what is a farm?

saturday special

notes from maggie's farm

what is a farm?

Do I have a treat for you today!  I am so honored to share with you a wonderful guest writer, Staci Ducharme, from Life at Cobble Hill Farm.  As bloggers seem to do, Staci and I connected somehow (was it Facebook?  did I like you?  did you like me?), and she has been a big supporter and encourager of this newbie blogger.  She has a delightful website and I encourage you to explore what she writes on backyard farming and voluntary simplicity.  Today, Staci gracefully tackles the question of what constitutes a farm.  

  

What Constitutes A Farm
by Staci Ducharme, www.LifeAtCobbleHillFarm.blogspot.com

I’ve recently received a couple of emails from people who don’t like the fact that we’ve deemed our backyard farm a “farm”. It’s funny because the word “farm” most often conjures up images of cattle grazing in a large field with a large red and white barn in the background. But in all honesty, the word “farm” can define any number of descriptions of property.

WSDA defines a small farm as one where the farmer or farm family participates in the day-to-day labor and management of the farm, and owns or leases its productive assets.
Merriam-Webster defines a farm as a : a plot of land devoted to the raising of animals and especially domestic livestock.
We are definitely participating in the day-to-day labor and management, we own the assets and our land is, in fact, devoted to the raising of animals. So, we will keep our property defined as a “backyard farm”.

I understand the confusion. There’s confusion about terms in all aspects of life. One day I was having a conversation with 2 acquaintances about voluntary simplicity. Person A was asking me what voluntary simplicity was. I answered that I believe everyone has to define it for themselves as my idea certainly may not be yours, but the general idea is:

Living within our means
Making our money work for us rather than working for money to support our lifestyle
Supporting local farmers, crafters, etc.
Being kind to others and the planet
Consuming less
Doing it ourselves when we can
Making do with what we've got
Being ourselves
Living consciously and savoring moments
Living healthy (food, exercise, relationships)
Making time (prioritization)
Practicing gratitude
I do believe that each person should set their own definition, or at least what each of these means to them.

After I answered, person A commented she is thinking of setting her own goal of striving toward simplicity. This upset person B since person A lives in what is best described as a “mcmansion” and lives an indulgent life, from the perception of others. After person A left, person B exclaimed “phony”. I understood the thought, but, as I explained to her, if she sets her own vision for “simplicity” how can we determine it as phony? It’s not up to us to judge others and their lifestyle choices.

In all honesty, some people could say the same about us. Jay and I are digging our hands into the homesteading lifestyle, however, we don’t intend to, for instance, ever live fully off grid or slaughter our own animals. To some people, you could not define our lifestyle as homesteading.

We still "indulge", as perceived by us - we have the wonderful Miss Sarah, our petsitter, during the week for our boys, we go out for meals from time to time, buy a latte or two at Starbucks, own 2 new vehicles (although we keep them until they stop running), spend money on hobbies we enjoy and go on vacation when we want.

The whole point is to become consciously aware of how you live your life and make choices for yourself and your family. Let's face it, tomorrow is no guarantee so enjoy every moment of today.

I'm enjoying my today, right now, drinking a wonderful cup of hot cocoa as the snow continues to fall all around me on my farm.

Staci lives with her husband and a menagerie of animals full of personality on a backyard farm in upstate New York.  She blogs about her chickens, her kleptomaniac cat Jackson, her bull-headed French Bulldogs, cooking and pursuing a "simpler" life at www.LifeAtCobbleHillFarm.blogspot.com.

Thank you, Staci. 

You are an inspiration as we strive to live a more simple, satisfying life.