How Much Land Do You Need To Be Self-Sustaining?

How much land do you need to homestead? Great question. We will look at some of the factors that will enable you to decide, depending on your region, what might be the best amount of land for you.

[@Colbkid]

Just one key note, even on a plant based diet you need animals to maintain the fertility and give back to the land. Having animals on a homestead isn't just for food. They serve a many roles, being able to eat them is really just a bonus.

[@lilacDaisy111]

Yes indeed. I'm looking at swapping my geese for ducks, so they can clean up any slugs and problem bugs. I adore my geese, and they're so cheap to keep, but they keep eating all the seedlings. Both birds leave behind fertile land.

[@davidt6849]

@@lilacDaisy111 I use runner ducks.. They barely touch the plants, hunt slugs all day, lay 5 eggs a week.. I have some chickens too but runner ducks are the better bird for backyard farming

[@lilacDaisy111]

@@davidt6849 Thanks so much, David. I was swayed to Muscovys, since they don't quack and -- I've heard -- survive the best without man, if they have access to enough diversity of bugs and tadpoles, etc. Love your feedback that runner ducks barely touch the plants!

[@PerfectionInMotion69]

No, it's not a bonus. It's essential unless, you're a scrawny vegan.

[@ronrover6594]

You can be the animal as well to close the cycle … Humanure. I would still argue to live at least a vegetarian instead of a vegan live and keep small animals like chicken, rabbits, etc. Otherwise I fully agree!

[@michaelmckesson6997]

I live in northern Wisconsin, so I had to do a lot to grow in this area. So I built a greenhouse in the side of a hill. The northern side of the greenhouse is a thermal mass lined with black 55 gallon drums of water. Which absorbs sunlight from the south over the course of the day. That heat is released overnight keeping it warm. I ran two layers of heavy plastic leaving a dead air space between them. Which gives extra insulation from the cold air outside. My solar panels charge batteries for grow lights. Which turn on a couple hours in the morning and evening, to give me a longer growing day. When the temperature drops to minus 30, 40, 50, I burn wood in a fireplace to give added heat. Because even that temperature is to cold for my thermal mass to overcome. You'll need heat on the very coldest days of winter. But Yeah I grow year round, even in northern Wisconsin.

[@jonathansmithson3233]

That’s what up brother I hope to take note of this and do this myself.

[@wyattwells459]

Michael, I'm also from Wisconsin and have explored the idea of designing a greenhouse that could support tropical plants in our climate as energy efficient as possible, hopefully little to no energy input using a solar powered geothermal system with climate batteries and stuff. I'd be curious to see your design.

[@commentingisawasteoftime7195]

Have you researched evacuated solar tubes? Supposedly they can concentrate solar heat on cold, cloudy days.

[@goblinmoblin4869]

You inspire me. I am in the suburbs of Chicago trying to get out. Years ago I did a lot of research on this kind of thing. I could never afford to do any of it until my current job I landed this year. Maybe this year is the year I get out and go for it.

[@Zanota85]

@@goblinmoblin4869 the sooner the better

[@pierevojzola9737]

Hi, I am a soldier settler down in the South Pacific. When my wife and I agreed to change lifestyles and look for land we first went to the local Polytechnic and asked the people who teach agricultural degrees for advice. Advice was free, so acquiring knowledge was the first thing. We were told that you don’t farm animals, you farm soil! They explained what kind of land we should be looking for and told us to look at land in the winter time. There are advantages and disadvantages in flat and hilly land. We looked at 48 different properties up to 480 acres. You could tell how good the farmer was by his fences, fencing is important as it keeps your stock in and wild pigs out. The other points were a good reliable source of water, access to the property. I put myself on a study course on small acre farming at the Polytechnic whilst my partner got a good job in the local town. Everything is down to planning and hard cash. We went into farming deer, goats, sheep and steers. We lived in our motor home for over a year whilst I put up a small one bedroom cottage, build the deer yards, put in fencing, tracks, gates and water troughs. When the farm was in working order I then build our house so we had views over the lake and could see the snow on the volcanoes. We farmed for 20 years and it was a good life, but hard on the body. So mate remember, water and soil and access to information are your starting points. Cheers mate. Harera

[@Peter-ob6ue]

1.5 hectares is plenty even here in Australia we have only 1.5 hectares of land in a dry arid area but we have bore water. All you need is 10 chickens and 2 cows you can grow your own vegetables and fruit trees such as avocados it's not hard then we are only 10 minutes walking time from the sea so we can supplement seafood. It's not hard.

[@pierevojzola9737]

@@Peter-ob6ue Hi, besides “living of the land” you have to take into consideration on how you are going to earn enough cash to pay your local council tax, income tax, VAT, buy fuel for your vehicles, replacement for worn out parts in machinery, farming gear and stock and the big IF the mighty etc! We did calculate on how much land we needed to survive if SHTF circumstances come up with 40 acres of arable land, 10 acres of woodland and a perpetual supply of water. Cheers mate. Harera

[@lemiphil2388]

What polytechnic did you study at, if I may ask?

[@pierevojzola9737]

@@lemiphil2388 Hi Lemi, the Waiariki Institute of Technolog (see Wikipedia) in Rotorua use to run courses in Rural Studies that covered the normal farming here. They also run a Small Farm Course in the evenings, I took this course as it covered everything I needed plus I got the plans for setting out the animal yards for cattle, sheep and deer. You need these yards to drench and vaccinate and sort animals. Plus the important part was that I learned that you actually farm (manage) the soil first and foremost. The Institute also run short courses in fencing paddocks. There were also courses in forestry, logging, saw doctoring, silviculture. There was also a course in house building where the students got enough experience of building a complete house and therefore could get a job as a hammerhand on a job site. Hope this helps. I have found the night classes very useful as it gave me access to good machinery to build my house furniture and my boat trailer! Cheers mate. Harera

[@honeybadger8942]

@@pierevojzola9737 Why did you stop farming? This is the time to do it.

[@paulristow3454]

As a kid in Fairbanks AK, my family had a ~1 acre garden and grew all the vegetables we needed for a family of 5. And we usually had some surplus that we would give to friends & neighbors. Of course we hunted & fished; and grains/bread/etc aren't included in this figure.

[@bekabeka71]

Even less than an acre is sufficient but you gotta go out of your own way for fishing and hunting but it’s all a process

[@baneofbanes]

@@bekabeka71 the lack of grain is a big limiting factor however. It’s always been the major competent of the human diet for thousands if years for a reason.

[@stettbranley625]

For sure

[@trishoconnor2169]

@@shawnmendrek3544 Did you watch the video? One acre will do for vegetables, a fraction of the diet, on a calorie basis. Growing your own vegetables (and nothing more) is nowhere near self-sustaining. I personally don't find the fact that an acre will do for that tiny fraction of a family's needs all that impressive. Nice, but not impressive.

[@hannostadler7224]

You must be fun at parties.

[@karleggers3125]

8 years ago my wife and I bought 17 acres with a year round creek that flows enough to irrigate 9 acres of pasture. We have 4 beef cattle on 5 fenced acres that is next to the creek. Yes, the property has generous senior water rights to the creek. The only neighbor I can see is our tenant and the rent collected pays for 2/3 of our mortgage. With 12.75 KW of solar panels on the shop, they generate the energy we need for the entire year. The 24’X70’ greenhouse provides fresh fruit and veggies. 45 hens lay plenty of eggs that we sell on a weekly route. Next, we will start raising rabbits, pigs and meat birds(chickens and turkeys). All that we produce but don’t consume we either give away or sell at the local farmers mkt. most excess is pre-sold. UBI ?, I’ll take that too! We have plenty of “freedom seeds” (ammo) to protect what is ours. We have a MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) because there is power in numbers. My neighbors in my MAG have long distance 2way radios for security and communications when the grid goes down. One neighbor is a retired Doctor and another reloads ammo. We have a years worth of fuel for the heavy equipment and backup generators. No wonder WEF thinks we are against them…..we are, and we have never been happier!

[@daxisperry7644]

Youre living my dream

[@karleggers3125]

@@daxisperry7644 it was my dream too! Steady plodding towards your dream and it will finally come true too! I wish you the best.

[@daxisperry7644]

@@karleggers3125 Thanks so much! Taking it one step at time.

[@alistairmcdonald2382]

Thanks for the blueprint

[@karleggers3125]

@@alistairmcdonald2382 you’re welcome. The other nice part is we have room for “expansion”. We are looking forward to raising a few hogs, a few sheep and a milk cow. The only outside influence to consider is feeding the livestock hay in the winter which we have to purchase. And now, with fertilizer prices and drought in some areas, the cost and availability is a concern. Good luck and I wish you the best.

[@UrbanDefensiveTactics]

Actually, generally every thing you say is true. However, fertile land with densely packed hundred plus year old trees, like two of my rural properties, one acre alone, holds enough self-renewing fuel-wood for the winters in the area. With respect to privacy, variegation of topography is also important. On one of the same properties spoke of before, the hilly nature of the surrounding land gives more actual "real" acreage between properties, but also creates more line-of-sight privacy from nearby neighbors. Most important to sustainability is, the year round access to *nearby* potable water sources; in large quantities. -And this is where most land purchases come up short, for new buyers: your non-municipal water source should be no further than one hundred yards from your living space. Finally and in my opinion, it is truly all about location, location, location. If you want to be as sustainable as possible, water and variegation (not large amounts acreage) is what is most important. You need a good mix of 1/3 level pasture to 2/3 hilly dense woodland. Your home should be elevated fifteen to twenty feet above the normal flood plain, on your property. Look for natural springs or "developed" year-round creeks (not "creek beds") on your property. You want the creeks to originate from natural springs on your property, if possible so, they can't be diverted, drained off or tainted. Finally, a person can buy/have more land than they can handle: If you cannot provide security and properly maintain your land, it will be a disadvantage to you, in the long run ( *you only have that which you can protect* ). Five to seven acres, with the above attributes, are enough land for sustainable living, for a family of four.

