Figuring it out

[meatbag]

​

So here how it goes.. I'm from the driftless part of Wisconsin, and I'm really trying to get an operation going.., BUT it seems that the man wants me to be a model citizen and pay for a FUCK LOAD to start this venture. The way I see it.. ok lets rewind and let me tell you about what I'm trying to do and the land I'm looking at; I want to set up an equal share farm, where whoever comes up and rolls in has a place to live and potentiality make some funds. I want to set up an "Organic" or correct term "Chemical Free" Farm, which is to mainly consist of pork and have a few milking cows. Then there's the garden that needs to take place, well there's the land issue; it's about 230 acre with about 190 tillable, which has been sitting left to rot for 20+ years. I've been there and scoped it out. There's a full 30+ cow free stall barn with a loft and a couple silos, a machine shed, and a few other out buildings, with a house that is sadly starting to fall in. Another part of this operation is going to be off the grid. I've got ways to charge batteries and apply power to whatever it is that needs to be powered, but whoever is going to be a part of this with me is going to take EQUAL shares in the power generation. My Goal is for the public to eat healthy and not spend a fortune in doing so. I believe that this will transpire into something GREAT. Well thats it about what my vision. Please comment and let me know what it is you need to tell me.

 

[dirty_rotten_squatter]

well, considering that wisconsin is 6 out of 12 months under snow or extreme cold I cant see this plan working out too well with what you have in mind at least. and you would have to pay alot for the extra attetion that your garden would need. I hope you find a solution to all this though yo. good luck ya came to the right place for sure.

 

[meatbag]

well.. the garden thing i'm pretty sure that i got it figured, my buddy does that right now; Organic Vegetables, and he'll let me know whats a hot seller and what he's going to need/ Oh, he's somewhat of a whole seller as well. so there's the other part of my idea, since he already goes from Co-Op to Co-Op dealing with veggies, why not throw a bit of pork in there as well. ....just trying to figure it out...

 

[oldmanLee]

Best look in to something along the line of a second trade/job.All the farmers in the area where I grew up had one,everything from radio/tv repair to making chairs to gunsmithing.Makes the winter go by faster,and ensures you have the money for the tax man when that time comes round.

 

[arice]

I practice agriculture in vermont. and i think it's totally do-able in the north. The garden for sure would need some lovin', pouring mad nitrogen in that soil, but you could pile on a shitload of compost. you could even get it from landfills... check out what Will Allen does with his urban farming. And you could raise pork and dairy all year round. What type of cows were you thinking about? Jerseys are docile, friendly, smaller, and HIGH in butterfat content. So you'd get a milk that's super creamy.. making butter and cheese from this milk would be a good way to make money if you had the time/energy to do so. Pork is pretty straight forward.. raise em, kill em, sell em. you could even attempt to get around feeding them grain for some of the year.

back to the garden... you should look around the area and see what other farms near by are growing. you probably don't want to grow what they're growing. I met a farmer here in Vermont who grows specialty vegetables, and her market is 'local, organic restaurants'. kind of bourgeoise, but she made 100,000 last year... insane! just an example... oh and it was on 1 and a half acres!

what i want to do when i settle down and have a farm is also have a hearthbread making operation, baking breads in a wood fired oven that i'll build and selling that, so that's another possibility. those ovens are quick and easy to build, plus a lot of fun!

chickens are a money maker and if you have enough compost from food scraps and manure, you wouldn't even have to feed them grain and they'd naturally aerate the compost.

sorry if i'm rambling, this kind of stuff just excites me a lot. PM me if you want to talk more, i'm totally down! and i'd love to visit/help out.

 

[meatbag]

I've been doing some looking into "tenants rights" for the state of Wisconsin and asking local organic vegetable farmers are willing to help out as in throw in some plants to grow for them. i'm prolly looking at at least a 3 acre garden. there's the FIRST step for income right there. I'm also going to throw about 1500-200 into buying pigs, then sell them local. I'm actively searching for holes within the system that will allow me to do this operation that i have in mind.
Off topic for a second, my buddy here told me to look for the owner(s) and talk to them, or do I just sit down establish residency and just roll with it?

Back to the topic at hand I've got access to farm machinery to do the plowing of the land and whatnot. But my goal is to NOT rely on the machines to do this for me. I want to do it like the Amish Stylee. All work and all by horses! I think, no I KNOW! that all this can be achieved. I might even get a 40 acre piece to cooperative with us, but just raise grain for pigs with a smaller garden. that's another story that i'll get into later. Spring is right around the corner and i'm looking to make this a reality. I'll keep everyone posted as to what i find according to wisconsin.

 

[Hollywood]

i love all these fellow farmers/homesteaders here. wish you best of luck!

 

[meatbag]

Here is the google map to the place i'm looking to acquire: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.533107,-90.5012&z=17&t=h&hl=en

Not too sure on the boundaries but that's what a plot map is for right?

 

[meatbag]

oh yeah, right across the road cty D, right along Long Ln, there's an old house that's I in conjunction with the property. it's all falling apart as well, it's been raided for the wiring and the plumbing, windows are some there and not. it seems to be in ok shape other than that. will get detailed pics of the buildings within the month here.

 

[Apples]

I like your plan. Although it'll take a lot of work to make it happen. If this comes a reality I'd love to swing on through and help out.