Apparently without someone to answer to, I'm terrible at posting to a blog. I made a good run with Homestead Hustle and was there just over a year. Unfortunately, in the long run things didn't work out. I had originally penned this for them, but as they declined publication, I figure I'd share it here in its entirety.
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Making a living on the homestead often means having many small streams of income, rather than just one weekly paycheck. Every so often, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate what gives you the best return on your efforts. Doing this can help you improve, whether you decide to change what you raise, what you sell, or the partnerships you’re currently maintaining.
Our farm stand is known for our meats, especially our homemade sausages. That makes raising pigs pretty important! Heritage breeds are one of my passions. Dan and I did a bit of homework and decided we’d love to raise Large Black hogs. We were able to source purebred piglets locally to keep as sows and found a 7/8% Large Black at another farm we could use as a boar to get started. We’ve had Large Blacks for a couple years now, and honestly, we found them to be a terrible fit for us. They train well to electric fencing but will not cross anywhere a line of fencing has been, so rotational grazing using temporary electric fence is almost impossible. The sows have been absolutely awful mothers. Our last Large Black litter started out with 14 piglets, but the sow killed 13 of them by stomping or smothering them, weaning only one. I have always been against farrowing crates, but something like this makes you rethink your stand. In the end, we decided the better solution would be new sows rather than compromising our principals.
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Making a living on the homestead often means having many small streams of income, rather than just one weekly paycheck. Every so often, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate what gives you the best return on your efforts. Doing this can help you improve, whether you decide to change what you raise, what you sell, or the partnerships you’re currently maintaining.
Our farm stand is known for our meats, especially our homemade sausages. That makes raising pigs pretty important! Heritage breeds are one of my passions. Dan and I did a bit of homework and decided we’d love to raise Large Black hogs. We were able to source purebred piglets locally to keep as sows and found a 7/8% Large Black at another farm we could use as a boar to get started. We’ve had Large Blacks for a couple years now, and honestly, we found them to be a terrible fit for us. They train well to electric fencing but will not cross anywhere a line of fencing has been, so rotational grazing using temporary electric fence is almost impossible. The sows have been absolutely awful mothers. Our last Large Black litter started out with 14 piglets, but the sow killed 13 of them by stomping or smothering them, weaning only one. I have always been against farrowing crates, but something like this makes you rethink your stand. In the end, we decided the better solution would be new sows rather than compromising our principals.
Large Black hogs have some of the most flavorful, juicy pork you’ll ever taste, but they are also a lard hog that packs on a lot of fat as they mature. Our customers are looking to buy lean, healthy pork. We have sold lard in the past, but in pretty limited quantities, and these pigs provided more lard than we could really use. It was difficult to cut nice-looking pork chops and the shape of the loin on these pigs meant there were simply less of them. If we were marketing whole hogs to a chef who would break them down, I feel this breed might be an excellent fit. However, we’re selling retail cuts to the public and there are pigs out there that are a better fit. We have realized this and will be processing our last Large Blacks this summer and are looking into what breed of pigs to try next.
We have no regrets about trying to raise Large Black hogs, but we also have no regrets about moving on.
It’s worth taking a look at what value-added products you are selling to evaluate if they are worth your time as well. I used to use extra eggs in the farm stand off-season to make egg noodles. While it was a good way to use up some eggs, they are also time-consuming to make, dry, and package. As I cultivate new skills, I find I can make more products, and ones with a greater retail value, if I’m sewing, or making lip balms or lotions. These are also things that can be made far ahead of time and can be shipped so they can be added to our Etsy shop. And truthfully, I enjoy sewing and learning about natural body care and herbal salves more than I enjoy being covered in flour, rolling out noodles.
It’s also worth evaluating what side jobs you are taking on. As the farm stand and Etsy shop grow, Dan and I reevaluate what off-farm work we are willing to do. There are a number of reasons a partnership or off-farm job may fail to be a good fit. We are always evaluating if the profit we make divided by the amount of time we put into it reflects an hourly wage we feel is fair. Other things to consider are whether this side hustle has an opportunity to earn more as you become more experienced or put more work/time into it. If it is a flat rate that you are unable to negotiate, there will probably come a time when you outgrow the role. If your other hustles are growing and one is stagnating, it’s worth evaluating whether it is financially feasible to move on to pursue other interests. You may also find that the intangibles make or break the arrangement, as with any job. Do you love the people you work with? Are you learning new things? Is there constructive feedback?
Evaluating what works and what doesn’t has enabled us to have a homestead that is thriving. 10 years ago, both Dan and I had full-time, off-farm jobs. Now neither of us do. Being your own boss is exhilarating, scary, and something that only works if you’re willing to make hard decisions.
