Inspired by @kiaraantonviche and the #homesteadingchallenge, I've spent a few hours today thinking about my 'bucket list'. You know...that list of things, wishes, you'd like to achieve before you meet your maker. To be fair, if I was asked to roll off a few hopes and dreams, MOST would probably be something to do with homesteading anyway. But here, I'm going to really focus on that smallholding life and share a few aspirations I have before I'm wrapped in a shroud, rolled into the ground and have a tree popped over the top of me.
1. COWS
Oh, how I love cows. I've never owned a cow. I've never really handled a cow other than stroking them at agricultural shows (that counts as handling experience, right?) But I just adore them. The way they stand chewing the cud. Their inquisitive nature. The statuesque figures and size. From dinky Dexters and milk-laden Holsteins to meaty Limousins and hairy Highlands, I love them all.
I'm likely to acquire a large variety of animals over the years for my homestead, but at the top of the list is cows. Plans are already whirring in my mind - get two suckling calf heifers, rear them for 18 months to get experience, inseminate and then...we're off! I would love to have a pure breed, show stock line of cows some day.
2. BUILD A HOUSE
This old barn is the only remaining building on the land passed down to me by my granddad. It is, therefore, the perfect site on which to build a farmhouse.
Currently, if I were to keep livestock on the land (which I intend to start doing in the next few years) I'd have to rent or buy a house within commuting distance. But, honestly, not only is that tiring for everyone, but can put livestock at risk as you're not on-site.
So, the dream is to build a house. It's fair to say I'm pretty much obsessed with homebuild shows - Grand Designs, Homes for 100K, Amazing Spaces: I watch them all. I've even got rough architectural plans sketched up. But to build my own house on my own patch of Earth would be heaven.
3. RESTORE ANCIENT FARMLAND
The 40 acres of land coming my way is not in the best state. My granddad worked it until he died in his 80s. You can imagine that it was too much for him by then. Over the past two decades, though we have a tenant farmer, the land has suffered, and so it's become a dream to restore it for several purposes.
- To become a working farm
At the moment the land isn't in a sufficient state to be farmed. It needs trees felling, hedgerows laying, fertility put back into the soil and ditches to be cleared. To have this land worked and farmed once again would not only continue by grandparents legacy, but offer new life for the area.
Carry on the work of my ancestors by restoring and working the land.
- Conservation
I'm big into conservation. Many of the farms around us have ripped out hedgerows, filled in ponds and are now just arable wastelands. To me, that's pretty sacrilegious. I've planted a wildflower meadow, put up owl boxes, started a new English bluebell wood from scratch and am currently restoring some ancient ponds, and I want that work to continue. - Community
Much of farming is about the community and I want to add to that with community events such as a yearly scything competition (for the wildflower meadow), a farm shop and participating in other local goings on.
4. Working with Rare Breeds
Many agricultural breeds have come and gone as large-scale commercial enterprises have started up and effectively wiped out specific breeds of sheep, cattle, chickens etc that weren't deemed efficient enough. One of my dreams is to put time and effort into helping some of these rare breeds; two in particular.
- Ixworth Chickens
Ixworth chickens are a dual purpose breed from Ixworth, Suffolk. They were put under pressure when the commercial industry favoured meat or egg birds instead of dual types. I've already started my small flock of Ixworth's in my back garden, with a quartet of rare breed chickens.
Eddie, my Ixworth cockerel - Red Poll Cattle
Red Polls are another dual purpose breed put under pressure by local commercial firms trying to get the most efficiency possible from beasts. A cross resulting from a Norfolk and a Suffolk cow, these are beautiful, medium sized cattle with a gorgeous red hue. I'd love to develop a purebreed, show quality line of Red Polls, breeding top quality bulls and heifers to diversify the current gene pool.
5. Leaving a Legacy
Finally (and I could go on but I've tried to group smaller bucket list items into larger, longer goals), I'd like to leave a legacy to those in the community, and further afield, about the importance of supporting local farmers and knowing where your food comes from. Of kids (and many adults) having increased knowledge about self-sufficiency and reducing carbon footprints. Of the importance of conservation; not just of those big five like lions and giraffes abroad, but smaller species closer to home that are not only beautiful in their own right, but vital to the ecosystem.
If I can just encourage a few people to change their ways of thinking before I pop my clogs, I'll be a happy man!!
So that's my Homesteading Bucket List. Just a few things to work towards, eh?! What's yours?