Joel Salatin Reveals the Best Place to START A FARM or Homestead

[@laurenklafke354]

I’d be interested to know how to find these farmers who are writing letters looking for people to buy their farms. Very interested.

[@viversholisticnutrition8180]

Same!!!!

[@jamessantimarino2402]

Same here. I'm about to pick up two more jobs just so I can hopefully get some land to start in another year or so.

[@edenacres]

Add me to the list, too!!!!

[@jocelynlicea4390]

Me too!!

[@BuckeyeFan-ty4vr]

I've been around farming and farmers all my life . And the farmers I know would be more than willing to lut someone come in and work their butt off . Maybe kinda lead them to believe they will sale it at some point . But that time will never come.

[@rickayers3150]

Good to see you darling. The best place to start is right where you are at. You will know your area markets and whats out there. Start small and test the waters over time. As you grow your talents so will your customer base and your name. Above all keep your reputation.

[@theShepherdess]

Yes! So often the greatest opportunity lies right under our nose... -the Shepherdess

[@FriendlyCleaningKC]

Well… the farm that’s been in my family since 1871 is in Missouri… so starting next year we are going to do our best to make it work… we are an hour and half from St Louis and 3 hours from Kansas City

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

Good for you! I love that area (not the city though). If you or a friend nearby is looking for a church, Calvary Baptist Church in Belleville is one of the best places you could possibly go (to my knowledge). :)

[@jeaniepartridge6701]

Yes we in Missouri are getting a lot of people from CA and other regulated states driving our land prices way up and making land hard to come by.

[@LedgemereHeritageFarm]

Maine is the same as Missouri in that aspect. Everyone and her sister is moving here from the city and starting a micro farm by buying up all the medium-sized farms and putting a 5 acre ranchette on it. It’s very frustrating because it’s driving the price of land through the clouds

[@michaelcorning4857]

One can always move to the county an try farming up there.

[@BuckeyeFan-ty4vr]

I agree. What Joe preaches sounds good. But for us people that have always lived in the country it isn't good for us. These people move out here and just screw up things for us

[@footplate0]

Many a true word said in this video. Home is where you lay down to sleep and a farm is anywhere that you can grow stuff that you need and can sell. Thanks for posting

[@theShepherdess]

Can’t tell you how glad I am that you are back!!

[@footplate0]

@@theShepherdess Thank you for those kind words

[@waywardcajunfarms2731]

Ughhhhh love me some ole Joel wisdom 😍

[@theShepherdess]

You said it. 🙌🏻 -the Shepherdess

[@jlpaints]

Well Texas of course!! LOL...... seriously though, you sometimes have to go where God sends you. Great advise from your guest.

[@theShepherdess]

Haha! I’d have to agree about Texas... but I’m biased. 😂

[@Nphantomhive]

@@theShepherdessI have a question. I’m not sure what state to look for any advice?

[@elizabethturner7739]

Good verse..one of my favorites. Your so right. Distance from a customer is a big deal.

[@joecam1167]

I'd love to do a lease purchase arrangement for a farm. Ultimately would like to retire from finance to farm. Started as a farmer as a kid

[@LtColDaddy71]

Having the market is so important. I’m a fairly easy drive for over 10 million non local people and a percentage of these people are “status eaters” with an understanding and desire for quality. EVERYBODY is a prepped homesteader farmsteader in MO, and outside a couple of suburbs, their aren’t many buyers.

[@Willbkool]

Once again, good advice from Mr. Salatin. While I live in a hurricane possible area, we almost never have any droughts. Location, location, location.

[@theShepherdess]

YES!

[@experimenthealthyketo83]

Where is such an area?

[@Willbkool]

@@experimenthealthyketo83 NW Florida.

[@andraacram]

North and Central Texas!!!!

[@heidigib01]

I’m not super young but if a farmer wants to leave me their farm or even a couple acres, I’d happily be an intern to learn

[@Coltrabagar]

This is really, really helpful advise.

[@marktwiddle]

My farm's demons are -35°F winters, and winters that last 6 months of the year.

[@annthisannthat]

What do you farm in the cold weather? What happens to the chicken and cattle then?

[@Eat-Z-Bugs]

I'm fairly familiar with Minnesota also.

