On the farm this week we successfully planted an entire orchard in just a few hours! How did we get so much work done in so little time? With an on-farm workshop! On-farm workshops are a great way to help a farmer get a lot of work done in a timely manner, and a great way for farm dreamers and homesteady types looking to spend some time living the farm life get some real hands on experience. But workshops can be tricky… How do you make sure they give both parties, the farmer, and the visitors, the experience they need? We have been running workshops on the farm for years, most of them have been great. Over this time we have learned a lot about how to do a successful on-farm workshop. Here are some of the lessons we have learned… Make sure you prepared for non farmers on the farm… People who come to workshops are not farmers, and not familiar with the risks, dangers, and responsibilities of a farmer. They may want to bring children, go places they don't belong, hurt themselves… If you're going to do workshops protect yourself legally and inform your guests. The visitors are not the same as hired help… When you host a workshop you are getting additional hands on the farm. And this can be incredibly helpful for a small farm to get a big project accomplished…. BUT these are not hired workers. You will need to make sure your students enjoy the workshop, learn a lot (because that is why they are there) and feel like they enjoyed their day on the farm. Sometimes you will get more done than you normally could. SOMETIMES… Less… It is OK to charge money, but consider what your getting from your workers…. Some workshops that you may plan give more to the students than to you. We used to do a chicken butcher workshop, this was only to teach others, it didn't do anything for us as far as production goes, so this we charged a lot for. Our Orchard workshop, however, was very cheap, as we were paid in work done on the farm. The little bit of money from tickets was given to the instructor. Sometimes you as the farmer get paid in work, sometimes in money… Everyone can get something from a good workshop… If you plan ahead, treat your guests well, you can get a lot of work done and enjoy time with your local community! Go to Listen and Chat This Tuesday 9pm/Est. 6pm/Pt Visit Homesteady… See all we do at www.thisishomesteady.com Watch our Daily Videos at the Homesteady YouTube Channel Want to follow all of Homesteady’s Podcasts, Videos, and Classes? Sign up to our Email list HERE! Get access to the Pioneers Only library by becoming a Homesteady Pioneer HERE! ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jTJfxeks8

Raising meat chickens is a great way to start raising your own family's meat. Should You raise meat chickens on your homestead? Can you enjoy PROFITABLE pastured poultry from your own farm? We answer that question in this episode of Homesteady. As we examine homestead chickens closer, we have to wonder: are chickens a "gateway animal?" Does buying chickens lead to more chickens, then to pigs, goats, sheep, and even (perhaps) a cow? John Suscovich from the Growings Farms Podcast and Farm Marketing Solutions became a full-time farmer. NOTE: Today is our first time using our YouTube live-stream from last Tuesday evening! Did you know we will be live AGAIN this and EVERY Thursday event at 9:00 PM EST Cornish Crosses' were Aust's first meat bird. Purchased at Tractor Supply Co, and treated more as pets, it was a very different experience at the beginning. Aust is able to reflect by re-reading an old Homesteady blog post on how his perception of raising chickens for meat has changed with experience. Now, Aust raises pastured pork along with meat chickens, and that pork is one of the most profitable of his homestead endeavors. For Aust and Kendra, meat chickens were a gateway to raising pastured pigs; for John, chickens were the gateway into a career. John and his wife both wanted to farm; but they didn't own any land. Not only that, they had been homeless for two years, embarking on a cross-country bike trip across the United States. After touring farms and craft breweries, they knew that living on the farm was the life for them. But, John had a fascination with chickens, and knew how to process meat birds. Becoming a pastured poultry farmer seemed the next logical step. NO money, NO job, NO land; John saw only opportunities. The broad decision of going into agriculture was passion-based...but it had to work on a spreadsheet before it was going to work on the field. John went door to door until he had accumulated several offers from landowners with hay fields he could use to begin his chicken business. He used chicken tractors to develop a mobile pastured chicken business. John started with Joel Salatin's chicken tractor design, and then...innovated. He designed a custom chicken tractor to meet his own needs. With a background in technical theater design, John was able to parlay his skills into his ideal chicken tractor. (See! EVEN THEATER can help on your homestead journey!) As John was selling chickens, people started to ask, "Where did you get those chicken tractors?" and another arm to his business was born. Chickens for meat are great for a homesteader. Their infrastructure is mobile, they are affordable, they only take eight weeks to mature to processing if you use Cornish Cross chickens, and they are a very manageable animal. Running two or ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVnfLC67Bh0