for two years and then got spread on the fields. So there were always three piles "cooking"....the one that was ready to use, the one that was a year old, and the "fresh" one. We grew field corn for winter cattle silage. It got chopped when it was ready late summer and put in the silage pit. We ate what we grew, milked our own cows, made what we needed and had fun at home. It was a good way to grow up. Watching your vids brings back a lot of good memories for me.
Love how you said living expenses and farm are separate.
Pete you just have a new subscriber from Philippines, who happens to be a USRN. Hello to your wife Hillary. I'm encouraged to do the same as you did, when the right time comes.
Hats off to you and your family! 200 years is impressive. My wife and I recently built a house on her family's farm of almost 100 years, but it is no where near as upkept as yours. Lack of buisness knowlege I'll call it. I would love to take hold of it someday, as I am an auto/diesel mechanic of 20+ years. Love the work, hate my job if that makes sence. I love animals and nature, being outdoors. Love your channel, this is a great video!
Wondering what you do for fun? Mad respect for how hard you work and all of your skills.
You became a wise man doing that move to that life.
And those advice are not just for farming.
I am doing the same in a totally different market and I’m happy. Is about growing and being independence.
Pete it must give you a unique sense of satisfaction to look back at how far you and Hillary have come since you started. You folks have really done well it seems. Thanks for having us along for the journey.
My grandfather was a farmer and your tractors remind me of the ones he had in his barn and would take us for rides. Oh to be a kid on a farm again!
I just bought my first piece of land a hole 1 acer, I plan to grow pumpkins, garlic. and ducks with a area set aside to fix and flip cars. I know I can't support my family on just one acer but I hope that I can just save the revenue from it to buy more land some time latter. since this lot is on a main road in time I will transition it so be a farm markit. for all my outlying fields.
Great video. Grew up in a dairy community in Delaware Co. NY in the 60-70's. You are correct it is the best way to raise children. Loved every minute and wish to go back...had a small farm in Virginia but nothing like what you have. Keep up the great work and have subscribed.
Very wise and reality based advice. Most important you didn't base your success on a invisible deity creature and you fails on other people like many channels here on youtube.
I looked at your picture as an architect thrice. It's like you were in a different world
This information is exactly why I am a new subscriber. I told my lady about the channel and I plan to apply these principles to our own garden business. Thank you sir, you’re a life changer!!!
A most excellent episode. The only thing not mentioned was land cost. Today one has to either buy acreage at retail of buy an existing farm. Land is the largest expense.
What an incredible contribution to society you are making with this series. I am practically “binge watching” these (probably first time I’ve used that phrase). My own process will be different - one week into retirement on 7.5 acre, so primarily personal consumption with maybe some supplemental income. Point, though, is the ethic you bring to the taskings and communications. Many thanks for much to think about.
I love this video! Debt free is the way to do it! Someone straight out of college shouldn't be buying their own farm straight away. A young person who wants to own their own farm needs to have patience. They need to work in the industry, learn from the old-timers, save their money, and when the time is right, then they can own their own farm. But for Pete's sake, don't go into debt!
I don’t think it was an accident that Pete was loading some of the tools from the past-cream seperater, was it a pedal saw or tool sharpening outfit, steel wheels, and I didn’t have the privilege of being “farm raised “! Thanks Pete! I’m a retired nurse but never saw the birth of a piglet or a calf! Was it a plus Hilery?❤️👋JME
This video is 2 years old but I'm a new subscriber and am trying to catch up on every video that I can. Great stuff!
Hey, P! Thank you for this. I´m somewhat in the same situation, and i needed to hear this. I tend to forget what it´s all about, and just focus on what needs to be done all the time.
Now i´m gonna go out in the pasture with the animals and just stand there for a minute and take it all in.
Thank you for sharing!
E
Get yourself a headset, make a Watch Later playlist and listen while you work on the farm
Just wanted to leave a comment and thank you so much Peter (wife and family) for your dedication, hard work, information and effort! Never shying away from hard work, my husband and I have recently purchased and restored home / 5 acres in south FL. and can relate to property taxes., etc. I found your channel today while trying to research and understand ag. exemption. (As another 5 acres is up for sale next to us) Lots to learn and unserstand. We love the idea of connecting to the land with a desire to make something of it and preserve it; even if a little 5 acres + for the next generation. I look forward to learning from you!!! Thank you again for the inspiration and intelligent, palatable, realistic info.! (not to mention ...Our son has been in the youtube business - fishing / outdoor adventure for nearly 6 years and we can very much apprreciate the effort that goes into your channel... along with all you are doing for your family and farm community! Awesome work! Thank you.
