Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
About off grid "homesteading". I'm fixing to live in a 200 sq ft. storage shed next to the same size little barn on the SW coast of Oregon. This is to wiggle out of having to have building permits and inspections, and I can also move or sell those buildings and keep the land. There will be a septic sysytem however. My land and buildings are paid for. I have no debt, none. Fortunately, I have lived long enough to get Medicare health insurance, and I also have a pile saved plus a monthly SS and a small pension. I'm trying to decide - hook up to the grid for 12G and pay a $25 monthly fee before even a spark of electricity is used? Or go the generator and battery route. Solar is not an option here, my little stream is not enough for hydro power. There is too much forest and north slope mountain here to grow much crops and no pasture. However, my land backs up to 5407 sq. miles of natl. forest
which is the major attraction to me. In this barn will live my horse and my dairy cow. This Jersey cow, a pet, can produce between 5 and 8 gallons a day depending on her stage in lactation. In Oregon you can have as many as three milking cows and sell milk off the farm, but no advertising is allowed. I'm not doing that nasty raw milk thing, nothing is leaving this hill that isn't pasteurized, I am a nurse! So I figure to give my customers each their own key to the fridge and do a roadside honor stand for the milk. Also, I could trade milk for pasture and fruits and vegetables from people that have those. I will not be trying to make a profit off this venture, just pay for the feed. I could also put my black Arabian stallion for stud. Its not to make money of him as a sort of equine pimp, it is so he can have descendants and have a happier life. Its not a real farm it is a lifestyle farm. What do you all think of my plan>?
Last edited by Elk Wallow; 04-30-2015 at 02:12 PM..
Aha! Daphne's previous calf was half Angus. That little 800lb cow weaned a 700lb calf. The auction people thought he was a Red Angus. I like these Scottish Highland cattle. I have ridden up to herds of cows and they put the calves in the center, make a circle around them with the horns all facing out. I hand spin wool and fiber and knit. I just finished a couple of ounces of y-a-k down, thats their underwear. A great hairy beast like a *** only produces a couple of ounces A YEAR. Do Highland cattle have usable undercoats? Y-a-K down is silky soft. Well Daphne is bred to an Angus again and will likely calf today or tomorrow. Hobby Farm, whatever you call it, it is a blessing to live this way, with some backup cash for insurance of course.
I'm trying to decide - hook up to the grid for 12G and pay a $25 monthly fee before even a spark of electricity is used? Or go the generator and battery route. Solar is not an option here, my little stream is not enough for hydro power.
Well, you know what my opinion is going to be!
Go the generator and battery route. Will only take 2 to 4 hours of generator time per day, depending on amp hour rating of your battery bank, to charge up those cells for a full 24 hours of power. My rationale? If you're old enough for Medicare, $12K will buy you enough gas to run the genny 24/7 for probably the rest of your life, and you can throw in the cost of the generator and a few replacements with the $ 25/mo electric fee.
Yea! I will PM you about how to do this. I am not really old enough for Medicare, but something happened that I got medicare early. I seem to have a history of being accident prone
.........."that means I just paid for the cow".....
I seriously doubt that !
It would take two complete idiots to make that happen.
#1........someone with a Scottish Highland cow ( ready to calve) that is selling it cheap..............why
#2.........someone who wants a crossbred calf so bad that money is no issue..............................why
There may be a few idiots in Montana who have no idea about pricing livestock but I doubt you would run into two of them in the same day.
Nothing wrong with the cow, the guy just wants a quick sale for quick cash. The cow is $1200.00,(not cheap), the calf when I sell it to that lady this fall if the cattle pricess are similar to last year will be worth around $2.90 lb,(what I sold last years calves for), so a 500 lb (conservative estimate) calf, means the math is: 500 lbs x $2.90/lb = $1450.00.
Did you ever really work with cattle, or do you just play cattleman on the internet?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elk Wallow
Aha! Daphne's previous calf was half Angus. That little 800lb cow weaned a 700lb calf. The auction people thought he was a Red Angus. I like these Scottish Highland cattle. I have ridden up to herds of cows and they put the calves in the center, make a circle around them with the horns all facing out. I hand spin wool and fiber and knit. I just finished a couple of ounces of y-a-k down, thats their underwear. A great hairy beast like a *** only produces a couple of ounces A YEAR. Do Highland cattle have usable undercoats? Y-a-K down is silky soft. Well Daphne is bred to an Angus again and will likely calf today or tomorrow. Hobby Farm, whatever you call it, it is a blessing to live this way, with some backup cash for insurance of course.
Funny, you can't say *** on here It is the cattle of the Himalayan Mountains. Wi. Aaa.Akk
Y.a.k.s, are from Tibet. Smaller than the Scottys, wilder too, but do look very similar. One of the primary reasons we went with Scotty's is because they can take care of themselves against preditors, and wolves have become a real problem here.
