Hobby Farms are Work

[Rich Riddle]

My wife purchased a little hobby farm last year. They're more work than I anticipated. The 87 year old farmer had a lot of deferred maintenance to put it lightly. The house, the garage, the cabin, the shed all needed work. Then the yard/field..... It's a lot to chew.

[Jim Koepke]

Tell me about it. We have a greenhouse and the way the water can evaporate on a warm day requires regular watering that can take most of a day.

We do have cooling, but cooling moves air which moves the humidity, thus requiring more watering.

Then there is all the bugs that want to move in to such a nice environment with a full buffet...

jtk

[Jerome Stanek]

Tell me about it. We have a greenhouse and the way the water can evaporate on a warm day requires regular watering that can take most of a day.

We do have cooling, but cooling moves air which moves the humidity, thus requiring more watering.

Then there is all the bugs that want to move in to such a nice environment with a full buffet...

jtk

When you say greenhouse how big is it. My parents owned one that I worked in till I was 25 it was an acre and a half under glass we raised tomatoes for a living about 22,000 plants. 2crops a year.

[Rich Riddle]

Jerome,

In my mind hobby farm and a 1.5 acre enclosed greenhouse are mutually exclusive. That's typically considered a business sized operation.

[Mel Fulks]

Don't see how maintaining a greenhouse could be such a big deal. A friend was telling me his had "gone to pot" and he's still raking in the money!

[George Bokros]

A hobby farm even without the maintenance you site is a lot of work. Heck my 28x28 garden is a lot of work.

[paul cottingham]

My folks had 8 acres with about 5 cultivated, growing raspberries, strawberries, kiwis, (first on vancouver island!) and sheep. Dad worked the farm into his mid 70's, mostly by himself, not bad considering he was 5' 7" and 155 lbs on a good day. Kept him healthy and strong.

[John K Jordan]

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My wife purchased a little hobby farm last year. They're more work than I anticipated. The 87 year old farmer had a lot of deferred maintenance to put it lightly. The house, the garage, the cabin, the shed all needed work. Then the yard/field..... It's a lot to chew.

Ha! I have 27 acres, big garden, orchard, 3 fields, over 50 animals, the house, shop, barn, and 8 outbuildings to maintain. In the growing season I mow at least three acres twice a week, fix the fences, collect the eggs, keep the waterers working and unfrozen in the winter, haul and stack 4-500 bales of hay, and spend quality time with the beehives much of the year.

I remember sitting in a meeting several years before I retired and mentioned to the scientist next to me that I was looking for a farm to buy. She said "Are you crazy?! That's a dumb idea.)

I remember the "deferred maintenance" thing. The house had trees growing out of the foundation. W hauled 14 trailer loads of brush from the front "yard". We had to strip and rebuild much inside the house, fix the plumbing and wiring, rebuild the barn and several out buildings, clear about 50 years of overgrowth, rewire things, tear down some things before they fell down, repair roads, clear out fallen trees, and fertilize everything.

But I love it!! Keeps me feeling young and full of energy. I have lots of kids and other visitors come to learn something. A sawmill behind the barn and downed trees keeps me in wood. And the new shop takes care of my surplus time. I've been retired 10 years now and if I didn't have a little something to keep me busy I'd probably get fat lazy and keel over from a heart attack. When I get too old to mow and stack square bales of hay six-high it will be time to quit and move to the beach. Come visit and take a llama for a walk!

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Sorry, I like pictures...

JKJ

[Mel Fulks]

John ....no one feels sorry for you !! And you could always turn the place into a "dude ranch" and CHARGE people to work there !

[Rich Riddle]

There was an article in a paper saying people pay $2000 a night to work on a farm and relax. Where are those people?
John ....no one feels sorry for you !! And you could always turn the place into a "dude ranch" and CHARGE people to work there !

[Jim Koepke]

When you say greenhouse how big is it. My parents owned one that I worked in till I was 25 it was an acre and a half under glass we raised tomatoes for a living about 22,000 plants. 2crops a year.

Our greenhouse is about 960 square feet.

jtk

[John K Jordan]

John ....no one feels sorry for you !! And you could always turn the place into a "dude ranch" and CHARGE people to work there !

No sorrow needed! It's a hobby with a purpose.

I have had parents bring their kids to give them a farm work experience. I've had a number of teens, mostly girls, come and work for money or horse access. I lock up their cell phones, teach them to drive the tractor, carry hay, clean up manure.

The boy who comes now twice a week is an excellent worker - his driving ambition is to have a sheep farm and sell sheep to finance supplying livestock to impoverished families and villages. I work him hard - 95 degrees, pouring rain, frozen solid, before dawn - I want him to understand that animal care is not a fair weather hobby! Good experience. He saves every penny of what he earns in a fencing fund for his own place.

My biggest reason to have this place is to have a place for kids to come (some REALLY need to get outside and some just need a little attention) and to keep llamas and such to take to schools, churches, old-folks homes, parades and such. (Some were in a TV commercial!)

This little girl on the horse is autistic, blind from birth, was so excited to touch a horse she begged to take it home!

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Here's a pre-teen birthday party. (I don't EVER want to do that again!)

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An assisted living home brought a van full of residents. I brought out llamas, horses, chickens, donkeys.

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These vet students are skinning and dissecting a possum:

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Good clean fun! Well, sometimes not so clean...

Oops, got carried away with the pictures again.

JKJ

[Wayne Lomman]

Rich, I see you mentioned the words hobby and farm. That means work! Cheers

[Pat Barry]

Jerome,

In my mind hobby farm and a 1.5 acre enclosed greenhouse are mutually exclusive. That's typically considered a business sized operation.
Sounds more like you actually consider hobby farms and work to be mutually exclusive.

[Keith Outten]

IMO a farm of any size is hard work. I have a 50 by 150 foot garden and to me its a lot of work even with a tractor. My garden is something I do because I enjoy the effort and when it produces great tasting food its even more enjoyable. Either way its hard work just controlling the weeds :)
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[Jim Andrew]

My farm is only 800 acres, and I find it hard to keep up. Used to have a construction business, and farmed evenings and weekends, now I just farm, play in my woodshop, and saw a few logs. No hogs or chickens like my folks had, just crops and cows.