wow! you hit sooooo many things right on the nail. I started watching homestead videos probably 7 years ago.... I watched channels like Arms Family, Stoney Ridge, Justin Rhodes, Country View Acres, Lumnah Acres, Wild Wonderful off grid, wranglerstar etc...... now i barely watch any of them anymore. Why? because they dont live how most of us small homesteaders live anymore. We dont have the funds to have a megashop built... Or to buy a new skidsteer, tractor and mini excavator in a summer.... or to have trucks of dirt and gravel brought in on a whim. They got so comfortable they quit their 9 to 5s which most of us cant do. Almost everyone of them took a tractor sponsor (getting new tractors most of us cant afford) So many of them started taking sponsors from electric or solar companies pushing battery banks and solar options we are priced out of the market on. Im not being a hater, im just saying none of them are relatable anymore and it feels like theres no more struggle shown like we all have now ha ha . I dont blame them for getting paid one bit but they had to know when they are moving from their core audience that their videos will eventually suffer. Homesteading is very much alive but i dont want to watch it from people who dont do any of their own work anymore with tools the average person doesnt have and cant afford. With land being so expensive and economy failing for the last 4 years, most people with the dream cant even get into their first hobby farm yet. I now find myself watching more channels like Just a few Acres, Simple Living Alaska, cant contain us or hollar homestead because it feels less like they are flaunting money and more about doing the work with minimal or used stuff and it turning out awesome. Maybe im just stubborn, idk.... either way i think this video was correct on so much. good job stivers.
I see the same thing happening where I live. More people are wanting too start gardening and raising chickens. I see more and more TH-cam creators giving up on their "homestead" and moving on. On the other hand, I've seen some YT creators starting additional channels, and they are booming.
Homesteading is alive and well ... I started watching different channels in 2020 and at some point in late May, early June, of 2020 TH-cam decided to start shoving news channels into my feed ... I had to create a "favorites" folder and bookmarked all of my favorite homestead related channels. Even though I was (and have been) using those bookmarks to watch content, TH-cam still fills my feed with random stuff - take this morning, for instance, because I watched one random video about how to turn holey socks & T-shirts into a rug I suddenly saw 10 different rag rug video suggestions instead of new videos from my favorite channels. ALL THAT to say that I found your channel when I was trying to learn how to build a raised bed (can't even remember which video it was), appreciated your down-to-earth approach and stayed because of you & Jenn! Your channel was the first one I put into my favorites folder!
Exactly what I was going to say. People can barely afford to live, let alone afford to buy several acres of land and do everything else needed to homestead.
All my husbands coworkers have started homesteading. So hear in Iowa more people have started to homestead. I live on edge of town on a acre. I have chickens and a garden. I do herbs, canning dehydrating etc.
I am still waiting on my perfect rural home, but doing all I can where I am now. Scratch cooking, gardening, canning, chickens, etc. The amount of information shared on this format is invaluable. LOVE your channel. GOD bless
Heck no homesteading is not dying. We're in our 70's, started homesteading in February 2021, and haven't looked back. We have learned SO MUCH through our YT homesteaders. We have quite a few who we watch and we never get tired of hearing what you have to say and show us. YT is what we watch. We don't watch regular tv. I'm so happy to see you and Jenn getting cranked up again on your videos. Shorts are okay, but I learn from the videos. It doesn’t have to always be a teaching video. Just show a video of what you're doing that day. It's fun to follow along to see what you're up to. We love the TH-camrs that we watch. We feel like they are our friends and family. Keep sharing with us. We love y'all! ❤ (Pecan Hill Farm)
People keep talking about this but I'm just not seeing it. Maybe because we didn't have an established channel before 2020 (we did start the channel in March 2020) but we have only seen an uptick of interest over the years and heading into 2025. No decline in interest noticed here!
Love your honesty. The few of you content creators that show the real financial commitment are a welcome! I retired recently and am doing my "chores" numerous times a day in 0 or lower degrees and over a foot of snow. My animals (sheep, cattle, chickens, pigs) depend on us. We don't get to slack off regardless! They need us.
It's not dying here, i often think of you and Jen especially this past summer, we had the Best garden ever❤ were building a second garden now😊 also we canned more than ever as well😁 we love you and Jen
Thanks Zach. Homesteading will never die as you said. I think more young people are interested as they become aware of how compromised our grocery store food is. There is large push on health in all ways so young families are taking action to grow healthy food.
