Ever want to just give all this up, and become a substance farmer?

4244 Views 41 Replies 26 Participants Last post by derv, May 11, 2015

bigstupidgrin

Discussion Starter · May 9, 2015

Every once in a while, while I'm taking a walk around my neighborhood or driving around I'll find a farm. And I wonder to myself what that life is really like. The perceived simplicity really appeals to me. Not that I hate technology or my life's current direction, it's just a weird fantasy of mine. Anybody else have that? Anybody here live on a farm?

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TuesdaysChild

· #2 · May 9, 2015

I've been saying for years that I'm going to change my identity and just go work on a shrimp boat. I saw a TV show once about working on a shrimp boat. When they reel in the big net of shrimp, they load them into the bow of the boat through a big hole on the deck. One person's job is to stand by the hole with a mop and catch the strays that don't go into the hole and mop them back into it. Well, that seems easy enough. I can live on a boat, be gone for weeks at a time and get paid to mop shrimp into a hole. Sounds better and better every day!!!

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Mr Sentient

· #3 · May 9, 2015

Yes, the farther away from the city, the cleaner the air. I hate the urban area air because of the carbon pollution produced from metal factory and smokers mixed with cars. The fresh clean air in the deep rural areas where farming usually occurs is relaxing, unless if somehow the pest spray affects it, then i'm doomed.

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bigstupidgrin

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 9, 2015

notsocold95 said:
Yes, the farther away from the city, the cleaner the air. I hate the urban area air because of the carbon pollution produced from metal factory and smokers mixed with cars. The fresh clean air in the deep rural areas where farming usually occurs is relaxing, unless if somehow the pest spray affects it, then i'm doomed.

Just don't do what I did, and (temporarily) live in a rural place with a paper mill. Maybe that's cleaner than metal factory air, but it's still pretty smelly.

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OrangeAppled

· #5 · May 9, 2015

I grew up in a semi-rural area and hate it. I hate the country. Most of it is ugly and gross. Just piles of dirt and bugs. Country people tend to be too down to earth, aka, they are rather closed to novel ideas and are overly pragmatic. So-called simplicity is dull to me. I like complexity and variety. I also like semi avant-garde clothing, which sticks out like a sore thumb in the county and the burbs. Id like to live somewhere where there is a little more everyday glamour.

I suspect "the grass is always greener" though.

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EndsOfTheEarth

· #6 · May 9, 2015

A substance farmer? Like illegal substances? :tongue:

As it happens yes I would like to find a plot of land and live on it and pull two fingers at the world. I'm sure an INFPs motivation would be slightly different though.

Wellsy

· #7 · May 9, 2015

Farm as a means of sustaining an income and livelihood?
Farming ain't easy, hard yakka and the economics of it, at least here, is dodgey with the big businesses that bully 'em.
I don't think I'd call farming simple either, lot goes into sustaining their type of produce.
Big investment in hopes of a big reward, farming still has it's risks, depending on what you're growing, we're still dictated by the weather.
Farm in a drought and you'll be hurting.

So while I can see it as a reasonable living and it's important that there are farmers and respect for their work. I don't think I'd be one to think their livelihood simple or easy.

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EndsOfTheEarth

· #8 · May 9, 2015 (Edited)

Wellsy said:
Farm as a means of sustaining an income and livelihood?
Farming ain't easy, hard yakka and the economics of it, at least here, is dodgey with the big businesses that bully 'em.
I don't think I'd call farming simple either, lot goes into sustaining their type of produce.
Big investment in hopes of a big reward, farming still has it's risks, depending on what you're growing, we're still dictated by the weather.
Farm in a drought and you'll be hurting.

So while I can see it as a reasonable living and it's important that there are farmers and respect for their work. I don't think I'd be one to think their livelihood simple or easy.

In the US, the renaissance of the subsistence farmer is showing great promise, especially when the plot which is typically a lot smaller than a broadacre farm, is set up as an organic or permaculture example farm. Typically these farms focus on producing multiple types of produce primarily to feed the family, barter for the local community and then value add the left overs for sale as high priced speciality foodstuffs. This model is showing to be profitable enough to live on with multiple streams of income. It bypasses the corporate hedgemony because the value added produce is typically either sold to local restaurants where it fetches a good price and regular demand or direct to customer.

I'm keenly interested in this style of farming and am a bit of a permaculture buff. It's where I get my green thumb from. :wink: And there is an example farms of this style all over Australia popping up as people look for a way to move out of metro zones and back to the land, the simple life, and yes even getting up at dawn to feed the chickens, geese, pigs or whatever. The big advantage of permaculture systems however is they make use of....

