[Jas]

Just to say hi
Looking into the world of small holding, it's something I've wanted to do for a LONG time having spent many a school holiday on my Great uncles farm. ( so have a little knowledge and insight )
It is something I'm not rushing into as it won't be for a couple of years and needs lots of planning and research.
One answer I can't find is what sort of size land is ideal ( don't say as much as poss ) to become self sufficient
I'm looking at a couple of house cows ,maybe 4-6 sheep . The missus wants a couple of goats. A couple of pigs and a few chickens/ ducks  (already have ducks).
I was thinking about 15 acres but maybe way off!
Any help and tips greatly appreciated

[devonlady]

Hello from Devon. How much land do you need? well 15 acres, depending on the sort of land, is something a lot of us dream of! but if you can buy it, do! You can always rent a bit out until you need it. How many of us have looked at 4 or 5 acres and thought......what will I do with all that....... and a couple of years later would kill for another acre or three. Good luck in your search.

[Jas]

I'd rather start with adequate land for the welfare of the livestock rather than cram in if I can afford it. I'm in West Sussex but it's way too expensive around here so would relocate as you can get a lot more for your money elsewhere

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Hi and welcome to the forum from a  Ceredigion    We have a lot of properties for sale around here, when I say we I mean estate agents in wales Some of them have about 14 acres. It might be better in the long run to rent a small farm, with it you would get the buildings and stuff. It sounds good to keep a few housecows, don't forget they will need shelter from the hot sun, so trees to shade under or a field shelter also winter shelter too, don't forget the round bale feeders. What kind of sheep are you planning to keep? A lot of people on here have gone for primitives which are quite low maintenance, there are of course ones bred for fleece or the more commercial ones, I myself keep Lleyns the perfect ewe in my opinion and fairly low maintenance. There are so many breeds of pigs and poultry out there, make sure you choose a reputable breeder, as with all the livestock and make sure that you can walk around and look at the animals in their ''working clothes''. Smallholding and farming is brilliant and if you don't like the idea of owning your own place there are quite a few small farms coming up for rental in the UK. Make sure to talk to breeders and research it all before doing it, to be prepared. If we can be of any more help do let us know. I keep water buffalo, so if you're interested in keeping them then feel free to ask any question about them and I will try and answer best I can. All the best with it all and I hope you find somewhere which you both love

[Fleecewife]

Just to say hi
Looking into the world of small holding, it's something I've wanted to do for a LONG time having spent many a school holiday on my Great uncles farm. ( so have a little knowledge and insight )
It is something I'm not rushing into as it won't be for a couple of years and needs lots of planning and research.
One answer I can't find is what sort of size land is ideal ( don't say as much as poss ) to become self sufficient
I'm looking at a couple of house cows ,maybe 4-6 sheep . The missus wants a couple of goats. A couple of pigs and a few chickens/ ducks  (already have ducks).
I was thinking about 15 acres but maybe way off!
Any help and tips greatly appreciated

How much land you need depends on a number of factors:
 First off is how many are 'we'.  Is it just the two of you or do you have a large family to support?
Just how self sufficient do you want to be - in food, in clothing, in power, enough to pay for leccie, toilet paper, car, stock feed, bread, holidays etc, or just enough to have a contribution to each meal from your land?
The quality of the land you buy will vary greatly both between regions and within each region too - two smallholdings side by side can have completely different land properties. 6 acres in the lush south of England, with good soil and gentle weather, will be nothing like 6 acres in an LFA of acid soil and high elevation.

2 house cows plus goats are going to produce an awful lot of milk.........
A few hens will produce some eggs in the first half of the year but unless you keep them in artificial light you won't get many eggs in the later months.
Will you be breeding your livestock?  4-6 sheep rapidly become a large flock.
Do you wish to spin the wool from your sheep?  That will govern the breed you choose.
Can you buy your land outright?  Can you support yourselves from savings? Or will you need to scrimp and save if you buy a large area of land?
Do you want to go right back to basics and work your land by hand, or can you afford machinery to help with tasks such as haymaking, pasture management?  It's all very well having the land, but if you can't work it then it will fall to rack and ruin.  The endless amount of labour involved in working a smallholding takes most people by surprise - if you never get a break then your dream becomes nothing but a hard slog and drudgery.
Do you want to have enough land to leave areas for wildlife?  Do you want to grow coppice wood for heating and cooking?

There are a lot of reasons why books on smallholdings and self sufficiency rarely give you a single figure for the ideal size 

[Jas]

As it's something For the future I haven't really looked too much into breeds yet as it will more likely be dependent on location and type of land.
I know it's going to be a long process and lots of decision making. Unless I'm looking in the wrong places I couldn't find many tenancies for small farms ( wasn't looking hard though ).
Hoping to gain some knowledge and chat to some smallholders soon as there is a small holders show this way soon at the south of England show ground which is right on my doorstep 
Is anyone here going?

It will just be me and the missus hoping the kids will have moved out and my kids live with their mum
Hoping to be self sufficient food wise and slowly progress
I hope to breed but only to grow on for meat or sell

[Backinwellies]

Finding a small holding to rent will require finding the needle in the haystack ...  and if you do find it so will many others!   You will find land to tender if your homestead is not large enough. There are quite a few smallholdings for sale here in Wales.

You won't find many of us on here are 'self-sufficient' ..... many aspire to that but realise reality is another job to pay the bills whilst hopefully the livestock pay for themselves and fill the freezer.   

 As to size I would say your 15 acres is probably OK if that is mostly reasonable grazing (your livestock numbers will increase no matter how much you tell yourself they wont!) ... you will need buildings too ...

keep researching   and maybe you would like to have a weekend smallholding experience  here and stay  in our holiday cottage ?  PM me for more info.

[Jas]

From all your comments it all seems a bit daunting and lots of considerations to take in. I'm glad it's something for the future and I have lots of time to plan. Looks like I've come to the right forum to gain knowledge and ask questions 

[benkt]

Given our experience here at the community farm, I reckon I could be mostly self-sufficent on two acres. We currently have six acres plus another five acres of rented orchard for sheep grazing and fruit. On two acres you could use one to raise half a dozen weaners a year for the freezer and keep 2-4 goats for milk. An acre of veg will feed the two of you if there's a couple of decent sized polytunnels on it. Squeeze a few chickens/ducks/geese in somewhere and you're set. Sheep and cows take the real acreage, if you can get by without them then land requirements come right down.

[devonlady]

But, please, don't be put off! Yes it is hard work but the pleasure outweighs the slog, believe me. My tip would be buy now if you can, it will only get more expensive. As Groucho Marx said "buy land now, they're not making any more"
Good luck in your search.
                               Sylvia.

[Jas]

But, please, don't be put off! Yes it is hard work but the pleasure outweighs the slog, believe me. My tip would be buy now if you can, it will only get more expensive. As Groucho Marx said "buy land now, they're not making any more"
Good luck in your search.
                               Sylvia.

I'm certainly not put off by hard work and know it will be hard work but really look forward to the challenge. It's something I've wanted to do for years but just been a dream but thinking that with the circumstances it maybe a reality in a few years. Unfortunately I can't buy now and certainly wouldn't want to rush in

[Jullienne]

Hi and welcome to the forum from Cardiganshire It all sounds exciting and I hope that everything works out well for you both. I keep a large flock of sheep myself and find them very entertaining, they're bred essentially for meat, hoping to show in a year or two once genetics are even better