Question regarding acreage
 

Can someone put into layman terms the difference between owning 5 acres, 15 acres and 50 acres.

Meaning, what can one generally expect at these different sizes?

For am amature part time "farmer" what can 5 acres yield, 15, 50. How much is TOO much "work".

Whats a good size for a family farm when one has a 9-5 job?

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

you will get more responses if you add additional information.

for example...
how many acres it takes to grass feed a cow differs throughout the country
but you can feed lot a cow with zero acres if you want to grain feed them
goats and sheep are different
pigs dont require much space

if your going to do crops you will need equipment depending on the land size etc

if your going to garden you can feed a family of 4 on a 1 acre garden in our part of the country

in our part of the country you can usually graze one cow to 2-3 acres if you get decent rain....and you need to feed them during dry spells and winter..

also in our area when people lived and survived on a "family farm" back in depression days they needed about 80acres to live and support themselves and usually 1/3 of that was in timber for fuel supply

etc etc etc

one acre is approx 43,650 sq ft

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

Thanks Tazz.

I am at looking at orchards/gardens (some eggs would be nice however!). Avacados, apples, oranges grow well around here (southern california). Veggies as well.

Day labor is easy to find as well.

The 80 acres statement is interesting.

Southern Utah is also an option.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

I guess it would help if i defined "my area" we are in the Ozark Mountains were soils are rocky and poor unless you have river bottom land, we get decent moisture all year normally except july and august and we have the 4 full distinct seasons.

good water...bad soil....

and like i said 80acres was about the minimum SURVIVABLE acrege here during the depression

EDIT: you mentioned eggs.....chickens are easy to keep and dont take much land at all...and you can plant the dwarf fruit trees that are easy to harvest from...if you get a good garden..chickens..fruit trees ...around here you would have to worry about deer and cyotes etc getting into your plots

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

hey !

a good source for info may be your states cooperative extension service...

for california, here's a couple of links...good luck !

http://ucanr.org/index.cfm

http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/
We envision a California agriculture in which
small and family farms remain a dynamic, viable component
of the communities in which they operate.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

I read a homesteading article that recommended 1 acre per family member. I live on 5 acres right now. More land does mean more work -- more buildings means more maintenance. I've decided to homestead on 5 acres (3 of it wooded). Of course, my wife's uncle owns the other 450 acres around us and that will help out.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

The old saying "40 acres and a mule" accurately describes approximately the maximum number of acres that can reasonably be plowed/planted/harvested by one man. This is generally considered the minimum amount from which one can make a living farming. With 40 acres you'll need to double-crop, that is, grow two crops per year on the same soil. So you'll need an early grower which is harvested in summer, and a late grower which is harvested just before first frost. Some Amish farmers get by with 10-20 acres by growing high value crops such as strawberries or asparagus. Very labor-intensive, but it can work if you have a large family or do the "pick-your-own" angle. Less than 10 acres, not generally practical for making a full-time living unless the crop is illegal.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

Was watch the Andy Griffith Show yesterday and the episode where Barney gets a stick up his ass about a new farmer in town who kept to himself. Good ol' Barn checked up on the farmer and brought Andy out to watch the farmer plow his fields at night. Barney thought the guy was growing marijuana. :signs1:

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

It's the way you tell 'em! :111:

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

In Pasadena (California) a family is producing 6,000 pounds of organic food a year on 1/10 of an acre. They were featured on "California Heartland" a public television show out of Sacramento, CA.

video (5 min): http://kvie.vo.llnwd.net/o1/ca_heart...to_freedom.asx

"California Heartland: Path to Freedom" - segment description: http://www.californiaheartland.org/t...to_freedom.htm

The family also has a website: http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

WATCH THE VIDEO -- it's really pretty amazing.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

While I don't try to grow all our food needs on site, as in subsistence living, we do live on about 13 acres. 8 acres are cash rented to a farmer for growing his corn, etc. about 3 acres are used for 2 homes, garages, wood sheds, and a chicken coop. On that part we have yards, gardens, all types of trees including several fruit trees and of course my barn. The remainder is wooded and can't be used for garden or crops. It could be converted to a place for some goats and a pig pen.

I'm in Ohio, so we don't have the longer growing season you could expect in So Cal. If you're working a 9-5 then I'd say 10 acres is going to be a lot of work, if you've a lot of free or cheap help and decide you want to make the land self supporting, you'll need more, maybe 50 plus. However if you've 50 + you may as well have 500 and do it right, make it your full time living.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

For wood fuel in the upper midwest....1 acre will produce 1 cord per year of down fall/dead trees....forever......

1000 sq ft home will demand 3 - 4 cords for heating from a top notch heating system....if you plan on heating water, cooking etc....I'd increase it by half to double that amount.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

More land does not have to mean more work. Nature is pretty good at taking care of herself. :smile:

But it is good to have more land "just in case". Extra land for harvesting timber... extra potential resources such as water, mineral. Extra security buffer around your home. Extra land for hunting game.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

That is kind of what I'm banking on. We are getting 5 acres, 3 of which are wooded and have not been cleared of dead fall at all. I'm thinking that I can go in there and put up 10-12 cords of wood from the stuff already dead and down. This will give me a head start on curing wood for the future. Because our house will only be a 900 square foot 2-story I'm thinking that 3 cords will be the maximum we will need for heat for one winter.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

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That small operation, is very impressive, indeed!!! :ok:

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

Our modest sixteen acres is mostly forest. We can grow a lot of stuff but with 40+ inches of rainfall sunlight becomes the limiting factor, not water.

We go through a cord of wood in winter but the winters where I am at are mild compared to most every place short of Florida.

Re: Question regarding acreage
 

Wow. Amazing is an understatement.