[@UrbanDefensiveTactics]

@@nateross14 speak for yourself. I have been at this for over twenty five years. I prepared a community, before I prepared the rest.

[@user-lf4td9xr4v]

@@UrbanDefensiveTactics you described the place I just bought to the T. I'm thinking maybe I should fence partially around my house for security purpose. I don't think I can maintain all the land, but I'm thinking maybe just let natural have it if I don't use it. Part of my original thoughts on buying a larger land was to provide the animals a place where they can be safe. Of course, there are enough places around there for the animals, but I still fancy the idea of me somehow providing them a bit of more.

[@jonothandoeser]

How about sinking wells for a water source?

[@UrbanDefensiveTactics]

@@jonothandoeser That is very important. It is more important to know the water table in the area as well. No matter what the water source, I would make sure I have two large sealable boiling vats and copper tubing to be able to distill water. Not a hard process, but you have to have the things you need before they are no longer available. Sometimes, you need to filter and/or then distill.

[@jonothandoeser]

@@UrbanDefensiveTactics Excellent. What is your opinion of the Berkey water filter?

[@mydogma7116]

I am happy with my 40 acres...2 streams and most of it bush... cheers from northern Ontario, great information

[@John-Adams-Can]

33 acres mostly bush in same area. We are clearing about an acre now for gardens.

[@mydogma7116]

@@John-Adams-Can Nice, I hope to do the same at some point problem is I don't have great topsoil so will have to import some, ouch lol so I decided to build a greenhouse off of my garage this season...I Hope;)

[@ilenastarbreeze4978]

Thats what i hope i get to have one day. Working towards it

[@letsnotgothere6242]

I love how simple the visuals are, but how detailed his info is. And also how it's outside and how he talks so naturally, no over cropping or drama in his voice. And how I can see his hands when he talks? Nice

[@bornagaininchrist7775]

I just found out about this channel today from my online Adventist group, super informative! My family and I are about to move to a country cabin this week on 14 acres in NW Washington state. Sold our city house and wanting to experience country living for the first time. The property is owned by my wifes parents, but they offered us the fully functioning cabin to live in. Really looking forward to learn and grow in this new chapter in our lives. Keep up the great videos 🙌🙏

[@HealthAndHomestead]

I am glad you found us. Blessings on your new place. I hope all goes well.

[@helicart]

I have many SDA friends and respect their research and promotion of WFPB diet. All the best to you. I hope it works out. Give it time, and your nervous system and emotions will adapt, and before you know it the thought of going back to urbania will be anathema.

[@stevencrow5462]

He is literally gonna get you killed

[@alexloenhart5553]

Are you still there?

[@HousewifeInTheWoods]

As far as the meat thing..... 2 rabbit does and a buck produce 600 lbs of meat per year. no real space needed and minimal inputs and can be raised off the land. A pig doesnt need much space.... 200+ lbs of meat limited space, can be raised off your land. Chickens need minimal acreage as well, can be raised off your land. All easily on less than 1/4 acre....

[@DomorVerbeuk]

A pig needs quite a lot of food. If you use grains, about 2lbs per lbs of live weight at butchering if you raise them quick, 4lbs if you raise them slowly. Butchered weight is 50-65% of the live weight, so you will need between 600-1600lbs of grains for a single pig. If you use greens, you will need about a tenfold of that (180kcal/lbs for greens max, vs. 1800kcal/lbs for dried grains). Rabbits are a real option, but chickens need quite a lot of space if they are kept without grains as well. I would look for Ouessant sheep (or other very small dwarf sheep; Ouessant are around 25-35lbs adult weight) and use small grass patches they are allowed to graze for one day, while having 25-30 of those. With 5 sheep and 5 lambs, think 200sqft small patches (so a total of 5000-6000sqft, 0.12-0.14 acres) and putting grass in every spot that is not used long enough for at least a single cutting of hay, and every spot that isn't used for "vegetables" in the winter sowed in as well, so you have a much larger winter area. Guinea pigs are also a good option, together with the rabbits. As they don't dig, they are much easier to move from spot to spot, only having to protect them from predators, and they are for easier to keep in groups without fighting (males until 4-5 months of age, when they are butcher ready anyway; females forever. Only 1 male per female group, that is the only thing).

[@HousewifeInTheWoods]

@@DomorVerbeuk We would onlu go American guinea hog. I'd never want one of the highbred commercial hogs they have these days. Eat you outta house and home. AGH is slower to grow out but over all in my opinion the perfect true homestead pig.

[@DomorVerbeuk]

@@HousewifeInTheWoods The slower the pig grows, the more calories it needs. It will be able to grow on lower caloric foods, but it will still need more calories in total and therefore more acreage. Even Kunekune need about 3000sqft per pig of grassland for maintenance, growing piglets need a bit richer supplement (some grains, not too much) on top of that. But than you end up with a 200lbs live pig, so about 100lbs of butchered pig. Pigs just aren't small homestead-fully selfsufficient effective.

[@HousewifeInTheWoods]

@@DomorVerbeuk guess pigs are out or we figure it old school. We live in an off grid permaculture homestead in northern mn.... if my Swede ancestors could figure it w out a feed mill in these north woods I figure I can too or go w out. We don't have animals on our acreage that we can't feed 100% from our acreage. But I always live a good challenge....

[@CrazyIvan865]

Yeah I think Soyboy here is just trying to discourage people from sustainable living. 1 of the 1.8 acres per cow (which still seems a bit high) could be planted with grains, legumes, cover crops like chicory etc and not only are you able to harvest grains (which if you aren't trying to do an unsustainable "plant based diet", then a larger portion of caloric need is aleviated because meat is more calorically dense... okay so you grow grains and mixed crops to supplement the grains and, I know this is crazy, but let the animals graze as need be. Do you really think in ancient Egypt and all these places throughout history where meats and cows have been a main staple, they were seriously separating out just the grains and feeding that to the livestock and throwing the rest of the plant away? Fuck no feed it all to the cow as nature intended. Anything you don't use can be then turned into compost, left on the ground as a cover or mulch the compost naturally OR take you a hydrolic press, a couple pieces of pipe and make you own fire logs out of "trash"/waste. Waste not, want not. If you look at say the Amish or our non-amish ancestors Potatoes were more of a main staple of calories and diet in general because... well it a LOT easier to dig up some potatoes, put the plant back down to make more, rinse them off and cook them than to harvest grain, separate the wheat and chaff (barley and chaff, millet and chaff, whichever grain), grinding or milling it into meal or flour THEN starting the whole process of making that into a breading or dough... yeah potatoes seems more sustainable. And that not mentioning lbs per square foot potatoes produce more than grain, they can grow among other crops which is again increasing your calories or productivity per square foot etc. Like it seems like this guy is pushing an agenda for reliance of the government and industrial systems and rejecting or being discouraged from true independence 🤔. Yeah... like. Idk.

[@auntlouise]

I grew a 10 ft x 10 ft plot of wheat. After I harvested it and ground the wheat berries I got roughly 10 lbs of flour. Not nearly enough to keep a family in bread for a year. I'd have to (1) plant it in a bigger plot and (2) replant over and over again, and the soil would need copious amounts of amendments to keep it able to still grow anything.

[@karleggers3125]

So, it sounds like the yield is 1 lb / 10 sqft of land. Nice to know, thanks.

[@alysal2568]

About 1 lb/10 sqft, and of course the wheat straw is useable for compost, mulch, animal feed or bedding, etc.

[@bbruce995]

Maybe you need to eat less wheat

[@Daniel-tl2ln]

@@bbruce995 yeah, maybe you should consider becoming gluten intolerant 😅

[@jesuscampie4099]

Sorghum gets two harvests

[@Lost-boys_EU]

Since I added some free range chickens to my garden, the garden is so much more in balance! Off course it's a beautiful and cosy site to see the chickens but they keep a lot of problems under control especially snales, spiders, aphid, ants etc. This is besides the great fertiliser.

[@moniquem783]

The Brits have a very old method of growing wood so you get more from less space. It’s called coppicing. You cut the tree in a certain way and leave the stump and it grows back multiple branches that you can harvest next time. It’s still a 7 year cycle, depending on species, but you get more timber from less trees. I’m planning to do it because I think it will be easier. I haven’t worked out exactly how much I will need to have enough to heat my home, but it certainly won’t be 5 acres! I am in a temperate climate so I won’t need as much as someone who deals with snow in winter which is handy. I’m thinking an acre of managed coppiced woodland is probably enough for me. If you eat meat, you can get the bulk calories you need from that rather than from grain. Grain is still nice to make bread and pasta etc, but you can make a lot of flatbreads etc with non grains to stretch it out. Standard cattle, yes 1.8 acres is about right. Smaller cattle such as Dexters need less space. Goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world. I’ve never seen it in my supermarket, but I will eat it if I raise it. If I don’t love it, I’ll learn to. They need far less space and still give milk. Sheep don’t need as much space as cows either. Sheep can be milked too. And you get wool. From what I can tell, the commercial lamb you can buy in the US is pretty bad, but every American homesteader I watch who has tried raising their own lamb says it’s so much better than what they’ve tried in the past. Then of course there’s poultry. Less space but if you’re not buying in feed you will need to dedicate a fair amount of space to growing it. Pigs don’t need a huge amount of space. In WW2 in Britain they had pig clubs, where a group of people would get together and combine all of their garden and kitchen waste to feed a pig and then share the meat. It will grow a bit slower than if it was fed on grain or commercial feed, but it’ll get there. And then there’s rabbits. They take up barely any space and can be fed from the garden and with grass. They are also fast to multiply and to grow, so you can get a lot of meat from a very small space. Any of these reduce your need for grains and potatoes. I grew all of my vegetables for a year in 4 raised beds that were 6’x3’, plus a trellis up the fence for climbing beans. I didn’t plant potatoes because at the time I rarely ate potatoes. I had plenty of calories and more than enough food because I also ate meat. Another way to get more calories is fat. A few olive trees, nut trees or even peanuts and you can press your own oil. There’s a small hand cranked oil press out there that’s pretty cheap. It would take a fair while to press a gallon of oil, but it can be done. There are small appliance type machines that do it too if your power supply is secure. There are lots of ways to do things so you can be mostly self sufficient on far less than 20 acres.