Great job 👍 we need more small farms. New subscriber liked 👍 hello from Kentucky mountains
Awesome guidance from a great role model. I have a small farm which holds the rewarding value of hard work.
Love this! .Very inspirational! This is my dream, to “retire” as a full time farmer. Clean farming is in my blood...Love your philosophy and attitude.
My wife and I are hard workers and I am a “jack of all trades”...But my wife is a pragmatist. “Will we ever be able to take a vacation to travel?”...
So, how do you manage 1-2 week vacations? My guess is you hire a trustworthy laborer to take care of daily chores while you are away?
I would love to live up north on a farm. Grow more food then I can here n preserve it all! That’s the life.
🐼 Big Bear Hugs from a 67 yr old grandma in Kirby, Texas, USA 🐼 ❤️ ❤️
My younger brother who lives and works in US shared your channel with me. I am also farming our ancestral land in another part of the world after completing 30 plus years in military service. Loved your tractor, is it a Belarus? Yours and mine work environment, weather and availability of human help are very different, yet we work and plan the same way ☺️. I purchased a 1979 model Fiat 480 to support this years wheat harvest. Thanks for sharing
Thank you SO much for you good info. I’m trying to get my farm going and at times I don’t see the light at the end of the tonal haha. Thank you.
Hi Pete and Hilary! Thoroughly enjoy your films, personalities, ethics, humor, and the knowledge it gives me while entertaining at the same time. Coincidentally you have only red tractors like me. I have two and only 1.5 acres outside of Tacoma WA. I'm a retired cabinet/furniture maker about to turn 70, was raised on a hog farm in central MO. A lot of your daily routines resonate with me and my past on the farm. My dad was in farm management, educated on the G.I. bill post WWII. Like a lot of others he was into chemical farming and we watched as the family farms in MO turned huge corporate and way less interesting. I was told a family of 4 required 500 acres in the mid 70's when I was out of HS about 5 years. My dad had an independent grain handling/feed store which was very successful in the late 60's but went down in the early 70's due to world commodities as you are mentioning. I love your approach and enjoy all of your films. I've had to get into my Cub, less on the H, but I've never been much of a mechanic. It is empowering to replace a clutch or rebuild a carburetor (with a little help from friends). Fun! Love you guys and what you are all about! Paul
Of course I will subscribe.
I am a retired German teacher who grew up on her grandparets' farm of 120 acres. I always lived here but did no farming. The farmland was rented to neighbor farmers, but all the machinery was kept in good shape. Now, that I am farming myself I am glad being able to use all that old but well cared machines, e. g. my 60 horsepower Fords on Super Major, my 100 HP Deutz and my 28 HP Lanz (=German John Deere), all the hay machines and so on.
I raise horses, keep some cattle, hens, pigs...
I am retired after having been a teacher for 40 years and don't have to worry about money, I get a good monthly income.
So life makes fun and I enjoy each day.
Many greetings from Germany and God bless you!
Nice to hear from you Karin! It is a joy to use old equipment.
Quite a few years ago at breakfast I welcomed spring out loud in front of my family on what turned out to be the first day i built a raised garden. I had no idea where it would lead or how long it would take to be happy in what I was doing.
Now my point is this not one of my family knew it was the first of spring or when the first of any season was. I have known all my life. It amazed me. How can they not know?
So I started teaching them through what I did and when and it was all for nothing The wife will not go near the garden unless I can guarantee no spiders or other creepy crawlie will attack her.
My children will not join in the happiness I get for growing my own.
I supplied my son with a few corn cobs and he questioned why they were not full cobs. I frustratingly explained the pollination of that particular cob was just a little less than desired on that day week or whatever time period it took. I asked him if it still tasted good and he told me he threw it out not knowing what was going on with it.
So many thoughts went through my mind over this none of them good. The best of them was I have failed in educating this person in the art of common sense. Now at 40 I have found out about his political views and have seen even more proof of my failing him.
I envy you your wife Pete. What a woman seemingly backing you up or in fact maybe even leading the way sometimes at the very least partnering you through all your trials and tribulations on the farm.
I grew up on a farm and my father was a great farmer too. I love listening to you talk about farming.
I wish to meet you dad..you are my hero
great ,amazing story.....listening from thousand of miles,away....thank you
Just came across your video. You made your case for your choice for raising your family on a farm very well. I presume you inherited your farm land and your attachment to farming because of your early life experiences. There is no case for a city dweller to contemplate a choice such as yours without a similar background. You have a philosophy of life that you laid out very well. The rest of us must move with the times and occasionally take a look at your experiences through your videos.
