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Setting Goals for Your Homestead

These ideas for setting goals for your homestead can help you plan your coming year.

Winter is setting in and that means we can linger over that extra cup of coffee in the morning and just generally move at a slower place. After a few weeks of rest, our minds gradually start turning to the next year. Usually, that means beginning to set some goals for the year.

We’re big fans of planning yearly projects and we try hard to not “bite off more than we can chew”. We’re not always successful; some years we are pretty busy.

But, we like to spend some time over the winter thinking about the upcoming year and all the possibilities that exist. Setting goals for your homestead is a very important part of your planning.

A open view of a homestead including a large garden, small greenhouse and an open barn. — With some planning, you can set goals for your homestead.

Setting Goals for your homestead

Goal setting is something we should be doing all the time during the previous year, but it’s hard. We are often way too busy just trying to get the gardens harvested or trying to get animals finished and butchered.

Yet the very best time to be planning for the coming year is exactly at these times! We can come up with new ideas to be more efficient while we are carrying out these chores. Right?

hilled potatoes in the garden — Potatoes are easy to grow and help break up clay soil.

It’s when I am harvesting the garden, digging out the bumper crop of potatoes that I tend to get some ideas. I think about the need to amend the soil or to get another bale of straw for mulching.

When I’m digging carrots, I realize that I really need to spend more time to keep the weeds out of the carrot bed. I make sure I carry my cell phone or a small notebook in my pocket when I am working outside.

Then, as I think of ideas or small projects that need to be finished, I can make a quick note. Later I can prioritize them or just start doing them and moving on. Or add them to the list of goals to get finished next year.

Our Goals for next year:

This is probably not a complete list and we reserve the right to not finish it all 🙂 In the end, it depends on free hours during the day and the amount of money in our jeans.

Raising Chickens for Meat

Cornish Cross white chickens in a coop. — Cornish Cross chickens in their coop.

We will do meat birds again next year. We will probably get about 25 so we can grow some for our friends. Homegrown chicken is awesome and well worth the cost!

Home raised chicken is more expensive than grocery store chicken, but we know just what went into those birds. It takes 8 weeks from the time we get them (as day old chicks) to the time we can butcher them for our dinner table.

And we can get 8 pound meat birds after raising them for 8 weeks. It’s not a long term investment and if we’re going to be home anyway to tend gardens, then why not raise some?

Raising Pigs for Meat

A weaner pig in his yard getting petted by his farmer. — Weaner pigs are cute and friendly.

We’d love to be raising pigs for meat again, but I’m not sure that this is the year for it. This is a goal that needs more thought.

I don’t think we need them for meat, as we still have some left in the freezer.

Raising Beef for Meat

Three black cows stand in a bit of snow in a field, eating hay. — Raising cattle is a great goal to work towards.

So we are probably not doing pigs. However, we do have these guys! They arrived in the fall and are Black Angus steers.

We are feeding them hay from our own fields that Graham was able to cut last summer. One of our goals a couple years ago was to get this pasture area fully fenced – that part was easy as it was almost done.

a field of growing garlic lays at the valley bottom — Find a great farmers market opportunity and give it a try!

Leave wiggle room for extra things that come up

Once we knew we were planning to get cows, we had to take a better look at our fencing needs. We would have to run fencing around our large Garlic field which is inside this pasture.

Because we planned ahead, we were able to take the time over the summer to get the work done. By the time the cattle arrived, we were ready for them. But had we thought of everything?

We really only found out after the fact. As in, after the cows get out of that small section of fencing way down in the pasture (that we didn’t see). But trying to plan ahead is so important. Still, you need to leave wiggle room for all the extra things that invariably will come up.

Keep your goals realistic

There’s nothing worse than setting too many goals for the year. That only leads to failure in one area or another. We are far better to plan small so we can successfully meet those goals.

Who wants to screw up their plans because they put far too much on their own plates?

Yet people do this…all the time.

3 angus steers grazing on a hayfield — Cows grazing on a hayed field.

This failure to succeed is one thing, if you’re talking vegetables or fruits. It’s totally another thing and much worse, if you’re talking about animals. Getting too many animals and failing to meet their needs is a terrible thing.

So take your time, set small goals for yourself and your homestead and ensure that you can carry out to succeed with those goals. When you succeed, you can add another goal to your list for the following year.

Planning a vegetable garden

a garden full of growing vegetables surrounded by fencing — Early Fall garden ready to be harvested.

A lot of thought goes into our food garden. How many beans do I need to grow? Do we have enough canned pickled beets still from last year? It takes me at least a week to figure out what I need to grow. Here’s how I am planning our food garden this year.

Because we are really busy all summer long working with garlic, I can’t spend hours on end in the vegetable garden. So, in busy years, we need to cut back on the garden size and all the canning we do.

Getting started

What are the goals and plans you have for next year? Think them through to ensure your goals are attainable and then, carry them out!

freshly laid eggs wait to be picked up from the nesting boxes — A few chickens can contribute to your homestead.

