Why does everyone want to fight me on being a farmer?

Question

All my life all I ever wanted was a homestead to grow fruits and vegetables take care of my animals make cheese and yogurt is it glamorous no it's a slimy dirty job but it makes me happy but everyone in my life seems so against it

My mom hates that I want to do this

My dad doesn't say it out loud but I can tell he's disappointed by it by the way he says" since your so hung up on this farming shit"

Even my fiance just kinda tolerates that it's what I'm going to do.

Like I was making a list that was listing different fruit and nut tree's

What variety I wanted and what time of year to plant them along other fruit and veggies

My fiance said " why are you intentionally making more work for yourself your tired as it is why the hell do you want more shit to take care of"

No I didn't trap him here he made this choice I told him before we got together what my plans were and if wasn't on board than to keep walking

My grand parents even coworkers seem so displeased by what I'm choosing to do and I don't understand why

Updates

8 mo

OI FOR EVERYONE ON A RANT ABOUT HOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT IM DOING LOOK HERE

1. I don't mean a big farm for grocery stores I mean a homestead just most people don't know that word so I said farm so stop with the regulations at stores thing

2. No I didn't just play a game and say milking a cow looks fun

3 I currently have dairy goat's and chickens

Updates

8 mo

4 I have a job so I do work and no it's not a minimum wage job

CurrentJohn · Accepted Answer

There is nothing wrong about it, but like others said, did you actually think carefully about what being a farmer means? If you just played Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley and now be like "I too want to be a farmer" than that would be very naive and I can see why your family and friends would be upset with you. You need a plan how to actually finance that dream of yours and if you can financially sustain a decent living standard for the rest of your life doing that.

If you really mean it than make a real business plan. What kind of farmer do you want to be, animals, field fruits, fruit trees or greenhouse plantation? What products would you sell, do you know how to care for these plants or animals in detail? Do you know how to even aquire the land and equipment necessary for these tasks? Do you know how to sell it and to whom? Did you make a calculation about your living expenses and possible income?

It is a nice dream and if you like it then try if it is viable, but don`t go in there being completely naive about it. If you do what I stated and actually show your parents on paper how you would run your business and explain how it would be viable and how you could sustain yourself doing it, then they would probably also see it in a better light.

Staximus · Accepted Answer

I have wanted to do that since I was a kid. It's a hell of a lot of work and you can't have a job and do that. there's not enough hours in the day and you still have to sleep. You need to have a lot of money to buy all the land and farm shit. Plus more money to basically retire, because subsistence farming and homesteading rarely pays the bills. You'd need a lot of money or a passive income, or your own business that makes good money and doesn't take more than a couple hours of your day. Plus when you get old, you can't take care of all that shit from sunrise to sunset 7 days a week. You're going to be married to that farm if you can afford to make it happen. It's going to take all your time and all your energy and there are no days off. If you have a baby or a job, you can't do all that work. You will have to find somebody to do all the work for you if you ever want to go on a vacation or out of town, have a baby, go to the hospital, etc. I don't think you understand the big commitment. This kind of thing is not like a job at all.

provokeesmokee · Accepted Answer

How will you pay for your farmland?

Have you done any visits to established homestead farms where you live?

What will you do to survive if your crops or animals get sick and die?

Where and how will you get water?

I think they're not so much unsupportive as they are concerned you are obsessed with a dainty dream rather than the down to earth realities farming holds.

Also, you'd better settle up your relationship with your fiancé quick. If they're not into being on a farm with you, it's YOUR duty to let them go since you're sure you won't change your mind. Don't wait, and also, wouldn't you prefer finding someone who shares your dream?

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

Do you actually know anything about farming? There's more to it than stick stuff in the ground and sit back until harvest day. If your selling those apples to a store they'll want them ready by certain date or the price drops. Ever noticed how all bacon has the same size circle of meat? That's not by chance. Then there's a ton of regulations to get your head around. The government dosn't like you screwing up the food supply or affecting exports.

Before you get a small holding I suggest you do a farming course and get some experience under your belt

rigmarole · Answer

Obviously they know nothing about small scale farming and what a profitable enterprise it can be in today's market. For example I know a woman that primarily grows mangoes. She is open to the public 1 day a week for 3 hours on Saturdays primarily for the 4 months that make up mango season. She has a small homestead on 5 acres that over time has found itself in the middle of the city. She offers backyard mangoes that are packed with flavor rather than those tasteless ones you find in the store. She earns more than a medical doctor every year. Why? People want fresh local tasty food and if they can get it organic even better. People pay top dollar for it and they come to you to get it and stand in long lines. I've seen market gardeners have 3 acres of production in organic annual vegetables that are turning $350K a year. Yet people in cities scoff at a person that does a little manual labor out in the sunshine and fresh air while they grind it out on their ass at some desk job drinking coffee for $50K a year thinking they are educated and successful because they work in air conditioning and put a tie on in the morning. Some people just aren't that smart... There are all kinds of direct to customer small agribusiness that do very well. So pay them no mind and get your homestead rolling. Just get to work and get something done everyday. Eventually you'll be where you want to be.

BoopBoopBeep · Answer

I grow a lot of my own food. It's expensive if you're going to grow quality food not hydroponic garbage (though hydro setups are expensive up front). I spend probably 4k each spring on soil amendments, replacement... whatever broke, additional ladybugs and praying mantis i import if my ladybug colony had issues over the winter, beneficial nematodes, fish oil and manure, and all I have is 1/4 acre of garden land. That's not enough for me to grow everything I eat AND have any variety to my diet, but i grow a lot of citrus because I like it fresh and I like some of the import varieties I have. It is not cheap. If you're prepared for that then I say knock yourself out.

