FARMER OR HOMESTEADER - SOME THOUGHTS FROM PAPA

Words can be interesting, and they can even change definitions over time.

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I've recently done some reflecting and thought that it might be good to share a few of my thoughts on this subject, pertaining to the distinct difference that I choose to see between being a modern "farmer" and being a "homesteader."

Individual definitions or interpretations may vary, and some may choose not to see a difference, but this post is just @papa-pepper sharing his thoughts.

HOW I CHOOSE TO DEFINE A FARMER & A HOMESTEADER

For me, a "farmer" is someone who has a farm. The purpose of that farm is to use the farm to generate money. Essentially, the farm is a business and it provides the income for the farmer rather than some other "job." The farm is the business and farming is the job.

On the contrary, I define a "homesteader" as someone who chooses to homestead. The purpose of the homestead is to provide a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Often, at least part of the purpose of the homestead is to provide more for yourself and your own family so that you need less money.

HOW I CHOOSE TO DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENCE

Common things that I would associate with a farm are a massive amount of one thing. Here are a few examples.

In the photo above, you see a large amount of round hay bales. By this sight alone I would determine that I am looking at a photo from a farm. The hay is most likely to support a large herd of dairy cows or meat cattle through the winter. A Homesteader may make and use hay, but I would struggle to see such a massive quantity being necessary on a yearly basis.

Likewise, giant manure lagoons, in my opinion, have no place on the homestead. They can be a common site on farms, but most homesteaders would never need to deal with such a massive amount of manure all at once.

Crops on the homestead are often going to be found in smaller quantities than you would see on some farms. If you are staring at tens or even hundreds of acres of a single crop, like corn, you're going to be looking at a farm. The purpose of the corn is money, not personal supply.

Additionally, while homesteaders may have an orchard, if you see acre after acre of the same tree, like apples or cherries, I'd say that you are not looking at a homestead.

LAND & MONEY

The amount of infrastructure and land can certainly vary. To start a homestead, people really don't need a lot of land. Often, though, to farm, a lot more space will be needed. According to how I view things, most frequently it will take a lot more space to generate a large income by farming than it will to raise some animals or grow some crops for your family.

Some of the modern issues with getting into farming are the high costs of land, property taxes, and equipment. Since the average person doesn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase a large acreage and a lot of farm equipment like tractors and attachments, far too often those who want to get into farming do so at the high cost of debt bondage. Because of the loans and interest associated with paying off the property and equipment, even more money must be generated from the property.

For a homestead, though, less land is commonly needed. We picked up our small amount of acres for mere thousands of dollars, not tens of thousands or more. I like the way that they refer to homesteads in the UK, "small holdings." As the name "small holdings" would imply, the land can be just a small amount land which the family holds in their possession.

Also since it is fairly common among homesteaders to cut costs and save money, taking out large loans can be counterproductive.

While many people do generate some sort of income from their homestead, I draw a distinction between homesteading and farming when it comes to earning money. Personally, I have no desire to try to generate as much money as possible from my homestead. Enough to get by, provide for my family, and perhaps save for their futures will be enough. Without having large debts to pay off, I really don't need incredible amounts of money to be made on a yearly basis.

PAPA'S POINT

As always, everyone can evaluate things for themselves and make their own determinations. I just wanted to share more about my life and my views. Many on steemit seem to have similar views on things, but others have never even heard of homesteading before and have no idea what it is.

@Papa-pepper will not be planting hundreds of acres of corn or apple trees. I'll grow both, but in much smaller quantities. Also, while I may feed some animals hay or have some cattle, I won't be needing hundreds of hay bales every winter to feed my massive herds.

My goal is to live a life with my family, where we take care of more (if not most) of our own needs. By doing so, I won't need to earn as much money as I would if I had to pay a mortgage or rent every month, pay for day care, and purchase all of our food from a store. I know that not everyone will choose to live in such a manner, but since we are free to, we have chosen to .

My dad, @grandpa-pepper, grew up on a dairy farm. When he was old enough, he left. The way that he saw it, "There had to be an easier way to make money." You can see from his conclusion what the purpose of that farm was, "to make money." Personally, I'd rather not need money, or at least not so much of it.

Of course this is by no means an "official definition," it is just how I see things. People can go into debt to start a homestead, or try homesteading as "a business." Others can farm debt-free or even use a tiny lot to "farm" as an income or job.

I've seen the bumper stickers that say "Farmer's Feed the World," and once that may have been a more beautiful thing than it has become. I'm just not comfortable eating animals that we raised on antibiotics in densely populated "warehouses" or mutant crops that are "Round-Up Resistant" and sprayed every two weeks by crop dusters. Not that all farmers are into that sort of thing, but far too often, when money is the goal, a lot of things are compromised. Life is my goal, not money.

Thanks for your time, and I hope that I haven't offended anyone. This is just the way that I see things, and why I choose to be called a homesteader and not a farmer. People are free, at least to a certain degree, to live how they want, and this is just my choice. We can discuss more below if you want.

As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:

proof-of-papa-pepper-just-being-a-homesteader

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Until next time…

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GIF provided by @malos10

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