Dairy goats make a great addition to any homestead. They are a small, easy to manage dairy animal that most moderately-sized homesteads can support. There is a wide margin for profit with dairy goats. Below are some ideas to get you started.   The Obvious…Dairy Right?   It might seem obvious that the way to […]

Early last winter we had the good fortune to have our mentors and friends Matthias and Andrea Reisen of Healing Spirits Herb Farm and Education Center come to our home and farm for a visit. Matthias and Andrea were pioneers of medicinal herb farming back in the 1980s when very few people in the United […]

This is the last post in my NPIP Certification series. In this post I get into the knitty gritty of actually testing your flock for pullorum. You will still have to become a certified tester for the results to be considered, but this will give you an idea of what is involved before deciding to […]

Starting & Running Your Own Small Farm Business (Storey, 2007) by Sarah Beth Aubrey helps you plan your small business from the start. Filled with tips, examples, ideas, form templates, and success stories, this book is a handy all-in-one guide for your homestead hustle. Even if you don’t want to spend the money to develop […]

A successful homestead typically has multiple income streams, and that means many things to attend to, especially in the spring. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel as though there are not enough hours in the day to take care of everything that needs attention. This is especially true for me this time of year. […]

The number one reason I decided to become a Certified Salmonella Pollorum Tester is to save money when getting my flock NPIP Certified.         I plan on selling hatching eggs in the near future and to do so legally, my flock must be NPIP Certified. This entails a blood test performed by […]

For this post I will use our home state of Michigan as an example. Each state has different rules and regulations, but this should give everyone a general idea of the process.   The pollorum test is a blood test. Usually the blood draw is taken from a vein under the wing. Only a drop […]

If you garden, you can start your own plants like tomatoes or peppers, or you can purchase them elsewhere. While it is obvious that a packet of seeds costs less than a flat of already-started plants, there are a number of other reasons to start your own transplants. If you are only familiar with what […]

If you’re a homesteader then chances are you’ve got the one thing that most home gardeners don’t have, and that’s extra space. So, why not take advantage of an unused area on your homestead to set up a small backyard nursery.  Backyard nurseries take very little to set up and can yield a nice little […]