Here’s a link to an article I wrote a few years ago about how to go about beginning to provide for your family on your homestead. It talks about the importance of starting small and then growing from there.

Plan for the needs of your own family before starting to sell goods to others. As long as you do that, you can reduce your own expenses.

Once you have that firmly in hand, take the next step (if you like) and start selling your produce or your products to others.

If you’re new to living in the country or buying property is on your list of goals, take a look at my eBook “15 Things to Know About Living in the Country“.

It’s a quick read, designed to get you thinking about what to look for when checking out country property. Add your own ideas to the list and start planning!

How To Start a Homestead

By Annie

Have you been used to buying your groceries at the supermarkets? Never raised animals or had a garden?

Are you trying to figure out how to get started on the path to providing for your family? Have you thought about starting a homestead?

It can certainly feel overwhelming just to get started. So think about getting started, but doing it on a small level.

Trying to do too much too quickly can be a recipe for burnout and frustration.

Here’s what we did when we first move here in 2006. Learn from our mistakes and keep an open mind. And have fun – never forget to have fun!

How to Set up a Homestead

Starting small will not only get you on the path to providing for your family, but it will teach you a lot. As your confidence grows and time goes by, you can implement another activity on your homestead (or in your backyard).

Let’s start with a garden.

Planting a Garden

What kind of vegetable seems to on your family’s plates the most often? That’s a good one to plant this year.

For us it is potatoes. So, it’s important for us to be sure to grow lots of potatoes this year.

The bonus with potatoes is you can feed them off to animals, once you are sure you have enough to store for winter eating for your family.

Other veggies we eat a lot of include green beans (so 2 double rows get planted), beets (3 or 4 rows) peas (so plant these up the fence that runs around the garden perimeter.

If you don’t have much experience with veggie gardening, it will take a few years before you can closely figure out how much to plant, in order to put enough by so there is food for your family over the winter.

Just get a start this year, and this fall you can count up your jars of canned beans, then figure out if you need to grow more next year.

Take a look at our 5 Easiest Vegetables to Grow and just start small!

Keep notes and start a garden journal to record this kind of information.

Next year, when it comes to ordering seed, you’ll have a good idea of how much seed you will need.

Raising Chickens

Looking to add animals into the mix? As far as I am concerned, #1 are chickens. Wonderful, you just feed them and water them – every day (almost) they will pay you back. We started with 4 hens, the next year we were up to 15.

EVERY time you have an extra dozen, (after you have put a couple dozen away for your family) sell the eggs. Keep the egg money in a separate jar. Once you get an egg customer, call them each week and see if they are in need of another dozen.

Pay for your chicken feed OUT of the jar. Find another customer (or as it often seems to happen, your one customer will find you the next one)….rinse and repeat.

Over time, you will have enough money in your jar to pay for their feed and still more money in the jar.

Got an extra $15 in there? Next time you are at the feed store, pick up a couple of T-posts or pick up a roll of chicken wire.

I am a big fan of T-posts and chicken wire. Temporary fencing can be set up wherever you need it and for however long you need it.

Put the chickens in there in the afternoon, and let them find their own food of bugs and grass.

Don’t let them scratch right down to the ground. Before that happens, pull out the T-posts and set your fencing up somewhere else that needs a good grazing.

Setting up fencing against existing buildings or fence posts reduces the number of T-posts you need.

Chickens like to work! Bored chickens get unhealthy and start picking on each other, just to give themselves something to do.

Harness that energy and put it into something that will help you. Chickens allowed to free range and graze will lower the feed bill, and that’s what you want.

Meanwhile, your family is enjoying the eggs, extras can be sold, and the money saved up for feed and the “next thing on the farm list”.

If you have access to fresh manure, set up temporary fencing around the manure pile, and let the girls in.

Within days they will have eaten all the small seeds they find and any bits of leftover grain.

They’ll also scratch and fluff up that manure pile for you. Let Them do the work! Then move the fencing.

Once the manure has sat for a month or two, you can wheel it over to use on your veggie garden.

Raising Chicks for Meat

Meanwhile, you’re saving your egg money in the jar. Over time, say you end up with an extra $50 in there (after the feed, that you are now able to buy in either bulk or buy multiple bags so you have them on hand).

An extra $50 will buy you some meat birds (in season of course). Here in BC, $50 will probably get you 20 birds, by the time you take shipping into consideration.

How many meat birds can your family eat? Averaging about say 5.5 lbs, 20 chickens will enable your family to have chicken every 2 1/2 weeks or so.

It’s possible to get 4 meals off a chicken (including the soup at the end). See how all this is adding up over time?

Yes, the first year you will have to put out money for meat bird feed, however, time it right for your season.

Raise the birds when you hardly have to supplement their heat after the first 2 weeks.

During the spring, summer and fall, if you let your laying hens free range of graze in temporary coops, you won’t be spending as much money on their feed.

Use the money instead to buy feed for the meat birds (20% protein). Keep selling eggs – rinse and repeat.

Another easy way to offset your laying hen’s feed bill (while collecting their eggs) is to feed them veggies and greens from the garden during the growing season.