[@cheesygal]

Well said. We have goats, which provide meat and milk. The meat is very good. I like Moroccan seasoning. We also have chickens that free range. Cut the chicken feed by 40% by fermenting it. Plus they provide meat and eggs. We have ten acres but do all of our homesteading on about 2.5 currently. Trying to fence in another five for better grazing. It should go without saying that the animals multiply with little expense.

[@moniquem783]

@@cheesygal thanks! I’ll make a note of Moroccan seasoning! I’m expecting that pretty much anything that goes with lamb or mutton will work fairly well with goat. Not that I’ve tasted mutton either. Can’t buy that here. But I’ve been collecting old cookbooks 😊 Yes, fermenting chicken feed. I haven’t been doing that here but I will when I move. I’m very interested in slow growing breeds for meat. I have a feeling that slow grown meat will suit my body better. Absolutely no science to base that on 😂😂😂 Just a feeling. I’m not sure how much land I’ll have yet. I’m considering anything from 3-10 acres. The house needs to work for me too, and actually is probably more important than the land because I know I can adapt my plans to suit a smaller space, but I’m not willing to get stuck in another house that just doesn’t work for me like this one. I will still have an income so can buy in hay from a neighbour if necessary. Maybe I can even barter for it. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll buy in firewood. I’ll also be in a forested area. Right now you can’t go cut down a tree, but if shtf has happened laws won’t be a factor. If I use the split system for some of the heating I won’t need as much firewood. Although I do have an issue with my hands when the split system is on heat so then I would also need to run a dehumidifier. I’m planning a big solar power system though lol. My plans are set yet flexible, so I know I can make it work. I had been wanting a cow for milk, but recently I’ve been thinking that goats are just far more practical. Yes, bucks are stinky, but I can keep a couple on a small homestead. I can keep a ram. A boar is a maybe. So I can multiply all those meat sources easily. But I don’t want a bull when I’m out there on my own, so I couldn’t ever be truly self sufficient with a dairy cow. Goats make much more sense. They also produce a more appropriate amount of milk for one person!

[@cheesygal]

@@moniquem783 I love all your ideas! I’ve learned a lot in my four years of homesteading. You have to “refresh” your milk goat. So every year or two you end up with 1-3 kids. We harvested 70 lbs from two yearlings. Just keep the buck away from the milk goat if you want sweet milk. We are putting our house on solar and have mini splits and a wood cook stove. Hopefully we’re thinking of everything. Our children have launched but they may all move back. Lol! Dairy cows produce too much milk daily. Also, my goats are so sweet. I have alpines. Very affectionate. Have fun planning!

[@moniquem783]

@@cheesygal are alpines particularly noisy? 70lbs from 2 yearlings is pretty good! That’s more than 2 lambs would give. I had been thinking nubians but I was warned that they tend to be screamers. The whole idea to move started because I have a lot of trouble with my ears and can’t cope with the noise of the suburbs anymore, so I’d really like to avoid particularly noisy goats. Saanens look like a possibility too. I think Nigerian Dwarfs might be too small, especially for the meat side of things. But what I’m able to get locally will play a part too. If there’s a Saanen breeder nearby so I can get an unrelated buck whenever I need one that would be super handy. I know the buck needs to be kept away from the does. And the milk needs to be chilled immediately so it’s not goaty. I can’t picture the layout until I see the place of course. I’m sure I’ll have to adapt fencing for goats. Where I’m headed is dairy country so any existing fences will be for cows. I think my best bet will be to go to the agricultural show there and talk to some breeders and take their advice. The added bonus with goats is if I get it wrong and want to try a different breed, it’s far less expensive to start over. Do you have an electric stove as well as the wood cook stove? In the middle of summer you won’t want the wood stove going. I so want a wood cook stove too. They’re gorgeous. But then I also want a fancy schmancy electric oven and induction cooktop to use in summer or if I’m too tired to light a fire, and for that first thing in the morning coffee. It won’t go well if I have to light a fire before I can have my coffee! 😂😂😂 Having both will give me options to manage fuel too. If there’s an overcast week and the solar doesn’t produce what it normally does, being able to use the wood stove and save that solar power for something else will be really important. I also want some kind of outdoor oven for that situation when a fire inside will be too hot. It sounds like you’re pretty well organised. I can’t wait to be 4 years in and have a flourishing veg garden and a medicinal herb garden and by then I’ll have fruit trees planted too! My 5 year goal is to go to the supermarket once a year. I won’t have everything I want in 5 years. A lot of the fruit won’t be producing fully yet by then, but I’ll have enough to get by I think. What an exciting thought. The supermarket staff will think I’m totally weird. A year’s supply of coffee, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda, but no actual food 😂😂😂

[@cheesygal]

@@moniquem783 yes and yes. I have a gas stove/range that’s converted to propane. And the newer designs of wood cook stoves have a summer grate, which allows for minimum flame to cook. Haven’t had a chance to try that yet as it’s new. And as a back up to the backup, check into how you can plug your propane generator directly to your circuit breaker box. Alpines are not noisy like screaming. They talk to you when you go outside. It’s cute. Some will occasionally call out when hungry if you’re late. Mostly sweet goat noises. They run between 120-140 lbs. I’ve learned to make all kinds of cheese, including cheddar and Parmesan. I’ve learned to tackle one main crop per year to preserve for a years worth. I’m up to garlic and tomatoes with varying successes with other crops. I don’t feel organized but getting there. I have found an incubator is very handy to hatch chicks. We have some coming within 3 days now. Are learning to process. Although we got help with the goat yearlings. Also, I still love my keurig for my morning coffee. During a power outage, I used the burner on our bbq grill to heat water for my French press. And have a stash of instant for desperate times. 🤣. You will want a well btw.

[@dalepres1]

Very good analysis of real self-sustaining lifestyle. As a meat eater, I appreciate the open-mindedness and acceptance you have for those who make different choices.

Self sustaining or self isolating ?

[@thedarkhairedone7672]

These videos are an answer to prayer! Thank you so much for sharing! We have been praying for guidance in finding a place in the country, Lord willing-and what a wonderful resource these are.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

What a blessing. May the Lord bless your journey. I will pray for your.

[@Growmap]

See if you can find a homesteading channel in your area because there are a lot of variables affected by soil type, weather, rainfall, etc. Your best source for accurate information will be locals doing what you want to do.

[@thatguychris5654]

Regarding grain, here's some simple math: To do only 1 loaf of bread per week, you need about 55lbs of grain per year. It takes around 15-20 sq ft to grow 1lb on a typical homestead. Add to that the 10% extra needed to seed the crop for next year, you're looking at roughly 1200+ sq ft of grain field. Now add any other baked goods, animals etc and the field needed expands greatly.

[@Big-Government-Is-The-Problem]

nice comment. for the small scale homesteader family of 4 or so i dont think grain production is really the best thing to grow. imo you'd be better off just buying bulk flour and making your own bread or whatever baked products, or just buy premade bread but thats ofc more expensive. the land, labor and soil amendments required just isnt worth it in my opinion.

[@thatguychris5654]

@@Big-Government-Is-The-Problem I agree, if the system is working as normal then yes, growing your own grain is not the way to go on small homesteads. Things like potatoes, yams, artichokes etc are much more calorie dense per sq ft than most other crops. However, due to the global craziness we are entering now, folks may want to consider trying to produce their own staple crops for the bulk of their diet. Farming "coops" with neighbors may be the way to go, so that each person can focus and refine their skills in a couple crops/animals and trade amongst themselves.

[@nathanrathbun2619]

An acre produced 10-20 bushels prior to modern farming methods. 60lbs per bushel, which makes ~2/3 flour by weight. You can grow enough wheat on an acre or two for a family of 4 using sustainable methods. This is based on how much wheat an American eats. With crop rotation you would need 3-6 acres for your wheat, not including animal feed. Wheat also happens to be a labor intensive crop without modern machinery.

[@cee-emm]

There was a guy that used 1/8 acre for wheat and harvested 250lbs of grain - I think it's on KZbin.

[@thatguychris5654]

@@cee-emm sounds about right. Roughly a ton per acre

[@jeepdriver7603]

All good points, by the way. Something to consider after someone has done the homework you suggest, is to step back and consider just where the "sweet spot" is. To be 100% self sufficient you'd need to live like a neolithic hunter/gatherer. So ... where is the diminishing point of returns wrt expense/effort and gains? For example, I am going to buy salt and matches, and not even try to make those myself. Sugar? Is making sugar from sugar beets too much effort? Skip sugar and just use honey from your hives? What about baking powder? Are all of breads going to be leavened (use yeast) if we can't get baking powder? I think at some point you figure out a cash crop you can grow to barter with to get the things you can't produce yourself. Either that or you have a value-added skill, like turning milk into cheese, or grain in to beer.

