Sustaining Your Homestead During Inflation & More | GUESTS: Shawn & Beth and John Moody

[@thegrazingfarmstead7758]

Love Beth & Shawn!! Did a weekend course at their place & loved it - Did the Rogue food conference 2 yrs ago- John is awesome. I am selling beef / lamb & chicken/ eggs off the farm- would love to have a PMA or COOP. I am in MO

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Such an awesome, helpful video/discussion/wisdom! Thank you with all my heart. We’re 7, three years into homesteading in Nova Scotia Canada. Did it all backwards. Chickens, then sheep 😳, then pigs 😳😳. We’re finally going to get a heifer calf 🙄. Really, it’s what God has provided and we’re grateful 😊

[@DixieLivingHomestead]

I love the Dougherty's. Thanks for including them. They posses a depth of wisdom that is uncommon these days, even in this community.

[@bethdougherty4014]

Here is the title of the book I mentioned: Keeping One Cow, Being the Experience of a Number of Practical Writers, in a Clear and Condensed Form, Upon the Management of a Single Milch Cow. Orange Judd Company, NY. My copy is a request print from the Evil Empire (AKA Amazon). Excellent resource (the book, not the EE).

[@dagardener]

Can a single cow be happy alone?

[@bethdougherty4014]

@@dagardener How alone? Absolutely solo? I would imagine not. You can really stress a cow that is used to a herd by separating her from all of her companions. But a dairy cow with her calf under her is not alone, and the calf is the best backup you can have as a milking partner. We kept a dairy heifer with a bunch of dairy goats for two years before she calved, and by all humanly perceivable signs she enjoyed their companionship. How are we determining happiness?

[@dagardener]

@@bethdougherty4014 Thank you.

[@kathleensanderson3082]

@@bethdougherty4014 This is what I'll be doing with the Jersey heifer I'm bottle raising right now. I've had dairy goats for most of the last forty years; the heifer will be our first dairy cow. Right now she has a bull calf with her, but we plan to put him in the freezer when he's about a year old; then she'll make do with the few goats I have left until she has her own calf. Plus, we have an Anatolian Shepherd puppy who lives with the calves part of the time (she's out with our older LGD during the day), and the puppy and the calves are bonding (this is on purpose, so the heifer will accept and trust the dogs as she gets older). All animals do need company, I think, but it doesn't have to be their own species. If you have other animals that they can get along with, that works fine.

[@mountaingirl8124]

@@dagardener Yes, they can. We have bred mini Jerseys for 15 years now and our very first cow was kept on a city lot by herself (until her first calf came). She was the most TAME cow we ever had! We spent a lot of time with her. It can be done, but just make sure you spend time with her. She WILL produce a calf and will then have herd companionship. ❤️

[@tomaitoe]

Fantastic conversation!

[@feederdiaries4862]

I love that you brought up that men used to be "at home," too. It really always made me so sad thinking of spending most of my time away from my husband, but we are trying this now, he still has to have a part time job for now but it's so SO much better than always being apart. And think of how much innovation there would be, and opportunities, if more people simply worked for themselves, having to invent solutions instead of just pouring more money into stuff all the time like big companies do.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

So true!

[@kathleensanderson3082]

There is one animal I didn't hear mentioned, that should probably be considered more than it is, and that's the goose. A lot of people are afraid of them, because they've been 'goosed' at some point -- and it can't be denied that the goose is a large bird, and can cause bruises if it decides to attack someone. But properly handled, here is a meat bird that can be raised almost entirely on grass. The goslings need some grain or other feed when they are small, but after a few weeks they can be transitioned to straight pasture. Someone who doesn't have enough pasture for a cow could still raise quite a bit of meat if they had a pair or trio of breeding geese (choose a breed that will set and hatch their own eggs, though if you have an incubator, you can collect their eggs to set in the incubator for a while before you let them have a clutch to set on). Manage them with rotational grazing, just like larger stock, and they won't make a huge mess of their pasture.

[@KJ-ho6sb]

they also defend smaller animals very well (if raised together)

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Smart!

[@followerofyahushaoctaviadm]

Such an excellent and encouraging interview!

[@kathleensanderson3082]

This was so good, and so dense with information, that I'm going to have to watch it several times and take notes. Already bought an ebook copy of the book Beth recommended. I've more or less been homesteading all my life, from growing up on a 160 acre homestead in Alaska (where we grew hay, barley, and potatoes, as well as a garden and -- for a while -- a milk cow), to backyard gardens when my husband was in the Air Force, to a few acres at a time after he got out. I've had dairy goats for most of the last forty years (I'm almost 66). But there is still so much to learn!

