I have a dream...

Flamed Diving

Hello, I am 27 years old and have lived in cities my whole life. Though for some reason, I have always entertained the notion that I would throw off the shackles of city opression, buy a small bit of land in the countryside and grow vegetables and keep animals such as chickens, ducks and pigs. So then, entertain this folly of mine and offer your farming expertise, is this sort of thing possible for a city slicker like myself?

dr.bollocko

That, my good man, is an excellent excellent dream.



I bet you think I am being sarcastic or something.
But this time I'm not.

Flamed Diving

Isn't it? It keeps me going sometimes...

dr.bollocko

Well then ignore this thread. Just in case anyone comes on and starts knocking you for it, and just keep onto that dream until it happens.
If you can see yourself there, then why even ask if it's feasible.
Are you looking for reasons to do it or reasons not to?

brianthebard

Do you want it to be self sustaining or would you be working as well?Have you dug up your garden where you live now?Get a vegetable garden going,see how well you can maintain it,and that will be a small small clue as to the work involved.Not knocking you,but if you want it to work you need to put in the back breaking labour.

Flamed Diving

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Well then ignore this thread. Just in case anyone comes on and starts knocking you for it, and just keep onto that dream until it happens.
If you can see yourself there, then why even ask if it's feasible.
Are you looking for reasons to do it or reasons not to?

I'm just bored and looking for some insight for actual farmers.

Flamed Diving

brianthebard wrote: »

Do you want it to be self sustaining or would you be working as well?Have you dug up your garden where you live now?Get a vegetable garden going,see how well you can maintain it,and that will be a small small clue as to the work involved.Not knocking you,but if you want it to work you need to put in the back breaking labour.

Yeah, thats what I intend to do once I get a place with a garden. I did have a garden when I was doing my degree and I was growing things like herbs, onions and garlic. I found it to be most fulfilling, like I was connected to the earth or something (cheesy, I know). I realise it would be hard work but I imagine it would be very rewarding also. I guess I would want to make a business out of it, just enough to sustain me and a family, nothing huge.

EDIT: However, if I couldn't pull that off I would still like a plot in the country to grow stuff to feed myself for most of the year. Perhaps that is more realistic?

brianthebard

Not sure but you might have to do a course,although that might be just so you can claim the various grants.Fwiw john seymours books are worth reading.

Flamed Diving

BTW, I'm talking maybe 15-20 years time from now. Not in six months or anything!

gus66

you should go to some farm walks and open days..orgainc farm walks would interest you..get chattin to farmers nd country fol,start small,couple of hens and small garden..im sure if you asked any farmer for a little plot to grow veggies nd split produce with him ud hav no prob getting started.hard work tho!! tesco much easier!! haha..ah no its great dream and it will come true.

Flamed Diving

gus66 wrote: »

you should go to some farm walks and open days..orgainc farm walks would interest you..get chattin to farmers nd country folk.

Thats a good idea, thanks.

Queen-Mise

I am from the country - farming on any serious level is out unless you inherit a couple of hundred acres somewhere.
Every small farmer in the country has a part time job - and they could all do with accountancy qualifications to fill in the paperwork - farming people who are in college with me have to get their grant forms filled out my accountants

A nice idea for a small level only

gus66

well it depends what you want out of life,,if its money then its a no no,.money isnt everything nd so what if your driving a banger nd nt wearing designer clothes.......b happy.

il gatto

What do you work at now? Is it something you could do from home? Broadband is available in many/most rural locations nowadays.

Oldtree

You will need at least 4 acres of reasonable land if you are to feed a family year round, and you will have to work at it all day, every day if there is no other source of finance to feed the family. You will probably have to have all your energy needs paid for in advance, in the form of solar panels etc, as any spare money will have to pay for the kids education. It would be good for you to start at something smaller as mentioned above and to build up your knowledge and experience over the next while before taking the leap, but if you ever get the chance to get your ideal piece of land, do it asap.

My passion for this kind of thing started with Geoff Hamilton on the tv on a friday night in a flat in london. I am tempered somewhat by reality but still head towards the ultimate goal.

A lovely dream.

il gatto

It's all a bit River Cottage, without the financial input from T.V. obviously:D
It's doable for a single man. A couple, maybe. A family? I don't think so. Tens of thousands of farmers, who've inherited their farm, cannot make ends meet without a job. If you need to buy land, you'll have to pay for it somehow. Maybe if you're selling a property in a city, it may create enough to buy house and land, but kids, education and your family's expectations of a particular standard of life may be difficult to reconcile with such a life.
You'll need 15-20 acres minimum. You'll need a yard/sheds of some sort. You'll need a tractor of some description. Preferably you'll want all of that in one parcel. i.e. house, sheds and land all close by each other. The good news is, tumbledown cottages with a few sheds on a few acres are always coming up on the market, as long as you're not fussed as to where you go. Best prices would be in the west. Land is hit and miss though, quality wise.
Buy a place, make it habitable, find a job and move. You'll need to steady income from a job to keep yourself going as a farm will not make money for the first 12-24 months, or produce any food for 6 months.
Then befriend the neighbours. They will usually be happy to share their knowledge, maybe lend you equipment from time to time, and some may even give you a hand with big or complicated jobs.
Otherwise, go for it. The country is great. When you go to bed and turn out the lights, it's dark. There's little road noise. The air is fresh. Neighbours don't live on top of each other. You can make noise, walk around in you boxers and have loads of space to accumulate crap. It's the only way to live.
Just to add, if you're serious about this, maybe don't wait 15 years. If it turns out good, you'll regret not having done it sooner. Also, if you're single, it might be better to do it now. A city girl may go ballistic at the idea of the Good Life. And even if she's up for it, the reality of actually living in the country may not be what she wanted. At least if you meet a country girl, she won't mind/notice the smell of cow sh1te off your boots. Just a thought

