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November 15, 2007

Research and more research

I can't begin to tell you all how much I love living on our farm. I wake up in the morning and I can hear my rooster, Satchmo, crow, and I watch the sun rise over the trees.

Some people think that Cock-a-Doodle-doo is an awful noise, but after living on a busy street in town, with the sounds of cars and trucks and motorcycles and stereo's with so much bass that things rattle on the shelves, Satchmo's crowing is a delight.

I love to go outside and feed the guineas, the chickens, check on the horses and cats and play with the dogs. But I want to do more. I want to figure out some way to make enough money off the farm to make the mortgage payment, and maybe even a little more.

So, I've been talking to the County Extension Agent, reading books, and trying to find some on-line resources - ideally a web community dedicated to family farming - but I'm having no luck at all. I don't know what to do!

I'm thinking maybe berries - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. It takes a couple of years to get a decent crop, but the plants are long term plants, and if I can find the right spots to plant them, I think it could be a crop that people at the local farmer's markets will purchase.

I also want to raise some goats for their wool - Angora Goats, to be exact, but I want to start with a couple of baby goats, so they won't be wild, and they can be used to my brushing them.

And of course, I have the horses.

If any of you can suggest any resources for me, please do!

Posted by Beth at November 15, 2007 8:38 AM

Comments

Here is a link to the Columbia Farmers Market, where Ed and I buy almost all of our produce in the summer. http://farmersmarket.missouri.org I love it because nearly all of them are organic farmers and the food is so fresh! Some of the vendors have websites and I'm sure they would love to talk to someone else who wants to farm.

Posted by: Kathy at November 15, 2007 1:24 PM

So, dear sister of mine - when are you going to develop the intestinal fortitude to comment over at *my* place?

8^ )

Mind you, I *worry* about the day *Dad* decides to weigh in!

Posted by: John of Argghhh! at November 15, 2007 7:23 PM

What I always remember about my grandfather's farm was waking up to the sound of the mourning doves that used to hang out down near the barn.

The nice thing about having a bunch of land (thats a technical term) is that you can set aside space for various things.

One of our neighbors when we lived on the other side of town had raspberries in the space of a standard small city lot. Say about 50 by 100 or so. Everbearing, so the season lasted for a bit.

You could also put in asparagus roots as they don't take much care.

Posted by: The Thomas at November 16, 2007 10:12 PM

I have no great suggestions, but I'm getting hungry just thinking about all those berries!

And having been to Beth's farm, I can vouch for how beautiful the sun coming up over those trees is. :)

Posted by: Tammy at November 17, 2007 7:52 AM