So glad to hI am just a consumer, but appreciate all you teach us including the burn out. I have seen several of the homesteaders who seemed to me to be starting out with more land than they could manage with not enough money, and now are struggling to survive. You were smart to start downsizing when you did, and to take care of your mental health too. Love your channel and can't wait to see how you rebuild those rickity garden beds. Thanks so much
Thanks for this video, Zach. You touched on several of my complaints that I noted in the last one. I LOVE watching the day to day, build something out of something that most people have free (or cheap) access to, having diversity in a channel, and staying free of making your own ads. When you've highlighted Hoss or Greenstalk, or Premier 1, you haven't turned it into a commercial. You just show us what you do with it in your everyday life. And I don't feel as if you flaunt any new item you may get. You're grateful and excited on those rare occasions. That keeps you close to us "Po' folk", lol. I love watching snowball fights with your kids. I love watching Auna or the other mommas taking care of their babies. One only needs to see how someone goes through the same routine every single day once. You and Jen show us the ups and downs of life on a small farm. Another thing I love is how I feel that you're (ie. whoever is talking) conversing with me with every video. I hate live videos and although I won't condemn anyone for having them or watching, I personally see them as more generic and less engaging, because the feel isn't as intimate, if that makes sense.
I think there has become a real disconnect between content creators and the average homesteader. I see young content creators changing their hair and their clothing to make themselves and their look a brand. I see older content creators that are almost becoming animal hoarders. Continually adding puppies, and baby livestock to their farms, not to fulfill a need but because their channel thrives from it. TH-cam and the income offshoots from it have made successful content creators have an income stream that cushions financial blows that many of us go through. I lose my turkey hen and I’m wondering how I am going to make up for the income I was counting on from her eggs. When that happens to a content creator he snaps a dramatic photo, makes a clickbait style title and the death on the farm that was a big deal for us makes a content creator cash. For a lot of bigger homestead related channels the authenticity just isn’t there anymore IMO.
its starting to become a huge disconnect. I find the newer/younger homesteaders are what im interested in because they have to do their own work because they dont have the money to hire someone else to do it for them. I respect it a lot.
I'm glad ya'll are back! I think life gets monotonous. Corporate America caught on to diy homesteading and cattle panels went from 20 to 40 etc. Govt got bigger and it had an impact on us that noone saw coming. Frankly people are lazy. We go for the shortest route to reward. I have. I relied on my Amish neighbors for veg I couldn't grow myself but I could can. I had my best year of tomato starts last year and ended up in the hospital for a week. All was lost. I was so burdened by the being of it all 😊 But I'm not giving up and am going to go back to the basics of the flushing toilet to start over. Can you do a more in depth of the green house? Not just the building but the layout how it works why it works and I can't find the answer to a burning question: I get companion planting but does that have an impact when I'm starting seeds? Should I hand a goal of 2 greenhouses for plants that won't grow together or can I squeeze them all into one and once I plant the seedlings separately them, and realistically how much space do I need between my green beans and onions? Thanks for doing what you! do! It was spontaneous! That's what you're magic was ❤
While I have seen a decline I don’t think it’s dying. For every person I know that has quit homesteading I know a person that is just getting into it. As for TH-cam I have unsubscribed to many channels. At one point or another I could relate to them and then at some point they changed the direction of their channel to follow the money and stopped being relatable.
Have watched you guys since the beginning. I always enjoy your homesteading content. I know you have made canning and gardening recipes and many similar videos, but that is ok to keep making them when the season is offering up what it is. We won't go back to look at prior content but will welcome another current video of the same kitchen canning and cooking. I think many would agree. Your conversation is different, and that is what we tune in for. Just to hang out and watch you are up to at that time. Thank you for bringing this type of content back. Your product videos are good, and you need to make sales, but we like the day in and day out life of homesteaders. Cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, and gardening. Just living your life. I think that is why other channels continue to thrive. They just get up and do whatever it is they are doing that day no matter how many times they have filmed it. Definitely more kitchen videos. :) Going through seed catalogs and planning out your garden now would be fun to watch.
