Any hobby farmers in here?

[Pain Applicant1]

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This is a long shot and I don't expect many if any, responses but does anyone do farming or homesteading as a hobby. I appreciate what pain has provided for me but I find it to be a bit boring after so many years. OTOH, I can spend hours upon hours on my farm doing "menial" work and feel completely content and satisfied. I find it much more rewarding and I'm seriously thinking about moving my practice schedule to only 1-2 days per week.

 

[willabeast]

This is a long shot and I don't expect many if any, responses but does anyone do farming or homesteading as a hobby. I appreciate what pain has provided for me but I find it to be a bit boring after so many years. OTOH, I can spend hours upon hours on my farm doing "menial" work and feel completely content and satisfied. I find it much more rewarding and I'm seriously thinking about moving my practice schedule to only 1-2 days per week.

i have an orchard of about 33 trees, some berry bushes, herb garden, vegetable garden. i certainly enjoy it but the downside is it needs a lot of TLC much of the year which precludes a lot of traveling. BTW where i live water is inexpensive - if (for example) my orchard was located in Santa Barbara, CA. the water bill alone would be $1,200.00 a month. Regarding farming being satisfying - Like Mr. Miyagi says, “The lesson is not just for karate only. The lesson is for the whole life. If your whole life has balance, everything will be better.”

 

[hyperalgesia]

if (for example) my orchard was located in Santa Barbara, CA. the water bill alone would be $1,200.00 a month.

Well ja, water is expensive is the desert lol

 

[GlowInTheDark]

I’ve got 5 tomato plants in pots ranging from 3-10 gallons.

I yielded about 18 tomatoes this year.

 

[Pain Applicant1]

That's a pretty nice size orchard. Do you sell the fruit? I don't have hook-ups to the town so I'll have to dig my own well when I start building my house. Right now I depend on the rain for my hayfield (soon to be pasture) and I can pump water from a stream that cuts through my land if I have to.

 

[jed]

Years ago, when I had excess income, I purchased 280 acres of prime corn/soybean farmland. For a few years, I carved out one acre to grow pumpkins. After a lot of work, I figured out how to grow more pumpkins than I needed, but still the grocery store pumpkins were better. So I quit, because I know that I can be a better doctor than farmer. But I keep the farm because I admire my tenant and the farmer neighbors who know the land, the weather, the crops more than I ever will, and have an unshakable, visceral optimism that everything will be OK

 

[FrustratedFamDoc]

in 2012, I purchased a fixer upper on 37 acres. 27 woods, 10 of 'yard' that needed regular maintenance. It had been a pretty grand property in the past with quite a bit of upkeep needed on the landscaping. I quickly found that trying to maintain all of that was easily it's own full time job, and it became increasingly burdensome. When something becomes a 'because you have to,' a lot of the joy goes away. We had trails in the woods and constantly could hear trespassers riding 4wheelers back there, or poaching. In short, we were tired of the numerous headaches and found great joy in downsizing.

 

[Ferrismonk]

I currently have a hobby farm on 23 acres but right downtown with easy highway access. Country living with city amenities and I can't see my neighbors. I have an apple and pear orchard (a bit overgrown though), a private pond, fenced off pasture/fields, and multiple outbuildings. I love it but the work ads up. I have goats, chickens, ducks and I grow hops. I collect dandelions to make wine (no pesticide fields) and tap my maple trees to make syrup.

Unfortunately I have to move due to a job change, but a hobby farm is a nice break from the office.

It can be a lot of work though.

 

[mariajane]

I currently have a hobby farm on 23 acres but right downtown with easy highway access. Country living with city amenities and I can't see my neighbors. I have an apple and pear orchard (a bit overgrown though), a private pond, fenced off pasture/fields, and multiple outbuildings. I love it but the work ads up. I have goats, chickens, ducks and I grow hops. I collect dandelions to make wine (no pesticide fields) and tap my maple trees to make syrup.

Unfortunately I have to move due to a job change, but a hobby farm is a nice break from the office.

It can be a lot of work though.

Meat or dairy goats? What do you do with them?

 

[Ferrismonk]

Boer, so meat goats. My son (age 13) is using any money he earns to by shares of the goats. We were planning on selling the offspring for meat/breeding and he would get his percentage of the profits. Good education for him on how money/investing works.

 

[Aether2000]

A pain physician I knew in Indiana took up farming during a time of disciplinary action by the State Board of Medicine. We were in contact every 3-6 months, then 6 months, then 8 months passed without him calling. I tried reaching him without success via email then cell phone, then queried his name in the local newspaper where he lived. Unfortunately he was tragically crushed to death against a fence by a farm tractor. I have taken care of several others throughout the years with massive degloving injuries and limbs amputated by farm machinery. Be cautious if you do take up farming and use any powered farm implements.

