Thank you for being honest and upfront about the potential pitfalls of homesteading. Many channels romanticize it to the point of being dangerous. Your economic information should be a wake up call for anyone thinking of starting a homestead. You deserve a million subscriptions for your courage and honesty.

I grew up on a farm/homestead and raised my children the same, there was no such thing as KZfaq back then. We had jobs plus did the gardens, had pigs, dairy goats, milk cows, chickens, etc we certainly didn't make money from the homestead instead we worked outside the home to pay for the needs of the animals and ourselves . Growing your own food and raising your own meat, plus the dairy you know what went into it all. No growth hormones, no antibiotics (unless the vet had to come out and treat for something we didn't know was the problem). It's a hard life and definitely not for lazy people! I'm like a 7th generation farm girl who now in old age lives in a small town. I miss that life so much and wish I was still physically able to do all those things. Now I do a little gardening in raised beds and grow quite a lot of food that I know hasn't been sprayed with harsh pesticides. Kudos to you young folks who love living that lifestyle ,I'm rooting for your success

I admire your total honesty. Your video on “burnout” pulled no punches! It’s great to have someone who does not feel obliged to “pretty up “ the facts! Someone who isn’t afraid to tell it as it really is, poop included!I think you’re right that “people believe what see in front of them without even thinking of how it’s been made possible to record the events. Great video! Another winner, have a good week.❤

At MY age, the animals requiring my attention, is what makes me get out of bed! I just bought a possibly pregnant mini Jersey. lol The further into Summer we get, the earlier I will be getting up to beat the heat in the garden. I was raised on a farm, so it's been bred into me.

Homesteading is expensive and I have posted videos on KZfaq from time to time but not very often. The thing is, between all the daily chores, I just can’t find the time to shoot videos let alone post videos. Maybe one day but there is just so much to do. I love this life and being with nature and learning from your failures is very rewarding and keeps you humble. 😊

Good job, Zach. I know that making videos with equipment is always easier and better to do on sunny days but you never see homestead videos when chores need to be done in thunderstorms or blizzards. Your channel is an inspiration. Thank you for sharing the good, the bad and the ugly.

Respect Sir! I think a lot of people need to see this video. Best reality check I have seen for a long time.

Truth! I can’t homestead because of multiple reasons, therefore I live vicariously through you 😊

Well done, my friend! I had a farm for 26 years and almost every day there was a problem to fix. Or so it seemed, lol. My worst day was a blizzard in '96 and I ran out of diesel fuel. I had to strap 4 jerry cans on my biggest horse, a towel around his eyes and walk him through the woods to my neighbors farm. A three mile round trip. That horse remembered that every winter for years!!

I'd also add don't start a homestead if you're not physically able to do the work no matter how much you want to. When you're not lazy but just physically can't do it you have to realize that and learn to be ok with it and do what you can when you can and that doesn't work when you've got animals to take care of they can't wait for your body to allow you to do things. I'd absolutely LOVE to homestead but my body just can't do it but I'll support those who can and cheer them on from the sidelines. I'm totally with you Zach if a trend on social media or some ads says do something then I usually don't want it but if I already wanted something and it's the best no because an ad says so but truly is then I'll do that. Marketing doesn't work on me

Spot on young man! The upsurge of the whole "Homesteading" channels on YT kinda makes it "easier" to do than most people think it is.

Thank you Zach. Honesty, kindness, and hard work is what makes beautiful people, you have all 3. That should be trending.

Sir, Despite your young age, the speeches you published convinced me that your ability to analyze things was admirable. Thank you for your videos Good luck for what you plan to do next. Kind regards Henri (France)

In my 20s I helped out with a community garden for a couple years. I remember one of my friends volunteered one day and at the end of the day said it was the hardest he had worked in his entire life and would not be doing it again. 😆

Straight talk that people need to hear.

We are in our 80’s and 90’s and love your show. We homesteader for 20 years and smile when watching you “young ins” do your thing. But honestly how do you finance your operation? Is your wife’s job producing cash to buy all these fancy new things while you do the labor? Did you save up money as a plumber before purchasing your house and land or did you inherit money? Do you sell your products to produce extra income? What you are doing is great but it’s not realistic if you don’t share your financial income/ expenses with us. Please help other young farmers to understand the ECONOMICS of your endeavor. Good luck.

