September 25, 2023 • 26 mins
This week I spent a lot of time reading the policy manuals of the Farm Bureau and the NY Farm Bureau. As I did, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how homesteading and farming are the same. And how they are different. On this episode, I share my thoughts on that as well as why I think homesteading is crucial to solving the issue of aging farmers.
Enjoy!!
Brian
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Microphone (ZOOM P4 Audio) (00:03):
I'm your host, Brian Wells, and I'm
a fourth generation homesteader.
Since 2008, my family and I havebeen homesteading here.
Beautiful upstate New York.
In 2019, I launched thehomestead journey podcast.
To help people just like you getstarted and find success.
On their journey towardsself-sufficiency self-reliance
(00:25):
and sustainability.
This is the homestead journey.
And this.
Is season four.
Well, hello everyone.
And welcome back to anotherepisode of the homestead journey
podcast.
So glad to have you with us.
As always, my name is BrianWells.
(00:45):
I am coming to you from threebefore I'm in homestead here in.
Beautiful upstate New York.
This is season four, and this isepisode 169.
And again, welcome, welcome.
Welcome to this episode.
I certainly hope that you arehaving a wonderful day wherever
(01:07):
this might find you.
I did want to start out thepodcast today by offering my
apologies.
Once again, that I am a day lateand a dollar short putting this
up as sold out, I had sometechnical difficulties.
Once again, yesterday.
As I went to record the podcast,I've actually switched up my
work phone and I'm not going toget into all of that.
(01:28):
But unfortunately, I didn'tnotice that I had the wrong mic
selected when I went to, recordthe episode.
And so it sounded like I wastalking into a tin can.
And once I realized that I wentto rerecord the episode, but I
was so tired, I couldn't thinkstraight.
And I finally said, forget it.
I'll do it tomorrow.
(01:48):
And so here it is.
But once again, my apologies.
Excited to be sharing with youtoday on the topic.
Of farming versus home settingsomething that I have really
been thinking a lot.
About this week.
In part, because I received.
The farm bureau policy manualson last week's episode.
(02:11):
I shared with you that I joinedthe farm bureau.
And so this week I had theopportunity to read through
their policy manuals and I'vereally been doing a lot of
thinking with regards tohomesteading versus farming.
And we're going to get into thathere.
In a little bit, but before wedo so.
As is our normal custom here onthe podcast.
(02:34):
I did want to bring you up tospeed with what we've been doing
here on three B farm andhomestead.
So not a whole lot, honestly,going on here on the home set
it's that time of the year wherewe're starting to wind things
down.
(02:54):
The first official day of fallwas a few days ago and we are
starting to feel those falllike.
Temperatures here.
In beautiful upstate New York.
And.
I believe we have a frost.
Uh, potential frost here comingin the next couple of days.
So we'll have to keep an eye outfor that.
But in the meantime, we havecontinued to enjoy what little
(03:19):
bit of bounty we've been gettingfrom this year's garden.
Uh, certainly as I've sharedwith you before not been the
best garden ever here on three Bfarm and homestead for a whole
lot of reasons that I'm notgoing to get into.
In part, because it is ratherdepressing, but.
Uh, we have been enjoying a fewthings from the garden.
(03:41):
I believe I shared with you acouple of weeks ago that.
In the midst of thedisappointing things in the
garden.
I have had a few bright spotsand one of those has been my
ability to miraculously growcult flour.
And in particular, a varietycalled the purple, which is an
absolutely beautiful.
(04:03):
Purple.
A head of color flower that notonly is it beautiful, but it
tastes good as well.
And I have shared pictures ofthose over on our Instagram and
Facebook accounts.
So if you don't follow what'sthere, definitely check that
out.
But we really have been enjoyingthat cauliflower.
Uh, and it is just absolutelygorgeous.
(04:25):
Another thing that has done verywell for us this year.
Has been my Lima beans.
And so this past Sunday, Iactually cooked up a batch of
succotash.
Growing up, our traditionalsuccotash recipe was simply
Lima, bean and corn, but I ranacross the fact that many people
put tomatoes.
(04:47):
In there succotash.
And so my mom and dad came overon Sunday.
And part to celebrate my mom'sbirthday.
And so I whipped up a batch ofsuccotash using a jar of
tomatoes that we can a couple ofyears ago, as well as some corn
that we had put into the freezerand then some fresh Lima beans
(05:09):
that I had picked and shelledthe night before using that new
little gadget that I bought afew weeks ago at a junk shop.
It's the P holler and beanslicer.
And it really, really workedvery well.
Uh, hauling or shocky knows.
Lima beans.
I don't know.
Do you shuck Lima beans?
Whatever it is.
(05:29):
But it did work very well to dothat.
And so we enjoyed that.
Uh, this past weekend.
I do have to, to also share withyou that I harvested the bulk of
my tomatoes this past weekend infolks, it was an absolute
disappointment.
Just so very, verydisappointing.
(05:51):
A few weeks ago, I picked sometomatoes, put them as has been
my custom, the last severalyears.
