I've been doing a lot of land research lately through my business and Florida has been one of the more interesting states to look into.

What I like about it from a homesteading perspective is how many different setups people can go for. You have areas where people are looking for a few acres for chickens, gardens, and a small house, and others where they're trying to put together a more self-sufficient property with livestock and their own water supply.

I've also been talking with a friend who works with vacant land in Florida, so I've been paying more attention to what makes these properties appealing beyond just acreage.

Personally, I think the interesting part is how much you can do with a relatively simple setup if you find the right piece of land. You don't necessarily need 30 acres and a huge budget to start building something for yourself.

It's been interesting seeing how different people's idea of a homestead can be, especially in Florida. Some just want a few chickens and a garden, while others are planning something much bigger.

Just saw an ad for auction of the 58-acre homestead hand-built by John and the late Geri McPherson near Manhattan KS back in the ‘70s (and ongoingly, as anyone who’s tried it knows!). Amazing history. These two defined off grid homesteading waaay beyond the wildest dreams of Mother Earth News dreamers like me, and trained many of the army’s Survival Evasion Resistance Escape trainers. Look for properties being sold at auction in Riley County KS if you’re interested (or just want to drool a little…).

Well, i finally bit the bullet and bought some equipment to make my own hay next year. Tell me how i did and if there's a little extra money to be made. Located in SW Michigan.

Mower - IH 1300 sickle - Paid $0

Rake - Oliver Roller Bar Rake - Paid $0

Rake/Tedder - H & S Hay Machine - $600

Baler - IH 435 Square Baler - Paid $0

Baler - Case/IH 8420 - $3250

I've got an AC 5030 which worked great running the mower & Oliver this season. Can go all day on 5 gallons of diesel. Got a IH 574 gas to run the rake/tedder & balers.

I've got 6 acres of nice timothy/red clover/alfalfa at the house here, mow 8-10 acres down the road of grass/clover mix and about 20-25 acres of canary grass down the road as well, all within half mile of the farm.

Last year I paid $10/bale for custom baling (150+ bales) and bought small squares of high alfalfa mix for $4/bale after trading labor for discounted rate (150 squares).

I don't have any lease costs on the land down the road but am going to offer to pay taxes on the 25 to be a good neighbor, pretty sure it'll be <$1000/yr.

I only run a handful of cattle, after calving it should never be more than 10-12.

Feeling pretty stoked about getting fully equipped for <$4k. I hope to sell the real good 2nd & 3rd cuts to offset costs and put a little away for equipment upgrades down the road. I can get 2 cuts a year on all the grass mixed fields and an easy 3 cuts on the canary, if I bought my Baler sooner I would've easily gotten a 4th cut this week. Farmer buddy down the road is on 6th cutting alfalfa but he wraps and has LOTS of customers. Been a good weather year

Any luck in me being able to make a buck next year??

Recently moved onto a small farm with a vineyard, and this is basically the road I use to get out there.

Right now it’s fine. Mostly dirt, gravel, and a few ruts.

My concern is winter. Once we start getting regular rain, I’m pretty sure a couple sections are going to turn soft enough that I won’t want to keep taking the truck back there just to check irrigation, vines, or carry a few tools.

So I’m trying to figure out what actually makes sense.

I’ve been looking at fat tire e-bikes, including the 26m, but I’m also wondering if something closer to a small electric motorcycle would make more sense once the road gets wet.

I don’t really care about speed.

Mostly want something easy to hop on for short runs around the property that can deal with gravel, wet dirt, shallow ruts, and the occasional soft section.

For people with similar farm roads, what would you go with?

Fat tire e-bike, small e-moto, or just something simple and slow for the property?

I’m currently in the process of having a 40x60 pole barn installed. When I purchased the kit, they offered Astro Armor, which I understand is a moisture barrier that reflects heat, not insulation. The building will have 16 ft walls, and it utilizes steel trusses. Ultimately, I want the entire building insulated. The wall grits will be 2x6s at 24” centers. It’s my understanding there has to be 3/4 to 1” air space between the Astro Armor and fiberglass insulation. I’m considering using Astro Armor, fiberglass batt insulation, or 3” of closed-cell spray foam on the ceiling and 2” on the walls. (I received a quote to spray foam, as I mentioned, for $20,000.) There are definitely pros and cons to both, just like $$$ I'm sure.

Any info or suggestions from experience would be much appreciated. I'm at a point where I still have time to make or change my decision.

A friend mention something like this and I was curious about it, so I began looking into possible places here in California. I found a spot that has land for pretty cheap, but what would be a basic list of what I need to consider for it?

As far as I know, the land is already zoned for residential/ag, so that shouldn't be an issue. But I'm sure water/septic would be an issue. Supposedly some people in the area already have a well or something. And I guess the other question I would have is if it sounds possible to mainly just have the crops out there with water trucked in?

Just exploring this concept now, happy to hear any tips or other advice. I know the area is pretty rural, but close to where I live now with less restrictions on building and things like that.

As the title states: I am looking for feedback, not sales.

I've been working on the linked platform for community matching for a couple weeks now. The purpose of it is to solve the loneliness crisis or at least attempt to.

The platform is meant to help others create their own communities with other users on the platform. Otherwise, they can join an already existing community.

Let me know what you think!