- Small plots of land. Typically only 1-20 acres are needed for a permaculture farm.
- Lack of heavy machinery. In fact the use of machinery is discouraged as tractors really compact the soil and damage it's integrity. Instead permaculture systems make use of biology. Don't own a tractor for ploughing, raise pigs and paddock them in small plots to rip up the earth, fertilise the soil, eat the waste products and continue to move them into fallow fields. Eventually you eat the pig. Fowl can also be farmed for the same purpose.
- Symbiosis. You create an ecology that works together and creates a large variety of crops and produce all year round. Which is in total opposition to raising a monocrop and then being at the mercy of whatever the supermarkets wants to pay for your 10,000 heads of lettuce with a shelf life of 1 week.

I read about a micro-farm in an urban plot of 400sqm in size that turned over $20k p.a. in New York (I think) just growing gourmet greens for the local restaurants.
There are also cut flower farms in the US that make on average about $15k p.a. per acre. These are where the general public turn up and cut their own flowers and you charge a set price per stem on checkout.

Here's an interesting story.

http://www.milkwood.net/2013/12/04/wagtail-urban-farm-adelaide-grower-profile/

Okay, end know it all lecture. :frustrating:

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Rivulet

· #9 · May 9, 2015

Yes! I actually bought a farm with some land together with some of my siblings last year!

We're not really a farm yet, just started with some vegetables and planted some fruit trees, but we're thinking of having some animals as well. I defenitely would not want a big business, but something that could make us more selfsufficient would be wonderful. I really enjoy the idea of being independent and I love animals. But I do have doubts as well. I'm a historian, so I would love to keep doing research (but preferably not fulltime). I'm really hoping to find a way to combine the two.

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Rivulet

· #10 · May 9, 2015

@InSolitude

Yes that's what we have in mind! Only we do have a tractor and it has been quite useful already.

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EndsOfTheEarth

· #11 · May 9, 2015

Rivulet said:
Yes! I actually bought a farm with some land together with some of my siblings last year!

We're not really a farm yet, just started with some vegetables and planted some fruit trees, but we're thinking of having some animals as well. I defenitely would not want a big business, but something that could make us more selfsufficient would be wonderful. I really enjoy the idea of being independent and I love animals. But I do have doubts as well. I'm a historian, so I would love to keep doing research (but preferably not fulltime). I'm really hoping to find a way to combine the two.

Even if all you did was reduced your food bill to next to nothing, that's a huge annual saving in income. So in a way it's similar to money in the bank. Part of my retirement plan is to grow most of my food to reduce the cost of living, that way my savings and annual income requirements won't be so high.

EDIT - It seems I posted this at exactly the same time as your post. Weird, but the conversation still flows. :laughing:

Sily

· #12 · May 9, 2015

Oh my god yes, I love country living so much. And I promise you, currently, I have "given it all up", but I had to work 25 years to obtain *my benefits* to do so. I live in a rural setting right now and pray I never have to move to The City. I love The Simple Life, quiet, birds in the trees, squirrels running around my front yard, they be my buds! I have a great interest in the lifestyle of The Amish, their beliefs and recipes. I have observed the life of farmers, I believe it's not an easy life, lots of hard work, even if you are just dealing with crops and not animals. Right now I live the life of a farmer, without all the farmer work. ;-)

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Zeta Neprok

· #13 · May 9, 2015

I must be the odd one out here, but I don't like the country at all. I like living in the city because it's very convenient for me. Farming is hard tiring work and I'm lazy as hell so I would never want to do it. But I live in Saskatchewan and even in the cities it feels like a rural community. I've stayed in down town Toronto, and even Chicago before and I had a lot of fun. I liked just leaving my hotel room and exploring to see what the city has to offer.

My ideal place to live would be a small apartment or condo down town in a nice city somewhere on a coast. Preferably Halifax. In my opinion Halifax is the most underrated city in Canada

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bigstupidgrin

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 9, 2015

I suspect "the grass is always greener" though.

It's a lot of this/exploring a different lifestyle altogether. I grew up in suburbia, dense cities are fun to visit but make me crowd-phobic. It is really cool to see people talk about their own farming experiences here tho.
@InSolitude That's right... all substances...

erc2:

Reactions: 1

TuesdaysChild

· #15 · May 9, 2015

InSolitude said:
In the US, the renaissance of the subsistence farmer is showing great promise, especially when the plot which is typically a lot smaller than a broadacre farm, is set up as an organic or permaculture example farm. Typically these farms focus on producing multiple types of produce primarily to feed the family, barter for the local community and then value add the left overs for sale as high priced speciality foodstuffs. This model is showing to be profitable enough to live on with multiple streams of income. It bypasses the corporate hedgemony because the value added produce is typically either sold to local restaurants where it fetches a good price and regular demand or direct to customer.

I'm keenly interested in this style of farming and am a bit of a permaculture buff. It's where I get my green thumb from. :wink: And there is an example farms of this style all over Australia popping up as people look for a way to move out of metro zones and back to the land, the simple life, and yes even getting up at dawn to feed the chickens, geese, pigs or whatever. The big advantage of permaculture systems however is they make use of....

