1) "Leading authorities" don't know that much. You'd think after 12,000 years that sheep spent side by side with humans they would be so well-researched that there is a thick book about every hair on their body. You'd think it's the same with irrigation, growing plants, growing grass, weather ... you name it. After all, we sent a man to the Moon and there is an Extension in every county. The truth is - there are some very basic facts everyone agrees on (a sheep generally has 4 legs; it will eventually die without water and food, etc.) but most of the stuff is still as mysterious as underwear fashion of aliens from the galaxy far far away. And it's about the situation in every area of agriculture. OK, I'm exaggerating but just a little. And don't even get me started on the Extensions or books on shiny paper ... not good even for compost. (I mean the books on shiny paper, of course - the extension agents would probably do great in compost).
2) Stuff is more expensive than you think. Oh, I did go to Home Depot before we started to live on the farm. I bought stuff there, sure. I even knew that funny looking metal T-posts there cost about $10. What I didn't realize is how many of them you need to fence even a little paddock, let's say 2 acres. What I also didn't realize was that a shovel for $10 won't last a month on a farm, so you'll have to pay more for better quality tool and that's true for every tool you use and also for the rest of the stuff - screws, rubber boots, you name it. I think we went through our 3-yr budget in the first 6 months. It was horrible. Who would've thought those stupid plastic thingies for sheep to eat out of can cost more than 5 bucks? Turned out, the really good big ones can cost more than 500, actually.
3) I'm lazier than I thought It's more work than you think and there are no weekends. Looking at our WWOOFers, I think I was in a better position than most of them. I had to do plenty of physical work in my life, I was better with a shovel in the first grade than some college kids we see here. But even for me it was a bit of a shock how unending this work is. Even though I almost never get physically tired too bad from work, just the sheer amount of it makes you numb sometimes. There is always something that needs to be done. Often, there are 2 or 3 urgent things that need to be done. There are times when you have to put on heavy jeans and boots and go outside under the sun to work and it's so hot that even a thought of having anything but the loincloth on makes you sweat. You have to get up every morning to let the animals out, and that's not that difficult to do but you have to do it every morning, year after year.
Do you see how hard we work? Well, honestly, I think we work only half as much as many people in our situation, especially when they just start, especially when they start on a shoestring budget. And no, you won't understand what I mean unless you actually try, so if you consider becoming a farmer/homesteader do yourself a favor - go WWOOF for a few months and then ask yourself if you can do it every day for 10 years. And have lots of kids, preferably boys, so in 10 years you can dump most of the work on them.
4) This one is a pair, actually - a)Having a plan and sticking to it is more important than you think and b) The best plan you can come up with will need to be changed as soon as you start actually doing it. Catch 22 and another reason to start small and slow. Without a plan you'll spent a lot of time backfilling ditches you dug out yesterday but no plan I've ever seen was so good that it survived the first few days of execution unchanged. Too many variables and unknowns, which is also the reason for problem #1, BTW.
I'll probably add some more later ...
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2 comments:
Amen brother.
this is wisdom that applies farther afield than to sheep...
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