In the freezer.
I think I had one, maybe twogallon sized bags of tomatoes.
I picked the remainder of myslicing, and my paste tomatoes.
And they all fit into a single.
(06:11):
Sizable ball, but into a singlebowl.
Very very disappointing harvestthis year for me.
But it is what it is.
And hopefully next year thingswill be better, but this harvest
and I'm using huge air quoteswas definitely something that I
hope to never repeat again.
(06:31):
Because it was very, very sad.
I do have a few cherry tomatoesstill hanging on.
Up there, but as far as mynormal.
Abundant tomato harvest that Ihave grown accustomed to.
It certainly was not that.
But under some positive news.
And that is, as I mentioned, mymom's birthday was celebrated
(06:55):
this past weekend.
We actually had the opportunityto get together.
With my in-laws as well onSaturday evening to celebrate my
father-in-law's upcomingbirthday.
So my mom's birthday is on the23rd.
My father-in-law's birthday ison the 27th.
And so what a joy to be able toshare in the celebration of
(07:15):
that?
I certainly don't take it forgranted because there were many,
many years.
Where we lived, honestly, ondifferent continents.
There was a point in time in ourlives.
Where both of my brothers livedoutside the continental us, my.
Um, my wife and I lived in theCayman islands.
My mom and dad lived in Brazil.
And so there was a lot ofdistance between us in many,
(07:37):
many years.
Where I didn't have theopportunity to spend time with
my mom or with my father-in-lawto celebrate their birthdays.
And so just a joy and anabsolute privilege.
To celebrate with them.
So I did want to take anopportunity on this episode to
say, Mom and dad.
Happy birthday and here's tomany, many more.
(07:59):
The last thing I wanted to sharewith you is that as I mentioned
in my opening, we'll call itmonologue.
I had the opportunity this weekto read the farm bureau policy
manuals.
Now, for some people thatprobably would be a very, very
boring thing.
And I can't say that it was allthat exciting, except that it
(08:21):
was exciting for me to see.
What positions this organizationholds with regards to certain
concerns that I have.
Some of those concerns wereconcerns that I mentioned on
last week's episode.
And one of the things that I amvery, very happy to have found
out is that they have alreadyidentified many of the areas of
(08:44):
concern that I had as areas ofconcern.
And they have policy proposalsin place to address those
things.
For example, like the number ofrabbits that can be processed
and sold direct to consumers.
Things like a need for betteraccess to.
Meat.
processing facilities and thatthe laws that govern that
(09:07):
processing should be changed.
there were so many policies.
Uh, that I found myself, uh, inagreement with now.
I certainly did not agree witheverything in there, but I
really did find myself.
Uh, pleasantly surprised by howwell thought out those policies
are, even in the areas where youdon't necessarily agree.
(09:29):
Uh, they certainly are wellthought out and, uh, I was by
and large.
Very happy.
Now, the policy manual from thenational farm bureau was 246
pages.
And the policy manual for NewYork farm bureau was 182 pages
for a combined 428 pages ofexcited then trawling reading.
(09:56):
And I did read most of it.
Almost word for word?
No, there were a few areas ofpolicy that I did skim over, but
most of it, I read word forword.
and was again, very, very happy.
With, what I saw in those policymanuals.
And so it really did confirm tome.
(10:18):
That I made an excellentdecision in joining this
organization.
And I'm excited to see whereit's going to lead.
I'm looking very much forward toworking with this organization.
To help advance the cause ofhomesteading, not just a New
York state.
But throughout the United Statesof America as well.
All right, folks, let's jump onover to this.
(10:42):
Week's charting the course as wetalk about.
The differences between farmingand homesteading.
So this week, as I read throughthose policy manual, certainly
in the back of my mind was thequestion, how does homesteading
(11:03):
fit within all of this farmingstuff?
And how was homesteadingdifferent than farming and what
are the needs of homesteadersversus.
The needs of farmers.
And does homesteading fit withinthe mission of the farm bureau?
Well, let me just revisit onceagain, what the mission is of
(11:25):
the farm bureau, the farm bureauwas a non-governmental volunteer
organization, financed andcontrolled by member families
for the purpose of solving.
Economic and public policyissues, challenging the
agricultural industry.
Certainly from my perspective,no matter how you define
homesteading, it does fit withinthe context of the agricultural
(11:46):
industry.
So they go on to say the missionof New York farm bureau is
supporting today's agriculturalneeds and creating member
opportunities for tomorrowthrough advocacy and education.
And certainly advocating for.
Uh, the ability to raise andgrow food.
And providing better educationto people on knowing how to
raise and grow food.
(12:07):
To me.
I would think fits within thatmission.
Certainly no opposing orconflicting arguments from my
perspective.
And find the big one to saythis, the forward-looking N Y F
B.
Vision is the voice of New Yorkagriculture.
That unites a diverse farmcommunity and builds a stronger
(12:29):
food system.
And rural economy.
