Any one know if....?

Question

Can you have a self-sufficient farm on five acres?

If it isn't that possible, what amount of acreage would I need? Please don't say 100 or more, it's a very small family (3 people)

Answer 1

Probably not, but you could make a big dent. Livestock would have to be poultry, maybe rabbits, nothing larger.......pig....hmmm. Grains are fairly inexpensive so you could buy that and make your own breads. Protein would have to lean heavily towards beans......

You can do a lot on 5 acres though. We have two and was amazed just how much we could produce. Now we are getting too old and the city has reached us, people object to roosters, etc. It's a lot of work.....everyday. Still, it was a lot of fun!

Answer 2

I have seen farmers make more money out of five acres than you can imagine. Called intensive farming. It is highly specialized and expensive to set up but do one unit at a time. Ideal family business. Basically all planting is done under cover of translucent fiber cladding ..an automated artifical climate is created to keep the plants going under optimal conditions with high tech liquid fertilizers. Plant all sorts from cut flowers to cucumbers. Huge money if you have a market.

Answer 3

No it is impossible. Not near enough acreage. You need enough corn to feed livestock, grain to make bread, fruits, vegetables, just no way on 5 acres

Answer 4

i went on a tour of organic farms in california some years back, and the key was to produce some "value added" items in order to boost the income, eg: don't just grow berries, turn them into an organic, no-sucrose-added, minimally processed jam in a fancy jars with a nice label and distribute them to the right stores. one woman told me it made the difference between them being a viable farm and going bust.

Answer 5

140 bushel of corn to an acre--yeah you could do it.