My wife and I sold our +1100 acre Family Dairy Farm (some of the land was in the family over 200 years) west of Syracuse last year. We were following the get bigger advice and we came to realize that we were never going to get out of debt by chasing more and more cows and lbs.milk. We are happy on our tiny Kentucky Farm trying to figure out growing vegetables. You are offering great advice and we hope that others are appreciative of your wisdom. If you enjoy whatever you are doing, then it will be easier. Yes, I miss cows some days, but I don't think that we really have enough usable land for cows and livestock. Take care and GOD bless
At least you were smart enough to get out of Democrat run New York. God Bless
@@pedro97w ,if I was not going to be Farming the land that had been in our family for over 200 years, then there was no way I could stay in the state. We love the GOD Fearing and Freedom Loving folk in Appalachia.
Pete, you remind me so much of the 70's when i grew up in FAR northern Minn, right on the Canadian border. There were so many small farmers back then with maybe 120 acres. That is what made small towns, all the small farms. With the death of the small farms, came the death of small towns. It makes me so sad to remember that downfall. We had a bigger farm, maybe 1200 acres and ran about 150 head of beef, feeder pigs and a small bit of grain. OH how i would love to return to that. I envy your life, and all that you've done to get there. Good luck brother.
My grandfather bought 127 acres of farmland in western New York many years ago, he wanted to make it a farm, long story short, he never committed and was always preoccupied, and as a result never succeeded in becoming a farmer. My fathers dream is to become a small farmer, at least to the point for the farm to cover most of our taxes. He too like his father before him, is always working, and never really got the chance to start the farm. When I 9 or so, we got 4 goats for my birthday, it was more my fathers present than my own and I was skeptical because I knew that i was going to have to care for them, but after several years of caring for them, I began to like it. I am now 14 and my father and I share the same dream. In the past year, We have properly (we always had chickens) raised over 3 dosen Rhode island reds (Laying hens), 3 pigs, and still have two of our goats. (goats get sick easy, and die even easier). I just found this channel, and it has helped my primarily understand the financial aspect of farming. Thank you for making these videos, It helps to see people in similar situations have your ideal outcome, it makes success seem more realistic. (You are very good at explaining things.) Have a lovely afternoon, -Wisniewski Farms
All i can say is WOW ...the best video i have seen on utube ever...L grew up on a small farm back in the late 50s and the 60s in Ontario Canada so i understand where u are coming from. You have a very clear and precise way of explaining things and i will watch all of ur videos in the future...Thanks again.
I used to drive one hour thirty minutes to my job in Midand Michigan, people used to ask why I did it. I had great health care plan. I'm not as good a physical condition that I was as a young person. You have a great life Pete, you and Hillary look healthy, and that's important. Keep the videos coming. I enjoy watch you do farm stuff.
i love the nature part of farming...and bringing kids up on a farm....
my wife and I just bought a second house on 2 acres where we live in California. our old home should rent for a bit over what we pay in mortgage. right now we are taking our savings and buying the materials to set up fencing and buildings for the animals and orchard areas. my wife left the job and will work it full time while i support our main costs of living with the added boost of the rental to support buying some of the acreage that is available in the surrounding areas. still might decide to sell the old house to give a fast boost of capital to jumpstart things financially, but the idea of rental income is very appealing.
Pete is such a kind gentle farmer.
Thank you Pete. You are doing what I wish I had done 20 years ago when I retired from the Navy. Now, at least I have the benefit of your experience. I plan to sell my 1/2 acre on a lake in rural Fl and buy some acreage in Texas and start my own little farm. I have enjoyed several of your videos today and will continue to as I prepare for the move. Thanks again.
Loved this video, Pete. We JUST moved out near my parents about 6 months ago, and I'm starting our little farm at 52yo. Thanks for putting this out!
Great to hear
I feel exactly the same, doing exactly the same, raising 4 kids on an even smaller farm in Norway .. im doing it all myself. Its a tough, but good life. And i love it👍🐏🇳🇴
I was raised on a farm ,good life but a lot of hard work.
You won't get rich
But can make a descent living.
Hi I am new subscriber from South India place called Tamilnadu. I love your channel...and going to watch continuously and i am just 2 acre farmer in India....
I've told people all my life if you have a product you believe in and know is right then you can sell it, most importantly is being honest! The information in this video is just a beautiful example for folks to take and run with ,no matter if farming of something different!