Have you ever dreamed of starting a farm?
If so, we have that dream in common. Hi! My name is Marcia, and I’m a farmoholic. I have wanted to live on a farm my whole life.
But, I had to live in the suburbs for most of my life.
It was best for my six kids (five are pictured, right), and my husband’s job that I lay that dream down for about thirty years.
We homeschooled, and we enjoyed the convenience of nearby libraries, museums, box stores, and co-ops in the suburbs.
But I always felt boxed in; trapped and claustrophobic. I also felt lonly — lost in a crowd. I wanted a small community where I would know others, and be known by them. So, I still dreamed, for all those years I was diligently raising my three boys and three girls, of moving to a farm. KWIM?
Meanwhile, I also had food allergies, mostly to cow’s milk. This meant that I lived for years without milk, cheese, ice cream, or yogurt. No pizza (because, no cheese). No sauces that used milk. No cold cereal. It was pitiful.
I also had allergies to dogs and cats, hay and ragweed. How would I ever survive on a real farm? It seemed impossible.
Then, at the age of 53, I was handed a “get out of the suburbs free” card — God led us to buy a 40-acre mountain farm that had been abandoned for 30 years. Thus began our farming adventure. (Click on the blue letters if you want more about us.)
After we got our farmhouse livable, the main question for us (one that a lot of starting farmers ask) was, “What should we farm?”
What should we farm?
The land itself has shaped our choices (which may be some advice for you: get to know your land before making hard choices about where to begin farming)! We have hilly land (bad for plant crops) and lots of brush (perfect for goats). We didn’t start with taming our fields, though. We started closer to our house.
We started farming with chickens because — well — what’s a farm without chickens? I mean, come on! The sound of a rooster crowing? Hens free ranging in the yard? What’s not to love???
And, chickens were relatively cheap to get into, and then easy to hatch, raise and sell. The grandkids really loved helping with them when visiting. They especially loved watching hatches, whether in person or over Facetime.
I highly recommend that families with young children start their farm adventures with chickens. If your municipality allows them (and more and more do), you don’t need even an acre of land to farm chickens!
Chickens were super fun for our family, but I found that we also needed to bring in some mammals to help us keep our farm in pastures. (If fields aren’t grazed, or mowed, they revert to woods.)
Even raising 60 chickens per year, we were left with 39 acres of hilly land. And from the beginning, my husband looked at our fields, overgrown with multiflora rose bushes, and said, “What we need is a plague of goats.”
But, I saw obstacles to goats initially.
We’re getting older, and I am only 5′ 2″ to begin with. I read that meat goats are big and would be hard for me to manage. We would need to put a major investment into fencing. If we did dairy goats, did we really want to be milking twice a day all year long? Plus, I wanted our grandchildren to enjoy our animals. They were great with chickens, but could they manage goats, or would they be scared of them?
Angus cattle are common in our locale. So, I tried raising bottle calves — but those girls grew up to be BIG, and broke through what was left of the aging fences that we did have.
We also tried Babydoll Southdown sheep: we had two seasons of lambing. The lambs were adorable, but the ewes proved to be skittish and stand-offish. I couldn’t warm up to them. They also had to be sheared yearly, though their wool was worthless. That was a big chore with little reward. We eventually sold them.
Our solution might help you find yours!
Eventually, we bit the bullet and invested in goat fencing. After lots of careful research (which I can share with you sometime) we settled on raising small, manageable Mini Nubian goats who are super cute, and give lots of delicious, creamy milk!
Mini Nubians take about half the housing space, feed, and management strength of standard Nubians. This makes them perfect for us as older people, and our grandchildren. (They are also very easy on fences!)
There is a lot to learn when keeping goats. They are adorable, endearing, gentle, and loving creatures, and perfect for small farms with children involved.
Their care can make up an entire science curriculum! One learns about managing rumens, parasites, mineral feeders, and hay bales, not to mention breeding, gestation, birthing, and milking. It’s all very fascinating, and I would love to help you launch into this farm adventure if you so choose.
I have lots to share with you… and I offer two distinct email groups!
If you’ve always wanted to farm, this is the place for you. I share your dream, and would love to help you make it happen on your land — small or large scale — if you’re interested in chickens or goats. If you are already farming but looking to expand into goats and/or chickens, I’d love to get to know you and learn about what’s worked where you are.
If you are new to farming, you might want to start first with chickens!
Our focus has turned exclusively to goats since 2021, but there are a lot of great archived posts on my blog on this site! There, for instance, I offer DIY building plans for easy-to-manage hoop coops (great for 4-6 adult chickens or as bachelor quarters) and have lots of advice to share that will give you the confidence you need to raise happy, healthy chickens who lay lots of eggs, packed with Omega 3’s and protein.
The Goats Group
If you’re up for farming goats, I have kids to sell each spring. My foundation goats were lovingly gathered from the most respected bloodlines in the US.
We breed for an abundance of milk, correct conformation, and beauty. Important also are the temperaments of the goats we share: we dam raise friendly and sweet babies.
If you want to start with babies, or possibly a doe in milk, I can help you. Our breeding plans are posted each year, and I keep an Interest List each year, which you’ll want to get on early. I don’t take deposits, so it’s free to get started. I love to help mentor first-time goat getters as well. 🙂 You can email us at storybook.farm.wv@gmail.com.
Again, scroll down to the sign-up form and let me know you want to receive free information and Storybook Farm news!
The Herdshare Group
Maybe you live in eastern WV and would like to become part of my herdsharing community? This is where you learn about the health benefits (and great taste) of fresh goat milk. I have a limited number of shares to sell that will entitle you to fresh milk, or, if you so choose, value added products like yogurt and cheeses.
Goat milk is so good for us! Since acquiring goats, my milk allergies are a thing of the past! There are many health benefits that you can read about HERE.
Here’s the form. (Note that the reason we ask for your state is that we don’t want to email you with offers you can’t use because you live too far away.)
[mailerlite_form form_id=1]If you’re local to us, you might even want to come and take a cheese- or yogurt-making class, or bring your kids over to experience the fun of milking a goat or cuddling kids. We’ll send announcements of these events to all local people, no matter which group you’re enrolled in. (That’s why we ask for your state above.)
We have discovered that you don’t need pristine, flat, perfect, fertile land to get started dairy farming with chickens and goats. You don’t even need much land. We have way more than we need for goat herding. Many people can begin raising heritage chickens and Mini Nubian goats on a three-acre (or less) mini farm (but you will need to hay year round!
I delight in teaching families with the dream of farming to do just that — start small with chickens and goats, and learn to farm a small parcel. There’s a lot of value in this approach, and it’s so satisfying to eat your own cheese, milk, eggs, and yogurt! And, who knows, you might level up to a larger farm once you have established confidence on a smaller scale…?
If you’re not a member of our email community, you can also find us on Facebook (Storybook Farm WV), or ask specific questions via email, and we’ll do our best to help you out.
Meanwhile, feel free to have a look around the rest of our site! We’re glad you’re here!