(10-12-2021, 06:55 PM)jagibelieve Wrote:

(10-12-2021, 06:18 PM)Jags Wrote: Can’t agree more.  It may be a 1/4 acre, but when you do 20-30 a day it’s now 5-6+.  And electric power just won’t “cut” it. The average homeowner should be just fine.  Now, if I got out of the business and had to use electric [BLEEP], I’d be pissed off it took me an hour to mow trim edge and blow my own yard.  Those are 45 minutes of wasted time!

For a field or many acres in your situation, I would have recommended goats.  Those silly animals will even eat poison ivy.  But sounds like you’ve got a lot cleared.  And beef tastes pretty damn good.  That’s awesome that you worked out a deal for the meat.  Symbiotic relationships!   Like, well, in nature.   How much of the heifer do you get?

I'll probably get me a few goats, but not necessarily for grass.  There is a massive vine problem in some areas (I think Kudzu?) as well as numerous saplings that need to stay in check.  However it's going to produce goat farts.  Are they as "bad" as cow farts?  I can't get them until I put the infrastructure in place for them (shelter).  The problem is that I don't like goat meat so I would have to get rid of them when they are ready for slaughter and I don't know if there is much demand for that.

As far as the deal with my neighbor, I'll basically get 2 cows a year.  How much beef it turns out to be will depend on their weight when we slaughter them.  It should be plenty enough to fill my freezers and give some to my other family members.

Once we are a bit more established chickens and pigs might be added.  Combine the animals and the trees/garden that we have planned we will almost be self-sustaining.

What kills me right now is that I'm burning whole trees (mostly hickory and oak).  I have more wood than I know what to do with it.  My wife wants to sell firewood and that's fine, she has the time for it (she retired this year).  I don't have the time for it right now.

Just guessing goat and cow farts are more acceptable than my farts.  

If you guys can sell the oak and hickory, I say do it.  Sounds like youve got plenty and the means to split it.There are guys like me that get off on either using it in an Egg or a smoker or just flat out burning it and cooking off it in a fire pit.  But “location, location,location”.  I’m sure your “neighbors” do the same. That or use their own. So I’m sure an ad on crackheads list for firewood to sell to us city folk would be in order.  Good luck dealing with those yahoo’s.  I say burn it and have a bonfire or get together.

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