[@olliebee2835]

Shoes? Clothes? Furniture? Glasses? All these technology like phone and Wi-Fi services? My grandparents lived in a very poor village with no electric or water, making everything themselves including the house, wool from sheep etc and it’s a very, very difficult life. You need so many people to constantly work, and I mean all day everyday. And yet you still need to buy a lot of things from other villages. Being completely self sufficient is not practical or efficient. Creating communities to function together is the way to go. And that’s exactly what had happened in ancient times and that’s why we have societies with an exchangeable currency. It sucks to have so many evil plans going on by many governments and I am also learning to grow food, but clearly we can not all own such huge lands for the sake of only food sufficiency, all 6 billion of us.

[@Whitespike77]

The whole of Denmark opened up again this week - for those with a Corona passport. Quitting my job, moving south (cheaper land) ASAP. 1.4 acres is all I can get. Looking forward to the next 4 years. So many miracles must happen.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Glad things are going well in Denmark. All the best in your move. Congratulations.

[@claycarpenter8625]

Sounds awesome man. I would like to find a partner to do this with

[@brookeenglish9143]

Hey Alex, how is it going? Did you get the land and start being self sufficient?

[@Whitespike77]

@@brookeenglish9143 well Ellen White writes that we should never go into debt so I didn’t try to get a loan from the bank and I don’t have millions of danish crowns in cash. My job requires me to to take the PCR test and to get jabbed so time will tell how long they will tolerate my disobedience. I’m sure God has a plan.

[@Whitespike77]

And we couldn’t buy the 1.4 acres because the money for that was withheld from us.

[@jeepdriver7603]

In the West grazing land is acres per cow, not cows per acre. :/ Also note that west of the 100th meridian, serious agriculture requires irrigation.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Both very good points. Thanks for sharing.

[@mannurse7421]

Meat eaters can do more with less land. Goats can convert food from non arable land. Poultry can be squeezed into gardens. Fish can be grown in greenhouses and ponds. You can feed rabbits weeds from your garden and feed catfish rabbit poop. Both of which can take up an IBC totes worth of floor space.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

True you can do more but with less calories. Potatoes or corn will give you more calories than fish or goats on a given piece of land. If you use animals as food you can have more different things but less calories per square foot. But in the end we all get to do whatever we want. Blessings to you.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

One more thing. Animals can be great to have help, like you stated. For those of us who done eat meat, the can still have animals to use for fertilizer etc. I have a friend who grew up Amish. He doesn’t eat meat but still has a farm full of animals.

[@SimpleEarthSelfReliance]

I apologise, I posted a comment saying this just before I saw yours - but your comment is better and more explanatory than mine. Totally agree. When applied with respect, love and a regenerative mindset - animal husbandry and meat/veg diets goes well together (especially in a JADAM/Permaculture setup)

[@johngibbs781]

@@HealthAndHomestead there are few calories to be had from marginal or bad land not suitable for growing vegetables. Those millions of acres not suitable for vegetables are great for pasture. That's why you can do more with animals than without

[@80Demitri]

I have a 3rd acre and have 20 chickens and 3 large raised beds.....works great! You do not need 20 acres to be self sustainable.

[@karleggers3125]

Need 20 acres? Probably not. Want 20 acres? Definitely!

[@80Demitri]

@@karleggers3125 Exactly my point...thanks for the reinforcement.........cheers!

[@endtimesareuponus8930]

You're not self sustainable. You're partially self sufficient.

[@cathyann6835]

Right. Depending on your area, you technically can be pretty self sustainable on about 2 acres. If you live near wooded areas to hunt and have a small stocked pond. I saw a show of a family with a hydroponics system with fish and many plants grew in the same system. The fish waste was fertilizer. You could do this on an acre with fish and chickens. Plant vertically. You just have to use your imagination. People have the old time farming mindset.

[@karleggers3125]

@@cathyann6835 I have a setup like this. Aquaponics, with tilapia fish and growing tomatos in gravel where the fish water is pumped into the gravel beds. The naturally occurring beneficial bacteria will convert the ammonia from the fish waste into food for the veggies, thus cleaning the water and recycling it back to the fish water. I grow lots of food in a small amount of space. I eat some of the fish and they multiply. The only input to the “system” is fish food. You can grow your own fish food. It’s very fascinating.

[@kimnenninger7226]

Great video. Nice to see realistic recommendations for self reliance.

[@lizpetruzzi7700]

Favorite new channel - helpful contact delivered directly. Thank you and may the Lord continue to bless you, your family and the work of your hands. ❤️✝️

[@masonh2260]

The thing I have been considering for a property is to build underground. It sounds outlandish to say to the majority of people but there are some real good pros to building underground.

[@phyrewillow6463]

At the very least for food storage. A great way to have fresh food over winter is a root cellar. Potatoes, cabbages, carrots, beets, winter squash, even apples and pears can stay fresh for months if carefully stored in a root cellar.

[@wisenber]

With the rainfall in my area, it actually takes less than an acre per cow. Mine have access to about three acres each, but I end up selling the excess hay. My chickens follow the cows as I rotate them. I also stocked one of my ponds with fish, and the creek has fish of its own. I also have acorns, hickory, walnuts, blueberries and blackberries in abundance. I have to say, the quality of eggs I get from the pastured hens is better than anything I've found in a grocery. The one area I did luck out with was that I have an old gas well that doesn't produce enough to be commercially viable but does have enough for me to heat, cook, pump water and run a generator or three for about a hundred years. I converted my farm equipment to run on CNG from the well. I go to the grocery store or out to eat for "something different" rather than any meaningful calories.

[@jksatte]

Where are there natural gas wells? That is amazing. I heard of some places they people get coal right from the side of the road. We have nothing like that here that I am aware of.

[@wisenber]

@@jksatte "Where are there natural gas wells?" There are tens of thousands of them throughout the US in regions with gas deposits. On the East Coast, they follow the same areas where oil was first discovered and coal deposits usually have gas as well. With natural gas and electricity prices headed where they are, my bet has been paying off even more than I had hoped. Natural gas had fallen as low as $2, now it's about five times that. This winter looks to be far higher. Meanwhile, my next century of gas is already paid other than a couple of hundred bucks in parts every five years or so. Come to think of it, I should probably buy the next 20 years of parts now before their price gets much higher.

[@theBorealShepherdess]

I live in Interior Alaska. We currently have a small place, just under 2 acres, where we've had chickens and sheep for a while. But we have a newly acquired larger property we hope to build on this year. It is virgin old growth boreal forest. Firewood will be easy enough, even for our long winters. The biggest issue is land for the sheep. Sheep books will tell you that you can keep 3 to 4 ewes and their lambs per acre. Up here, the growing season is short, so they spend more of the year on hay. Our goal is to eventually produce our own hay. So we will need substantially more acreage per animal than what would be recommended in more temperate zones.

[@helicart]

Nice. I've watched a few of your videos today, and like that you have done quality research and delivered it concisely. I also lean towards WFPB, or Blue Zones more precisely.

[@courtneyheron1561]

A nice contribution to this conversation. Thanks! I see several opportunities for further exploration when speaking about food sustainability. Issues related to nutrient rich food production, perennial low cost high production growing systems (e.g. nuts, fruits berries), regenerative resilient ecosystem development, the impact and value of community connections and interactions. Keep the conversation going. Thanks again for your effort and contribution.

[@followerofchrist4064]

Grains, yes! Make sprouted bread from grains! Microgreens are also a great way to nutrition and can be grown indoors when the season changes and gets colder. Yes, plant based all the way for me!!

[@KevinKimmich44024]

This is really good info. If you think about these questions from the perspective of civilization falling apart and look at the number of people who are currently in cities and megalopolis regions... it's pretty sobering.

[@shadowcat228]

Great video! Bonus points for talking about acres needed for privacy. Been wanting to know that for a while!

[@Lostinsaidsauce]

Very well put together video, thank you for the information. Really clarifying for some questions I had about my own growing.

[@JTHMShmee]

A good way to save on wood heating is to use radiant(?) heat methods. Use items that store heat then release it when the heat source is gone.Thermal mass heaters, masonry stove, or maybe just putting large clay pots or bricks near your wood stove. You'll use a fraction of wood that way.

[@korimandu8891]

Passive solar is a very effective means of heating. Anywhere in the lower 48 it can heat your house with the right design.

[@morgan1888able]

Yes I agree, my pastor had a house in Northern California and it would be bitter cold outside with the wind howling yet because of the position of his house and the rocks he used as mass under the foundation, the house was very toasty and the woodstove would not be needed so much.

[@funkypaletteart]

Thank you for a great video that brings to light important factors to consider when seeking land that will be appropriate to support your goal of being more self sufficient

[@mywildholm]

We just bought a 62 acre island on a lake in the Canadian wilderness. We are investigating the soil and all that growing will entail - an exciting adventure! Great information you are sharing! Thank you.

[@ScotchIrishHoundsman]

I’m not judging, and I really should be more plant based in my diet, but I don’t see how folks can go solely plant based. I plan on going mostly plant based with supplemental meat. Venison, quail, squab, pork, and beef. Good thing is, where I’m from, we have all the wild pork you could ever want and plenty of venison. I’d like to be self sufficient with my chickens, pigeons, and quail but the amount of land to grow the grain and time processing it seems like it would be counter productive. That’s why there’s such a need for community farming where one neighbor grows enough to trade with the other neighbor, and so on. Being so far removed from our ancestors knowledge, we should look to the Amish, they can really show us a lot.

[@SimpleEarthSelfReliance]

Amazing knowledge in 12 mins, thanks! Just a note on the animals... cows are a bad example. Browsers like goats can provide milk, meat, offspring on small space that is reused by your outer zones/wildlife/perrenial food sources. I am in a desert area, and I would not touch something as destructive as a cow with a barge pole. In the tropics, it would be a fantastic option though. I guess everyone has such a diverse set of variables when doing this. Again, thanks for the good video. Looking forward to watching all your others now.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Thank you for the input. Good points.