I've told other youtube homesteaders in the past this ... i first started watching because you could teach me something, then i liked you, i liked your personality, i loved your virtues and just following you around ... like the old times 4 to 11 yrs ago. Not professional editing etc. I've been watching some youtubers since 2011 when i didn't even live in the US at that time. Mainly just learning little things here n there along the way like friends would hanging out. I appeciate you and your family. I know yt makes things difficult for you to make a living and keeps changing the rules. Making you think you need to be something you're not just to fit in, but this has become part of your livelyhood so that complicates it. I'm glad you have the store and other ventures. ❤ I'm so grateful God doesn't do change the rules. I bless you .. brother n sister. ❤
I've watched you guys for years, you were one of my favorite channels. I loved the day to day videos of your shenanigans (runaway goats and the composting toilet come to mind!) Your move to the new property, walking up the road to feed the animals every morning, & the kids getting bigger & bigger! I loved the seed starting videos and the garden in full swing. Monday night lives and all the great cooking, canning and preserving videos during harvest time. That's what I want to see, but now everything revolves around the store. I do realize it's for income but some people dont watch Instagram, tic toc, or shorts.
I want more than anything to buy some land and start homesteading. I’m getting older and land has gotten so expensive it’s hard to find something affordable in my area, Florida.
We enjoy growing our own food. Content creators help us to be encouraged to keep going when things become humdrum or hard. I've been watching you and Jen for years. Thanks for teaching me how to continue to grow.
I don't think it's dying. What I see is most of the channels I used to watch have become news and fear mongering. They've stepped away from homesteading and prepping. Pushing products none of us can afford. But I also think that people are less likely to talk about what they do, what they have, there's a lot of people saying they'll know where to go if things go bad. Things have changed, a lot, people have changed a lot in the last couple of years. I'd love to see my past favorite channels go back to teaching about how to prep and raise animals, bake and make my own food. I don't watch the news, I can see what's happening just by going to the store. People are different.
I think you’re right.I like homestead channels.I am never going to homestead.I am a farmers daughter so the lifestyle was my first 18 years.We took different path(military).We used utube to get our beds ready and I learned to compost.I always try to like or comment to give good families support.
It's not just homesteaders content that has decreased - it's a lot of others as well. Everything really ramped up on many different kinds of channels during Covid because we were all stuck at home. The creators had the time to shoot content and the viewers had time to watch it. Time has passed, we are all out and about and people are engaged in different ways now - it's not bad, it's just life. In homesteading, I think, as many have said, once they got into it they discovered how much work it really was, 24/7/365 and it was just too much. They were also surprised by the financial end of it. And they also found how difficult it really is to raise enough food, and preserve it, to actually feed a family all year long - true 100% self-sufficiency is kind of a ridiculous goal for most people, even if they have the land to grow a lot. After a few years, folks began to sit down and re-evaluate what they were doing and why and their ultimate goals in life and just plain asking themselves if they were happy. Some of them gave up altogether realizing it wasn't really the lifestyle for them, some downsized their homesteads and their goals to make them more realistic and some decided this was what they wanted to do and are still doing it. And some are now just getting started. A benefit of all this content is that there is a lot of information available now that if someone watches the right channels they will get a much better idea of all that is involved because I see a lot more folks being upfront about the realities, good and bad, of homesteading and not just all the woo-woo of "living off the land." For creators, I see many of them just getting fed up with chasing the algorithms to make money and realizing that now the tail was wagging the dog. So many of them have cut back on posting and I'm assuming, finding other sources of income that bring them more satisfaction and joy or just learning to live with less. Anyways, this is too long. I'm not a homesteader, but a big gardener and herbalist. I only watch a couple of homesteading channels, mainly for the gardening and cooking content and because I really like watching those folks, they just click for me. Happy to see that you guys have figured out what you want to do and I will enjoy your content when it pops up. Hope you have a wonderful year!
I came by accident or TH-cam put it in front of me is One Small Footprint. They are definitely on the struggle bus but the lady Nyssa really pumps out some fantastic meals, using her bush kitchen in the Australian Outback.
I think so many of the creators on TH-cam moved on the politics. I have moved on from them. You and Jen are my first TH-cam show and will be my last if it comes to that. You guys are great.
I don't think it's dying. I think people bit off way more than they could chew and burned themselves out quickly. I was raised on a working farm and 100% knew I didn't want a whole farm. I am very happy with my garden, rabbits and chickens. I have zero desire for livestock. It's a huge commitment to have livestock.
