How Many Acres Are Ideal

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Allen

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Joined
Nov 26, 2012
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17
Location
Fort walton beach,fl
I was wondering how many acres would be ideal for a bug out location i live in nw fl and am looking at land hrte or in south al and wanted to get a general idea of what people think not planing on living there full time just every now and then head up there any ideas would be greatly appreciated
 
Depends on what you want to do on the land? If no animals, but you want to grow something then you need to think about that. Do you want a garden for 1 person, or 12 ? How about an orchard and pond? Tells us what you want to do there if SHTF and we can better help to guide you.
 
If SHTF this were me and my family would live most property down here that im looking at has either a creek or a pond on it already i would need enough for roughly 10 people and sum animals and a gardened im looking at between 5 to 10 acres do you think i need more
 
Also remember In a large scale economic colapes bug out situation 1 acre will not mean 1 acre there will be no boundries that can be inforced it will be up to you to set your land and protect it yourself so start now with what you fill will sustain your family and when the shtf you will find your self setting up property borders that will mean life and death and smaller to protect the better and look at finding multiple places near and close by that you can set up dif small homesteads in witch you can change locations n dif situations

but agian in a shtf scenario its every man for him self so that title and deed will not mean anything but you have extra fire starter or tolit paper
 
1o acres minimum. shoot for 20 so you can expand. You need roughly half an acre per person per year to grow enough veggies to stay healthy. Add to this an orchard of say 3 acres. This will give you probably enough trees of various varieties. Now for animals... Cattle? They need to roam and graze. And you gotta have acreage to grow hay and straw for them. Then you need room for housing and outbuildings of various sorts. Don't forget storage space too.
 
4 acres per head of cattle of good pasture to raise from birth to slaughter is what we figure on. My sister and some of my other family run cattle. Grandparents ran a good sized cattle operation that we worked off of horseback. You can run goats on a heck of a lot less land and the land doesn't need to be all pasture since they browse instead of graze.

In Florida, you shouldn't need much hay I wouldn't think.

Hogs raise pretty fast, but you need good fencing and to ring their snouts.

The problem with a lot of land and cattle is that they are out from the homestead and are fair game to rustlers if you don't have a watch on them 24/7. Goats are easier to bring in each evening and you don't need as big of a shelter for them.

I don't want to fool with cattle on our place, but we go help work them at the families and yeah, still mostly from the saddle.

You have to decide how much you want fenced and how you are going to fence it. Is the ground good for growing? If it is, what is going to do well there? Plant three times as much as you think you will need, invariably you will lose some to critters, weather, and pests.

When you look at a place, make sure whatever water that is there hasn't been contaminated by ag runoff or in a cow pasture. If it's a pond, fence it off from your animals, you don't want them in your water supply.

With a big garden or gardens, do you have the means to work the soil each year? Tillers will only work for as long as there is fuel to run them, the same with tractors. We farm here, big gardens, hay, livestock, but we don't use tractors. Everything is literally horsepower.

What kind of weather does the property get, what extremes will you need to plan for? In the right climates, you can live in large tents or yurts year round. If it's a warmer climate you'll just need something to break the wind and rain for the animals, nothing elaborate.

With chickens, you can let them free range, but you'll lose a lot of them. Fenced runs work well to keep predators out.
 
In the right climates, you can live in large tents or yurts year round. If it's a warmer climate you'll just need something to break the wind and rain


you can if set up right live out a yurt year round between the frame and outter layeruse a layer of fleece or wool fleece is great for wind break and warmth retaining but wool or animal hides will last longer
 
My hubby and I have 10 acres and have livestock, garden, and our home space. We live very comfortably, even if something should happen in the future, we are prepared for whatever may come and the Lord is with us.
 
Nah, not too much unless you are trying to plow it by hand. Is it all clear or mostly wooded?
 
Me and my husband have an ongoing feud over land.we are looking to buy a large amount and maybe I'm too picky but I want to find something just right.We want 150 to 200 acres with at least 40 % pasture and the rest wooded.My big thing is water and trees around at least 3 sides of the property.I want at least 2 ponds and a spring or year round creek and if it has a good hand dug well and established pecan trees it's an added bonus.I am a crazy plant/seed lady and can't leave the store without one or the other.
 
Yes I have 12 acres right and about 1/2 of it is wooded so not a lot of room with a house,shop and barn.I would like a couple of milk cows and a bull.This is my plan anyway so I wouldn't have to rely on someone else.Keeping the breeding separated I'm not sure that would work? I have chickens now but just a small coup,I saw a woman had built a green house/Ckn coup/rabbit hutch combo where the animals & manure help heat that I want to look into.I also want pigs,goats,guineas,peacocks and for some unknown reason to me my husband wants a bison???! I also want pecan and peach orchard and some more fruit trees that wouldn't need a full orchard.I take a little spade with me when we look at property to check the dirt.My husband thinks I'm crazy but I deal with lots of clay now and have to add a lot of compost and don't want to go through that again.
 
Oh I forgot horses.I am so in love with them but haven't had a chance to have any since I was little.
 
We had friends who had a herd of bison behind their place. All I can say is that they do not respect fencing at all and they are nasty to deal with. Sounds like you'll be doing a lot of fencing in the future, I swear it is the one job that never ever ends when you have critters. Would AI be something you might be interested in instead of keeping a bull on your place? If you are only doing a few cows it might work out better to buy the 'juice' by the straw rather than having to spend out 365 days a year on a bull who is only working an hour tops during that year.
 
I will check into that thanks! Yea I heard they are mean.I have a St. Bernard,English mastiff and pot belly pig fenced in about an acre in my backyard they don't like to stay lol so I have become an expert field fencer.Electric fence has helped me tremendously though.I know it will be an every day adventure and I can't wait.
 
Electric fence is my friend. I even have solar chargers to use when the power's out for days. The only thing that we have that doesn't respect the wire is one of my pits, she just flat don't care when she decides to go meet the kid at the bus stop.
 
I've got solar too.I heard a horror story about a lady that had pot belly pigs that were in an electric fence and they would get way back and start running and squealing because they knew it would hurt but break right through so I think it works best in addition to a regular fence.
 
We ring our hogs' snout to keep them from rooting under the fences as well. If you do get a bull, you might want to consider ringing his nose as well.
 
If you have cows though....well, there's your compost. ;)

me and my family would live most property down here that im looking at has either a creek or a pond on it already i would need enough for roughly 10 people and sum animals and a gardened im looking at between 5 to 10 acres do you think i need more

My family and I (and our ranch gal) are 5 people, currently on 5 1/2 acres (in FL). I'd think 10 acres should be fine for what you're describing (of usable area, so not including the creek or pond). Of course, you don't have to go deep for a well here either. You can probably even find some old farmland that already has a well or two. If so, this is good, as these can be very expensive. Also, are you trying to build a house, or looking for an existing? All things to consider.

For me, there's some empty land right behind us, so if a SHTF event happens, and nothing's done with that...well.... :D Later on, we might look into purchasing it.

Just another thing to consider though....if there is room to grow, for example.
 
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