And certainly from myperspective, the idea of home
setting certainly fits withinthe context of a diverse farm
community.
And building a stronger foodsystem.
And rural economy.
But that only works if.
(12:50):
Homesteading could be.
Considered part of a farmcommunity.
And so it got me to thinking ishomesteading farming is farming
homesteading.
Like how do you kind of work allof that together?
And as I've thought about this,and I don't think I'm
necessarily breaking a whole lotof new ground here, but as I
(13:11):
thought about this, To me.
I think There are hugesimilarities between
homesteading and farming inthere are differences between
homesteading.
And farming.
And so as I, as I startedthinking about how home setting
in and farming kind of relate.
And how they're different.
(13:31):
I really thought about three keyareas that I think help us
define.
What makes a homestead versuswhat makes a farm?
So the first thing I think isscale.
To me, generally speaking, notall the time.
But generally speaking.
Uh, homestead is going to besmaller in scale.
(13:54):
Than a farm.
Generally speaking farms aregoing to comprise many, many
acres.
Lots of buildings andinfrastructure.
And generally speaking,homesteads are going to be
smaller, both from the physicalsize as well as the amount of
output.
Generated through agriculturalproduction.
(14:16):
The second thing that I think.
Has a tendency to define homesetting versus farming.
Is that homesteads aregenerally.
More diverse than farms.
What I mean by that is generallyspeaking homesteads are going to
take more of a polycultureapproach.
And farms are going to be alittle bit more.
(14:40):
Of a monoculture.
Approach.
Usually.
Farms are going to focus on onearea of production.
And homesteads are going tofocus on many areas of
production.
And even in farms that aresomewhat diversified.
(15:00):
There usually is one central orone main product.
That they're producing.
So let me just kind of fleshthat out a little bit.
In our area, we have severallarge dairy operations.
They have lately diversified.
One of them.
(15:20):
That comes to my mind is a farmcalled ideal dairy.
Primarily at dairy farm.
But they joined forces with thecheese company that my wife
works for.
That produces things like cheeseand yogurt.
But they also produce some bakedgoods.
But even in thatdiversification, Their primary
(15:42):
focus is going to be dairy.
Whether you're talking aboutmilk, you're talking about
yogurt.
You're talking about cheese.
They're primary.
Area of production is dairy.
There's another, uh, dairy farmhere locally called Taya.
Schoeke.
They are.
A relatively largemulti-generation multifamily.
(16:04):
Dairy farm.
That has diversified into.
Raising steers for meat.
Um, raising some pigs.
They also do some pumpkins andthey have a farm store.
But at their core.
They are, and they probablyalways will be a dairy farm.
(16:26):
We also have some friends that,uh, are vegetable farmers.
They grow lots and lots ofdifferent vegetables.
Now they do have some chickensthat they keep around, that they
feed vegetable scraps to.
And they'll sell the eggs fromthat.
But primarily they are avegetable farm.
(16:46):
And even when you stop and youthink about Polyface farm, which
is a very well-known farm withinthe home setting community.
While they practice regenerativeagriculture, and they do have
diversification from thestandpoint of Raising pigs and
beef cattle.
And poultry.
At the end of the day they'reprimarily focused on raising
(17:10):
meat.
They're not a vegetable farm.
They're not making soap.
They're raising meat.
And that's okay.
But you contrast that with.
Homesteads and homesteads,generally speaking are a little
bit more polyculture in theirapproach.
(17:30):
They're going to be raisingvegetables are going to be
raising meat.
They might have their own fruittrees.
It's going to be a little bitmore of a comprehensive
approach.
With regards to what they raisein grow.
Versus what farms do.
Now again, I'm speaking ingeneral terms.
But in my opinion, Homesteads.
(17:52):
Are going to be more diversifiedin more poly culture in their
approach versus a monoculture.
Approach.
At a farm.
But to me, the biggestdifferentiator between
homesteading and farming is themotivating factor.
The motivating factor.
(18:13):
In my opinion.
For a homestead is going to beto produce for personal
consumption.
Whereas a farm is going to befocused on producing for other
people's consumption.
It's the difference of raisingfood for yourself versus raising
food for other people.
And so if I were to do a Venndiagram, Right.
(18:35):
You know, the concentriccircles, kind of that middle
piece where those circlesoverlap.
Is what I would call farmsetting.
And that's where ashomesteaders, we might
overproduce in a particulararea.
Whether it's on purpose or onaccident.
(18:56):
But we over produce in aparticular area.
And then we use thatoverproduction as a means to
help support our homestead.
So for example, We raised pigsfor a number of years.
And I would always try to raiseextra pigs.
And sell those extra pigs tohelp put pigs into the freezer
(19:19):
for me.
And try to pay for that.
Didn't always work out that wellfor me, but that was in essence,
my end goal.
We've done the same thing withsome vegetables, we've done the
same thing with some meat, birdsand some turkeys.
Over producing in particularareas to help.
Offset the cost of raising foodfor our own family.
