Getting started

[sunnyday]

Hi all,

 

Next year my family will be moving, and if all goes well we'll be purchasing some land in the Northwest. My five-year plan is to grow a small farming operation of a few dozen head of pastured sheep (focus on wool and maybe direct-marketed lambs), a decent sized garden plot, and maybe a couple other livestock with a goal of feeding my family and maybe even eventually turning a tiny profit.

 

I've been reading a lot of Gene Logsdon books, which I find very inspiring but with just a tantalizing hint of practical application. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions of other places to turn for the nitty-gritty. Did you get into farming other than by being raised into it? What do you wish you knew before you bought the farm (so to speak, LOL.) Are the Storey guides any good? Any other books on farming/homesteading in general, sheep specifically? Or websites for that matter?

 

Thanks! I will surely be lurking here and at Bill Fosher's forum, anyway, hoping to absorb some shepherding skills by osmosis.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I highly recommend the Storey's Guides. Very basic but amazingly comprehensive too. They have a wonderful one aimed at homesteaders called Small Scale Livestock Farming. And the sheep book by the same author is a must read for every beginner.

 

There's magazines with the same audience - watch for magazines aimed at true homesteading, not gentlefolk farming on a million dollar budget.

[juliepoudrier]

For lots of good basic information on raising sheep or goats, you can also try the Maryland Small Ruminant Page.

 

I also really like Ron Parker's book The Sheep Book, which you can find online for free here.

 

There are lots of good resources out there on various topics, so it will help if you can narrow down what you're planning to raise (i.e., if you want to raise guineas, there's a great book called Gardening with Guineas) and then get recommendations that way. Also, if you have a Tractor Supply near you, you can go peruse the magazine rack and see if there's anything there that would fit what you want to do (being able to page through a magazine will give you a better idea if it's appropriate for what you plan to do).

 

J.

[sunnyday]

Thank you so much for all the specific suggestions!! Can't wait to look them up.

 

There are lots of good resources out there on various topics, so it will help if you can narrow down what you're planning to raise (i.e., if you want to raise guineas, there's a great book called Gardening with Guineas) and then get recommendations that way.

 

For livestock, so far I have definite plans for sheep (as a handspinner I'd love a decent fleece for my own use, and since I'm hoping to be in the rainy/lush part of the PNW I hear Romneys and I think Columbias are well-suited to that kind of weather) and chickens (just a dozen or so layers, looking at heritage breeds for those) and maybe a goat or cow mostly for milking.

[juliepoudrier]

looking at heritage breeds for those) and maybe a goat or cow mostly for milking.

For heritage breeds, a good place to start is The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

 

J.

[Patty Abel]

My five year plan quickly became a two year plan!!!! I went to a "farm days" open house in our area and offered my help to the shepherd. I told her I wanted to learn everything and would do any job. I trimmed hooves, gave shots, helped on shearing day and could have helped at lambing time, but we had moved by then. Her flock was a pampered show and wool flock. She didn't use dogs. I still call her for advice and support. I also took herding lessons with my dog which helped ME learn about stock movement and handling.

[hsnrs]

Countryside Magazine is a good one. Also Carla Emery's books. I liked Country Women. There is a forum by homesteaders that is good but hard to get on. It is homesteadingtoday.com. My hubby likes Mother Earth magazine; also Home Power. The library should have subscriptions to lots of these. Good luck finding that perfect place. Narita

[NorthfieldNick]

Alison, where in the rainy PNW? I have some lovely Cotswold sheep who have lovely coloured fleeces that would make some lovely handspun yarn for some lovely handmade clothes...

 

Yeah, I love the fiber, but it's the market lamb that pays the bills.

 

I think they best way to learn to farm is to apprentice with someone who does it. I learned a lot about sheep from a friend of mine, and now we help each other out with our flocks all the time.

[sunnyday]

Alison, where in the rainy PNW? I have some lovely Cotswold sheep who have lovely coloured fleeces that would make some lovely handspun yarn for some lovely handmade clothes...

 

Cotswold, huh? Cool, I'll keep the breed in mind, I like longwools a lot for certain applications. Sadly, I've no idea where in the NW we'll end up. My husband finishes training and the job search starts sometime around this next fall/winter, and we'll go where the job is. We're aiming for anywhere between Northern California and Northern Washington, west of the Cascades. Southern Oregon would be ideal.

 

I know someone who raises purebred Romneys, coats them and pampers them for a fabulous handspinner's fleece, and I still don't think she's probably coming out ahead. So yeah, if the sheep are going to pay their way it's going to be through lambs, but the sheep might end up being pets (and not paying their own way) so I don't have to worry about lambing.

 

I think they best way to learn to farm is to apprentice with someone who does it. I learned a lot about sheep from a friend of mine, and now we help each other out with our flocks all the time.

 

That makes the most sense to me. That and practical ag extension courses, the sort that you need to already own livestock to practice on. I hope to learn enough beforehand to make some educated choices (how much land to acquire, where) and then spend a year or two making connections before I really dive in.

[Bill Fosher]

Lambing is the best. I don't worry about it -- I look forward to it every year. When it's over, I enjoy the lull for a couple of weeks and then start planning and anticipating the following spring.

 

Having sheep without lambing is like kissing your sister, if you ask me.