Unfortunately, all this evaluating has led me to the conclusion that I am not getting enough of a return on my efforts here to continue. I’ve made the hard decision that this will be my last post on Homestead Hustle. I enjoy writing and teaching and want to pursue that further. I’m not sure if I will revive my own blog, begin teaching classes (a long-term goal), or find another partnership that is a better fit. In the short term, I plan to use the screen time I’ve freed up to post more on our Facebook and Instagram, and to get those email newsletters done in a more timely fashion. I may even use these hours to explore more about current interests like mushroom propagation or growing and using medicinal herbs.
A sincere thanks to each and every one of you who have taken time out of your busy lives to comment here or via email, to sign up for our newsletters, check out our Etsy shop, or to follow us on social media. It is my sincere hope that I’ve shared something that will help you in your own homestead dreams, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed taking a peek at how we do things here at Pleasant Valley Farm. Best wishes for homesteading success to you, how ever you define it!
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I miss blogging because I really like writing. But one of the things that makes it so hard for me to carve out time every week or so is that it always seems to exist in a vacuum. So if you enjoy what you read here, please let me know. Leave a comment about what spoke to you or what didn't. Things you want to know more about. An emoji. Whatever. If you like it and want to see more of it, let me know. If I know there is an audience, it's so much easier to stay motivated. And if I know people are reading, it's easier to move writing up higher on the to-do list each week. I'm also hoping to stay motivated this year and beyond by having a partnership with the lovely Laurel of Stonebridge and Elm Photography. Like me, she has trouble staying motivated to post so we're trying to encourage each other to stay on top of our blog game. And while a photographer in North Carolina might seem an odd choice to partner with, she's actually my sister and we both love and are inspired by what each other is doing!
I hope to touch a bit on what we do that makes our business work, like I did on Homestead Hustle, but I'm excited to have less restraint on what to publish and can share stories from the heart or the kitchen as well as the home office.
Hoping you'll join me,
-Emily
It’s also worth evaluating what side jobs you are taking on. As the farm stand and Etsy shop grow, Dan and I reevaluate what off-farm work we are willing to do. There are a number of reasons a partnership or off-farm job may fail to be a good fit. We are always evaluating if the profit we make divided by the amount of time we put into it reflects an hourly wage we feel is fair. Other things to consider are whether this side hustle has an opportunity to earn more as you become more experienced or put more work/time into it. If it is a flat rate that you are unable to negotiate, there will probably come a time when you outgrow the role. If your other hustles are growing and one is stagnating, it’s worth evaluating whether it is financially feasible to move on to pursue other interests. You may also find that the intangibles make or break the arrangement, as with any job. Do you love the people you work with? Are you learning new things? Is there constructive feedback?
Evaluating what works and what doesn’t has enabled us to have a homestead that is thriving. 10 years ago, both Dan and I had full-time, off-farm jobs. Now neither of us do. Being your own boss is exhilarating, scary, and something that only works if you’re willing to make hard decisions.
Unfortunately, all this evaluating has led me to the conclusion that I am not getting enough of a return on my efforts here to continue. I’ve made the hard decision that this will be my last post on Homestead Hustle. I enjoy writing and teaching and want to pursue that further. I’m not sure if I will revive my own blog, begin teaching classes (a long-term goal), or find another partnership that is a better fit. In the short term, I plan to use the screen time I’ve freed up to post more on our Facebook and Instagram, and to get those email newsletters done in a more timely fashion. I may even use these hours to explore more about current interests like mushroom propagation or growing and using medicinal herbs.
A sincere thanks to each and every one of you who have taken time out of your busy lives to comment here or via email, to sign up for our newsletters, check out our Etsy shop, or to follow us on social media. It is my sincere hope that I’ve shared something that will help you in your own homestead dreams, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed taking a peek at how we do things here at Pleasant Valley Farm. Best wishes for homesteading success to you, how ever you define it!
******************************************************************************************************************************
I miss blogging because I really like writing. But one of the things that makes it so hard for me to carve out time every week or so is that it always seems to exist in a vacuum. So if you enjoy what you read here, please let me know. Leave a comment about what spoke to you or what didn't. Things you want to know more about. An emoji. Whatever. If you like it and want to see more of it, let me know. If I know there is an audience, it's so much easier to stay motivated. And if I know people are reading, it's easier to move writing up higher on the to-do list each week. I'm also hoping to stay motivated this year and beyond by having a partnership with the lovely Laurel of Stonebridge and Elm Photography. Like me, she has trouble staying motivated to post so we're trying to encourage each other to stay on top of our blog game. And while a photographer in North Carolina might seem an odd choice to partner with, she's actually my sister and we both love and are inspired by what each other is doing!
I hope to touch a bit on what we do that makes our business work, like I did on Homestead Hustle, but I'm excited to have less restraint on what to publish and can share stories from the heart or the kitchen as well as the home office.
Hoping you'll join me,
-Emily