(19:42):
Again, sometimes that's in acalculated manner.
Where you might plant extratomatoes so that you can sell
them at a farm stand or at afarmer's market.
Or using the pigs or thechickens as an example where you
raise a second batch to sell, tooffset the batch that you're
raising for yourself, which isreally the approach that Jack
(20:05):
polner has over at the mindfulhomestead, where he's raising
turkeys, he's raising meat,birds, he's raising pork,
certainly to make money.
But also in large part to offsetthe costs so that he can put a
pig in the freezer for hisfamily and essence for free.
Uh, to put chickens in thefreezer for his family in
(20:28):
essence, for free.
And then anything that he makeson top of that is kind of icing.
On the cake.
But certainly I would say thathis primary motivator.
At least initially.
Was to raise food for hisfamily.
(20:48):
One more thing with regards tohome setting versus farming.
Is that with homesteading?
What you might find is that thethings that a homesteader sells
from year to year might beslightly different.
So one year homesteaders mightraise a few pigs.
And sell a few off to friends.
But they might not need to put apig in the freezer every year.
(21:12):
So this year they would raisepigs and next year maybe they
get cheap.
This year, they raise meat,birds.
Next year they raised turkeys.
This year, they grow extratomatoes.
Next year, they grow extrapeppers.
This year, they grow extra cornnext year, they grow extra
squash.
(21:32):
And so.
Going back to those farms that Italked about, those dairy farms.
I will always be dairy farms.
Predominantly Polyface is alwaysgoing to be a meat driven farm.
It's not like next year Polyfaceis going to become a vegetable
farm.
They're going to be focused onparticular areas of expertise.
(21:56):
We're home centers, even thethings that they are selling
might vary slightly from year toyear.
Based on what their family'sneeds are and even what the
needs of their customers are.
But I also think that homesetting is kind of a throwback
to how farming used to be.
I remember hearing the storiesfrom my grandfather of the farm
(22:17):
that he grew up on that farmeventually did become a dairy
farm, but when he grew up.
It was a farm that had ducks andgeese and chickens and cows, and
they did a lot of differentthings.
On that farm, where, when mygreat uncle retired, it was a
dairy farm.
All they did was have dairyanimals.
When you look back in the day,at the small family farms, they
(22:41):
certainly were more well-roundedat least as I understand it.
Then what we see today.
Again, more of that monocultureapproach, more of that.
Um, area of expertise typeapproach.
And I'm not knocking.
That approach.
I think that there isdefinitely.
(23:02):
A need.
For those types of operation.
But I also think that as we arelooking at agriculture moving
forward, We need to realize thatnot only is the average age of
the farmer increasing quickly.
According to the USDA, usfarmers, ranchers and producers
(23:24):
of every kind are growing older.
The average age of farmproducers increase from 56.3.
To 57.5 years from 2012.
To 2017.
And if we're going to attract anew generation of farmers.
It's not going to be youngpeople leaving urban or suburban
(23:45):
areas.
And moving to the country andbuying a large dairy operation
or buying a large, Vegetablefarm operation or.
Or buying a large pig farm.
The learning curve is far toosteep.
But beyond that, the cost ofacquiring an operation like
(24:05):
that.
Is far too large.
And so if we're going to see anew generation.
Of people involved inagriculture.
I'm convinced that the wayforward is going to be via the
homestead.
And I think we're alreadystarting to see that.
But certainly to expect them tocome into homesteading and to
(24:27):
right away, see it as a profitmaking enterprise I think is
unrealistic.
Again, that learning curve isfar too large.
And so some people are going tocome into this.
They're going to get their feetwet and they're going to decide,
you know, what.
All I want to do is grow for myown family.
And there's nothing wrong withthat.
I think that's very, veryimportant.
(24:47):
I think that there are skillsthat can be kept alive.
There are certainly recordedexamples of vegetable strains
that have been saved even breedsof animals.
That have been saved through theefforts of homesteaders.
I think that's all an importantcomponent of agriculture.
(25:07):
And so if these newcomers we'recoming into agriculture from a
suburban or an urban background.
If those homesteads don't growinto anything more.
And I hate to use a term justproducing for themselves, but
I'm going to say it that way.
I, I still think that's aworthwhile.
(25:30):
And a very important segment ofagriculture.
Because it's from that, that wemay be able to raise up and grow
a new generation a farmer.
I see.
Periodically bumper stickersthat say, no farmers, no food.
And that is 100% correct.
And so to me, Homesteading iscritical.
(25:54):
To ensuring that we have a pathforward.
In the area of commercialagriculture.
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts withregards to the difference
between homesteading andfarming?
Why do you think home setting isimportant?
Do you see a correlation betweenthem at all?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Reach out to me, Brian, at thehomestead journey.net.
(26:17):
That's my email address.
These are just some of thethings that I have been
wrestling with thinking about,and hopefully I will have an
opportunity in the future.
To discuss these concerns andthoughts.
With.
People that can help make adifference.
To ensure that everybody.