You could probably spin the undercoat from Scottys, but it isn't soft although it is really warm and durable. Probably make a great all weather cloak or raincoat
I like the fact that Scotty's are intelligent and will browse so they can thrive on pasture other cattle would starve on. The milk is really good and plentiful, and the beef is outstanding. They also make pretty good oxen.
They're a heritage breed, don't need a lot of care, very rarely need help calving, they don't ride the fence like angus do, they just take care of themselves. Great cattle for someone that isn't really experienced with cattle or with a small place or doesn't have really good grazing.
The Scotty/angus cross makes a really good beef animal, but we have registered stock so while I don't have anything against the hybrids, we only keep the purebred stock.
I agree, living in the country and working with animals is a great blessing and the best way to live.
Go the generator and battery route. Will only take 2 to 4 hours of generator time per day, depending on amp hour rating of your battery bank, to charge up those cells for a full 24 hours of power. My rationale? If you're old enough for Medicare, $12K will buy you enough gas to run the genny 24/7 for probably the rest of your life, and you can throw in the cost of the generator and a few replacements with the $ 25/mo electric fee.
Nothin' like being independent of the power grid!
You mean "nothin' like being independent of the power grid while burning the planet into oblivion"? Some "back to nature" thing that is!
About off grid "homesteading". I'm fixing to live in a 200 sq ft. storage shed next to the same size little barn on the SW coast of Oregon. This is to wiggle out of having to have building permits and inspections, and I can also move or sell those buildings and keep the land. There will be a septic sysytem however. My land and buildings are paid for. I have no debt, none. Fortunately, I have lived long enough to get Medicare health insurance, and I also have a pile saved plus a monthly SS and a small pension. I'm trying to decide - hook up to the grid for 12G and pay a $25 monthly fee before even a spark of electricity is used? Or go the generator and battery route. Solar is not an option here, my little stream is not enough for hydro power. There is too much forest and north slope mountain here to grow much crops and no pasture. However, my land backs up to 5407 sq. miles of natl. forest
which is the major attraction to me. In this barn will live my horse and my dairy cow. This Jersey cow, a pet, can produce between 5 and 8 gallons a day depending on her stage in lactation. In Oregon you can have as many as three milking cows and sell milk off the farm, but no advertising is allowed. I'm not doing that nasty raw milk thing, nothing is leaving this hill that isn't pasteurized, I am a nurse! So I figure to give my customers each their own key to the fridge and do a roadside honor stand for the milk. Also, I could trade milk for pasture and fruits and vegetables from people that have those. I will not be trying to make a profit off this venture, just pay for the feed. I could also put my black Arabian stallion for stud. Its not to make money of him as a sort of equine pimp, it is so he can have descendants and have a happier life. Its not a real farm it is a lifestyle farm. What do you all think of my plan>?
I think that you have a generally realistic plan because it won't be necessary for you to make a certain amount to pay the bills.. However, you should reconsider breeding horses if you care about them. There's a huge overpopulation of horses. Remember when a Kentucky Derby winner ended up in a packing plant? Geldings have happy lives and longer ones just as dogs and cats do after neutering. Saying they'll have happier lives ungelded smacks of the trailer park.
I don't believe that you'll be able to sell pasteurized milk unless you can beat the price at Walmart. Raw milk is necessary for making many cheeses. The milk itself simply has a different taste. If you've ever had pasteurized eggs you know what I mean. Why not consider artisanal cheeses? Selling cheese for more than Roquefort could be very satisfying. Every year Europeans eat hundreds of tons of cheese made from raw milk with no ill effect.
You mean "nothin' like being independent of the power grid while burning the planet into oblivion"? Some "back to nature" thing that is!
Who the hail cares if you 'burn the planet into oblivion'? You think her genny is going to burn half of what the stupid utilty company would burn, to supply just her power? Have you done an exhaustive study on what an individual generator produces vis a vis what the utility produces per customer? I didn't think so. She's trying to solve an individual problem, and you're just being obstructionist.
We're all getting sick and tired of your snotty, angry, bitter bullying and troll commentary, LordyLordy.
Nor Easter, They won't let me rep you anymore for a while.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why not consider artisanal cheeses? Selling cheese for more than Roquefort could be very satisfying. Every year Europeans eat hundreds of tons of cheese made from raw milk with no ill effect.
You think her genny is going to burn half of what the stupid utilty company would burn, to supply just her power? Have you done an exhaustive study on what an individual generator produces vis a vis what the utility produces per customer? I didn't think so. She's trying to solve an individual problem, and you're just being obstructionist. 