[@Growmap]

Every animal has pros and cons. Our ancestors cattle were much smaller than the commercial variety we commonly see. And those have made a comeback. That said, if you want dairy, a goat or even a milk sheep is probably plenty for most people. (Or a few if it isn't.) The drawback to goats is they love to eat and kill fruit trees. And they are escape artists. Like all animals, they have predators. But if you want to clear brush, poison ivy, poison oak, etc., they're great. Oh, but to be self-sufficient you need a buck and boy do they stink! That's why I've looked into sheep for milk. I didn't realize there was such a thing until recently. They are easier to keep in a fence and prefer to graze on the ground. Ideally, a homestead with poultry, a pair of sheep, a pair of goats, and rabbits would be ideal. Build infrastructure first. And have a plan for predator-prevention. (Chicken wire only keeps chickens IN not predators OUT!) Don't get animals or even ducks until you have a safe place to keep them. They all produce valuable fertilizer. Goats can clear the brush and small trees. Then chickens can till the soil so you can plant there. And use them all in rotation to improve the soil and what grows on it.

[@SimpleEarthSelfReliance]

@@Growmap Excellent comment. Couldn't put it better myself. On my vast space (because it's a desert area) goats work well and they move a lot, so no ring barking of trees or stinky rams (as they are always somewhere else). Goats also really help with invasives, controlling it and general land upkeep. Your points are good though, as it must be considered strongly for anyone in the new. Sheep milk, totally! Chickens, they have so many uses and they are machines! Can't imagine any scale of homestead without them. Ducks? A pain in my side, and they just don't work for us. 🙃

[@gordonspears6320]

Good thoughtful analysis. I have a very small 1/8 acre parcel near downtown in a Florida city. I grow all of my leafy green vegetables (both annual and perennial), but only sweet potatos for starchy carbs. Leafy green vegetables and fruit vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) quickly lose their nutrients quickly whereas dried starchy carbs may be stored longer without degrading. I therefore concentrate my efforts on growing these kinds of fresh vegetables and buy my carbs and meat. I also have about 30 fruit trees and other fruit-bearing plants like pineapple, banana, papaya, mangos, avocados, and macadamia. These are a delicious addition to my diet, but are quite seasonal. Still, i have gotten spoiled with the superior taste and don't even want grocery store mangos or bananas anymore. The sweet fruits mostly ripen in the late summer, and the fatty fruits ripen in winter. Knowing how to grow the foods you prefer to eat is great, but a more practical approach is learning how to feed yourself with the foods that grow well on your property. In other words, knowledge of nutrition is as important as knowlege of horticulture when it comes to sustainability. My goal is to increase my food resiliency, not to become totally self reliant.

[@alatamore]

Self sustaining is such a personal concept. The true reality is almost no one, even someone who isolated themselves in the wilderness is truly self sustaining. So it’s a matter of choosing what you want to be self sustaining in. I appreciate this videos honesty on this as many video makers use click bait tactics to make people think a large hobby garden will feed them and their family forever, which it won’t unless the only goal is replacing grocery store veggies. You still need a variety of grains and proteins to survive, and those will require more space.

[@baneofbanes]

The fact of the matter is that the human individual has never and will never be self sustaining in the true sense of the word. This has been true since we first came into existence, whether by his or evolution or something else. Communities are what have the ability to be truly self sufficient.

[@smokedbrisket3033]

Family has been in the cattle business for decades. I don't know any place in the country where 1.8 acres is enough land for a single cow. Pretty typical in non-desert areas is about 3-5 acres of pasture for each head. If your land will grow alfalfa, maybe a little less than 3. For the rest of the country where it's a lot of bahia grass and similar, no way is 1.8 acres even close to enough. In west Texas, where the rainfall is low and vegetation sparse, as much as 25-50 acres *per head*. A couple or 3 acres will support quite a lot of sheep and/or goats, though. Goats are browsers (like deer), though, and sheep are grazers (like cattle). It wouldn't be a great challenge to raise maybe 50 goats/sheep on a couple acres, though. Plain, open pasture wouldn't be great for goats. They will graze, but they prefer nibbling on shrub and tree leaves. Realistically, 1 buck and 15 or 20 does, or 1 ram and 15 or 20 ewes will provide you plenty of meat to eat, plus some to sell/trade. Where sheep are dumb, goats are quite wily. The proper fence is easy to make escape proof for sheep. For goats, if you want to know if they can escape their enclosure, take a 5 gallon bucket of water, fill it about half way. Then toss the water at the fence. If water gets through, so can goats. ;)

[@armorclasshero2103]

I'm curious if you're including the Joel Salatin method? Mob grazing?

[@smokedbrisket3033]

@@armorclasshero2103 - no. the driving force is the quality of the graze, and the number of days in the year it will grow. pasture rotation has been done for a long time, that's part of the calculus for "x acres/head." I note in an article it mentions he gets up to about 900 head in a year on his ~1200 acres. That doesn't tell me much. I'd need to know his average head count on all that property to understand if he's doing better than the averages I cited. Land with adequate rainfall and a climate/soil that can support nutritious forage, like alfalfa, will always have a lower land requirement to support a given head count. Around here, it just gets way too hot for alfalfa, and the soil is very poor in organic matter, so we graze cattle on bahia grass, or one of several varieties of Bermudagrass that can thrive in an unfavorable environment like what exists all across the Gulf Coast. Virginia, where Mr Salatin's ranch is, certainly gets about as hot as we do down here in Texas, but we're already having 90º days in early May. He won't likely see that until June or maybe even July, at least not consistently. And 90º+ temps here will last until late September or early October, sometimes all the way to around Halloween. It has been like this for the 53 years I've been on this earth. Once it gets cool enough, we'll overseed with wheat or rye grass. Better than bahia, but still not as good as alfalfa. This video is about being self-sustaining, and for most people, that means self-sustaining on a small property, maybe 5-20 acres. Further, even though he doesn't do any real marketing, his target market is certainly people with lots of discretionary income. That doesn't describe most people who are trying to have small, self-sustaining operations.

[@armorclasshero2103]

@@smokedbrisket3033 thank you 👍

[@mysticmeadow9116]

Even with 30 ac we still see our 6 neighbors. Not a problem really, just a little noisy at times. The thing is nobody wants to pay for the utility company to run electric 500feet to your house so most opt for closer to the main road.

[@landcruiserchewy]

I bought 5 acres with a wild trout pond with stream through property. 2 acres are cleared, with 3 acres forested with hard and soft wood. We put in a garden and keep chickens, but always have the option to clear more land if we needed more room for livestock. I feel quite self sufficient, with the exception of beef and pork.

[@lindacgrace2973]

Great information. Very helpful for me as I plan my retirement. However, in mild climates, it is actually not just feasible, but extraordinarily efficient to heat your house with solar power. I plan to retire in Prescott, AZ. Up in the mountains, out of the heat of the desert floor, but with quite modest rainfall. I will build a 32'x32' retirement cottage. The walls will be very heavily insulated (R34) with a heavily insulated roof (R70). I have run through all the calculations. I asked a friend who is an HVAC installer to run through the calculations. We both came up with the same answer: I will need a 3/4 ton equivalent heat pump that both heats and cool the entire house. The air-source heat pump uses approximately the same wattage as a chest freezer and only requires two 3'x5' solar panels (even for peak draws). I can easily fit 42 such panels on the south slope of the roof of my modest house (although I certainly can't afford that many, nor do I need them). I will only need 20 panels to power my entire house; I plan to install a couple extra to power chargers for my e-bike and water cistern pumps and filters. Honestly, solar (and heat technology) has come a l-o-o-n-g way in recent decades. Hell, even in severe climates it is becoming more feasible. One guy in Alaska installed a ground-source radiant floor heating system in a heavily insulated Passive House, and the entire system of pumps is solar-powered (and more energy-efficient than the system I'm contemplating). Although I disagree with your assessment that burning wood is the only feasible heating option, I still love the content. Keep up the good work!

[@creekbandit]

We are the process of selling our house in a neighborhood and purchasing land to build on. This has been on my heart for years, but it is finally starting to happen. We live in a wonderful rural community in the Ozarks. Thanks, dude - I am so into your channel. It is timely and encouraging.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

That is awesome. We had a great time buying land, camping on it and finally building. It was a ridiculous amount of work but well worth it. I hope all the best in getting your country property.

[@mikedundee65]

You should check out The Prepared Homestead on KZbin. He's based in the Ozarks and has really good content. He also organizes meetings where homesteaders and peppers meet to teach eachother skills.

[@frenchfryfarmer436]

Update a year later?

[@cjhoward409]

We did this 8 years ago. Lived in our class C motorhome for 2 years while we started to build. We moved into the house after 2 years while still building inside. But it was insulated and had water and electric. 👍🏻 My only regret is that we didn’t start building decades ago !

[@archman]

Amen! Thank you for the great information, great stuff! God bless you. Still praying for the Lord to open a path for us. Thought I'd share; I've listened to videos setting up land via sustainable permaculture; capturing rain via the land itself, food forest, etc. Geoff Lawton is also a great resource for that type of setup. In any case, Thank you.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

You are welcome. Great points on water catchment. Just check with the local zoning to see if it is legal to catch water in your area or state. Crazy enough, some areas don't let you use the water that rains on your own property.

[@musicfever24.79]

@@HealthAndHomestead How do u get a good water source if u don't have a river or natural water supply?

[@Growmap]

@@musicfever24.79 In many states there are a lot of ponds created by humans to water livestock. They're all over Oklahoma and Texas. You can use a ram pump to harvest water from tiny creeks. And it some areas of Austin, huge houses use rainwater collection as their only source of water. There is a drought there now, so those people may be hauling water. In rural Texas, some counties have a huge water spigot you can drive a trailer under. Hauling water is fairly easy with either a tank on a 2 wheel trailer set up to be connected to a pump OR a reservoir on a flatbed you put on high ground and gravity feed to where you want it.