I’ve watched your videos for sometime and thank you for your honest on this subject. Farming or homestead are one an the same and it takes a lot of hard work to run one. In one of your earlier video you stated that you an your wife relocated from your home state of Washington I believe. It’s hard moving far away from family and friends to start a new life as a farmer/homesteader. There are a lot of young people out there that have a hard time managing just a small yard around there house and a lot that don’t. I loved working out doors, but at 73 and with health issues I cannot do the things I would love to do. It takes me days to build sometime that I was once able to do in one day or less. My hats off to you and your wife, looking forward to some more of your wonderful videos, have a blessed day!

I get it, I noticed a lot of people starting to homestead. I've been homesteading when it wasn't cool, and it is expensive and hard work full of ups and downs but I love it and I feel the ups out way the downs. Thank you for your opinion.

i appreciate this kind of content. it speaks to the reality of living that life day in and day out.

I appreciate your example. And the hard work 💪you put into your homestead. And the Quality of your videos on KZfaq. Thank you 👍

Very good video. You are telling it like it is. Complete honesty, nothing else. Most people have no idea how much expense and work is in crops, fruit trees and animals. I used to go in and of the process. For the most part, I have stayed out . Keep the videos coming. Totally enjoy

Great video. You gave wonderful info and kept it real. So many homesteads fail because of a lot of the reasons you explained.

Really solid advice here, i'm not a homesteader yet but i know that it really does take having the right kind of mindset and motivation to be successful. One reason I'll add to why someone shouldnt homestead is if they're not adaptable. Sure, you can pick your climste/location when you start out, and can how much or little you want on your homestead (full blown farm vs a small garden and chicken coop for instance). but you really have no control over a lot of potential problems on a homestead; freak storms, predators, disease, drought, financial hardship, so on and so on. The point is that if you're not able and willing to adapt to your circumstances, then homesteading might not be for you.

Amen. Spot on. tank you for sharing the truths of farming/homesteading.

Yeah, years ago when everything was cheaper, we put up a fence planted a garden, I told my spouse I couldn't work full time, cook clean and help maintain garden isn't going to happen, so once planted I left it up to him to maintain it. Well he didn't even make it through 1 season. So going along in agreement with you try something small first. Pay attention to how every family member wants to be involved. Because it will take every one. Thanks for the video, I could tell from your first video you weren't a novice at farming.

You amaze me with your videos. You teach as you perform. Very intelligent young man.

Zach it is really good that you have put out a video about the not so glamorous side of the homestead lifestyle being talked about. So I can honestly say thank you for the work that you put in the video editing process that allows so many viewers to see that this lifestyle can be very rewarding for those who are willing to put in the time effort and hard work. Homestead 💪

One of the most honest videos 📹 I have 👀 👀 👀 on homesteading! Awesome 👌! I see sooo many people buying land 😀 because they are becoming content creators, and you see them doing nothing on the land no projects of any substance

This was needed to hear and see, eye opener. Thanks for your perspective and thoughts. Its definitely something to think about.

Thanks for sharing this. People don't know what they don't know.. but I think anyone who embarks on homesteading will develop a deep appreciation for any food that shows up in the stores!!

A very well put video. If you think you want to homestead find some one that is homesteading and offer to help them so you can learn what is all involved in it. Like you say you get to see the good the bad and the ugly. If you are not able to do that but have an interest in it then buy from a homesteader to support them. Keep up the good work love it.

Wow Zach you did an amazing job as always on this video you always tell it like it is and don’t sugar coat anything and your right homesteading is a challenge at times and costly too there’s days I just want to give up but I don’t keep up the great work Zach ❤

I still want to do it. 😁

Perfect! Spot on, child of God!

Gee u r good. U said it all in a nutshell. For yr age, u r so knowledgeable and honest and u have helped soooo many people with BIG ideas of starting a homestead. I just luv yr channel and just listening to u. Keep up the good work and God bless. From DownUnder.

🙌. You said it so much better than what I have. 😊. People need to be passionate about whatever they chose to do in life, not be doing it be it’s trendy or bc everyone else is doing it. ❤. 👍

I was going to start a homestead and a YT channel until I watched this.

Good and valid points, I agree! One thing you didn't mention is your plans for the future when you're getting older and not able to sustain the physical labor. I hope you're planning vigorously for your retirement age.... it's very important and not something you cannot ignore. Homesteading isn't going to provide a pension...