I have kafir, persian, and australian finger limes, kiwiberries, meyers lemons, nagami kumquat, owari satsuma, limequats, blood oranges, variegated eureka lemon, 15 varieties of black- and raspberries, snowberries, alpine berries, indigo haskap, 4 varieties of strawberries, 5 lettuces, 4 tomato varieties, three pickling and and one regular cucumber, 2 varieties of arugula and a half dozen or so assorted microgreens for salads. They are my babies. Oh and I have a rose tree. What have you grown so far?

CupcakeTheDestroyer · Answer

You’re choosing the path of hard work for personal reward. In a society where the main goal is “make enough money to survive” it can seem like a daunting task to live off the land and livestock of your choosing, they just don’t understand. I doubt they have any ill will towards your dream, they just don’t understand why you’d want it when there seem to be other, less arduous paths to the happiness of a simple life. Don’t hold it against them, accept their disagreements for what they are — disagreements with a choice, not with you personally.

RavVid · Answer

I'm off a farm so I get it. I have no idea how large an acreage you have in mind. I take a homestead to be the dwelling on a large farm. But I think you are meaning what in Australia is called a hobby farm. Lots of people do this on a few acres, often because they want to run a horse or two.

Why not? An orchard is not much work once established. Rasberries and other vines not too much either. Chickens are daily but you can have self feeders & automatic water. Milking is daily and a chore if hand milking but you can get small scale milking machines.

I don't see why not. Sounds a nice life you have planned out. The big impact is if you have to drive a long way to work.

Wonderingguyy · Answer

People obviously think it isn’t a smart choice for you because of the likelihood of success of it. Farming is a tough industry, especially because you’re dealing with nature, which you sometimes can’t control. For example, sometimes farmers have a bad year for their crops due to circumstances we can’t control, like the weather, pests, or the market. Just as long as you’re aware of all this and have heavily researched and planned how it’s going to work, and have come up with troubleshooting ideas, you should do it. It sounds like it’s you’re passion and would make you very happy, so it would be crazy to give up on it because of other people’s judgement and opinions. The worst thing that could happen is that it fails, but at least you could say you tried it.

MrKinktastic · Answer

Make sure you’ve looked into the economics of your vision to see if it’s viable. Land prices make farming somewhat unapproachable in much of the world these days unless you’re already independently wealthy.

Joel Saladin is a good one to follow for info on making farming more economical without sacrificing animal welfare or the environment.

scentoflavender · Answer

Most people will try and discourage things naturally. It's kind of the default. Buy if it's something you really want to do, start small. Do things like make your own butter from cream. You don't need to sell all your earthly possessions and move to a homestead to indulge in those things. But if you do, make it work. Ignore them. Make yourself happy. I would go so far as to saying that making things work against all odds and all the people saying they won't is actually the homesteaders spirit.

NotTacocaT6969 · Answer

The US government has spent roughly 100 years brainwashing people to be consumers and reject the idea of being a producer.

I bet none of the people who are shit-talking farming here so much as know how to make edible bread.

Without a grocery store, they would all starve.

In other words, do what you know is right and never you mind those dependent city folks.

Odds are they’ll cone crawling to you for help someday.

KrakenAttackin · Answer

I think being a farmer is an excellent career/life choice, as long as you know what you are getting into.

Taking acreage and making effective/efficient/profitable use of it has to be challenging.

What type of farming do you want to do?

Agape93 · Answer

There's nothing wrong with it. Long as you enjoy it and can do it, have fun. I won't judge. What got you into it

exitseven · Answer

Maybe farming is a lot more work than you think. I knew somebody who wanted to be a farmer. After a couple of really lean years he sold the farm to developers and moved to the city.

Miah05 · Answer

They probably fight you on it. Because it's not a easy career to succeed, a lot of farmers struggle to survive.  But if you believe this is what you want follow your heart.

inhua · Answer

despite modern times I've still been able to retain many of the skills passed down to me by my ancestors even though I probably might never use them again

Unit1 · Answer

I have respect for farmers. They are the reason I am not starving.

Assholery comes in all forms. Even in IT where I work I get smiling faces on the screen but then terminated shortly after. Backstabbery. Someone didn't like me.

Grond21 · Answer

Sometimes you have a vision and other people can't see it. All it means is that they are blind, it doesn't mean your vision is wrong.

DaBiggestBird · Answer

That actually sounds pretty cool and majestic like Lugia art. Become the worlds greatest farmer, as I am cooking myself to become the worlds greatest Conga artist

ProbablyClueless · Answer

People are taking issue with the economics of farming. It's a lot of work and the pay isn't a good as one would hope.

normalice · Answer

My guess is people are disappointed if you take up a hobby that doesn't make any money.

TheSpaceGnome · Answer

The world needs more farmers, and you should never let anyone discourage you from your dream. Grow heirloom seeds though, they are better.

Anonymous · Answer

Farming is much better than working in an office taking anti depressant medications and getting fat. I would love to be a farmer.

Office work is terrible. Hands on work is better. I don't know why people hate on the trades and farming.

Why does everyone want to fight me on being a farmer?

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