- Small plots of land. Typically only 1-20 acres are needed for a permaculture farm.
- Lack of heavy machinery. In fact the use of machinery is discouraged as tractors really compact the soil and damage it's integrity. Instead permaculture systems make use of biology. Don't own a tractor for ploughing, raise pigs and paddock them in small plots to rip up the earth, fertilise the soil, eat the waste products and continue to move them into fallow fields. Eventually you eat the pig. Fowl can also be farmed for the same purpose.
- Symbiosis. You create an ecology that works together and creates a large variety of crops and produce all year round. Which is in total opposition to raising a monocrop and then being at the mercy of whatever the supermarkets wants to pay for your 10,000 heads of lettuce with a shelf life of 1 week.

I read about a micro-farm in an urban plot of 400sqm in size that turned over $20k p.a. in New York (I think) just growing gourmet greens for the local restaurants.
There are also cut flower farms in the US that make on average about $15k p.a. per acre. These are where the general public turn up and cut their own flowers and you charge a set price per stem on checkout.

Here's an interesting story.

Wagtail Urban Farm, Adelaide: Grower Profile - Milkwood - Real Skills for Down to Earth LivingMilkwood – Real Skills for Down to Earth Living

Okay, end know it all lecture. :frustrating:

My older sister and her family live like this on a beautiful farm they bought in Tennessee. Though they also have her husband's Air Force retirement income, and he was a Colonel, so nothing to scoff at. But their lifestyle is idyllic. They trade their neighbor everyday fresh eggs for fresh milk, farm plenty for the family and take the rest to market. They have some farm animal business, but just enough for it to be fun having the animals around. It's rather peaceful.

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Vermilion Bird

· #16 · May 9, 2015

I'm taking a series of agriculture classes in school right now, actually. It actually seems quite complicated when you examine everything that farming entails. I'm only really taking the classes for the industry certification at the end to look competent for future employers and colleges, but I really am learning a lot in the class, and I've come to enjoy it. There is an interactive portion of the class, and we get to go outside and tend to our school's garden, feed the school's steer, or tend to ornamental potted plants a few times a week or so. I've really enjoyed that, but I cannot imagine making a career or lifestyle of it; there are too many risks, as a lot of plants died to disease and unexpected climate changes where I live this past year.

I'd love to live in a more rural area, and I'd love to have horses on my property, but I don't exactly think farming is exactly the kind of lifestyle I'd pursue.

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ficsci

· #17 · May 9, 2015

No

Ever since I read A Thousand Acres in high school, I've always thought of farming as a repressive hellhole, especially for us INFPs

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SalvinaZerelda

· #18 · May 9, 2015 (Edited)

Not particularly..

I do want to buy or at least live on a large amount of free land and grow an orchard, though.
You know, in case there's an apocalypse or something.
ANd for the sake of learning how to grow stuff..
and because I want to grow "chocolate trees". [they're not REALLY chocolate trees, but their produce can taste similar AND is healthier].

Minecraft made me want to learn how to "beeline" and build houses and stuff..

and is it weird that I want to learn how to build an outhouse?

I want inexpensive organic food, and also to preserve the rainforest by finding yummy alternatives to rare foods like chocolate that can be grown in the USA.

http://www.gilead.net/health/carob.html

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Twitchie

· #19 · May 9, 2015

I haven't lived on a proper farm, but until late march, I've spent my life in northern Canada. My last home was 5 acres with some plots set aside for growing veg and two cows and some chickens and a very small orchard. It's weird moving to the city and seeing 'organic' pushed as a big deal. At first, I thought organic must be pretty fancy because it's expensive. But when I looked into it, it's just the same shit I've always done and my Mom taught me to do. Although, good harvests were too much to eat, so I canned a lot and sold it word of mouth. Makes me wonder what my ex is letting the asparagus rot in the ground. He works a full time job, so I took care of most things. I'm hoping he got someone in to take care of it.

Not that I'd call that farming exactly with only an acre but I find it difficult to believe that people would enjoy it. When people see how ugly my hands, they don't get why. I think most people aren't prepared for the amount of work that comes with farming. People moved away from rural areas in droves starting centuries ago. They didn't do it because they love farming.

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Angina Jolie

· #20 · May 9, 2015

I have thought and we still do sometimes think, that one day we will maybe just wanna give up trying, you know fighting your way through the jungle of the city, building your career, and just buy (it's a dream so we have lots of money and no problems...) a land in a nice country and build a farm, possibly sheep... but I would want it to be a farm holiday house - like a farm where people can also come and stay at and enjoy a holiday in the rural lifestyle.... Possibly participate in the work, if hey wish. Just provide them with this kind of environment.... Like a b'n'b maybe.... As well as have an animal rescue there as well....

It's alla big dream for which I have neither the courage, nor the energy, nor money or plan to act upon.... But in my head it feels nice, very nice.... Nicer than building a corporate career for sure.

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