Great video, Homesteading here in Alberta for 6 years, although lots of work, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

AMEN. That's how it works. You never get caught up and always have something to do. Responsible. Work. Work. But the food is good.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS REALISTIC VIEW POINT! Ive definitely been idealizing this lifestyle through content creators

I really needed to see this today. I’m turning 55 next month and I’m starting to reconsider my homesteading dream. I’ve been gardening and canning for 15 years, and helped on my uncle’s actual homestead a few days a summer as a kid and teenager. So the smells and manure and all that isn’t going to put me off. I’ve raised quail for meat & eggs (since my property is too small to have chickens, by town ordinance) and stopped after 2 1/2 years - mainly because feed got too expensive, but also because I dreaded the processing that was necessary every time I raised a new batch and had to send all the boys to freezer camp (you can’t get sexed quail like you can with baby chicks - while there are feather-sexable varieties, they aren’t fully feathered for 3-4 weeks and even then you only find out for absolute certain what sex they are when they become sexually mature at 5-7 weeks). And the most I ever sent to freezer camp in one day was 8. Processing a few dozen meat chickens might be not only too much physical work but also too depressing for me. Maintaining a 20x15-foot vegetable garden is already taxing my physical abilities, and I’m pretty fit and very healthy for my age. I’m starting to think planting and weeding a quarter-acre might be way too much to handle. I’m not turning my back on all the possibilities, just realizing I need to reevaluate how realistic some of it might be. Maybe instead of a milk cow, I buy into a milk share program from a nearby small farm. Maybe a “food forest” of perennial plants and some ducks for eggs & the occasional dinner, instead of a big garden and a few dozen meat chickens. I like duck eggs better anyway, lol. Thank you for the wake-up call. Now I need to go feed my 2 rescue cats and elderly rescue mini-Aussie (who has never herded anything but people, ha ha).

You nailed it. I homestead but this is definitely not a lazy man game we don't even get to eat dinner at night until around 9 o'clock. It's hard work building the soil the infrastructure etc.

This is good solid advice. Many will fail to tame the land and its better they make attainable goals.

Glad somebody tells the truth. Have a good summer

Hello we happened to come across your channel and watched this video . And I want to thank you so much sharing your thoughts and opinions in honesty on homesteading or off grid living . And do like your do's and don'ts and tips .

Hi Zachary. Well Done young man. It's A LOT of work. Homesteading/Farming it's all about the dirty parts, because a majority of work, falls in the "Dirty sector" of work, right? I think it is very good advice you have given. Farming/Homesteading, is not an Instagram Fairy Tale. If your motto is not " I Love the smell of POOP in the morning," then keep your day job. Honestly !!

Yep! Growing up on a diary farm, so proud to say that but it is everything he said...hard work...❤

Amen to the truth. I really was brought up to love and grow a connection to nature. Imo it’s a must to even live in the country let alone homestead. It takes a heart felt love and passion. I am so happy for you two. You’re following your passion, poop and all😂😂

Great video! As someone who grew up on small farms and plan to buy acreage when I retire in a couple of years, I highly recommend developing a business plan for your future homestead. Learn how to develop a realistic budget and do cost-benefit analysis. Budget both short and long term. You can save money with homesteading, but it takes a lot of knowledge and creativity. The satisfaction of producing your own food and having that lifestyle is definitely worth it! As for being "lazy", I am not. However, I firmly believe in doing things in the most efficient way possible. Proper planning and set up saves so much work! Repetitive chores should be automated when possible and streamlined as much as possible. Design your layouts to minimize the steps required to accomplish chores. Be super organized with tools and supplies. Have a schedule as much as possible (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly). Day to day happenings will trash your schedule on occasion, but having a schedule is key to efficiency. Know when you need help. No one can be completely self-sufficient and self-contained. Develop connections with others who can lend a hand when you really need it. If you are down with the flu, having a neighbor who can lend a hand is priceless.

