Some jobs on a small farm look straight forward.
Moving a pile of firewood from one place to another shouldn’t take long. But add a few curious goats, uneven ground, the the general unpredictability of animals, and even a simple task stretches out.
This short video captures one of those moments – a reminder that on a small farm, time doesn’t always move the way you expect it to.
Watch the video here: YouTube Video
Funny, silly goats! Sometimes it just takes as long as it takes.
In this video, I walk through the shelters around the farm and how they’re actually used day to day.
Some, like the chicken tractor, chick wagon, brooder wagon, and rabbit barn, aren’t in use at the moment – but they’re still part of the overall setup and each served a purpose at one time, and may again in the future.
Over time, we started to see what works, what doesn’t, and what changes.
If you’re setting up or adjusting your own space, this might give you a few practical ideas.
Watch the video here: YouTube Video
On this small piece of land, everything influences everything else.
Selling animals is never an easy decision.
In the latest YouTube video, I walk the property with the goats and share some of the thought process behind our goat-keeping and the quiet choices small farming asks of us.
You can watch it here:
[YouTube Video]
On this small piece of land, everything influences everything else.
Winter is the season where small farm math becomes very honest.
Feed costs increase. Egg production slows. And the daily rhythm of care continues regardless of the numbers.
In my latest YouTube video I walk through what it actually costs to feed and care for our nine ducks through a Canadian winter.
We use duck and waterfowl pellets, compressed straw in the duck house, and offer free-choice oyster shell. These are simple inputs — but when egg production drops to one or two eggs a day, the economics shift.
The two older girls are happily retired now. The young Cayugas are currently our steady layers. And the math looks very different in February than it does in June.
Small farm life is rarely linear. It’s seasonal. Cyclical. Adjusting.
If you’ve ever wondered whether backyard ducks pay for themselves, this video walks through the numbers calmly and honestly — and reflects on why we continue regardless.
You can watch it here:
On this small piece of land, everything influences everything else.