I enjoy watching homesteading videos,but I've changed from watching quite a few because they've gotten big headed,and they're turning the video into music videos,some of us like to hear the sounds of the animals,or hear the old tractors being used,I'm a country gal who doesn't live on a farm but I was raised in that era,so I'm glad you guys are keeping it true,love it when Jen cooks those meals
Also lumber cost, feed cost insurance for vehicles and home owners!!! The cost of Everything has just up to the point people can not afford big expensive homes. There buying land building homestead the best they can!!! Now with all of the storms, fires insurance will be even harder to deal with!!! Shingles etc will go up again as all building materials will do!!!!
I should be happy with what I have and I am. I am a renter in a small town. I cant have the animals or chickens. However, I do grow my own food for my house to me its small but its a start I am happy for what I do grow.
I like seeing things like the cattle panel greenhouse being built with supplies I can afford. Or, just like repurposing like your old barn, that your in today, just doable things we can do ourselves without having a huge bank account. Making tinctures and salves, etc. cooking with the garden bounty…. This is just things I enjoy. I love watching seed starting. I don’t really like sponsored videos, it’s not because they have anything to teach us, they just want to promote a sponsored tool or whatever it might be.
I think you are right about content and teaching. I’ve learned so much on different topics but as I’ve acquired the information and there’s no new info I tend to move on to different topics. I still check in with lots of the content creators but maybe don’t watch them as faithfully or don’t watch whole video because I know and practise the information everyday.
Can we have an honest conversation about forever chemicals in our soil and seed? If I buy manure is it full of pfas and now my virgin plot is contaminated?
I don;t see homesteading dying, just coming into a realistic level. Self sufficiency was too much to bite off. i'm more of a small scale supplimentor! Real tomatoes and tasty meals. LOL I learned a lot from your farming hacks and Jens cooking, canning. Im not involved with tinctures but find it interesting because they are PLANTS! Glad that you are back at it. Do YOU, not what you expect someone will 'follow'. Can't lose that way. I know you left corporate and counted on youtube for support, but out of that disappointment came your store and the discovery of what your communtiy needed. Keep at it!!! Thanks.
We’re in Madison Co Ky. In 2019-2021 you guys were very inspirational to us. But life has changed so much sense then. Viewers lives changed and your channel changed a lot. Being frank and respectful, the conspiracy theory content is too far out for me. That wasn’t on your channel back then. I stopped watching you for years and only started to look for you guys again. The movement probably isn’t dead, but it certainly stalled. Social makes it look like unicorns and rainbows. Then people have to start doing the work and they realize it’s hard work, costs a lot of money and doesn’t pay the bills. Now I check in on the families that taught me so much. Good luck with your channel and business. Rural Kentucky needs small business.
Oh wow, it’s growing so much in KY. Way too many people from CA, NY, WA have moved here. County east of Clay counter (Winchester) was a low voting county and was the highest county to vote blue this past election. That’s were so many Amish homes sold. The Kentucky coalition group has too many liberals!
Zach I am seeing alot of Folks or creators now trying to show folks how to start channels..their tips and trick for those of us trying to start a channell..I think that is big now I see it all over my feeds..I just like to share and on my 8 person subscriber channel lol thats what I say..I do Not have a Niche I just like to share as you said even before alot of folks got into things I was doing them mostly for my health..so even that it is hard it seems to get folks even watching..maybe folks are just trying to find entertainment alondside of traveling..I do not know..I am just gonna keep plugging along and doing my small vids..if they help folks thats good..gonna try not to stress and give it to the Lord..Patricia
I think it’s still around I just think they are working out of the home now. People are still growing and preparing,preserving food they also have jobs and aren’t at home 24/7 like most homesteaders are. I also think people are being content just being at home with the family.
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you better get better info.......far from dying.....growing by leaps and bounds
wow! you hit sooooo many things right on the nail. I started watching homestead videos probably 7 years ago.... I watched channels like Arms Family, Stoney Ridge, Justin Rhodes, Country View Acres, Lumnah Acres, Wild Wonderful off grid, wranglerstar etc...... now i barely watch any of them anymore. Why? because they dont live how most of us small homesteaders live anymore. We dont have the funds to have a megashop built... Or to buy a new skidsteer, tractor and mini excavator in a summer.... or to have trucks of dirt and gravel brought in on a whim. They got so comfortable they quit their 9 to 5s which most of us cant do. Almost everyone of them took a tractor sponsor (getting new tractors most of us cant afford) So many of them started taking sponsors from electric or solar companies pushing battery banks and solar options we are priced out of the market on. Im not being a hater, im just saying none of them are relatable anymore and it feels like theres no more struggle shown like we all have now ha ha . I dont blame them for getting paid one bit but they had to know when they are moving from their core audience that their videos will eventually suffer. Homesteading is very much alive but i dont want to watch it from people who dont do any of their own work anymore with tools the average person doesnt have and cant afford. With land being so expensive and economy failing for the last 4 years, most people with the dream cant even get into their first hobby farm yet. I now find myself watching more channels like Just a few Acres, Simple Living Alaska, cant contain us or hollar homestead because it feels less like they are flaunting money and more about doing the work with minimal or used stuff and it turning out awesome. Maybe im just stubborn, idk.... either way i think this video was correct on so much. good job stivers.