[@billnichols9391]

I think your suggestion of 5 acres of woodlot for firewood is a good one. Here in the forested Midwest (Michigan), our rule of thumb is that you can harvest one (full) cord of firewood per acre per year without depleting the forest. This would involve only clearing standing deadwood, stormfall, etc. Five cords of wood should easily heat most standard homes through the winter.

[@avermontlife]

Five acres of woods is exactly what I once read in an old, out of print book in rural Vermont. I would add a couple of acres of flat pasture or field in order to sustain some livestock, a family cow, and veg. Even a quarter of an acre can sustain a green veg garden for a family of four if it's well managed. Obviously grain needs more. The wisdom of our ancestors. If only we clung to continuity of generations instead of autonomy. We have all that you say, but we absolutely see our neighbors, and they are grisly, leaving their dogs out all day to bark, putting in pools (they haven't experienced winter here yet), because they are flatlanders who moved up here during the pandemic and have yet to understand the point of life here. Your video was spot on with all I've learned and promoted to others! Thanks!

[@painkillerjones6232]

Lincoln's dad would move if a neighbor's house was within view, and they lived in Illinois. That's a lot of flat land, so I guess they moved a lot...

[@HealthAndHomestead]

That is funny.

[@amandabaskin]

Good video. However, you can be self-sufficient in grain for a family of 4 on a 1/2 acre with golden giant amaranth. Generally 1 pound of grain per stalk. Super food. You don't need cows for meat. Give up cows to save space and just keep chickens. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

[@jonothandoeser]

Also hunting is an option is some places. You don't have to raise a deer on your own land.

[@commonomics]

@@jonothandoeser good point, meat was always a luxury for our ancestors

[@jonothandoeser]

@@commonomics Few people understand that point.

[@Growmap]

@@jonothandoeser No, but you can't keep your neighbors from feeding them gmo aflatoxin heavy corn, either.

[@jonothandoeser]

@@Growmap I doubt if that would become a major part of their diet... unless your neighbors are bent on feeding all of the deer in the area on their own dime.

[@crowlsyong]

7:06.3 Cardinal in the background is so cute, right as you say, "live off the land," it pops into frame. So awesome. Cheers!

[@theedenschool8062]

Hey Chad. Thank you so much for this valuable information!

[@HealthAndHomestead]

You are welcome, blessings.

[@iulianaa2079]

1 cow, eaten traditionally, as in eating everything from it - organs, bones, everything, feeds one family of four in meat for a whole year, if you also have another for milk. also some chickens for eggs and meat. That is enough for a family who doesn't believe in only eating steak. Or the ridiculous US portions.

[@BigPoppa-Monk]

Not even close.

[@VoodooViking]

Black locust trees are fairly easy to grow in most places. Plus they have the highest btu level out of just about any tree. Plus the wood glows under black light.

[@earlofsandwich7884]

Just planted my first 11 radish. Got to start somewhere. I love the idea of my garden being able to supply me with all the veg I need.

[@emylytle7149]

Im glad I subscribe with your channel. I love the things you talked about, I had a chance to get a 2 acre but my husband wouldn’t want to move 😔👩‍🌾 so I’m here maintaining the old 1960 swimming pool

[@Hyberlol]

I happen to know for certain that homesteading families 100 years so and more needed 2 gardens. About a half acre for vegetables etc and sbout a half acre for nothing but potatoes. Gardens this dize could easily feed family of about 7 or 8 for the entire year.

[@lisawallace3124]

then more acreage for grain...wheat, oatmeal, etc...more yet for the critters. That's why when the land west of the Mississippi river was settled and homestead claim got you "40 acres and a plow"

[@kraftykatskorner]

Plant based and living off the grid? Yes, please 😆 Currently looking for an affordable piece of land, where I could ideally park a THOW in the not so distant future, and your videos come in very handy. Thanks a ton. Subscribed 😁

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Great question, If you are in the US some states have land in areas with very low or no restrictions. Arkansas has areas like this, I believe areas of Missouri also have some. But many states are pretty stringent. Some people in any state may have an area with a slab for a RV that you can park on and for a low cost you could do that.

[@honeybadger8942]

@wnc817 Must ask the cows.

[@Growmap]

@@HealthAndHomestead It varies even within a state. People need to check zoning, future zoning maps, state, county, city rules + read their deeds / contract for sales carefully. And whatever you do, avoid HOAs! There is land being split up for sale by owner not far away. That guy put restrictions as to square footage of a residence that can be built + the number of poultry and animals you can have. If he puts that in the deed he can probably enforce it. And it is obvious he isn't a homesteader or familiar with livestock because the limit is per any size animal, not based on how much room each requires. So one miniature goat = a cow to him? It would never have occurred to me that someone would put such restrictions on 5 acre parcels out in the country in the middle of nowhere. So buyer beware!

[@ObamaoZedong]

@wnc817 If animals were such good sources of B12, why does 95%+ of B12 supplements go to livestock? By the way B12 is destroyed when cooked, which may be why 39% of the population has low B12 levels. So how exactly is B12 made? Well it is synthesized by bacteria which live in the soil and in our digestive tracts. I've had my B13 levels checked and they're perfect after 9 years vegan with no supplements. However if you have been diagnosed with a deficiency, there's no harm in taking a supplement, after all that's where most of the B12 in animal products comes from.

[@ObamaoZedong]

@wnc817 According to the USDA, 97% of farmed animals currently live on CAFO's, and according to the beef industry itself 99% of pasture raised cows go thru a feedlot where they're fattened up and injected with B12. In order to convert every factory farm in the US to pasture raised, we'd have to bulldoze every square inch of North and South America including the forests, mountains, suburbs, and urban centers just to grow the grasses for them all to graze. Is it really such a terrible thing to not bother the animals in the first place?

[@TheNigganaut1]

Thank you, its these kinda questions that we need to be thinking about, we often get lost in the idea problems are so absrtact and complex theyre not. You only need to know so much, not infinity.

[@pnice494]

Very informal and to the point. Thank you.

[@broark88]

You can feasibly heat with solar using a ground source heat pump. They're expensive to install, but saves having to harvest fuel.

[@BigBenC1991]

Yeah, there are plenty of very efficient modern heat pumps that continue working (and at decent efficiency) all the way down below zero. I'd still recommend a wood stove or some other back up if you get very cold (below -10) weather with frequency or for extended periods but for most a modern heat pump will work as long as you have sufficient solar panels and battery storage for night time.

[@justalogicalchristian]

Solar panels used to be marketed for heating, but only for your water heater. the water line went through the panel and the sun's rays were focused on the pipe to supposedly heat up the water which was stored in your existing water heater tank. I know this because my wife and I went into debt back in the 1970s, for this inefficient system. This was a total waste of our money, and has soured me to installing any type of solar panels - even if they want to pay me to install a system. Nothing Is Free!

[@joeyjoey5571]

Youre great at explaining things man, awesome

[@hhwippedcream]

Thank you Mr. Kreuzer for emphasizing the legality of water use and the need for a greater catchment basin, the more arid the property. One other aspect is being downslope of a healthy basin, national forest, etc, youre baseline water bank is going togoing to be higher based on the density of Biomass. You rock! Thank you for exploring this. Wish we could have a convo about this stuff. In the west and dealing with major water shortages.

[@hhwippedcream]

It may be that a combination of vegetation and animal-based food is the most efficient and effective/adaptive diet given unstable environmental conditions. This is why I assume cockroaches are sp resilient, not excepting their moisture retention and genetic flexibility I would advocate for a seafood diet if our oceans weren't so over-exploited.

[@605pilot]

Having cattle on your land depends on the amount and quality of the grass. In the arid parts of Colorado and Wyoming most ranchers allow about 100 acres per cattle. My 35 acres in the mountains of Colorado is sub irrigated so I have an abundance of grass for most of the spring; summer and fall and I can graze my two horses and a couple of cows if needed. I usually buy enough hay to sustain 3 horses during the winter months.

[@karleggers3125]

I have about 6 irrigated acres next to the year round creek that is the water source. In SW Oregon I have enough pasture for 5-6 cows from late March to early November. The off months I must feed hay too, which is going to increase in price way too much. I’m a little anxious about the price and availability of quality hay this year. I might have to sell some of my cattle or put them in the freezer earlier than anticipated. Do you have an idea on how to afford hay for your livestock this coming winter?

[@Aubsydinklegirl]

@@karleggers3125 I don't know if you have looked into rotational grazing, but it could be one way you could feed your cattle and also harvest acres slowly to build up a winter supply. It definitely is more time consuming than just putting cows out in a big pasture, and it may or may not work for your setup, but I thought I would throw it out there. Tough times to be a rancher. You have my full respect.

[@karleggers3125]

@@Aubsydinklegirl , yes, Great thought! I actually do intense pasture management 🙂. I have 6 head of cattle on a 5 acres divided into 1 acre parts. The cows eat everything edible in one section while I irrigate the others. And rotate their grazing when they have eaten everything that is edible in the one section. It works for rotational grazing, but it’s not enough for harvesting the other parts. The rule of thumb here in south west Oregon is 1 irrigated, grazable acre per adult cow. So I’m kinda pushing the limits with 6 head on 5 acres. I would need another 10 irrigated, hayable acres to be able to put up enough hay to overwinter all six head without buying extra hay. I’m at the mercy of hay producers right now. I’m really thankful that I have awesome friends and neighbors that sell me hay at a very reasonable price. You are right, tough time to be a Rancher. But, I enjoy having my own beef to eat so much that I can’t imagine not having any. God bless you and your family 😁.