(26:38):
Has the opportunity.
If they so desire.
To pursue self-sufficiencyself-reliance and
sustainability.
That's it for this episode,folks.
Until next time.
Keep up the good work.
I'm your host, Brian Wells, and I'm
a fourth generation homesteader.
Since 2008, my family and I havebeen homesteading here.
Beautiful upstate New York.
In 2019, I launched thehomestead journey podcast.
To help people just like you getstarted and find success.
On their journey towardsself-sufficiency self-reliance
(00:25):
and sustainability.
This is the homestead journey.
And this.
Is season four.
Well, hello everyone.
And welcome back to anotherepisode of the homestead journey
podcast.
So glad to have you with us.
As always, my name is BrianWells.
(00:45):
I am coming to you from threebefore I'm in homestead here in.
Beautiful upstate New York.
This is season four, and this isepisode 169.
And again, welcome, welcome.
Welcome to this episode.
I certainly hope that you arehaving a wonderful day wherever
(01:07):
this might find you.
I did want to start out thepodcast today by offering my
apologies.
Once again, that I am a day lateand a dollar short putting this
up as sold out, I had sometechnical difficulties.
Once again, yesterday.
As I went to record the podcast,I've actually switched up my
work phone and I'm not going toget into all of that.
(01:28):
But unfortunately, I didn'tnotice that I had the wrong mic
selected when I went to, recordthe episode.
And so it sounded like I wastalking into a tin can.
And once I realized that I wentto rerecord the episode, but I
was so tired, I couldn't thinkstraight.
And I finally said, forget it.
I'll do it tomorrow.
(01:48):
And so here it is.
But once again, my apologies.
Excited to be sharing with youtoday on the topic.
Of farming versus home settingsomething that I have really
been thinking a lot.
About this week.
In part, because I received.
The farm bureau policy manualson last week's episode.
(02:11):
I shared with you that I joinedthe farm bureau.
And so this week I had theopportunity to read through
their policy manuals and I'vereally been doing a lot of
thinking with regards tohomesteading versus farming.
And we're going to get into thathere.
In a little bit, but before wedo so.
As is our normal custom here onthe podcast.
(02:34):
I did want to bring you up tospeed with what we've been doing
here on three B farm andhomestead.
So not a whole lot, honestly,going on here on the home set
it's that time of the year wherewe're starting to wind things
down.
(02:54):
The first official day of fallwas a few days ago and we are
starting to feel those falllike.
Temperatures here.
In beautiful upstate New York.
And.
I believe we have a frost.
Uh, potential frost here comingin the next couple of days.
So we'll have to keep an eye outfor that.
But in the meantime, we havecontinued to enjoy what little
(03:19):
bit of bounty we've been gettingfrom this year's garden.
Uh, certainly as I've sharedwith you before not been the
best garden ever here on three Bfarm and homestead for a whole
lot of reasons that I'm notgoing to get into.
In part, because it is ratherdepressing, but.
Uh, we have been enjoying a fewthings from the garden.
(03:41):
I believe I shared with you acouple of weeks ago that.
In the midst of thedisappointing things in the
garden.
I have had a few bright spotsand one of those has been my
ability to miraculously growcult flour.
And in particular, a varietycalled the purple, which is an
absolutely beautiful.
(04:03):
Purple.
A head of color flower that notonly is it beautiful, but it
tastes good as well.
And I have shared pictures ofthose over on our Instagram and
Facebook accounts.
So if you don't follow what'sthere, definitely check that
out.
But we really have been enjoyingthat cauliflower.
Uh, and it is just absolutelygorgeous.
(04:25):
Another thing that has done verywell for us this year.
Has been my Lima beans.
And so this past Sunday, Iactually cooked up a batch of
succotash.
Growing up, our traditionalsuccotash recipe was simply
Lima, bean and corn, but I ranacross the fact that many people
put tomatoes.
(04:47):
In there succotash.
And so my mom and dad came overon Sunday.
And part to celebrate my mom'sbirthday.
And so I whipped up a batch ofsuccotash using a jar of
tomatoes that we can a couple ofyears ago, as well as some corn
that we had put into the freezerand then some fresh Lima beans
(05:09):
that I had picked and shelledthe night before using that new
little gadget that I bought afew weeks ago at a junk shop.
It's the P holler and beanslicer.
And it really, really workedvery well.
Uh, hauling or shocky knows.
Lima beans.
I don't know.
Do you shuck Lima beans?
Whatever it is.
(05:29):
But it did work very well to dothat.
And so we enjoyed that.
Uh, this past weekend.
I do have to, to also share withyou that I harvested the bulk of
my tomatoes this past weekend infolks, it was an absolute
disappointment.
Just so very, verydisappointing.
(05:51):
A few weeks ago, I picked sometomatoes, put them as has been
my custom, the last severalyears.
In the freezer.
I think I had one, maybe twogallon sized bags of tomatoes.
I picked the remainder of myslicing, and my paste tomatoes.