[@shaneneilson10]

Man I wish we get -45 weather where I'm from

[@deemee7329]

Watch growing in the snow on KZbin

[@breesechick]

❤❤❤ two of my favorite people

[@LadysFarm]

Good information. I love it. We moved from California to Kentucky. California was too many laws what you can have on your property. Plus the property is crazy high

[@theShepherdess]

Kentucky is beautiful!! Was it an easy transition for you? -the Shepherdess

[@LadysFarm]

@@theShepherdess well the tradition was a little difficult. Yes Kentucky is very beautiful. The crazy part was the drive from California to Kentucky with 23 chickens 40 racing pigeons 8 dogs 3 kids a grumpy father in law and hubby. Haha 😂 it was a pretty interesting trip. I have to do a video on it maybe one of these days 😂 2200 miles

[@xkitchick]

@@LadysFarm we have traveled the country for 3 years and finally felt called to TN. The Cumberland Mt range….I explored Kentucky last week, beautiful!! We haven’t purchased home yet, waiting for the market to come down a little, hope you the fall. Welcome to the area!

[@xkitchick]

*hopefully in the fall.

[@LadysFarm]

@@xkitchick thank you so much. Yes we did as well. We traveled all over and searched for years. Kentucky is home for us. Tennessee was one we wanted to move to. But it was really expensive for land. And the growth of Tennessee is moving fast right now. For us Kentucky was where we landed and it wasn’t even in our top 5 places to move to. If you ever visit Kentucky and want to look for cheap property let me know I can hook you up with our realtor who is amazing. He found our property for us. It wasn’t even on Zillow or anything else we were looking at.

[@deniseward002]

So much making sense, I think I'm going to have to lie down!!!

[@augustasimone9323]

Very good points ! I am ordering his new book !

[@cookingwithwine.9190]

Joel hits it right on the nail. Gotta have markets for your products. That's why I'm not located in Alaska or Montana. Love 'em, though!

[@lisahill2727]

but I live in Missouri! 🤯 My 5 year plan is to get a Homestead/ Hobby farm so hopefully it'll be okay

[@Ohsnapski]

I think you will find that another source of income is needed or some other kind of passive income(stocks, pension, social security etc.) unless you plan to live completely self sufficiently. Think about what your costs will be and I’ve heard Joel say before, save at least enough money to last you 6 months if not a year in case nothing works out as planned. A homestead is more than just where you grow food. How will you pay for heating cooling etc. I’m sure you’ve thought of a lot of this before but no homestead survives on just animals and vegetables. You need heat, power, plumbing, water source etc. if you aren’t willing to do all of that(firewood, well water, electricity if you need AC) then you will need some sort of income. If you are in a good area of Missouri though (near people) I think you’ll be able to work it out

[@johnlittle184]

Thanks for your informative questions and answers. We too are looking for that Goldilocks zone.

[@ericmelissabrown5782]

My own direct-market farm although not at either extreme is more like what Salatin describes as being preferable, in an area with more "elite foodies" than an area like those parts of Missouri he talks about with all the homesteaders, but if I were starting over again I'd like to be an area with a lot more homesteaders. I think that's especially true if your goal is to have a diversified homestead as opposed to just having a vegetable farm or meat/poultry/egg farm or dairy, etc., and to growing all (or most) of the above plus things like grains (at least for personal consumption) that are more challenging to do on a small (relative to conventional) scale for market, plus doing lots of homestead things beyond producing food like building a house or farm building with trees from one's own woods, restoring your own old tractor or training draft animals, tanning hides from one's own animals... If you're wanting to homestead in that way, then (1) you may be able to meet a lot more of your own needs, which should mean that you don't need to sell as much product and earn as much money to make a living, and therefore don't need to find as many customers, besides which you'll be spending more time providing for your own needs so won't have the time to grow as much for market, (2) other homesteaders may be potential customers, either because they're more specialized and aren't growing everything you're growing or because they're just getting started and their fruit trees aren't producing yet or they still travel enough that they can't practically keep their own dairy animal or they don't have enough land to raise their own beef, etc., and (3) being in a community of other homesteaders opens up lots of potential for cooperation: buying/selling/trading/sharing livestock (especially unrelated male livestock for breeding) or finding someone in the area that already has a liquid nitrogen tank and can artificially inseminate your animals for you or teach you how to do it yourself, having neighbors that can milk a cow for you if you want to leave town, having neighbors with small tractors that can help you if your own tractor breaks, having neighbors that can go in together with you on a bulk purchase of something, being able to borrow a trailer from a neighbor to transport livestock instead of having to buy your own livestock trailer just for the very limited number of days you'll use it each year...

