When starting your small farm, don’t make these mistakes! I review some common mistakes I have made on our farm. Most mistakes are caused by a lack of planning and being too busy to sit down and think about how you want your small farm to grow.
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How did you choose what structure to start with for your pigs?
Don't build your fences too small. And at best, think 50 years ahead.
Just going back and watching some old videos because I’m interested in raising cattle. And noticed you have a LOT of subscribers now!
I learned that the NEXT time I purchase a older model haybine, I look and consider the condition of the crimping rollers more carefully and don't just take the work of the seller.
I was told that it wasn't a "big deal" that some of the rollers had some rubber missing from them since I was most likely going to be cutting pasture grass and not alfalfa.
" You won't need to crimp pasture grass much!"….
The rubber is STILL flying off…..I think I got taken….
Ever think about buying a skid steer too clean out the barn?
Great tips. Thanks for the good info.
Love you guys
No clue if you'll see this comment but use a aquarium gravel cleaner to get the water out more easily that way while it's draining you don't need to get poop water on yourself
just love your farm,,,,,,, why dont your kids help you with the work ? pete
Bad fences got some of my family’s pure breed angus killed on the road. Black cattle on a dark night
Mistakes on my 10-acre property in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia; Not buying into Dexter Cattle when I wanted to over 20 years ago. We (now I) could have had the setup, instead our first cattle were Friesian (dairy) steers, when it came time to sell the stock agent tried hard to get us our money back, fortunately it was not as big a loss as we thought it might be, but it certainly was not a profit! Then we went onto Hereford steers, raising them up and selling them on at market with cartage fees and stock agent fees.
Looking into Dexter's back then with an association and membership to have regular support and a turnover of bulls, we could have set up fencing properly with inside paddocks for when the neighbours have bulls on adjoining fencing, or we had bulls on our land.
Now this is what I am facing 22 years later with my little herd of 5 (the newest being just a month old).
I thought my paddock fencing was done, but the internal fencing is about to be done.
The past 22 years has really been spent restoring a 130-year-old cottage, back then the living conditions trumped the outside environment on focus and spending, a mixture of both would have been beneficial now.
I certainly agree with you Pete about overspending, a new tractor is good, but my recently acquired Leyland 154 tractor is really all I would need, not the $24,000 John Deere I priced a few years ago.
Keep making your clips, they are informative and entertaining.
Love your videos 😊
I have a vast knowledge about farming . if u have a problem . . . I might be able to help . . . . now . . . before I ran into the two of u on YouTube I had zero knowledge about farming . now I have a bunch. U two are the greatest. Thanks
I can’t articulate enough how helpful you are right now I my decisions. Thank you so much Pete!
Love to watch your videos! So many good memories.
Thanks
Man I love these videos. Wholesome approach to farming, and life! Not a farmer yet, but making plans to be one. Thanks Pete (and Hillary) for your wisdom.
My mistake is not listening to this video 2 years ago.
Very good advice for any kind of business. Thank YOU Pete!
I love your videos and have told many others about your utube site. What you are doing for others is wonderful.
I have learned so much from Pete in the few short weeks that I have found his channel here on youtube. I aspire to have a homestead or small farm someday. What a great operation he has.
Every video is a joy, thank you.
Very good advice,,,enjoyed listening,,and watching,,
you tacking me back when i was littlewe lived on farm my fatch was a farmer
Pete, I’d like to thank you so much for making this video. To my mind, the two best tips you provided were, first, the absolute necessity of making a business plan, a concept which can and, imo, SHOULD be applied to families as well and second, not beating yourself up about charging, as you’ve put it in other videos, “a premium price for a premium productâ€. Small farmers think they have to compete with the large commercial growers but, in fact, it is the big guys that can’t compete with the small farmer, because the quality, taste and longevity of the product is INCOMPARABLE!!
I married my first wife
This is valuable information. I'm not quite retired from the Army yet but, I do hope to farm full-time as soon as I get out. The business advice you offer as well as "The Shepardess" channel will definitely come into play. No offense to the other farm channels but, you offer the most useful advice.
Great vid.
One of the biggest things my wife and I have learned from our 10 years of small ranching is this list we came up with. We are both around 60 now but when we got started we discovered that it was WAY TOO EASY to forget to take care of yourself. These simple rules we came up with have saved us from exhaustion, which inevitably leads to mistakes and potential injuries. When you are an hour from the nearest hospital you need to be mindful. So, here's the list.
Rest before you are tired… Once you are already tired you will start screwing things up and may even injure yourself.
Drink before you are thirsty… We live at 7500 foot elevation and our typical humidity is in the teens. Add a hot sun to that mix and you NEED to stay hydrated!
Eat before you are hungry… This is most important if you have a work day planned. Running out of fuel in the middle of a big project is not only inconvenient, but you get weak, less focused, and less coordinated…again possibly leading to injury.
Take at least one day a week off of heavy chores… The body needs to recover and rest is necessary to stay sharp. Staying sharp when working around machinery and livestock is absolutely crucial.
Stay "in the moment" while working… Letting your mind drift away while you are working around critters and machinery is a recipe for problems. Lots of stuff to remember…like making sure gates are locked, water is turned off, etc.
These are the big ones to remember… you can add your own details depending on your circumstances.
Back when I had a dream of going from 18 sows to growing to 40 sows when I was in my 20’s, I went to my farm creditor with hopes in obtaining a loan.
His words I’ll never forget and they hold true to this day……He said “steady as you grow, you’re not there yet†I didn’t get the loan
Hi Pete, I am so inspired by your videos and decided to go back to watch the earlier ones too about starting a small farm. You and your sweet family are inspiring and my family and I love your show. We have some acres we hope to have do something for us when we get away from the day jobs. Just hope we’re able to move around and are healthy to do so. How do you work cattle for vaccines? Just you and Hillary? Do you get more help from extended family or friends? It’s the hardest thing I think is for a small farm. We have goats, cows, and we’re not getting any younger. We need to invest in headgates and squeeze shoots. Thanks!
Thank you for this video. Extremely helpful to us folks just starting out.
Not listening.
Pete, stop hitting yourself, you're only human!