And they all fit into a single.
(06:11):
Sizable ball, but into a singlebowl.
Very very disappointing harvestthis year for me.
But it is what it is.
And hopefully next year thingswill be better, but this harvest
and I'm using huge air quoteswas definitely something that I
hope to never repeat again.
(06:31):
Because it was very, very sad.
I do have a few cherry tomatoesstill hanging on.
Up there, but as far as mynormal.
Abundant tomato harvest that Ihave grown accustomed to.
It certainly was not that.
But under some positive news.
And that is, as I mentioned, mymom's birthday was celebrated
(06:55):
this past weekend.
We actually had the opportunityto get together.
With my in-laws as well onSaturday evening to celebrate my
father-in-law's upcomingbirthday.
So my mom's birthday is on the23rd.
My father-in-law's birthday ison the 27th.
And so what a joy to be able toshare in the celebration of
(07:15):
that?
I certainly don't take it forgranted because there were many,
many years.
Where we lived, honestly, ondifferent continents.
There was a point in time in ourlives.
Where both of my brothers livedoutside the continental us, my.
Um, my wife and I lived in theCayman islands.
My mom and dad lived in Brazil.
And so there was a lot ofdistance between us in many,
(07:37):
many years.
Where I didn't have theopportunity to spend time with
my mom or with my father-in-lawto celebrate their birthdays.
And so just a joy and anabsolute privilege.
To celebrate with them.
So I did want to take anopportunity on this episode to
say, Mom and dad.
Happy birthday and here's tomany, many more.
(07:59):
The last thing I wanted to sharewith you is that as I mentioned
in my opening, we'll call itmonologue.
I had the opportunity this weekto read the farm bureau policy
manuals.
Now, for some people thatprobably would be a very, very
boring thing.
And I can't say that it was allthat exciting, except that it
(08:21):
was exciting for me to see.
What positions this organizationholds with regards to certain
concerns that I have.
Some of those concerns wereconcerns that I mentioned on
last week's episode.
And one of the things that I amvery, very happy to have found
out is that they have alreadyidentified many of the areas of
(08:44):
concern that I had as areas ofconcern.
And they have policy proposalsin place to address those
things.
For example, like the number ofrabbits that can be processed
and sold direct to consumers.
Things like a need for betteraccess to.
Meat.
processing facilities and thatthe laws that govern that
(09:07):
processing should be changed.
there were so many policies.
Uh, that I found myself, uh, inagreement with now.
I certainly did not agree witheverything in there, but I
really did find myself.
Uh, pleasantly surprised by howwell thought out those policies
are, even in the areas where youdon't necessarily agree.
(09:29):
Uh, they certainly are wellthought out and, uh, I was by
and large.
Very happy.
Now, the policy manual from thenational farm bureau was 246
pages.
And the policy manual for NewYork farm bureau was 182 pages
for a combined 428 pages ofexcited then trawling reading.
(09:56):
And I did read most of it.
Almost word for word?
No, there were a few areas ofpolicy that I did skim over, but
most of it, I read word forword.
and was again, very, very happy.
With, what I saw in those policymanuals.
And so it really did confirm tome.
(10:18):
That I made an excellentdecision in joining this
organization.
And I'm excited to see whereit's going to lead.
I'm looking very much forward toworking with this organization.
To help advance the cause ofhomesteading, not just a New
York state.
But throughout the United Statesof America as well.
All right, folks, let's jump onover to this.
(10:42):
Week's charting the course as wetalk about.
The differences between farmingand homesteading.
So this week, as I read throughthose policy manual, certainly
in the back of my mind was thequestion, how does homesteading
(11:03):
fit within all of this farmingstuff?
And how was homesteadingdifferent than farming and what
are the needs of homesteadersversus.
The needs of farmers.
And does homesteading fit withinthe mission of the farm bureau?
Well, let me just revisit onceagain, what the mission is of
(11:25):
the farm bureau, the farm bureauwas a non-governmental volunteer
organization, financed andcontrolled by member families
for the purpose of solving.
Economic and public policyissues, challenging the
agricultural industry.
Certainly from my perspective,no matter how you define
homesteading, it does fit withinthe context of the agricultural
(11:46):
industry.
So they go on to say the missionof New York farm bureau is
supporting today's agriculturalneeds and creating member
opportunities for tomorrowthrough advocacy and education.
And certainly advocating for.
Uh, the ability to raise andgrow food.
And providing better educationto people on knowing how to
raise and grow food.
(12:07):
To me.
I would think fits within thatmission.
Certainly no opposing orconflicting arguments from my
perspective.
And find the big one to saythis, the forward-looking N Y F
B.
Vision is the voice of New Yorkagriculture.
That unites a diverse farmcommunity and builds a stronger
(12:29):
food system.
And rural economy.
And certainly from myperspective, the idea of home
setting certainly fits withinthe context of a diverse farm
community.
And building a stronger foodsystem.
And rural economy.
But that only works if.
(12:50):
Homesteading could be.
