[juliag]

I wouldnt class ourselves as smallholders but we are fortunate to live in a house with land and have had a go at most things. We raised pigs for the table (not my idea but thats another story) and sold the butchered pigs locally to a man who paid £300 a pig. (aparently this is a huge amount and almost unheard of). However even selling at that price we would only have broken even and not actually made any money. Saying that I kept back 1/2 a pig for ourselves so that 1/2 a pig was free.
Our chickens are great layers and we sell our eggs at the gate. people sing the praises of the eggs and supply cannot keep up with demand. We sell them at £1 for half a dozen. this covers all of the chicken feed etc. (as long as the horses dont get into the feed shed and eat it all!) although the initial purchase of the hens can be quite expensive and you may have to wait a while before they come into lay even if bought pol. (if you get exbats they are very cheap but after an initial egg a day will soon drop off to 3-4 a week. (in my experience).
 my sister in law grows chillies and making oils, jams etc sells at local farmers markets. She does 2-3 a week and is now a well know face at the markets. However even with this in mind she will only take £80-£90 a morning. (most markets finish by 1pm). By the time you take her jars/bottles into account, labels, ingredients, the cost of ingredients she makes very little money. Certainly not enough to pay a mortgage, luckily she doesnt have too!
My husband is a chartered surveyor and works full time, if he didnt work there is no way we could have this life style.
As a point of interest a neighbour  of ours is a lorrydriver for a local quarry, he rents various fields and grazes a raises lambs and sheep, butchers then locally and then sells the meat as either half a lamb or a whole one. Have you considered renting land and starting small to see if it what you really want before making such a big step? I know most people around here are happy to rent him land for his sheep very cheaply .
 

[chriso]

I wouldnt class ourselves as smallholders but we are fortunate to live in a house with land and have had a go at most things. We raised pigs for the table (not my idea but thats another story) and sold the butchered pigs locally to a man who paid £300 a pig. (aparently this is a huge amount and almost unheard of). However even selling at that price we would only have broken even and not actually made any money. Saying that I kept back 1/2 a pig for ourselves so that 1/2 a pig was free.
Our chickens are great layers and we sell our eggs at the gate. people sing the praises of the eggs and supply cannot keep up with demand. We sell them at £1 for half a dozen. this covers all of the chicken feed etc. (as long as the horses dont get into the feed shed and eat it all!) although the initial purchase of the hens can be quite expensive and you may have to wait a while before they come into lay even if bought pol. (if you get exbats they are very cheap but after an initial egg a day will soon drop off to 3-4 a week. (in my experience).
 my sister in law grows chillies and making oils, jams etc sells at local farmers markets. She does 2-3 a week and is now a well know face at the markets. However even with this in mind she will only take £80-£90 a morning. (most markets finish by 1pm). By the time you take her jars/bottles into account, labels, ingredients, the cost of ingredients she makes very little money. Certainly not enough to pay a mortgage, luckily she doesnt have too!
My husband is a chartered surveyor and works full time, if he didnt work there is no way we could have this life style.
As a point of interest a neighbour  of ours is a lorrydriver for a local quarry, he rents various fields and grazes a raises lambs and sheep, butchers then locally and then sells the meat as either half a lamb or a whole one. Have you considered renting land and starting small to see if it what you really want before making such a big step? I know most people around here are happy to rent him land for his sheep very cheaply .
 

Thanks Julia, renting is an option which I think I will look into firstly. I was just interested in finding out if 'the good life' costs people money or they make a little out of it first. I suppose it mainly depends on the main trade and any spin offs you can find.

[Dangermouse]

Neither!   Actually I do like pigs really - just not in my garden .  I do eat pork, love bacon and sausages but prefer lamb for roasts.  I've never tasdted snake though...

Well I am going to say the obvious here ...................

If you fancy a bit snake just let me know....

(what sort of man would I be if I diddnt take advantage of that comment) 

[bamford6]

Plumseverywhere iv always done the right thing i had a gest house on the sea front at paighton devon that wasent whot she wonted so i sold it lived on dartmore that wasent right then we had a pub in devon that wasent right . then we did holaday cotages in aviemore that wasent right then i rented a farm and thats no good ether so you are not alone .you have to belive in whot you do .take this week sold some lambs and bits then the phone rings iv got ..so 200 mile for some rare breeds out all day saterday next week sales out at 5 dont no when im back thats life

[Rosemary]

There's a book called " Surviving and Thriving on the Land: How to use your time and energy to run a successful smallholding" by Rebecca Laughton

It gets good reviews on Amazon; I haven't read it but I bought it for the CSSA Secret Santa a couple of years ago. Actually, I think I might buy it - I'll share some of the insights with you when I do.