You always keep it real. One other reason to not homestead... if your spouse or significant other simply isn't a homesteader. It really works better when both want to do it. If not, then the amount of work doubles for one person. Seriously, you both have to WANT to homestead. You mentioned the expenses, but neglected to state that somebody needs to bring in outside money. Whether that is from KZfaq income or a regular job, cash flow is critical. I homesteaded for a significant amount of time before starting a KZfaq channel. It didn't take long before I was overcapacity with work. I realized that I could not do both. Just homesteading alone takes up all my time. Therefore, I put my channel aside. I was only doing it to help people, not for income. But my homestead comes first. And then there is the time required to fix things that break. Fortunately, I can fix practically anything, but that pulls time away from other things that must get done. If you are not handy, skip homesteading unless you have tons of money to spend hiring others to fix things. Homesteading is a treadmill that never stops. If you stop, then the treadmill throws you off and you crash and burn. Have an exit strategy or a strategy for scaling back as you age. Age catches up to EVERYONE. Don't start a big homestead in one day. You will fail. It's difficult enough for us seasoned homesteaders. If you are really ignorant relative to homesteading, you will fail. Get experience first somehow. I homestead because it is my life. There is no choice about it. It is my world. I get to experiment and fail, and then succeed. I create life, whether it is plant or animal. I eat exceptionally well. I feel part of the world and not simply an observer of it. And like what was said in this video, there are days I simply don't want to do that day's work. I procrastinate and eventually push myself forward. If I don't do my work, a plant or animal dies or gets sick. That really sucks, especially if you can put the blame on yourself. That gets me going. Once I begin to work you almost need to wrestle me down to stop me. I get on a roll. I better get back to work; I procrastinate long enough. 😉 Let's see... what is in that book called a to-do list.

I'm retired but work now very hard on the farm. It is a good life with good rewards, but man try to arrange a few days for a vacation and that too is difficult to do as you need good relatives and friends to help out while you are gone.

In my short time homesteading, ive found that it can be more expensive then what it would take to buy the lowest quality of trash/food in the stores but the nutritional value is where it the value comes in not to mention being able to use the animals for things from fertilizer to pest control to land clearing. It saves you time by letting them do or make it and time is money

I appreciate your plain speaking, Rural land can be an excellent place to live and raise a family, even if you work in town, We were on the electric grid, but had our own water and fuel. In 1977 we built a 3-bedroom house, doing most of the work ourselves. We enjoyed country life including our home-grown veggies. Of course, being a long distance from work (and many other things) we wore out a lot of vehicles during 39 years.🙂

This video needs 10s of thousands of views. Reality is hard and KZfaq is not reality. If you do want to start a homestead, start where you are if you already have a house and property. I'm on a 125x80 and use less than a quarter of that to raise chickens for meat and eggs and I'm building up a food forest. I have 19 birds at the time of writing this (we can only have 4 based on illegal ordinates). I'm carnivore so I don't garden. The food forest will be mostly for the birds and I'll sell off excess once things are established, including trees I can produce via air-gapping. Start small and test the waters before you commit to an acreage with outbuildings that will require a ton of maintenance. If I decide to move up from this, I'll expand to 1-3 acres, 1 small outbuilding and add hair sheep that will mow for me and provide milk and meat. My egg layers also happen to be meat birds; Freedom rangers with a Cornish gene in them. I'm going to try to build a better heritage bird by mixing them with some Delaware roos I just picked up. Should be interesting.

I am in burnout, all was fine till my job said we were moving to 12 hour days, I kept up with garden, animals and all was ok till Deer came in one night and just destroyed my garden, now I am having a issue to do my watering and taking care of my garden and chickens after working road construction in Texas heat, I am 61 so not a spring chic.

Thanks so much for the tranparency!

Great topic! And absolutely correct! 💯

Very helpful. Thank you.

Your honesty is very refreshing.

Completely agree!!! going into my 2nd year on our new homestead and bam! feral dogs destroy all my chickens, loss of crops, little projects turn into major projects, etc... if you're not mentally prepared for these types of losses or stumbles, it's going to cause bigger issues.

i've wanted the homestead kinda life since i was about 8. i'm over 30. i might not ever be able to organize land i can run but i know what i'd be getting into. i'm now trying to adjust the land i have in hopes i can transplant (not fully literally) that to a new lot in future. possibly i will be lucky and find a 'failed' homestead with some useful infrastructure already in place. heck i'd be happy with garden fence and a decent shed to start with.

Thank you so much for this video. We are also homesteaders in Kentucky, and everything you said we have also found to be spot on. I love this lifestyle, and at the same time it's the most challenging thing I've ever done and sometimes the perceived "failures" loom large at certain stages in the building process. Overwhelm is a huge thing during some seasons, even when you do love it and know that it's part of your purpose and path. Getting into this lifestyle because it sounds trendy is a quick way to frustration and very possibly bankrupcy if you're not prepared for the realities of what things cost. This life can sound romantic and many videos focus on the idyllic parts of homesteading, but in reality it is much harder work than a regular 9 to 5. You don't "go home" from work each night - your homestead is 24-7 whether you are loving it or not. I love your honesty and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos!

