4/ Because the dirty little secret of how-to magazines is that they are not instruction guides, they are tools for guided dreaming. I've advertised in them (when I read http://Smartflix.com ), and talked to their ad sales people
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15/ ...but this article isn't farming every square inch for calories. No, they've got a dairy cow! Rule of thumb for how much pasture per animal varies based on climate, soil, north or south exposure, rain fall, etc. ...but "1 cow per acre" is DENSE.
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16/ You can do it, but you need to be managing your pasture well, doing strip grazing, etc. There are whole books (I've got three or four) and whole college curricula about pasture management to optimize the most calories per square meter for your cow.
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17/ ...but that's not what this article is doing! This article is keeping the cow on 1/2 acre and growing crops on the other 1/2. That's not enough food for a cow, AND you're going to need to import hay for the winter. There goes self-sufficiency.
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18/ On the other hand, 1/2 an acre for a garden / crops is EXACTLY the wrong amount. It's too small to justify a tractor and all the implements you'd want, but it's too large for 2 adults to handle on the weekends and after work.
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19/ Then, of course, they drag in all the typical permaculture onanism. "Your pig will plow the ground for you!!!!" No, it will not. Have you seen what pigs do? It's not "plowing"; it's "tearing up". Once a pig is done rooting, you have ruts you can twist an ankle in.
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20/ I could go on, but I'll sum it up simply. When I was 9 or 10 or so I'd draw endless pictures of the super cool house I'd have as an adult: indoor swimming pool, secret cave, library, movie theater. This article is that for 30 yo aspirational people in Cambridge.
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21/ Here's the test you can use to tell daydreaming from actual knowledge: "do they include pictures?" If the article includes artist's conception, it's just jerking off. If it contains pictures it MIGHT actually work. /exeunt
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23/ oh, and for reference, my farm ("farm") is: * 0.1 acres of crops (pumpkin, corn) * 3 acres of grazing pasture ( ~10-15 sheep) * 0.05 acres greenhouse garden * 0.07 acres vineyard * 5.5 acres pasture for haying * ~50 acres unused / woodlot
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24/ * 0.1 acre pig run * 0.05 acre turkey run * 0.05 acre goose run It is a LOT of work to keep up with the 0.2 acres of crops / vineyard / greenhouse... especially when feeding animals every day, splitting wood (which I buy, not fell), etc.
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26/ Oh, another point: a large percent of farm hobby stuff, prepper stuff, etc. is written by people who have never done it, but recycle the articles they've read into new articles. This is how so much bad information propagates.
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27/ e.g. "I've never grown Jerusalem artichokes, but DallasPrepper971 and RetiredMarineZombieHunter (who also haven't grown Jerusalem artichokes) read articles by someone else, then wrote blog posts of their own, and I've read those, SO LET ME TELL YOU HOW TO GROW ARTICHOKES!"
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28/ It's like listening to 13 year olds talk about sex, or people with no fingers talk about how to do a totally radical guitar lick.
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30/ The only problem with this idea is that $200/head is underselling the market by about $800. https://twitter.com/SaucercrabZero/status/1056906670348079104 …
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31/ This ties back to the idea I've had for years about "butchery class". Invite a few Cambridge types to take a 1 or 2 day class in taking apart a whole pig - half pig included with each signup. A half pig costs me about $250 in piglet and feed, and yields about 125 lbs meat
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32/ I remain convinced that I could sell that experience for $800-900 per head (or per couple). Four butchering stations, 2 pigs = $2,600 profit for 1 weekend.
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34/ "60 minutes outside Cambridge MA" is the other "close to Washington DC". https://twitter.com/Janusianite/status/1056907680684617728 …
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36/ Farm hands are terrible, #99,562 in a series: https://twitter.com/FortyFour_North/status/1056908462330966016 …
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37/ Yep. Playing this game costs $20k (if you're a SUPER cheapskate) or $250k (if you're throwing money at it). I imagine we've spent $100-120k AFTER buying the farm. $80k, bare minimum. https://twitter.com/Odder_n_otter/status/1056908743382843392 …
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38/ Yes, I have already started writing a non-fiction book on the topic. Out in maybe 2020? Also have some novels I need to finish. https://twitter.com/politifakes/status/1056908922949263362 …
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39/ I call it a "hobby farm" because I don't derive profit from it yet, and because I don't want to steal cred from REAL farmers doing REAL work. https://twitter.com/BenzaminRush/status/1056909117837791232 …
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40/ Yep, entirely reasonable. But this is like arguing with a Bentley dealership that "well, ** I ** don't want to spend that much money". Agreed! ...but Bentley buyers do. https://twitter.com/jacksonbacksonx/status/1056909210439639040 …
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42/ I have addressed this in other threads. If you earn $15/hr, this is absolutely a win. If you earn $80/hr, it may not be. If you earn ($150/hr (wish I did!)), this is money losing bc opportunity cost. Also, easier / cleaner to store dry grain. https://twitter.com/jacksonbacksonx/status/1056911535992463360 …
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43/ re the "self sufficient on 1 acre" article: https://twitter.com/IanCharboneau/status/1056912817587212289 …
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44/ I've spent so much money at TSC that when I walk in the manager says hi to me, by name. When I call in and get Charlie, he knows my voice and says "Hi, Travis". https://twitter.com/k_d_payne/status/1056967866937999365 …
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