HOMESTEAD STARTING

           Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of doing a one-day consult for a lady who 3 months ago bought her dream homestead in Tennessee. 

             It's always a honor to get onto someone else's dream place because you're juxtaposed between the previous land owner's ideas and the enthusiasm of the new owner.  This 40 acre place, a little more than half in woods and the other acreage open, had been managed as a horse place for many hears and was pounded to death.

             It has great latent fertility, though, and will respond quickly to animal movement, multi-species and good stewardship.  We're seeing a massive influx of new homesteaders around the country and I was honored to be brought in so early in the visioning and planning process by this new owner.  Often people only call me when they're feeling underwater; in this case, we literally discovered the spring, the well, and other features together for the first time.

             So where do I start on a project like this?  Access. 

             If you can't get there, you can't do anything.  And the more you want to do, the more important good all-weather access is.  For the conventional beef cattle operation, where cows wander around a large acreage and get checked on once a month, access is not very important.

             But as soon as you start multi-species and daily movement, you need dependable, designated access.  In our farm operation, we run into this routinely on rented properties.  We agree to manage it but it's just an acreage with no roads or lanes.  The first thing we have to do, even before any fencing, water, or corrals, is to identify and create  a functional access lane.

             The access lane serves more than just a way for us to get places; it's also the artery for eggmobiles, cows, and visitors to travel.  It keeps things from wandering willy nilly around the fields.  It gives control.  It's the first step in managing the landscape and the farm business.

             Of course, proper placement requires numerous considerations, but nothing offer focus like an access lane.  In general, we want it to meander; the terrain is never completely flat.  Developing the lane where it won't stand in water and where grade is not too steep are all part of practical function.

             I've just signed an agreement with an outfit to develop a series of instructional videos.  The first set is called "Getting Started on a Homestead."  Ideas, like homesteading and self-reliance are more popular today than ever.  But an idea is not implementation.  Those of us who have gone through the experience often roll our eyes at the inability of someone to move from idea to implementation.

             But most of us need a coach and recipe between idea and implementation.  That's just the way life is.  Our first coaches are parents and the recipe is mimicry.  I've been on lots of new agrarian or homestead ventures that suffer years of inefficiency and frustration due to not developing a great, functional transport artery through the property. 

             Are you considering a farmstead or homestead for the first time?