[@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim]

Exactly. You basically just described American history, backwards. Yes we had homesteads (in the purest sense of the word), but we had a huge number of developed towns and villages that people seem to forget! That was agriculture cooperation at its finest. If you read some of Adam Smith's work (the famous early American founder of capitalism), you'll see some of the ways things can really work together.

[@xkitchick]

What’s he sayin? Toll hold? Tow hole? I can’t understand it… I love Joel!! Thank you for this info!!

[@theShepherdess]

He’s saying “toe-hold” 😅. He was telling us that you can start smaller than a foot-hold... get a toe-hold in whatever industry you want to go with and go from there!🦶😄 -the Shepherdess

[@Digger927]

@@theShepherdess I thought he was telling me to get a "toll road". Strangely enough I was like...okay that makes sense. Lol, I'm just kidding, sorry. (not sorry)😄

[@theShepherdess]

@@Digger927 I know... it took me 1/2 of the 1 hour session before I finally understood what he meant. 😂

[@xkitchick]

Bahahahaha Thank you for clarifying ! my husband and I are full time Rvrs , looking to start a farm in Tennessee, this sounds like the perfect idea for us since we are so flexible. I would love to help someone transition, while learning the ropes from an elder!

[@KPVFarmer]

Great advice, spot on!!!

[@DJ55419]

We are having weather here in our area in Mississippi we've never had before! Very disturbing! We have no storm shelter.

[@theShepherdess]

I’m sorry to hear that, Darlene! I hope you can build a storm shelter soon!

[@velcrots]

Show me where to look and teach me the trade and I'll be happy to take over a farm from someone!

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Better chance finding a unicorn or leprechaun

[@dantheman9135]

ThankQ

[@celtickitc]

Backyard in suburbia on 0.29 acre?

[@dustinvenable4656]

How do I get a hold of these older farmers that want to teach what they do or have someone to take over for them in some way????

[@parkburrets4054]

See Joel's daughter's website.

[@crazyredneck36]

@@parkburrets4054 You wouldn't happen to know what that website is called would you?

[@shirleyroberts5786]

@@parkburrets4054 what is Joel's daughters name?

[@dungeonmaster6292]

They don't exist

[@MikeIsCannonFodder]

Maybe it's changed in future videos, but the clicky sounds when your Subscribe button animation runs are pretty distracting. The visual is ok and the sound is ok, just distractingly loud.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

It's supposed to be that way

[@markbrown2296]

So was Missouri the state or do I need to pay and watch the podcast.

[@theShepherdess]

He said “bloom where you are planted”. …wherever you’re at make it work. The full length is free if you want to access it using link in description!

[@markbrown2296]

@@theShepherdess Thank you for the reply.

[@danachoate5361]

Where on earth can we find one of those lease to own farm from an older farmer?

[@theShepherdess]

I've got a video coming that's going to show you exactly how to get your hands on some land!

[@danachoate5361]

@@theShepherdess perfect! Thank you so much!

[@DanKlein_1]

I liked Joels statement.. there's no paradise this side of eternity. LOL. Isn't that the truth. Interesting statistics on the average age of farmers now. Sobering thought to realize that in the next 15 years, 50 percent of farming operations will change hands. In my time here on our farm, I have been approached by gas line people, marcellus shale oil and gas drilling people, the logging industry and most recently the solar power people wanting to plant solar panels on 12-15 acre parcels. I can see how easy it is for farms to break up and become a thing of the past.

[@theShepherdess]

Yes!! Pros and cons regardless of the area you choose. Interesting to think we could be on the brink of a lot of change with such a transfer of land ownership. -the Shepherdess

[@celticteigyr]

My 9 year old (since 4 actually) wants to be a homesteader, loves the old fashion way of doing thing (like broom-making). I, unfortunately- live in the city and just as we were in a position to move to the county to establish at least a place for her to learn and grow- Californians came rushing in and knocked us out of any kind of acreage, including 1 acre- property. E- TN is not the place to buy post covid.