You can feed greens to meat birds too, but you’ll always have to buy them their special feed.

Meat birds are bred to gain weight FAST, and they just won’t do it living off of garden greens.

Read how we manage to raise 8 pound meat birds in just 8 weeks.

Eight weeks later, butcher your meat birds. Still have your one or two egg customers?

Do yourself a favour (and them) and give them one bird, all dressed out. Thank them for buying your eggs and hand over a chicken.

Let them know you’re going to do meat birds the following year. If they should want some, they can order some.

In addition, you’ve just been given a LOT of fantastic manure from those meat birds.

Let it compost, then add it to your veggie gardens – rinse and repeat.

Meanwhile, you’re making sure you spend any egg money on feed. If you have leftover money, keep buying T-posts or wire or veggie seeds.

Every time, put the money BACK into either your garden or your animal needs.

You will see, over time that you can add slowly to your homesteading – every little bit helps.

Concentrate first on what your family needs are, sell any excess.

Keeping Goats for Milk

Does your family drink a lot of milk? Think about saving towards a goat. You can supply milk and cheese for your family.

Goats like to eat brush and scrub, so if you have areas like this that you want to clear off for future pasture or gardens, put the goats in there.

You’ll need stronger fencing tho than T-posts, you know what they say about goats!

If you have small trees that need to be spaced, you can cut the trees down and use them for fence rails.

You can also take the branches off and use them for bean or pea supports in your veggie garden.

The idea is to spend as little as possible in the beginning. Over time, keep plowing your monies back into your barnyard and gardens.

Feed ANY weeds you pull to your laying hens. When you finish harvesting parts of your veggie garden, move the T-posts in to section off part of the garden, then put some hens in there.

They’ll work your soil, eat the bugs, and add manure all at the same time. Better for you that They do the work.

When you cut the grass, give the clippings to both the laying hens and the meat birds.

If you have excess, start putting it down between the veggie garden rows to keep the weeds down. It will also add to improving your garden soil.

One more thought – for goodness sake, don’t underprice your eggs!

That is the Worst thing you can do – any customers that are wanting to buy farm fresh eggs or veggies are willing to pay at Least what the supermarket charges.

It should be more, because of your attention to growing as naturally as possible. People are willing to pay a premium for this.

Don’t overcharge, but jeez, don’t undercharge. That’s totally shooting yourself in the foot, plus you are messing up any other farmer’s plans to try to recoup their original costs.

Note I’m not including hay in the above, the way we work here, we do not overwinter any animals except for laying hens.

We may get a beef cow in the future, once we start rejuvenating our pastures and putting aside our own hay to feed them over winter.

You’ll need to have some hay or straw or something on hand for on the floor of your chicken coop.

No reason you can’t grow the grass long, then cut it down and use that.

Or straw, leaves or anything else you can think of that is no cost. Your hens will not mind!

Begin to think of your farm or backyard as a cycle. Everything has a season and as much as possible needs to be returned to the land to increase soil fertility.

Put things in (cover crops, green manure, composted manure) and take things out (the meat, eggs, vegetables).

Focus on improving your soil and the health of your family as cheaply as possible.

I’m willing to wager that in the next couple of years, you will be eating a LOT healthier for a lot less money.

Start small, but get started! You can do it!

Your family will eat healthier, eat fresher, you’ll save money and hopefully in a year or two, all your animals will be self-sustaining.

Think about how you can get started on the path to providing for your family.

About Us

We left a city on the West Coast of British Columbia to make our homestead in the Cariboo region of British Columbia (Canadian gardening Zone 3).

Life on the Coast was getting too busy, there were too many people, too much traffic and too much noise. We’ve traded that in for quiet evenings spent on a porch overlooking our Valley, sipping a glass of our own homemade Wild Fruit Wine.

While we sit, we can listen to the birds, often watch deer in our pasture and hear the coyotes calling each other.

view over garden, greenhouse and barn in summer

Seasonal Life in the Cariboo

Spring, Summer and Fall usually find us working outside most of the day. Between 2 large vegetable gardens, growing fruit trees and berry bed, a rhubarb patch, and a barn full of chickens, pigs and meat birds, we are kept busy.

When we aren’t working in the yard, we can be found exploring some of the many beautiful lakes in the Cariboo. We love fishing and often end up the year with many half-pint jars full of home smoked and canned trout.

Tomatoes, eggs, strawberries and vegetables on a counter — Late summer harvest of fruit, vegetables and eggs

Late Fall brings on the Harvests and the pressure canner is usually going out on our porch. You can see all of our Canning posts here.

cured potatoes ready for winter storage — Harvested Potatoes ready for winter storage.

Potatoes, beets, carrots , garlic and onions are dug up and stored away in our Cold Room. Come Winter, we’ll have lots of food.

snow shoeing in winter — Snowshoes and ice fishing – our winter fun

Winter is our time of rest. We sleep in, keep a fire going in the woodstove that heats our home and enjoy our days off.

There’s nothing like relaxing in an easy chair with a cup of hot tea and plans of next years garden rolling around in our heads.