 

[Pain Applicant1]

There is absolutely nothing at all safe about managing land or farming. Between chainsawing, felling trees, 2500 lb livestock, wild animals, heavy machinery to say the least. It seems that everything can kill you out there. There is so much that can go wrong. I carry my glock when i'm tromping through my woods or field just in case I surprise a bear, deer or pack of coyotes and I try to be as careful as possible when working. I've made mistakes and have come close to serious injuries a few times. Sometimes trees don't listen and decide to fall where they want, chains choose to break, and 1000 lb skid steer buckets decide to fall off the arms but I love it and I don't think I would give it up for anything at this point.

 

[mariajane]

My husband is a full time corn/soybean farmer. Two years ago he hopped into the semi, the engine of which was still on. Looked around.....no one. Pulled forward (to return it to the field.... busy harvest time). His uncle had lain under the semi (yes, keys in ignition and engine still running) and told no one. My husband heard a yell and stopped the vehicle to find his uncle had been run over then spit out by the tires..... and he watched as over the next few moments his uncle died, his chest and abdomen splayed open. Because it’s a family operation with no outside employees, my husband had no choice but to return to work and drive the very same semi the next day.... and work alongside his cousin whose father had just died. Farming is certainly dangerous.

 

[Pain Applicant1]

My husband is a full time corn/soybean farmer. Two years ago he hopped into the semi, the engine of which was still on. Looked around.....no one. Pulled forward (to return it to the field.... busy harvest time). His uncle had lain under the semi (yes, keys in ignition and engine still running) and told no one. My husband heard a yell and stopped the vehicle to find his uncle had been run over then spit out by the tires..... and he watched as over the next few moments his uncle died, his chest and abdomen splayed open. Because it’s a family operation with no outside employees, my husband had no choice but to return to work and drive the very same semi the next day.... and work alongside his cousin whose father had just died. Farming is certainly dangerous.

That is a terrible story and an absolute tragedy. I'm really sorry to hear about it. I hope your husband has been able to come to terms with this.

It really seems like death is around every corner on a farm. I hate admitting this to myself but I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually become severely injured or killed on the farm. But there is also so much beauty to it and I find it so rewarding that the benefit outweighs the risk. There are so many unique problems that come up that you really have to be resourceful to figure out. I would take being outdoors working with my hands in nature even in below-freezing weather or on a sweltering day over sitting in my office getting fat any day.

There's also something strange about manual labor jobs that helps you bond with people. I've come close with people who I would never have thought I had anything in common with when working jobs with them. It reminds me of my wrestling days in high school. I've never really felt that bond in the medical world. It seems too competitive.

 

[Ferrismonk]

Good rule of thumb: When around machinery, assume its trying to kill you.

There's a reason I drive in the right hand lane on the highway and leave plenty of stopping distance between me and other cars. There is a reason I turn off my lawnmower when I get off "for just a second to pick up a stick". There is a reason I let my miter saw completely stop before I move the wood out of the way. A reason that I don't allow anyone within 15 feet of me if I'm using a weedwacker. Haven't been seriously hurt yet and don't plan to be.

 

[mariajane]

That is a terrible story and an absolute tragedy. I'm really sorry to hear about it. I hope your husband has been able to come to terms with this.

It really seems like death is around every corner on a farm. I hate admitting this to myself but I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually become severely injured or killed on the farm. But there is also so much beauty to it and I find it so rewarding that the benefit outweighs the risk. There are so many unique problems that come up that you really have to be resourceful to figure out. I would take being outdoors working with my hands in nature even in below-freezing weather or on a sweltering day over sitting in my office getting fat any day.

There's also something strange about manual labor jobs that helps you bond with people. I've come close with people who I would never have thought I had anything in common with when working jobs with them. It reminds me of my wrestling days in high school. I've never really felt that bond in the medical world. It seems too competitive.

Do you regret your career choice? Or, put in a less negative way, would you have chosen differently if you could go back in time?

 

[Pain Applicant1]

Do you regret your career choice? Or, put in a less negative way, would you have chosen differently if you could go back in time?

I don't think so. There are a lot of positives to it and I appreciate what I have. I think doing anything for 10+ years can become monotonous

 

[chocomorsel]

My husband is a full time corn/soybean farmer. Two years ago he hopped into the semi, the engine of which was still on. Looked around.....no one. Pulled forward (to return it to the field.... busy harvest time). His uncle had lain under the semi (yes, keys in ignition and engine still running) and told no one. My husband heard a yell and stopped the vehicle to find his uncle had been run over then spit out by the tires..... and he watched as over the next few moments his uncle died, his chest and abdomen splayed open. Because it’s a family operation with no outside employees, my husband had no choice but to return to work and drive the very same semi the next day.... and work alongside his cousin whose father had just died. Farming is certainly dangerous.

That's a terrible story. I have heard a few farm accident stories in the US.
I grew up on a small farm. Very safe actually when you don't have large tractors and semis and equipment to drive.
Nothing to fall and roll over and split people open. Only thing I ever saw was the occasional hoe accident where a big toe was split open. We did things the old fashioned way. Manual labor. And still do.
Farming isn't dangerous. Farming machinery is dangerous.