Self sufficency

[Northeastfarmer]

is anyone on here truly self sufficient?
I.e. Their own milk meat and veg, electricity from solar or wind, fire from their own timber
Obviously fuels for cars and council tax would have to be accounted for but is anyone living the good life?

 

[Ysgythan]

No.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

No.

Me neither

 

[Ysgythan]

Don't know if it's a worthwhile aim even.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Don't know if it's a worthwhile aim even.

Why not?

 

[ARW]

I think they only way it's possible is if you are totally mortgage/rent free and have a healthy bank balance!

 

[Ysgythan]

Isn't it sort of all or nothing? Like Communism, for it to work everybody has to be doing it?

 

[Bury the Trash]

i make my own wind

 

[Northeastfarmer]

i make my own wind

That's from eating all your own veg

 

[Hilly]

No where near it here.

 

[glasshouse]

The good thing is we all could be if we chose or had to.
i have made bread from our own wheat, killed our own sheep, grow spuds, veg etc

 

[Northeastfarmer]

The good thing is we all could be if we chose or had to.
i have made bread from our own wheat, killed our own sheep, grow spuds, veg etc

That was my thinking

 

[Old Boar]

I was back in the day. I did buy coffee and loo rolls though. I grew all our veg, had a house cow for milk, butter and cheese, reared calves and orphan lambs for the freezer etc. I reared calves for local farmers for money, and then bought in calf heifers and calved them down and sold them for a living, until quotas put an end to that. I swopped half a beast for a car at one point. I had three young children at the time, and they were quite happy to sit down to eat a named animal. If I sold a cow at a good profit, she was known as a "cornflake cow" as we could afford cornflakes that week!
I still grow the majority of my veg and meat. All three children have well paid jobs and think I am mad, but all enjoy "proper" food when they visit.

 

[TripleSix]

Not self sufficient by a long shot.

But an endless supply of firewood.
Eat our own lamb and pork.
Have our own water supply.

Used to use a contractor for baling and muck spreading.
Got our own kit now...

 

[czechmate]

is anyone on here truly self sufficient?
I.e. Their own milk meat and veg, electricity from solar or wind, fire from their own timber
Obviously fuels for cars and council tax would have to be accounted for but is anyone living the good life?

Solar panels and electric car can get around one of those

 

[pellow]

most profitable farmers are self sufficient, they just sell their surpluses in one item of produce to buy what other items they need

 

[2YardOfLard]

is anyone on here truly self sufficient?
I.e. Their own milk meat and veg, electricity from solar or wind, fire from their own timber
Obviously fuels for cars and council tax would have to be accounted for but is anyone living the good life?

I know a couple of people who say they are. One of them even sells courses in how to be. Neither is, when no one's looking..

 

[multi power]

I was back in the day. I did buy coffee and loo rolls though. I grew all our veg, had a house cow for milk, butter and cheese, reared calves and orphan lambs for the freezer etc. I reared calves for local farmers for money, and then bought in calf heifers and calved them down and sold them for a living, until quotas put an end to that. I swopped half a beast for a car at one point. I had three young children at the time, and they were quite happy to sit down to eat a named animal. If I sold a cow at a good profit, she was known as a "cornflake cow" as we could afford cornflakes that week!
I still grow the majority of my veg and meat. All three children have well paid jobs and think I am mad, but all enjoy "proper" food when they visit.

I can't believe you bought loo roll, what's wrong with newspaper?

 

[Pasty]

Solar panels and electric car can get around one of those

You can't make either though. When your EV blows a fuse, you need to go to Tesla and get a new one.

It's possible I guess but I expect you would be sacrificing a lot of modern day comforts. That said, it's a worthy ambition, if only to aim to be self sufficient in food and energy. I have a plan to have zero energy costs within a few years but that will mean buying in a load of manufactured tech. Will also mean work from me to provide logs. Opportunity cost......

In food terms, I think the main benefit is to the soul. Sitting down to a meal of an animal you have raised with love, care and dignity is a truly grounding experience. Just chicken for us so far but soon lamb and then pork. It just feels right and good when you have raised the beast from birth to table although that would horrify some!

My ambition is to cook a full roast with every single thing on the table coming from the farm (seasoning etc. aside).

 

[KMA]

Not practical in my situation but I am trying to get to a situation where we are as self sufficient food-wise as possible reckon I could be veg wise and hope to have some chooks within the next 12 months but haven't the ground for meat and milk. Nearest town/shops 10 miles away I'm not doing a 20 mile round trip up hill and down dale on a feckin pushbike. We have a firm plan to get a decent woodstove before next winter as we can mooch some of the timber that gets washed down onto my son's place every winter.

To me self sufficiency means being able to repair and maintain the stuff as well, so all this tech isn't a lot of use without expensive back-up and parts so isn't self sufficient