I don't see it dying. I see more and more people around me getting chickens and starting gardening. It's amazing to see.
I see the same thing happening where I live. More people are wanting too start gardening and raising chickens. I see more and more TH-cam creators giving up on their "homestead" and moving on. On the other hand, I've seen some YT creators starting additional channels, and they are booming.
Tiny scale and location matters.
Homesteading is alive and well ... I started watching different channels in 2020 and at some point in late May, early June, of 2020 TH-cam decided to start shoving news channels into my feed ... I had to create a "favorites" folder and bookmarked all of my favorite homestead related channels. Even though I was (and have been) using those bookmarks to watch content, TH-cam still fills my feed with random stuff - take this morning, for instance, because I watched one random video about how to turn holey socks & T-shirts into a rug I suddenly saw 10 different rag rug video suggestions instead of new videos from my favorite channels. ALL THAT to say that I found your channel when I was trying to learn how to build a raised bed (can't even remember which video it was), appreciated your down-to-earth approach and stayed because of you & Jenn! Your channel was the first one I put into my favorites folder!
I don't see it dying, I just think that the price of land has gotten out of control. We live in a small town now and I see it every where out here.
Exactly what I was going to say. People can barely afford to live, let alone afford to buy several acres of land and do everything else needed to homestead.
Totally agree with land prices! Our land has quadrupled in value in 27 years. Most of that in the last 10
All my husbands coworkers have started homesteading. So hear in Iowa more people have started to homestead. I live on edge of town on a acre. I have chickens and a garden. I do herbs, canning dehydrating etc.
I am still waiting on my perfect rural home, but doing all I can where I am now. Scratch cooking, gardening, canning, chickens, etc. The amount of information shared on this format is invaluable. LOVE your channel. GOD bless
Heck no homesteading is not dying. We're in our 70's, started homesteading in February 2021, and haven't looked back. We have learned SO MUCH through our YT homesteaders. We have quite a few who we watch and we never get tired of hearing what you have to say and show us. YT is what we watch. We don't watch regular tv. I'm so happy to see you and Jenn getting cranked up again on your videos. Shorts are okay, but I learn from the videos. It doesn’t have to always be a teaching video. Just show a video of what you're doing that day. It's fun to follow along to see what you're up to. We love the TH-camrs that we watch. We feel like they are our friends and family. Keep sharing with us. We love y'all! ❤ (Pecan Hill Farm)
Thank you for always being with us. We love yall ❤️
you all taught us a lot and we would love to learn more and reminders of when to plant what
People keep talking about this but I'm just not seeing it. Maybe because we didn't have an established channel before 2020 (we did start the channel in March 2020) but we have only seen an uptick of interest over the years and heading into 2025. No decline in interest noticed here!
I’m starting my homestead. Looking for my property. For now I will be starting it in the city. There’s so much to learn.
Love your honesty. The few of you content creators that show the real financial commitment are a welcome! I retired recently and am doing my "chores" numerous times a day in 0 or lower degrees and over a foot of snow. My animals (sheep, cattle, chickens, pigs) depend on us. We don't get to slack off regardless! They need us.
It's not dying here, i often think of you and Jen especially this past summer, we had the Best garden ever❤ were building a second garden now😊 also we canned more than ever as well😁 we love you and Jen
It’s growing in rural Southern IL, and actually finding more meet and greets and Homesteading events in my area.
Thanks Zach. Homesteading will never die as you said. I think more young people are interested as they become aware of how compromised our grocery store food is. There is large push on health in all ways so young families are taking action to grow healthy food.