[@theShepherdess]

I at to go for your 9 year old! Use the waiting period to learn! There are so many skills that don’t require land (leather working, canning, broom making, etc)

[@joshuaworth243]

Solid!

[@midwestribeye7820]

Al go rithm ❤️

[@dwighthires3163]

Great vid. THANKS!!!

[@theShepherdess]

Thanks, Dwight! Glad you enjoyed it. -the Shepherdess

[@scottyarellano]

Great question and channel! Just subbed. We are in Utah now and it's as expensive as CA at this point. Looking to relocate but there are so many options. Looking at MT, MO, TN, NC, TX.

[@highsocietypottery9381]

This eas an amazing episode. #Bravo #KeepUpTheGreatWork

[@theShepherdess]

I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting. -the Shepherdess

[@nicb8723]

I’m in Missouri with a small farm and pray to God the people moving here vote red to keep things from being micromanaged like they were in the states people are fleeing from.

[@VaxtorT]

Personally, I'd stay far from the Southwest. I live in Northern Maine. The downside here is long winters and far from a really profitable marketplace.

[@dinshamsul2976]

So

[@TRUFIVE50]

Joel is right about cost of land in New Mexico--it can go for $500/acre if it's out in the desert. If it's near water, say in the Rio Grande valley, it can go for $250,000 an acre where wealthier people in the community use once agricultural land to build dream homes.

[@newedenfarm]

This always hurts my soul to see.

[@LadysFarm]

Awe this was a little teaser!!! 😂

[@theShepherdess]

Haha! Yes, new news video is still in progress. 😂

[@LadysFarm]

@@theShepherdess sweet. I will wait for it to come out. I love your videos. Very informative. I definitely want to get into sheep. But I really need to learn more before jumping on that one

[@jeshurunfarm]

If there is 5 Fish&Chips shops in one street, what business do you open in that street? . . . FISH & CHIPS shop. Cause it works there. Respect from Africa 🇿🇦

[@WhiteWolfeHU]

The best place to start growing food is 5 feet from your houses door. It’s where you live.

[@laneb2458]

Where the heck are these people giving away farms!? I'll take two lol

[@theShepherdess]

Haha! There aren’t any giveaways for sure. But there will be a lot of changing hands over the next 20 years. Be ready to secure your patch. 🌱 -the Shepherdess

[@dungeonmaster6292]

It's not happening

[@michaelsasylum]

I hate California, it takes 12 years to accomplish here what it would have taken 5 almost everywhere else, and I don't feel like busting my ass to support the ever growing number of people out here who won't get off theirs and earn a living. This place makes me sick in my soul and I am wanting to escape and pursue my freedom.

[@cohoking1532]

Good luck.

[@lukequim1497]

I hear you, just moved to Florida after 30 years loving it here !

[@LadysFarm]

🥰🥰🥰

[@PatGrant-ck1kt]

If we lose small farms we lose our health, freedom and country.

[@dillonthatch4624]

You seriously underestimate Missouri farmers markets. I’d go with Missouri any day over New England.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Hell yeah

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

I have 8 million people within 100 miles.

[@theShepherdess]

Sounds like you’ve got a great market! -the Shepherdess

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

@@theShepherdess southern New England. I'm very small and just starting grazing 2 steers to build up my pasture. Not sure if I'll ever sell anything, but I love regenerative agriculture. I'm 59 so just under the average age of the America farmer lol.

[@theShepherdess]

You’re work and willingness to start small is more valuable than you know right now! -the Shepherdess

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

@@theShepherdess it's mostly a hobby for me. I'm a semi retired meat cutter I have a butcher shop in my walk out basement. Hoping to do some processing for family farmers. I would love to raise sheep but predators are crazy here.

[@lotus....]

@@davidhickenbottom6574 Look into livestock guardian dogs. Our GP guards our goats and poultry from the coyotes. We also have black bear, bobcats, etc. We only have 16 acres so we use a hot wire on our pastures to keep our dogs from wandering. Only took a few contacts and the dogs respect the fence.

[@dungeonmaster6292]

Old farmers are looking for cheap labor

[@maksymkloka5016]

I would stay away from CA hellhole at all possible costs.