Joel Salatin: 10 Mistakes Homesteaders Make

Author, speaker and regenerative agriculture proponent Joel Salatin gave what he called the “10 Mistakes that Homesteaders Make” during a presentation at the Central Arkansas Homestead Conference in Conway.
Salatin said his list was derived from his own personal observation with homesteaders:

1. Buying Too Much Land – Rather than buying more land, Salatin recommended investing in more infrastructure first. He said those improvements to the homestead often end up being more valuable than land. Some of the investments he mentioned were an on-site commercial kitchen to make your value-added products or buying a portable saw mill to mill lumber. He said he could do what he does, on a smaller scale, with just 5 acres of land.
2. Speed: Doing Too Much Too Fast – Salatin said you can’t innovate everything at once: it takes time. He advised homesteaders to pace themselves, pointing out that homesteading is hard work. He said it usually takes about 3 to 5 years to establish a homestead, and making incremental progress is fine.
3. Expensive Pleasures – Now that you have land, Salatin cautions against using that property for “pleasures.” One “pleasure” he mentioned in particular were horses, referring to them as “land yatchs.” He also said the livestock/poultry you keep on the homestead should be for production and not pets. (He advised against naming your chickens!) Salatin said homesteaders often keep their livestock too long, which can introduce disease into the flock or herd from aging animals. At his farm, he said they cull ruthlessly, especially those that show signs of disease. Also said new homesteaders often spend too much time away from the homestead. “Enjoy the country – you just took your last vacation,” Salatin said about your commitment to your homestead.
4. Paralysis by Analysis – Salatin said one problem that homesteaders have, especially those who have an engineering background, is trying to be too perfect. “It’s OK to be 80 percent OK,” he said. Not everything has to be perfect. Salatin said waiting to be perfect takes time, and that time could be better spent making progress on the homestead overall. No one does anything well the first time. He said the best way to learn is by mistakes.
5. Animals Before Infrastructure – Some homesteaders get animals before they have a place to put them. Simply put: if you don’t have a place to put those animals, don’t get them. Salatin recommended trying smaller animals first, pointing out that chickens are the most common entry-level livestock for beginning homesteaders. Be sure you can get water to your animals as well. “If you get animals first, you can never catch up,” he said, referring to having more animals than places to shelter and feed them.
6. Too Much Money in Equipment – Salatin suggested looking at alternatives to expensive equipment. For instance, rather than buying an expensive ATV or side-by-side to drive around his farm, he said he bought a $2,500 used Jeep instead. He said the Jeep serves the same purpose but is cheaper and can haul more. When possible, he suggested borrowing or renting equipment. If it gets to the point that you do buy a piece of equipment, rent it out to others to help pay for it. “Your body is the best machine on your farm,” Salatin said.
7. Over Independence – One of the driving forces to the homesteading movement is being independent, relying on yourself to make your way throught life. However, Salatin said being too independent can be a problem. You can’t know all things nor do all things. He suggested developing friendships with people whose strengths are your weaknesses, and practice mutual interdependence. You can trade services with those people plus have them watch over things when you’re gone.
8. Family Disagreements – Salatin said many homesteaders begin when they are in mid-life, and those couples bring different life experiences and personalities to the homestead. For instance, one person may be clean and the other messy, one is a starter and the other is a finisher, or one is a spender and the other a saver. He encouraged homestead families to understand those differences. He also encouraged families to include their children in the homestead chores and pay them for their efforts. He said this teaches that hard work has a reward.
9. Exotic Animals – Cute doesn’t pay. Salatin said a lot of homesteaders have certain types of livestock because they like the way the look or some other aspect about those animals. Salatin recommended that homesteaders check out those animals for how efficient they will be on the homestead. For instance, some types exotic breeds of chickens are not very good layers and don’t make good meat birds either. He also suggested practicing on cheaper animals before investing in more exotic breeds.
10. Sanitation Deficiencies – Having a clean place to keep animals and following sanitary methods to care for them is important to ward off diseases. Salatin said the sanitation also carries over to the winter months when the animals may need shelter.

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