Considered part of a farmcommunity.
And so it got me to thinking ishomesteading farming is farming
homesteading.
Like how do you kind of work allof that together?
And as I've thought about this,and I don't think I'm
necessarily breaking a whole lotof new ground here, but as I
(13:11):
thought about this, To me.
I think There are hugesimilarities between
homesteading and farming inthere are differences between
homesteading.
And farming.
And so as I, as I startedthinking about how home setting
in and farming kind of relate.
And how they're different.
(13:31):
I really thought about three keyareas that I think help us
define.
What makes a homestead versuswhat makes a farm?
So the first thing I think isscale.
To me, generally speaking, notall the time.
But generally speaking.
Uh, homestead is going to besmaller in scale.
(13:54):
Than a farm.
Generally speaking farms aregoing to comprise many, many
acres.
Lots of buildings andinfrastructure.
And generally speaking,homesteads are going to be
smaller, both from the physicalsize as well as the amount of
output.
Generated through agriculturalproduction.
(14:16):
The second thing that I think.
Has a tendency to define homesetting versus farming.
Is that homesteads aregenerally.
More diverse than farms.
What I mean by that is generallyspeaking homesteads are going to
take more of a polycultureapproach.
And farms are going to be alittle bit more.
(14:40):
Of a monoculture.
Approach.
Usually.
Farms are going to focus on onearea of production.
And homesteads are going tofocus on many areas of
production.
And even in farms that aresomewhat diversified.
(15:00):
There usually is one central orone main product.
That they're producing.
So let me just kind of fleshthat out a little bit.
In our area, we have severallarge dairy operations.
They have lately diversified.
One of them.
(15:20):
That comes to my mind is a farmcalled ideal dairy.
Primarily at dairy farm.
But they joined forces with thecheese company that my wife
works for.
That produces things like cheeseand yogurt.
But they also produce some bakedgoods.
But even in thatdiversification, Their primary
(15:42):
focus is going to be dairy.
Whether you're talking aboutmilk, you're talking about
yogurt.
You're talking about cheese.
They're primary.
Area of production is dairy.
There's another, uh, dairy farmhere locally called Taya.
Schoeke.
They are.
A relatively largemulti-generation multifamily.
(16:04):
Dairy farm.
That has diversified into.
Raising steers for meat.
Um, raising some pigs.
They also do some pumpkins andthey have a farm store.
But at their core.
They are, and they probablyalways will be a dairy farm.
(16:26):
We also have some friends that,uh, are vegetable farmers.
They grow lots and lots ofdifferent vegetables.
Now they do have some chickensthat they keep around, that they
feed vegetable scraps to.
And they'll sell the eggs fromthat.
But primarily they are avegetable farm.
(16:46):
And even when you stop and youthink about Polyface farm, which
is a very well-known farm withinthe home setting community.
While they practice regenerativeagriculture, and they do have
diversification from thestandpoint of Raising pigs and
beef cattle.
And poultry.
At the end of the day they'reprimarily focused on raising
(17:10):
meat.
They're not a vegetable farm.
They're not making soap.
They're raising meat.
And that's okay.
But you contrast that with.
Homesteads and homesteads,generally speaking are a little
bit more polyculture in theirapproach.
(17:30):
They're going to be raisingvegetables are going to be
raising meat.
They might have their own fruittrees.
It's going to be a little bitmore of a comprehensive
approach.
With regards to what they raisein grow.
Versus what farms do.
Now again, I'm speaking ingeneral terms.
But in my opinion, Homesteads.
(17:52):
Are going to be more diversifiedin more poly culture in their
approach versus a monoculture.
Approach.
At a farm.
But to me, the biggestdifferentiator between
homesteading and farming is themotivating factor.
The motivating factor.
(18:13):
In my opinion.
For a homestead is going to beto produce for personal
consumption.
Whereas a farm is going to befocused on producing for other
people's consumption.
It's the difference of raisingfood for yourself versus raising
food for other people.
And so if I were to do a Venndiagram, Right.
(18:35):
You know, the concentriccircles, kind of that middle
piece where those circlesoverlap.
Is what I would call farmsetting.
And that's where ashomesteaders, we might
overproduce in a particulararea.
Whether it's on purpose or onaccident.
(18:56):
But we over produce in aparticular area.
And then we use thatoverproduction as a means to
help support our homestead.
So for example, We raised pigsfor a number of years.
And I would always try to raiseextra pigs.
And sell those extra pigs tohelp put pigs into the freezer
(19:19):
for me.
And try to pay for that.
Didn't always work out that wellfor me, but that was in essence,
my end goal.
We've done the same thing withsome vegetables, we've done the
same thing with some meat, birdsand some turkeys.
Over producing in particularareas to help.
Offset the cost of raising foodfor our own family.
(19:42):
Again, sometimes that's in acalculated manner.
Where you might plant extratomatoes so that you can sell
them at a farm stand or at afarmer's market.
