Cottage Food Laws Cottage food laws allow small-scale individuals to produce particular food items using their home kitchens without governmental oversight. Baking, cooking, canning, pickling, and producing other low-risk food items are a few options. Cottage food laws by design help give the small people a break. Affording small-time producers, the opportunity to try out […]

When is it time to step up and become a legal tax collecting, tax paying, official business? This is a question I have been dealing with for about a year. I just recently began to take the steps of becoming a legal sole proprietorship. All the legal stuff can become very overwhelming! Therefore, I’m going […]

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 […]

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 […]

Everyone who wants a healthy flock should learn about Pullorum and how testing can help perpetuate a healthy poultry population.   Who needs to be concerned with Pullorum and the NPIP? The NPIP is technically a voluntary program, however, if you want to sell, move or show your chickens legally, you must be NPIP clean. […]

I recently attended a class at Michigan State University and became a Certified Salmonella Pullorum Tester. This certification allows me to test chicken flocks for Pullorum Typhoid which is required for NPIP certification.   Over the next few posts I will take you through the experience and explain:   What is Pullorum Typhoid and the […]

I’m very fortunate to live on a beautiful property that has been farmed continuously since just after the Revolutionary War. We tend 50 acres and have a barn that dates to 1894 as well as numerous outbuildings. For those trying to homestead on just a few acres (or less!), this may seem like plenty of […]

It’s the homesteading dream — living off the grid. And while many turn to solar power due to its rapidly decreasing price, more are asking, “Should my homestead be solar-reliant?” After all, there are plenty of other renewable choices, such as wind, geothermal and even hybrid options that let you live grid-free. What It Takes […]