Thank you for always being real! Love your channel! ❤
So glad to hI am just a consumer, but appreciate all you teach us including the burn out. I have seen several of the homesteaders who seemed to me to be starting out with more land than they could manage with not enough money, and now are struggling to survive. You were smart to start downsizing when you did, and to take care of your mental health too. Love your channel and can't wait to see how you rebuild those rickity garden beds. Thanks so much
Thanks for this video, Zach. You touched on several of my complaints that I noted in the last one. I LOVE watching the day to day, build something out of something that most people have free (or cheap) access to, having diversity in a channel, and staying free of making your own ads. When you've highlighted Hoss or Greenstalk, or Premier 1, you haven't turned it into a commercial. You just show us what you do with it in your everyday life. And I don't feel as if you flaunt any new item you may get. You're grateful and excited on those rare occasions. That keeps you close to us "Po' folk", lol.
I love watching snowball fights with your kids. I love watching Auna or the other mommas taking care of their babies. One only needs to see how someone goes through the same routine every single day once. You and Jen show us the ups and downs of life on a small farm. Another thing I love is how I feel that you're (ie. whoever is talking) conversing with me with every video. I hate live videos and although I won't condemn anyone for having them or watching, I personally see them as more generic and less engaging, because the feel isn't as intimate, if that makes sense.
I think there has become a real disconnect between content creators and the average homesteader.
I see young content creators changing their hair and their clothing to make themselves and their look a brand. I see older content creators that are almost becoming animal hoarders. Continually adding puppies, and baby livestock to their farms, not to fulfill a need but because their channel thrives from it.
TH-cam and the income offshoots from it have made successful content creators have an income stream that cushions financial blows that many of us go through. I lose my turkey hen and I’m wondering how I am going to make up for the income I was counting on from her eggs. When that happens to a content creator he snaps a dramatic photo, makes a clickbait style title and the death on the farm that was a big deal for us makes a content creator cash.
For a lot of bigger homestead related channels the authenticity just isn’t there anymore IMO.
its starting to become a huge disconnect. I find the newer/younger homesteaders are what im interested in because they have to do their own work because they dont have the money to hire someone else to do it for them. I respect it a lot.
Yes bring it on, I learn so much I need the ideas or new recipes. I enjoy all of it !!!!
I'm glad ya'll are back!
I think life gets monotonous. Corporate America caught on to diy homesteading and cattle panels went from 20 to 40 etc. Govt got bigger and it had an impact on us that noone saw coming.
Frankly people are lazy. We go for the shortest route to reward. I have. I relied on my Amish neighbors for veg I couldn't grow myself but I could can.
I had my best year of tomato starts last year and ended up in the hospital for a week. All was lost. I was so burdened by the being of it all 😊
But I'm not giving up and am going to go back to the basics of the flushing toilet to start over.
Can you do a more in depth of the green house? Not just the building but the layout how it works why it works and I can't find the answer to a burning question: I get companion planting but does that have an impact when I'm starting seeds? Should I hand a goal of 2 greenhouses for plants that won't grow together or can I squeeze them all into one and once I plant the seedlings separately them, and realistically how much space do I need between my green beans and onions?
Thanks for doing what you! do!
It was spontaneous! That's what you're magic was ❤
While I have seen a decline I don’t think it’s dying. For every person I know that has quit homesteading I know a person that is just getting into it. As for TH-cam I have unsubscribed to many channels. At one point or another I could relate to them and then at some point they changed the direction of their channel to follow the money and stopped being relatable.
100% agree with your comment
Have watched you guys since the beginning. I always enjoy your homesteading content. I know you have made canning and gardening recipes and many similar videos, but that is ok to keep making them when the season is offering up what it is. We won't go back to look at prior content but will welcome another current video of the same kitchen canning and cooking. I think many would agree. Your conversation is different, and that is what we tune in for. Just to hang out and watch you are up to at that time. Thank you for bringing this type of content back. Your product videos are good, and you need to make sales, but we like the day in and day out life of homesteaders. Cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, and gardening. Just living your life. I think that is why other channels continue to thrive. They just get up and do whatever it is they are doing that day no matter how many times they have filmed it. Definitely more kitchen videos. :) Going through seed catalogs and planning out your garden now would be fun to watch.
I've told other youtube homesteaders in the past this ... i first started watching because you could teach me something, then i liked you, i liked your personality, i loved your virtues and just following you around ... like the old times 4 to 11 yrs ago. Not professional editing etc. I've been watching some youtubers since 2011 when i didn't even live in the US at that time. Mainly just learning little things here n there along the way like friends would hanging out.