pathway33

get yourself down to the ploughing match in kilkenny/carlow tues wed thurs week of 25th september i think. 60,000 farming folk there every day. every conceiveable animal, vegetable and machine. buy the farmers journal every thursday. you'll probably have to go to easons if you live in a city. rent a few acres for a year. most land comes on the market in january. 200 euro an acre will get you decent land. go to the farmers journal website and look up back issues. give up your job in the city and get one by christmas in the country. then rent your 10 acres in january making sure its suitable for veg.

in cork there is an allotment scheme for town folk to grow their own veg.
very succesful aapparently.

do it NOW not in 15 years

you can have the best of both worlds

and you don't need to inherit a few hundred acres to farm. i know of people leasing 100 acres at 15,000 per annum and still making a living.

do it NOW

North&South

Yep, do it sooner rather than later.

And again, no you don't need 100 acres to make your life more sustainable.
Look at compromises, look at realities. Look at properties in the rural areas - but close enough for you to work as well - Start your rural life off slowly - you'll make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, that's how we learn!

Me & hubby are both townies - and we're moving to the house of our dreams in a few weeks - 2 acres of sectioned mature gardens, a derelict which isn't very derelict,(think workshop & storage) a carthouse, a haybarn, a 3 bed bungalow (not great, but perfectly liveable) next to a forest, 3.5 acres of peat bog along the road.
We are going to create veggie beds, add a couple of greenhouses, and then keep chickens and goats/pigs.

We're in our late 40's....but I wished we'd done this 10 yrs ago! I guess the point is: Our mortgage is going to be over 19yrs - yours could well be over 35 yrs - there, your mortgage payments have halved already!

Anyway, good luck, & keep the dream!
Julie.

somethingwitty

Hello I think that I would enjoy the same thing as you but it will be a lot easier for me as Im already a country girl and half my family are farmers!!!
But there are plenty of ways to do what you want and get some sort of income...
For example, organic produce is in demand and you could think about giving something like that a try. And, instead of the usual milking cows, or wheat, think about something more specialist. For example, pumpkins! Try to think of gaps in the market. Fine dining restaurants will look for the best produce and you could look into this. Or specialist meat like phesant or deer. Or even grow apple trees, and get your wife to slave in the kitchen making tarts all day lol only joking but you get what I mean!
If you were willing to buy a run down cottage and do it up yourself you could save a lot of money that could be used towards getting yourself set up.
Think outside the box, you could raise llama!! Im sure some mad person around the country will have some use for them!
Seriously, it is possible but dont wait forever. Farming is not a job, its a lifestyle so the sooner the better.
The country life is the best... I could never settle in a town!

taram

somethingwitty wrote: »

Think outside the box, you could raise llama!! Im sure some mad person around the country will have some use for them!!

Big fields of them up on the Burren coast, must be money in them somehow Good advice somethingwitty, that's the kind of thing I hope to do when I settle down somewhere, have a neighbour with 3 acres raking in money growing organic unusual herbs for resturants in polytunnels. Someday...

vcsggl

Well they do say there's nothing new under the sun! Way back in the 50's -60's - 70's -80's my grandfather began growing great vegetables on his 20 acres and after a few years had turned over maybe 10 acres of the land to peas, carrots,cabbage, lettuce, onions etc. He built up a great business supplying small shops in the nearest town. The vegetables were all "organic" - but nobody realised! He made a good living at it - but it was hard work - he and my grandmother picked all the stuff by hand and bagged it up for going to town. He made enough to change Dick the horse for a Fergie and that made ploughing a bit less work! They kept two cows , she made butter once a week and that was also sold in town along with eggs and geese and turkeys for Christmas. They kept pigs - that kept them in bacon. They cut turf and made hay and altogether spent all their time working - or should that be living! When I see the land now - nothing growing but grass ( and rushes!) and then I see that all the little shops have gone replaced by supermarkets with veg in plastic bags I have to ask has all the "progress" been for the good? A whole way of life in Ireland that was so special has completely gone and I'm not at all sure who has benefited from the change. I'm greatly encouraged by the move back towards the land - it's hard work and the reality may not be quite as attractive as the dream but I can't help thinking that overall it's the right way to go!

George

Oldtree

Llamas p[roduce a very fine wool, more wool than sheep per acre of poor ground. Hardy animals needing only shelter from east winds in winter. They are shorn every two years. You need very high fences or byebye llamas. Fighting teeth need to be removed. I found this out when one of them strayed onto the wife's uncles farm a few years back.

I think food production has a future esp when fuel prices are rising as they are. Many people in this part of the country are doing vegis, allbeit on a small scale, ie like a half acre of spuds.