[@jasonschannel9017]

You can stack different animal groups together on the same land, providing a rounder ecological service to the land and getting more from the same acreage. Example rotate animals through with cows first followed by chickens. Cows eat the grass, poop/ urinate and chickens spread the manure, eat some forage and eat bug larvae hatching in the manure. Read Joel Salatin books for more info on this if desired.

[@brianbordenkircher52]

Always depends with different variables. Great info!

[@williamneal7210]

When I lived in South Central LA I had a solar water heater system: It was a panel with a series of radiator like pipes through it that set on the roof with an impact resistant glass panel protecting it. There was a smaller solar panel that worked with it. Basically the solar panel provided energy for a battery that powered a small water pump. The water pump was turned on by a thermostat in a water heater type storage tank, when the water in the tank reach a low temp limit the thermostat in the tank turned on the pump which drove water through the panel (it was like a reverse car radiator) and the hot water from the panel filled the tank or bought it up to temperature. I think it was a 75 gal tank and we never ran out of hot water

[@lisawallace3124]

That'll work in places like southern CA & AZ, but useless in say....PA or NE or really anywhere it routinely gets below 60 degrees

[@alexeric3898]

We have fish and chickens and they occupy little space and make good food and breed well too. Gas can be created for cooking using leaf mulch in sealed barrels. The veg is grown in no dig planters and fed with the fish water and chicken manure combined with home made compost straw and horse dung. Clover we use in tea form to add nitrates to the straw and horse dung no dig planters. We have 110 olive trees. 30 almond trees 5 walnut trees Apples pears and various other regional fruit trees. Heating is via wood and natural gas but luckily our winters are short. Summer is about keeping cool. We have water feed from ancient moorish water channels fed from the snowline higher up in the mountains. We collect this water in 20k ltr pools for the drier times. List goes on but all achieved on 6500m² of land. You can actually achieve a lot without having to manage huge spaces.

[@lxmzhg]

So, why are you telling us this?

[@alexeric3898]

@@lxmzhg because people believe you have to buy huge amounts of land at great expense to become self sustainable, which is not true. You can achieve it on a much smaller scale. Self sustainability is daunting when people see it as unachievable. Sure space is needed but with clever use and the right systems it is possible to be self sustainable, you don't need acres upon acres of land. This is why I'm telling you.

[@Growmap]

@@alexeric3898 That is a very small acreage. The converter says just under .15 acres.

[@alexeric3898]

@@Growmap no just over 1.6 acres. It's more than enough if planted and managed in the right way

[@frankblangeard8865]

There are 897 million acres of agricultural land in the USA. Population of USA is 330 million. That's 2.7 acres of the most suitable land for agriculture per person. Of course the USA exports some of the food grown so less than 2.7 acres of prime agricultural land is needed to feed one person.

[@loganv0410]

Fantastic vid!! I've advised people on food storage and home production for decades and many make the exact mistake you describe at about 8:00 .

[@darrin-lizhao-king8478]

every vid packed full of great advise! thank u!!!

[@HealthAndHomestead]

You are welcome. Blessings to you.

[@jefferygoldthorpe919]

Don't forget if you have a stream or lake on your property you might be able to supplement your diet with fish

[@thesmiths629]

If there is grass in your timber land that 5 acres could sustain a milk cow and her calves. Or it could sustain about 5-10 goats. Along with ducks.

[@matthew-ww6vs]

One thing I wanted to add is hedges can be used for food or firewood and chestnuts spaced out enough can be grown under and produce some of your carbohydrates to offset how many acres are needed for grain just some ideas

[@jmtoobin]

One important tool I found to be enormously useful is hardiness zones, because not all crops and plants grow anywhere you want, and once you understand that, you can also get a rough idea of what animal breeds are better suited to what hardiness zones, since flora and fauna have a symbiotic symmetry to them.

[@lilacDaisy111]

A cow might need 1.8 acres if they're not being moved onto fresh pasture daily. Regenerative agriculture can accommodate more cattle per acre -- you just have to figure out electric fencing... which we have not as yet.

[@karleggers3125]

Electric fence needs either electricity available or a solar charger. Once the bovine realize the fence is charged they will normally stay away from it. It has a bit of an initial investment, after which is pretty much self reliant. Using electric fencing is an easy way to divide your pasture in a way that can be easily moveable. I wish you well.

[@Snappypantsdance]

From what I hear it all depends on where you are. Folks in TN are saying 1 cow per acre is sustainable. This isn’t the case in CO though.

[@Growmap]

@@karleggers3125 Yes, but solar fence chargers have short lives. Mine died before the 3 year warranty was up. Electric-powered is more powerful, but when the power goes out it doesn't work. SO people need to put some thought into making sure the animals stay out of the garden if the fence stops working. Maybe have a back-up solar charger or a solar-powered generator. Or some non-powered fencing with electric for re-enforcement to respect it.

[@Growmap]

Electric fencing isn't overly complicated. The kind that runs on A/C needs a good ground. And you need to keep weeds, trees, bushes, branches off of it because anything that grounds the fence makes it stop working. I have a battery-powered electric mower that makes keeping the areas on each side and under the fence easily mowed down. If you use the catcher, you can put what you mow into your raised beds or compost piles. The poultry netting type fence using a solar charger does not need a ground. I haven't wrapped my mind around how that works, yet. It is more suitable for fencing you want to move regularly than leaving it in place as it eventually sags or needs additional insulated posts to hold it up. I wish the step-in plastic posts came in a taller height as they work well up to their height. And I use tent stakes or landscape fabric staples to hold the bottom down to keep small predators from being able to go under it. But that makes it more challenging to move and keep the weeds down. A battery-powered hand clipper for grass works best for that. Or moving the fence, mowing where you want it, and then putting it back.

[@karleggers3125]

@@Snappypantsdance here in Oregon we have grass 5 acres of pasture for 4 cows and we irrigate those pastures with creek water all summer long. I think we could have 1 animal unit per acre, especially when intensive pasture management practices are in place.

[@caribecastaway6447]

I always thought 20 acres was needed. If your are chopping wood you need time for it to regrow. Down south its 10. Cows take up a lot of space. They take years to mature and when you butcher them you have several hundred pounds of meat to deal with. I use chickens, goats, a 20 x 30 high tunnel and concentrating on root crops is essential for sustainability. Preservation of seeds is a huge deal with long term survivability.

[@CrazyIvan865]

If you plant root crops among your greens or or shallow rooted plants you can double your fold in less area because you have say lettuce with a carrot almost under it and a mustard with another lettuce etc. As long as you don't overcrowd companion cropping is the best way to go.

[@daphneraven6745]

@@CrazyIvan865 : Have you been companion cropping Long? Do you have a channel or blog?

[@Growmap]

There are market gardens that produce 6 figures worth of vegetables and greens on 1/4-1/2 acre. You don't need 20 acres if you use raised beds, vertical growing, or have great soil.

[@dheeraj_one]

This is the best Red Neck Science video I have come across so far.

[@Radhaun]

someone might have already said something, but if it's available in your area, chipdrop has worked really well for me. they drop both wood chips and you can opt in for logs and limbs. we'll probably utilize that portion of the service once we run through all our current stash. smaller breeds like Dexter's can run on much smaller plots, on good forage you can keep a milk cow on 1/2-1acre. You could use milking goats instead, they take even less space. though you'll want more brush plants and low trees for them. If you're into wool, I suggest Alpaca. their wool doesn't require treating like sheep do and you can run three to an acre. This is totally just my opinion, but I think alpaca wool is softer than sheep. if you don't want grains, you can grow potatoes almost vertically in bags and have a ton of calories that way.

[@kimgallegos6811]

I've heard that alpaca manure is like gold! They always go in the same spot, so it's easy to gather. Having a lama is good for protecting the alpacas. I've thought about getting a couple 3 myself.

[@Radhaun]

@@kimgallegos6811 I've heard llamas can be mean, but that's probably any animal. I've got goats right now as friendly as any well handled dog. Especially if you have snacks.

[@robolson1576]

Does that 1.7 acres per cow include the land needed to grow her food for the winter? Or is it just what the cow needs during the summer time?

[@bryancosten7184]

Chad, another good one! I live in central Pennsylvania on the west side of the Allegheny Front. My wife and I have a house in a small town about 20 miles from State College with our chickens and bees on about 3/4 of an acre. Our garden is being doubled this summer and Im going to try to grow a bunch of corn for us and our chickens to see if it is possible to buy less from the feed store. We planted a 5 fruit trees last year. We will add a few more this June. All of which made it through the winter and being chewed on by the deer. We are doing everything we can to save our jars and containers from the store to keep extra food in. And our bees... one of two hives made it through the winter but I have made several more hives and swarm traps to catch more bees in May and June! maybe we should look into goats too??? Not sure. At any rate, we are moving right along and we've just joined the senior citizen ranks. Its possible to do these things to be prepared for whatever may come so that we can be "Self-Sustaining". Even as a seasoned and wise person! haha Thanks for the great info! May your channel grow and grow!

[@kerrryschultz2904]

Just a comment on efficiency. Using solar panels to run a refrigerator when the outside temperature is below freezing, instead build an insulated box with an outside duct to allow cold in. Use the solar panels instead for lighting etc. optimizing the cold and the performance of the solar panels for best utilization.

[@ernaverheijdt2925]

i agree we need grains and firewood besides vegetable and also animals for food and fertilizers. Thanks for ideas Its wisdom.

[@ruthdorius2831]

We have a 2500sq ft home in northern Utah. We have 21 solar panels & in the winter it heats the house well. In the summer the air conditioning cools the house. So, while our home is not that large, the solar works well for us. So, not sure where you got the info on how much solar you need.

[@ladygoodman7439]

Really? I was quoted $250k to install a system that would be able to consistently heat and power our home…almost more than the cost our 10 acre homestead. That was including all of the tax breaks that have been in place since 2016, but the quote was just recently, so maybe it’s gone up? Most of the cost was in the battery system, which required several backups due to shortages (if we wanted to maintain consistency.) Bought a wood stove and a couple ricks of wood instead and it works great for a small fraction of the price.