I appeciate you and your family. I know yt makes things difficult for you to make a living and keeps changing the rules. Making you think you need to be something you're not just to fit in, but this has become part of your livelyhood so that complicates it. I'm glad you have the store and other ventures. ❤
I'm so grateful God doesn't do change the rules.
I bless you .. brother n sister. ❤
Ps.. i still have chickens, i don't garden as much, but I'm still learning. I'm old lol, and not so well, so i do what i can.
I've watched you guys for years, you were one of my favorite channels. I loved the day to day videos of your shenanigans (runaway goats and the composting toilet come to mind!) Your move to the new property, walking up the road to feed the animals every morning, & the kids getting bigger & bigger! I loved the seed starting videos and the garden in full swing. Monday night lives and all the great cooking, canning and preserving videos during harvest time. That's what I want to see, but now everything revolves around the store. I do realize it's for income but some people dont watch Instagram, tic toc, or shorts.
We appreciate your honesty and your continued support, it means a lot to us. We do our best to balance everything!
I want more than anything to buy some land and start homesteading. I’m
getting older and land has gotten so expensive it’s hard to find something affordable in my area, Florida.
We enjoy growing our own food. Content creators help us to be encouraged to keep going when things become humdrum or hard. I've been watching you and Jen for years. Thanks for teaching me how to continue to grow.
I think alot of people have quit TH-cam, not homesteading. They're still doing it, just not showing it.
I don't think it's dying. What I see is most of the channels I used to watch have become news and fear mongering. They've stepped away from homesteading and prepping. Pushing products none of us can afford. But I also think that people are less likely to talk about what they do, what they have, there's a lot of people saying they'll know where to go if things go bad. Things have changed, a lot, people have changed a lot in the last couple of years. I'd love to see my past favorite channels go back to teaching about how to prep and raise animals, bake and make my own food. I don't watch the news, I can see what's happening just by going to the store. People are different.
It’s not going away, we started because we want to control our food source. I think a lot more homesteaders but not necessarily on you tube .
They found out it's work. 😂
Agree! It's very hard work at times.
I think you’re right.I like homestead channels.I am never going to homestead.I am a farmers daughter so the lifestyle was my first 18 years.We took different path(military).We used utube to get our beds ready and I learned to compost.I always try to like or comment to give good families support.
It's not just homesteaders content that has decreased - it's a lot of others as well. Everything really ramped up on many different kinds of channels during Covid because we were all stuck at home. The creators had the time to shoot content and the viewers had time to watch it. Time has passed, we are all out and about and people are engaged in different ways now - it's not bad, it's just life. In homesteading, I think, as many have said, once they got into it they discovered how much work it really was, 24/7/365 and it was just too much. They were also surprised by the financial end of it. And they also found how difficult it really is to raise enough food, and preserve it, to actually feed a family all year long - true 100% self-sufficiency is kind of a ridiculous goal for most people, even if they have the land to grow a lot. After a few years, folks began to sit down and re-evaluate what they were doing and why and their ultimate goals in life and just plain asking themselves if they were happy. Some of them gave up altogether realizing it wasn't really the lifestyle for them, some downsized their homesteads and their goals to make them more realistic and some decided this was what they wanted to do and are still doing it. And some are now just getting started. A benefit of all this content is that there is a lot of information available now that if someone watches the right channels they will get a much better idea of all that is involved because I see a lot more folks being upfront about the realities, good and bad, of homesteading and not just all the woo-woo of "living off the land." For creators, I see many of them just getting fed up with chasing the algorithms to make money and realizing that now the tail was wagging the dog. So many of them have cut back on posting and I'm assuming, finding other sources of income that bring them more satisfaction and joy or just learning to live with less. Anyways, this is too long. I'm not a homesteader, but a big gardener and herbalist. I only watch a couple of homesteading channels, mainly for the gardening and cooking content and because I really like watching those folks, they just click for me. Happy to see that you guys have figured out what you want to do and I will enjoy your content when it pops up. Hope you have a wonderful year!
I came by accident or TH-cam put it in front of me is One Small Footprint. They are definitely on the struggle bus but the lady Nyssa really pumps out some fantastic meals, using her bush kitchen in the Australian Outback.
I think so many of the creators on TH-cam moved on the politics. I have moved on from them. You and Jen are my first TH-cam show and will be my last if it comes to that. You guys are great.
Great job Zack!