[@spoolsandbobbins]

So true!

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

Most livestock does not need grain. The only reason I feed any grain at all (in very small quantities) is for bucket training.

[@bethdougherty4014]

or if you are using the animal for draft. If you take hours out of a grazing animal's day for pulling something, you have to give concentrated feeds to make up for the shorter eating time.

[@GrandmaGingersFarm]

May YAH Bless and keep.

[@freelivingtennessee]

You’ve just radicalized me to push my husband for a milk cow first when we get our own land (we’re in a rental in TN right now and looking) def changed my mind on what order I should get my animals! 😂

[@bethdougherty4014]

you won't regret it!

[@mountaingirl8124]

We sell miniature Jerseys when you’re interested! Also in TN here. Vine Living Farm. 🥰

[@spoolsandbobbins]

We started with chickens, pigs and sheep. If we could do it again we would have gotten a milk cow first, 6 ewes after and 7 layer chickens. Once the cow was ready to produce THEN pigs. Pigs eat A LOT 😳

[@Alpha1Farms]

What an amazing and timely discussion. Thank all of you.

[@JustLivingLife]

Please keep this up a little bit longer. I'm just getting around to being able to have time to watch this and may end up being able to watch it all tonite. I was on that long post on that facebook group (I don't know if it was my questions/post) but I am soooo glad that you all did this! Another homesteader friend of mine suggested I start one of those collaborations. Um....small channel and I don't have the experience so many others do to be able to head something like that. To know yall did take the time to do this and just WOW!!! So blessed!! Thank You!

[@thirzadraper9160]

We live in California on 5 acres bought two mini jersey's and have 5 sheep. Its very expensive here to keep them fed. Most of the year we have to feed them hay which is $30.- a bale.

[@sharonbetts5596]

I missed the live stream but loved watching the video. Thank you Amy, Sean and Beth, and John. This was great!

[@growbuildraise4435]

Love hearing this information. I’m wooded and have been trying to figure how to add a dairy cow..

[@TheFabFarmer]

How about a few nubians!

[@growbuildraise4435]

Appreciate y’all sharing this great information. I’m feeling so inspired and excited to start to implement so many of these sustainable ways for our animals.

[@hismrsaustin]

Thank you !

[@nedhill1242]

What is the name of the book she was talking about with dairy cows and small farms? please respond with the title and put it in the notes/description for other people that will watch the video later. People talking about fuel shortages and fertilizer shortages. That’s another reason to do rotational grazing and follow regenerative agriculture practices because you won’t need fertilizer. KZbin has tons of videos of Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta Who are experts on regenerative agriculture and grazing and how to maximize your pastures for year-round round grazing even in the worst of droughts.

[@bethdougherty4014]

sent

[@nedhill1242]

@@bethdougherty4014 Sent? What does that mean?

[@bethdougherty4014]

@@nedhill1242 Hi, Ned, I mean that one of the comments above includes the (long) name of that book! Good luck --

[@DESIGNBUILDLIVE]

COWS RULE! and goats drool :-D

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

LOL! My steer, who "identifies as a goat". free ranges with my goats. Granted, most people can't do it that way. I just happen to live in a good location for it.

[@Thisisit120]

LolWhen I first read your comment I thought you said my sister who identifies. Oh my gosh lol lol

[@theresavanduzer3459]

How do you find local farmers who coop and or do organic non GMO foods? I live in Florida and it seems like nobody in my area want to do organic farming.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

We drove out to the country and spoke to farmers who has “eggs for sale” signs by their driveway… 🤷‍♀️

[@ez4ne12c]

Did anyone ever post the link to that essay Mrs. Dougherty was talking about?

[@HomesteadersofAmerica]

it should be in the comments section -- Beth came back and posted it

[@dagardener]

Keeping One Cow, Being the Experience of a Number of Practical Writers, in a Clear and Condensed Form, Upon the Management of a Single Milch Cow. Orange Judd Company, NY

[@HealthyFocus365]

When you talk about feeding table scraps to pigs - is there anything off limits? ie. Things like eggshells, cooked chicken bones from broth, pork chop bones, unexpected (raw) spoiled eggs, etc?

[@ARasputinaFan]

I honestly don't have experience to share yet, but I've heard pigs will eat just about anything. That's why they say "Don't fall down in the pig pen." 😅

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Cooked bones can break into splinters and choke them. I think people stick with raw but we’ve never tried. Egg shells are fine. We don’t feed animal species back to the same species and we don’t feed really spoiled foods, just slightly off is ok.