[@mosaicfarm2389]

@@ladygoodman7439 We have solar and are hooked to the grid. To go off grid would cost a ton of money or a drastic change in our power usage... And we heat our house with wood. How our solar works is we overproduce power in the summer months and use those credits all winter. We have 3 months a year that our solar panels produce almost no power. I can't imagine a solar array keeping up with heating a house off grid where you get much snow.

[@vitaminjtuber]

Depending on your area, you could always hunt for your red meat and survive on chickens for other animal based protein.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

In good times people can hunt. During the depression most of the animals were killed by hungry people.

[@vitaminjtuber]

@@HealthAndHomestead I think there was more to it than that. Not all people hunted back then. There were also a lack of hunting regulations and conservation during that era and people hunted for profit rather than for food.

[@baneofbanes]

@@vitaminjtuber not during the Great Depression. A lot of those hunters were poachers.

[@gernotfrohlich6978]

amazing input! we are on the way to build our "permakultur" in eastern canada. luv to watch some more vidz ;) blessings

[@fireant1272]

Definitely depend on your weather and if you can produce food year round or just a few months

[@JSAFIXIT]

The property I'm looking at is 65 acres, but it doesn't have much standing timber. Maybe 1 acre of it. What it does have is 25 acres of tillable land, 15 acres of ready to go pasture, 2 silos, a corn crib, 2 sheds, and best of all, a 6 acre spring fed pond that has a healthy fish population. It's got A LOT going for it.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Well, if you could grow food you have a source of income and you could either trade for wood, sell good for wood. Or presently some forestry service areas give cheap permits to go get dead wood.

[@silverfox6507]

Plant some firewood trees... I have 250 acres of treeless farm in Australia as the early settlers ringbarked all the standing red gums for firewood and fence posts. 1 hectare (2.5 acres for the Americorns) of Tasmania Bluegums will produce 300 tonne of firewood in 10 to 15 years in an 800mm rainfall area. These are real numbers from experience not pie in the sky theoretical numbers.

[@MurDocInc]

I guess you never heard of solar passive house, homes that so air tight and insulated, they only require 5-10K BTUs to heat. The smallest mini split unit powered by solar can heat it no problem.

[@JonathanGillies]

Sounds to me like a recipe for unhealthy air and tons of mold!!! :/

[@MurDocInc]

@@JonathanGillies one of the principles of passive house is a energy recovery ventilation system. Draws air from outside, filters it, distributes it to bedrooms. Then extracts it from bathrooms to outside. The out going air crosses with incoming air in this cross channels heatsink, which heats the incoming air to 80% of home temperature. Passive house is the pinnacle of building science, designed by people who seen it all.

[@rmar127]

Aquaponics and geothermal heating/cooling will definitely reduce your special needs. As will rotational grazing for cattle 🐮 or goats 🐐. Now if you run some free range chickens that are rotated three days behind the cattle, you are essentially feeding two herds/flocks off of the same land. Flies will lay their eggs in the cow pats within hours of them being laid. Three days later, there is a bumper crop of maggots that the chickens will love feasting on. Furthermore, as the chicken scratch through the pats to get at the maggots and other bugs, they spread the manure about, dispersing the nutrients and biomass, helping to improve the soil quality. Excess eggs, vegetables, green waste and milk can all be fed to pigs. As can the fish from the aquaponics set up.

[@baneofbanes]

A other thing to consider is that dried cow Pattie’s can be burned as a fuel source, the nomadic native peoples of the Great Plains and Eurasian Steppe did so due to the lack of trees.

[@emilydebary4738]

We are a family of five living on 1.35 acres in Central Florida. Are we fully food secure? Not as of now, but we could be. The climate allows us to grow year round. Because our ground never freezes we can have root crops all thru the winter. Cabbages and greens are good for all but the very coldest nights, so we wrap and cover them just 4-5 nights out of the winter. Pineapples and bananas must be covered as well on the frosty nights, but they survive. We have a small greenhouse for sustaining a few tomatoes, cukes and squashes throughout the winter. We can plant most of our garden in early March which allows to have two full growing cycles, harvesting the last of the "summer" crops in December before the frost arrives. We have fruit trees and are adding more this year along with berry bushes. We have goats and chickens which supply us with eggs, milk, and meat. Meat chickens can only be raised here during the winter because of the heat the rest of the year, but just fill up the freezer in the winter. We have access to deer, wild hog and fish as well for our meat. We do not currently collect rain water, as we have our own well, but the summer rainfall would be more than enough to get us through the year if we did collect it. We want to go solar soon to run the well pump and a few appliances. We have plenty of firewood from fallen limbs and downed trees on this property. No, we can't grow our own grains, but that's about all we can't do here on our little homestead. Imo, Florida is the place to homestead AFTER you learn a few things about how to beat the heat, humidity and insects/pests.

[@stevenmerlock9971]

Back in the day it was 40 acres and a mule. Technology, better planting practices and soil renewal programs make the need for fertilizer obsolete. I designed a self sustained facility using 8K floor space and 16’ ceilings. Only the basics are required to maintain an ecosystem: Worms, Fish, Rabbits, Bees and plants produce enough food for a family of 4. Water and electricity are the only non renewables.

[@bubbafringman1864]

According to the great reset, rural self sustaining people will not be part of society, so make sure you have plenty of firepower to protect yourself and your food.

[@TheDjavat]

Could you elaborate?

[@nathanpieper4634]

In the interest of meeting calorie needs and obtaining nutrient density, do not overlook incorporating hunting into your sustainability plan. Where I live in Wisconsin we're just crawling with whitetail deer, I am an adult onset hunter only a few years in and last fall I put up nearly 200 lbs of venison, with very little input, just quality time spent outdoors on public (and a neighbor who has given permission to hunt his private) land, and some butcher time in the garage. We freeze the best steaks and pressure can the rest for stocking the larder with very convenient easy to use protein in everything from stir fry to soups and stews to buddha bowls, to venison horseradish sandwiches (one of my favorites). Of course living here means we wrap our entire garden and orchard with 8 ft woven deer fence haha. I also take rabbits right out the kitchen window with a pellet gun and love those guys on the smoker grill, all I did was pile all of my invasive brush removal slash to make perfect bunny condominiums and harvest the rabbits through the winter. For reference I'm on about 5 acres but really only use two acres so far the rest is leased to my neighboring organic farmer but I always have the option to raise more of my grain needs on those additional acres should I need to. I'm definitely not self-sustaining firewood wise regarding trees I own property wise, but it hasn't been particularly hard to find sources of wood in a wooded region like Wisconsin just talk to your local tree service guys or collect logging waste etc. I even occasionally take trees down for folks in town in exchange for the wood, and with modern high efficiency wood stoves I haven't found it really takes that much wood, I think I could be self-sustaining on probably one quarter acre or less of the right timber species. Can't say enough good things about growing your own potatoes corn and beans in addition to other more common garden vegetables. I fertilize my corn with all the duck manure that piles up in my duck house throughout the winter, we keep the ducks for eggs, and feed for our ducks is probably our biggest input volume wise, but the cost is the same or less than store-bought eggs and we sell enough surplus eggs to cover feed costs most years so it's more or less free eggs to us (there is labor but we tend to enjoy them) and I get to fertilize my crops with the manure. That being said the grain input on the ducks is something I don't see as truly sustainable because I know ithe grain is produced mechanically and I'm striving ultimately for "human scaled" agriculture where I do participate in agriculture. I can't keep industrial methods out of most aspects of my life, it's so pervasive. But the garden? If there is one thing we should strive to keep the modern gadgetry and dependency out of, I think it's food procurement.

[@graysonsmith7031]

A geothermal loop, a heat pump, and a well insulated house might be efficient enough that you could have all your heating powered by solar. If you use an anaerobic digester then that itself can produce heat and also biogas which can be burned for additional heating.

[@andrewforsythe8985]

Remember you need at least 2 cows or it will try to run a way (seriously)

[@HealthAndHomestead]

I did not know that. Interesting.

[@dcyphyr]

Cows are herd animals. One cow will seek out a herd.

[@woodspirit98]

Five acres minimum to raise one cow and you'd still have to buy grain and hay.

[@Growmap]

Any animal that comes to mind is a herd animal. While they prefer their own species, if they don't have one they will often make friends with another. I had a burro whose best friend was a sheep even though they were in with horses. Many horses have pet goats.

[@stayinggolden2665]

Disagree, to be on a plant based diet you'd need MUCH more space to grow all the protein you need. I think your view is biased. You can grow two pigs in a 16x16 pen that will feed a family of four for a year. What can you grow in a 16x16 plot plant based that will provide ALL the protein for a family of four?

[@frenchfryfarmer436]

With outside "inputs" to feed your pig in that space. I have pigs..one pig can decimate a 1 acre pasture.

[@Growmap]

What will you feed pigs kept in a pen? That is the issue. Right now there is a shortage of grain and fertilizer. And they're having challenges getting it moved around inside the U.S.

[@stayinggolden2665]

@@frenchfryfarmer436 1 acre of corn will feed two pigs well over the span of their life.

[@stayinggolden2665]

@@Growmap Grow food for them, pigs literally will eat everything.

[@crunchy_dad]

Well I think some of this also depends on how you preserve your food as well. If you grow a winter garden or not. And as you said your area.

[@sebastianrichtert8211]

I just subscribe to your channel recently. Thank you for the info. We have a large family. I am looking and praying for Yahweh direction. I myself want to live in a cold region. I used to live in Wyoming. I look forward to watching more videos.

[@HealthAndHomestead]

Well, there is plenty of land in the cold regions. I hope you will be blessed in your search.