If your farm is not a major source of income, why do you do it? Why don’t you just go an buy food at the grocery store? Isn’t it a lot of work? Isn’t it expensive?
by Jamie - January 29th, 2010.Filed under: FAQ, General Life, Money Matters.
We live on a farm because we love this lifestyle. Some people love sports, others love reading, others love watching tv. We love raising animals, DIY projects, and gardening. We also REALLY love good food, and that means having really fresh ingredients, and there is nothing fresher than food you grow yourself. We also like making unconventional choices. How many people eat Hampton-Romney lamb or Silver Fox rabbit? Even if you can find ethically and organically raised meats and produce at the grocery store or local farmers market, you are still limited in choice by what that farmer chose to grow. We like making our own choices. In addition to liking this lifestyle and liking good food, for us, this is an ideal way to raise our children. They are growing up with experiences that are priceless. They have such a mature understanding of things, especially life and death, responsibility for the earth, animals, neighbors, etc., that they couldn’t possibly get without living in this way. Yes, it is a lot of work, but we think it is well worth it. We are really good at structuring our time and planning, plus we work very efficiently, so at the end of the day, we still have time to relax and unwind. We also expect our children to help out and love seeing the look of satisfaction and accomplishment on their faces when they have done something they (and sometimes we) didn’t think they could do. Currently, our oldest (age 5.5) is without question a net plus and able to offer real help. Our youngest (age 2.5) is starting to turn the corner from being a baby to being a little girl and is very helpful in her own way. As for the cost of things, we do have outside jobs and are very careful with our budgeting. The animals more or less pay for themselves in what we would otherwise have to pay for meat and eggs. Mostly it is our time that is the issue, and again, we like doing this type of activity, so we don’t see that as a burden. Plus, it is hard to put a price tag on the experiences we have had and we feel it is all worth it in the end.