I don't think it's dying. I think people bit off way more than they could chew and burned themselves out quickly. I was raised on a working farm and 100% knew I didn't want a whole farm. I am very happy with my garden, rabbits and chickens. I have zero desire for livestock. It's a huge commitment to have livestock.
I enjoy watching homesteading videos,but I've changed from watching quite a few because they've gotten big headed,and they're turning the video into music videos,some of us like to hear the sounds of the animals,or hear the old tractors being used,I'm a country gal who doesn't live on a farm but I was raised in that era,so I'm glad you guys are keeping it true,love it when Jen cooks those meals
Also lumber cost, feed cost insurance for vehicles and home owners!!! The cost of Everything has just up to the point people can not afford big expensive homes. There buying land building homestead the best they can!!! Now with all of the storms, fires insurance will be even harder to deal with!!! Shingles etc will go up again as all building materials will do!!!!
I should be happy with what I have and I am. I am a renter in a small town. I cant have the animals or chickens. However, I do grow my own food for my house to me its small but its a start I am happy for what I do grow.
I like seeing things like the cattle panel greenhouse being built with supplies I can afford.
Or, just like repurposing like your old barn, that your in today, just doable things we can do ourselves without having a huge bank account. Making tinctures and salves, etc. cooking with the garden bounty…. This is just things I enjoy. I love watching seed starting. I don’t really like sponsored videos, it’s not because they have anything to teach us, they just want to promote a sponsored tool or whatever it might be.
I think you are right about content and teaching. I’ve learned so much on different topics but as I’ve acquired the information and there’s no new info I tend to move on to different topics. I still check in with lots of the content creators but maybe don’t watch them as faithfully or don’t watch whole video because I know and practise the information everyday.
Can we have an honest conversation about forever chemicals in our soil and seed? If I buy manure is it full of pfas and now my virgin plot is contaminated?
I am still here learning
I don;t see homesteading dying, just coming into a realistic level. Self sufficiency was too much to bite off. i'm more of a small scale supplimentor! Real tomatoes and tasty meals. LOL I learned a lot from your farming hacks and Jens cooking, canning. Im not involved with tinctures but find it interesting because they are PLANTS! Glad that you are back at it. Do YOU, not what you expect someone will 'follow'. Can't lose that way. I know you left corporate and counted on youtube for support, but out of that disappointment came your store and the discovery of what your communtiy needed. Keep at it!!! Thanks.
Yep! You're spot on. It's been a journey, but we are here!
Yes it is still going strong. I would love advice on how I can help and be a creator
We’re in Madison Co Ky. In 2019-2021 you guys were very inspirational to us.
But life has changed so much sense then. Viewers lives changed and your channel changed a lot. Being frank and respectful, the conspiracy theory content is too far out for me. That wasn’t on your channel back then.
I stopped watching you for years and only started to look for you guys again.
The movement probably isn’t dead, but it certainly stalled. Social makes it look like unicorns and rainbows. Then people have to start doing the work and they realize it’s hard work, costs a lot of money and doesn’t pay the bills.
Now I check in on the families that taught me so much. Good luck with your channel and business. Rural Kentucky needs small business.
Oh wow, it’s growing so much in KY. Way too many people from CA, NY, WA have moved here. County east of Clay counter (Winchester) was a low voting county and was the highest county to vote blue this past election. That’s were so many Amish homes sold. The Kentucky coalition group has too many liberals!
Still going strong 💪
Zach I am seeing alot of Folks or creators now trying to show folks how to start channels..their tips and trick for those of us trying to start a channell..I think that is big now I see it all over my feeds..I just like to share and on my 8 person subscriber channel lol thats what I say..I do Not have a Niche I just like to share as you said even before alot of folks got into things I was doing them mostly for my health..so even that it is hard it seems to get folks even watching..maybe folks are just trying to find entertainment alondside of traveling..I do not know..I am just gonna keep plugging along and doing my small vids..if they help folks thats good..gonna try not to stress and give it to the Lord..Patricia
I think it’s still around I just think they are working out of the home now. People are still growing and preparing,preserving food they also have jobs and aren’t at home 24/7 like most homesteaders are.
I also think people are being content just being at home with the family.
you better get better info.......far from dying.....growing by leaps and bounds
Never a great idea to comment without watching the full video….🙄😂
um..... you didnt even watch did you?
2020 everyone was at home watching TH-cam because of Covid.
I do not see it dying in certain places, Arkansas is a hot area right now!!!! There moving from everywhere!!!
❤❤
Short attention spans haha