How to afford a smallholding (Homestead Ep. 3)

[@inbloom2006]

Really interesting to see you break down the process and pros and cons of each option. I just wanted to say how impressed I always am by how conversational yet thorough these are. You both do a wonderful job of pacing!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you so much! Its really difficult sometimes to keep structured and not just ramble. Hugh

[@CynCopeland-TheAnswerIsMeat]

Very well pulled together and presented! We undertook something similar as we were looking for our forever farm in the UK -- finally settling for the last line in your heat map! There are hurdles in most things in life, you've been terrifically helpful in 'chunking' it down to make it more accessible!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you! You guys have been amazingly brave, we really hope it brings you joy!

[@seanmckeown6120]

Fascinating as always, excellent overview and honesty by the way your Esse is hypnotic...

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thanks Sean! I agree on the Esse, better than the TV!

[@scarletpeate]

Brilliant video. Thankyou so much for the mention. I really learnt a lot from listening to your thoughts there. Great. Looking forwards to your next video. Take care both. Xx

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Glad you enjoyed it! I think your choices do show what's possible when you really go for it!

[@JenniferSaxin]

Great video, thank you for putting this together. One thing I've realised as I get closer to my "good life ideal" is living away from family isn't so straightforward when you have animals and a garden to tend to! My husband and I have family in two different countries and despite being happy where we are right now, we have to restrain ourselves with how many animals, etc, we get for the time being.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

That's a great point Jennifer. We are very fortunate in having good neighbours who are farmers and smallholders. We look after theirs when they are away and they return the favour

[@anjgraham8609]

As a ‘visual learner’ I really enjoyed this video 👍🏼

[@EnglishCountryLife]

I'm glad. I prefer visual learning too. Hugh

[@helendennis7662]

We tried this in U.K. and it just became unsustainable, with a significant mortgage we both needed to work and meant we had to squeeze smallholding around that. Renting land is tricky, you could lose it and all the effort you put in at the whim of your landlord. So we decided to move to abroad, Bulgaria, for several reasons. We now own our house outright, because it only cost £15k. The Derelict house needs a lot of work, it sits on an 1.5 acres of formerly productive land which also need lots of work to get back to growing. But with a combined annual income (pension) well below U.K. average wage we can live like kings. We have time to grow our own food and renovate the house, the weather is far better for growing, we planted the garden within two weeks of arriving, in late April, and we had courgettes, cucumbers, salad etc within 6 weeks. Now the melons we planted are ripening! Plus all the fruit trees and bushes and wild hedgerow harvest, we can’t keep U.K., we have two chest freezers already! It’s a big step to move thousands of miles away, although we’ve lived abroad before through work, but this opportunity does not exist in U.K.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

If you have no ties to the UK and are up for a challenge, there are certainly bargains to be had overseas

[@cindyholton7234]

Great information - and lots of ways to achieve our dreams! Like the saying goes 'there's more than 1 way to skin a cat!!' Thanks

[@EnglishCountryLife]

So glad that it was useful Cindy!

[@cindyholton7234]

@@EnglishCountryLife I'm looking to escape the rat race very shortly - I'm about to get a small inheritence and have been looking for a house and land - probably 1/4 - 1 acre for veg and chickens - I would have loved other animals, but I'm on my own, counting down the months till I'm 60, and have been ill and still suffer with fatigue - although being outside is so good for my health and soul, keeping larger animals wouldn't be that sensible now! You have made me think! A house that could earn an income - letting rooms etc, with a large garden, and renting some land, might be a lot more sensible than buying a smaller house with a couple of acres! I can't wait to get away from the computer screen! Thanks again - I've been binge watching - but all in the wrong order!!

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@cindyholton7234 Sounds like your thoughts are very sensible Cindy! Large animals are great, but even the smallest cow produces more milk than one person needs. Pigs..maybe. Probably the most versatile of meat animals but chickens definitely. Meat, eggs, low cost & easy to handle. There's no answer right for everyone, but if you would ever like to bounce ideas around, we are always here! Hugh

[@pippagooding1637]

Thoughtful video thank you. One for future that I would very much appreciate is on laws and rules around livestock in the UK, maybe also any additional equipment required or record keeping, for instance I noticed all your chickens had rings on them, so I’m assuming you do this, but is it a legal requirement? I also read somewhere that slaughtering birds for own consumption requires the bird to be stunned prior to being bled?

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Hi Pippa, that's a great idea! The leg rings are for our record keeping and identification but are not legally necessary. As breeders we maintain an exact record in our "flock book", but many who keep a few hens don't. There are a variety of ways to slaughter for home consumption. We do use a stunner but simple methods (e.g. cervical dislocation) are permitted for small numbers of birds. Hugh

[@pippagooding1637]

@@EnglishCountryLife thank you Hugh

[@scarletpeate]

I've just given you a mention on my Facebook group too.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Thank you! Hope some extra people find your channel!

[@scarletpeate]

@@EnglishCountryLife i really hope so thankyou. Desperate to hit the 1000 landmark. Tomorrow I'm dispatching our huge Simmental beef cow. She should provide us with enough meat for over one year. It will be a tiring day. But I will be able to shoot some great recipes for my KZbin channel like beef jerky. And tallow rendering. We will be sad to see her go but now we are getting older we've realised Jersey's are much safer to handle.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

@@scarletpeate Great dual purpose cattle are Jerseys, great fat content to the milk too

[@scarletpeate]

@@EnglishCountryLife yes definitely we have 3 cows. 1 bull and this year's beef calf. But we are slowly moving over to pedigree Jersey's. Lighter. Eat far less. As you say great dual purpose and of course that wonderful milk and cream. Yummy. Also with a pedigree organic small herd that should also bring in a nice little income too. Right I'm off. Night night both. Big day tomorrow.

[@anonharingenamn]

The problem with smallholding abroad seems to be, if you move to a poorer country, your chances of selling to the locals goes down *a lot*. In a wealthy country people love to pay for locally sourced veggies and free-range chickens even though the prices are higher than in the supermarket. I am not so sure the same applies to Portugal or Hungary for example.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

If you have a chat with Gary over at Baltic Homestead or Scarlet Peate ( both have channels), they could probably talk more knowledgeably about this

[@helendennis7662]

Smallholding for self sufficiency is not the same as being a market gardener. So you aren’t growing to sell to the locals - you wouldn’t make a lot if you did. You can do what everyone else does and sit outside your house with a table of surplus produce, or take it to market. But our time is more valuable spent on the land. We preserve everything, the money we save by not having to buy as much food for us - and our animals - is significant. Plus the food security at stone when it’s just not that secure. If you need income for this life it needs to come from another source. But doing it in another country means you need much less money and can have a far better work-life balance. We’re doing it in Bulgaria, another poor country, at least for us villagers, but it’s the best move we ever made.

[@tpaine1815]

Except all of these own options don't take any account of mortgages. The notion that when you are young enough to be really able to manage a small holding, is exactly the time when you don't own outright your house or your land. You have a mortgage. This is a simple reality. So mortgage repayments are the same as paying rent, or even higher.

[@EnglishCountryLife]

Absolutely right that mortgages are a factor & the reality is that it can be hard to make enough money Smallholding to pay a mortgage (or rent). This is why we talk about location and having to think about work accessibility. I'm not sure I agree that you need to be young to work a Smallholding though, lots of people, like us, take up Smallholding later in life & make it work. I don't think renting or buying is a right or wrong answer - with or without a mortgage. Everyone's circumstances are different!