Or using the pigs or thechickens as an example where you
raise a second batch to sell, tooffset the batch that you're
raising for yourself, which isreally the approach that Jack
(20:05):
polner has over at the mindfulhomestead, where he's raising
turkeys, he's raising meat,birds, he's raising pork,
certainly to make money.
But also in large part to offsetthe costs so that he can put a
pig in the freezer for hisfamily and essence for free.
Uh, to put chickens in thefreezer for his family in
(20:28):
essence, for free.
And then anything that he makeson top of that is kind of icing.
On the cake.
But certainly I would say thathis primary motivator.
At least initially.
Was to raise food for hisfamily.
(20:48):
One more thing with regards tohome setting versus farming.
Is that with homesteading?
What you might find is that thethings that a homesteader sells
from year to year might beslightly different.
So one year homesteaders mightraise a few pigs.
And sell a few off to friends.
But they might not need to put apig in the freezer every year.
(21:12):
So this year they would raisepigs and next year maybe they
get cheap.
This year, they raise meat,birds.
Next year they raised turkeys.
This year, they grow extratomatoes.
Next year, they grow extrapeppers.
This year, they grow extra cornnext year, they grow extra
squash.
(21:32):
And so.
Going back to those farms that Italked about, those dairy farms.
I will always be dairy farms.
Predominantly Polyface is alwaysgoing to be a meat driven farm.
It's not like next year Polyfaceis going to become a vegetable
farm.
They're going to be focused onparticular areas of expertise.
(21:56):
We're home centers, even thethings that they are selling
might vary slightly from year toyear.
Based on what their family'sneeds are and even what the
needs of their customers are.
But I also think that homesetting is kind of a throwback
to how farming used to be.
I remember hearing the storiesfrom my grandfather of the farm
(22:17):
that he grew up on that farmeventually did become a dairy
farm, but when he grew up.
It was a farm that had ducks andgeese and chickens and cows, and
they did a lot of differentthings.
On that farm, where, when mygreat uncle retired, it was a
dairy farm.
All they did was have dairyanimals.
When you look back in the day,at the small family farms, they
(22:41):
certainly were more well-roundedat least as I understand it.
Then what we see today.
Again, more of that monocultureapproach, more of that.
Um, area of expertise typeapproach.
And I'm not knocking.
That approach.
I think that there isdefinitely.
(23:02):
A need.
For those types of operation.
But I also think that as we arelooking at agriculture moving
forward, We need to realize thatnot only is the average age of
the farmer increasing quickly.
According to the USDA, usfarmers, ranchers and producers
(23:24):
of every kind are growing older.
The average age of farmproducers increase from 56.3.
To 57.5 years from 2012.
To 2017.
And if we're going to attract anew generation of farmers.
It's not going to be youngpeople leaving urban or suburban
(23:45):
areas.
And moving to the country andbuying a large dairy operation
or buying a large, Vegetablefarm operation or.
Or buying a large pig farm.
The learning curve is far toosteep.
But beyond that, the cost ofacquiring an operation like
(24:05):
that.
Is far too large.
And so if we're going to see anew generation.
Of people involved inagriculture.
I'm convinced that the wayforward is going to be via the
homestead.
And I think we're alreadystarting to see that.
But certainly to expect them tocome into homesteading and to
(24:27):
right away, see it as a profitmaking enterprise I think is
unrealistic.
Again, that learning curve isfar too large.
And so some people are going tocome into this.
They're going to get their feetwet and they're going to decide,
you know, what.
All I want to do is grow for myown family.
And there's nothing wrong withthat.
I think that's very, veryimportant.
(24:47):
I think that there are skillsthat can be kept alive.
There are certainly recordedexamples of vegetable strains
that have been saved even breedsof animals.
That have been saved through theefforts of homesteaders.
I think that's all an importantcomponent of agriculture.
(25:07):
And so if these newcomers we'recoming into agriculture from a
suburban or an urban background.
If those homesteads don't growinto anything more.
And I hate to use a term justproducing for themselves, but
I'm going to say it that way.
I, I still think that's aworthwhile.
(25:30):
And a very important segment ofagriculture.
Because it's from that, that wemay be able to raise up and grow
a new generation a farmer.
I see.
Periodically bumper stickersthat say, no farmers, no food.
And that is 100% correct.
And so to me, Homesteading iscritical.
(25:54):
To ensuring that we have a pathforward.
In the area of commercialagriculture.
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts withregards to the difference
between homesteading andfarming?
Why do you think home setting isimportant?
Do you see a correlation betweenthem at all?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Reach out to me, Brian, at thehomestead journey.net.
(26:17):
That's my email address.
These are just some of thethings that I have been
wrestling with thinking about,and hopefully I will have an
opportunity in the future.
To discuss these concerns andthoughts.
With.
People that can help make adifference.
To ensure that everybody.
(26:38):
Has the opportunity.
If they so desire.
To pursue self-sufficiencyself-reliance and
sustainability.
That's it for this episode,folks.
Until next time.
Keep up the good work.
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