[Daisys Mum]

There's a book called " Surviving and Thriving on the Land: How to use your time and energy to run a successful smallholding" by Rebecca Laughton

It gets good reviews on Amazon; I haven't read it but I bought it for the CSSA Secret Santa a couple of years ago. Actually, I think I might buy it - I'll share some of the insights with you when I do.

That sounds like a good book must get myself a copy even if it just tells me what I know (that I am doing it all wrong) I still would not give it up without a fight, I am lucky my OH is happy just to let me do whatever I want and just hands over his wages every month. I do still have to work part time as well as running my own small business. I certainly could not live off my set up (too many unproductive animals)

[Hilarysmum]

Thats probably the hardest part, deciding which animals are productive and culling the non productive ones.   

[plumseverywhere]

poured hubby a glass of red wine last night and suggested a walk to the orchard. he came along (glass in hand - thought it wise in case my goats have trashed his plum trees!!) so far so good, one tree a bit nibbled on, 69 in tack. we have time to build fort knox around them.

then, he put some more roofing on the shed while I groomed the goats. he actually seems quite taken by them. I don't think he'd realised how intelligent they were and how interactive they can be. 
Most surprisingly of all, found OH fitting up th ehose to water the veg patch which he's also shown no interest in before now - lots of green things sticking up out of the ground seemed to have made him realise that maybe this life isn't so bad LOL! 

[JulieS]

Brilliant 

[Dangermouse]

See its looking better already 

[WinslowPorker]

Result it must of been those special ice cubes 

[Anke]

Re: rebecca Laughton's book - get it from your local library before you buy. Good read, but much more geared to living in a commune(ity) rather than doing your own thing.

Re.: making money from your smalholding - if you would do everything in life just for a profit you would be quite poor except for money. I mean money can buy things (to quote the Beatles), but wouldn't it be just boring? We have 9 acres and rent another 6 for grazing. After three years (our plot was bare and we built the house before starting the holding as such) we are now self sufficient in meat (pork, lamb, chicken and soon goat), eggs (sell half a dozen for 1.80 and make a small profit), milk (and hopefully will be able to make some cheeses, yoghurt and soap soon) and veg (excet tatties and onions, we always run out some time after Xmas, but its not worth planting even more because of blight etc etc), have a large polytunnel for anything that doesn't really like growing in the windy Scottish Borders. Also keep bees and have own honey. Still working on more fencing and further deep beds in garden, but generally being there.

OH works full time and commutes to Edinburgh, loves his job but is happy to work here in the evening and weekends. Gave up career after I realised that I really hated to commute and still had no money after paying for childcare, cleaner, commute etc etc. And was out of the house 6am to 6.30pm. Much happier now, but not been on a holiday for 4 years (not even away from the holding except for a lambing course in wales last year), don't buy new clothes (except wellies and waterproof trousers), have an 8 year old Skoda that will have to last another 5 at least and don't have TV or DVD's. Kids love getting secondhand clothes and I can pay for them with goodies from the holding - no VAT or other tax necessary.

Getting down to the goatshed for milking just after 6 with the sun coming up  makes me realise how lucky we are to be here (but if you asked me in January the answer might well have been different!)

So no money but a great life, who wants more!

We make a small profit out of lambs, but spend it on fencing, also selling some pork reduces the costs for our meat, and save loads on veg/fruit. Hopefully goats will become cost neutral in due course - with selling kids and having our own milk.

[doganjo]

Phewwwww!   Anke, you made me tired just reading that.  What a lot you have accomplished in 3 years!

[Anke]

Was a bit of a long rant when I should have been outside planting tatties... But we have just received notification of a planning application on a site next to us which would completely overpower our house and holding, even though its only a single house but would be higher than we are and very close. Problem is its the same person we bought the land from and at the time we were assured that the land was for the extension of the garden ground to the cottage... feeling very glum indeed and just trying to get my head round how to develop a sensible objection... we are the only property affected and just tried the local councilllor to get involved but he refuses as he is also a member of the planning commmittee... so just hanging in mid air now, might need to start a new thread on this somewhere... I guess bedtime, and start afresh tomorrow!

[doganjo]

Allowable objections are laid down in law - so you should have a chat with a planning consultant.  You should get a free half hour like lawyers but I have no idea what they charge.