I raise a lot of our own meat and butcher it myself, most of the rest we buy on the hoof and I do the butchering, so we get our meat usualy for around 10-25 cents/lbs. We raise a garden and can some for the winter. I plan to put in an orchard in the next couple of years. We cut our own wood and use that as our heat for the winter. What are some of the things you do or have planed in the near future to provide your own needs rather than buying it from someone else.
For the past 30 yrs I have baked all my own bread. It's a weekly ritual. I can't stand store bought and refuse to pay $3-$4 for something decent. And don't forget the root cellar or a good cold frame bedded with hay. I still have cherry trees, apples, pears, and a blueberry arbor. I don't can as much as I used to because I live alone and there is only so much I can consume. And then, there is the pleasure of passing these skills on to our children and grandchildren. The last time I had my oil tank frilled was 8 months ago and then it was less than 200 gals. I miss the farming days when almost everything came from our own labor.
Thats our basic goal here, to be able to provide for all or at least most of our own needs here on our farm and not have to count on income to buy the things we need and others to sell it to us.
We eat wild game as much as we can, and buy maybe the smallest amount of store bought meat. We try and do that with everything.
