How much land?

[Tarakian]

I am looking at goals and so on, and I was wondering, how much land do I need for basic subsistence farming and/or ranching? Keeping in mind my wife and I will be doing most of the work. Since I am currently in North Texas, it is possible to do either, or both ranching and farming.

[dilli]

there are too many variables to give an answer. It depends on the land, availability of water, fertility, and so on.. Basic subsistence farming also means a lot of things to different people so even that is difficult to give an answer

[1Admin]

What Dilli said.

Also will depend on the area of the country. 5 acres may do in the South here due to good rainfall, long growing season, etc. It might take 20 acres to do the same in a very dry environment.

[Tarakian]

I see your point... We do have a long growing season, and decent rainfall in the Winter and Spring, but Summer months can be very dry. Maybe the county extension service would have some info. on average yields etc.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Maybe the county extension service would have some info. on average yields etc.

They are an excellent source of information on growing and also seeing if the land is suitable to build ponds or watering tanks on. Cattle can be anywhere from 4-20 acres depending on the land per head without constant haying. Thats a big difference. The water will be crucial in NTX but less so than in STX. You will need wells, stock tanks and enoough for irrigation for the dry times, like right now, we are at 6inches below normal and hurting on winter wheat growth and get the new stuff planted. The basic subsitance farming as stated above means something different to everyone in different weather belts and for how many people too? On the number of folks are you going to "overgrow" as well to put some back in LTS? that will alos need to caculated in but added on as extra number of people for OPSEC, in other words tell the extension agent that you are going to grow for 8 if you are really only doing 5 etc.

I have also found that talking with neighbors in the surrounding area is a great source of info to. Most farmers and ranchers once warmed up to a humble and eager to learn subject will become more long winded than preachers and you may have to shout Amen around noon to give them a hint so you can go apply some of the newly found knowledge:)

[Erg]

First off, I envy you...always wanted to move to north texas. Whereabouts exactly. I'm interested around the outskirts of Austin or north of there.

What dilli said.

I have to admit...once you get property...you quickly outgrow it and want, even need, more. Happened to me, started with an acre after leaving a track home and loved it. Now, I'd say a minimum of 10 however, location location location.

Good luck

[Tarakian]

Sorry I haven't been back to this thread.

Thanks for the information. I am thinking somewhere south of DFW and north of the Ft. Hood area. I've done a (very) little work with cattle and a bit more with a fairly large garden. I'm thinking of getting a calf and running it with some cattle that belong to a friend of mine, just to get my feet wet. The garden is a little more complicated, but I am moving into a new to me house and there is a large open area that will make a good garden. I just need to get it ready for fall planting. Water can be an issue, we are pretty dry right now, and this is supposed to be our rainy season. Eventually my intention is to grow/raise enough food to handle my family's needs, with some to put back. Thanks for the encouragement and advice!

[slingshot]

I can speak to buying too much land. When I first retired and bought this place I could handle it OK. Now it keeps getting bigger every year (birthday) that goes by. It's discouraging to see your place going backwards after putting in a lot of work to fix it up. From my view point, I'd say get the least amount of land that meets your requirements. Bigger is not always better!

[Lowdown3]

Agree with Slingshot. Everyone wants "100 acres in the country." But 90% of the time they are used to a 1/5 acre lot in suburbia and complain about all the upkeep they have there!

Another criteria as far as size would be building in proximity to property lines, etc. I.e, don't build too close.

"Oh but that adjoining land has been in that family 100 years and they will never do anything with it." Yep, until that trailer park is built there and it's 20 yards from your house!

Most of us will have to retain a regular job (or two) as well. So having 40 acres of pasture to keep up could be a problem with work, family life, other homestead chores, etc.

[manowar]

bigger the property the more the work- i look at my 80 acres and its alot of work that is very hard to keep up with, especially since i try to do it as basic as possible, such as no chainsaw just an ax, bow saw two man cross cut saw and human power to bring all that back to the house, i take six foot lengths and attach it to my fall protection harness and just pull back, thats allot of work, plus work four horses and also try to get a garden started and just general upkeep-its really alot of work, overwhelming at times, but i love it, even tho i should be out with the horses right now. being oragized is the key, or so i'm told, lol
manowar

[Resh]

This was an interesting thread, and I had a couple of questions on it.

• If you own a lot of acres (say 80) but only really want to work 10 or so, what's to keep up with on the other 70? Wouldn't the other 70 acres just become firewood and easy game access?
  
• I've read a bit about Forest Gardening which seems interesting because it's low maintenance. There's enough pulls on my free time that I don't think that even if I had the acreage I could do much more than an acres worth of farming anyway. Provided a large enough forest garden, has anyone had experience with these and whether or not they'll sustain a small family?

[jwalk]

I read in one of my books on homesteading that 20 acres is enough to self sustain assuming there is reasonably good size timber on the property, 5 acres of field, and a water source that neither freezes completely or dries up. As was said earlier however, lots of variables, fertility of the soil being a big one.

[Patriot Prepper]

A lot depends on what you are preparing for. If the breakdown is a total collapse, you may need more land. If the breakdown is minimal, you don't need much land. To live the rest of your life in a self sufficient manner, I would suggest that you do not crowd yourself. In my opinion, 40 acres is a nice plot, and you may be able to do it with 20 acres. Also keep in mind self defense. I like to have a cushion and shooting channels to reach out long distance.

Another factor is the efficiency of your farming methods. If you raise animals for flesh, it is less efficient than eating the eggs and drinking milk. Poor countries like India survive because they do not eat meat. There are many factors in answering your question, and could consume many pages. Until you have tried to farm, garden, and survive, it is hard to envision what you need. But it is always better to have more than have less. Get as much land as possible. Also be sure to have water sources and check the quality of the soil. Organic farmers take years to build up the quality of the soil. You may have to do the same. KEEP ON PREPPING