Very informative,thank you for sharing.

Appreciate your advice!

Looooove the realness. Never heard someone be so honest and down to earth about the lifestyle they are sharing. Also to hear a fellow young person who sees through all the BS and has such genuine values. ❤️

VERY realistic! Thankfully I gradually learned how to have a homesteader mindset way before it became a thing and was actually ridiculed. However now that I do have a little land, it is still hard as hell maintaining it, let alone garden, and FORGET animals.Tree pruning, weed and pest control is tiring enough. As soon as you think you have it under control, it is like playing 'whack a mole'. If you don't absolutely love it and are truly committed to the lifestyle, it WILL wear you out. I'm glad he's telling the truth, which is why I DON'T make videos on my process, because I'm too busy cutting back branches and digging up tree roots.😓💕

I’m 2 minutes in and I realized that by the definition you gave I’m not actually lazy, which is wild. If I don’t do something I either forgot or physically can’t do it at the time I thought about it

I’ve never been busier in my life than i am now since homesteading 😂 still love it though. It’s the absolute best and most rewarding kind of busy

Well done young man! most people are clueless...though I do advise people do it IF they are able. Most people have no idea about the cost involved and time.

You are such an amazing young man Zach!! Love you honesty!! Thank you!!

Started a little chicken coop with 13 hens and 1 d of a rooster, got two sheep, 15 bunnies, 3 dogs, and a couple ducks, and a 20by20 garden. Working a full time job and working on all of that is a lot of work. 12-16 hours a day because projects take time plus the house is a fixer upper. It’s rough sometimes to just want to do it but it’s enjoyable. We’re slowly working towards getting about an acre worth of fence for some pigs, a few goats, a tractor and probably do bees in the back of the woods. I don’t think I could do KZfaq along with everything else that’s even more work and I want to focus on what I want to get.

I appreciate your advice. Thank you sir.

So true. Been homesteading for a bit. Plus work a full time job. Chickens, pigs, gardening. Very rewarding and very tiring alot of hard work. But wouldn't trade it for anything.

Very good video thanks

This is so true. Realizing my wonderful husband is a procrastinator kept us from homesteading. It's sad but I couldn't do it alone.

So true! Having a homestead isn’t gonna save you if you’re trying to save money.but if you want to know where your food comes from and how it’s raised then it’s worth it. Also first year will be a learning year. I’m on my first year and still need to supplement with store produce. But one day I won’t need to 😊

This is quite informative

I would love to homestead but with psoriasis and arthritis it would be tough. I would basically be putting my children to work everyday to help.

Thanks for being transparent. You talked costs, maybe a good video idea would be breaking down the costs of all the homesteading stuff you have and use.

Thanks for being honest! Do you still think I will be able to acchieve this, maybe not as big as your land is, but on a small scale? I had such an unrealistic idea of what a homestead was just because of social media. I grew up in a house in a village near a big city. We had a small garden and my mom loved gardening and sometimes grew tomatoes or other small things but that's it. We had a lot of technology and as I got older I spent more and more time inside. We always went to the store, never grew our own meat.. When I went to the city to live on my own I tried making my own strawberry plants from some strawberies I had left over and I faild so I gave up. I have close to 0 experience in gardening and building stuff. But I still LOVE the idea of owning some land a little off grid, raising chickens and goats, my children being able to run in the garden without having to be scared for accidents with cars or trucks, the silence, having to figure out what steps there has to be done to acchieve a goal instead of going to the store for a fast solution. To be able to not rely on society 100%.. I also LOVE the idea of documenting this journey on KZfaq, but just not for the views. I've been documenting some higlights of my and my boyfriends' life for the past 7 years. It's for friends and familiy and most importantly: for ourselves. Idk, sometimes I try talking about this dream to people and they're so demotivating. I know you shouldn't let other people bring you down but I can't help but wonder if they're right.. but other days I'm like: what the hell, what am I doing with my life? I'm sooo bored most of the time, there's no risk and exitement in my life. I just go to the store, buy food, eat it and go back to do school stuff or game. I scroll a bit on social media, I go to sleep and try to get my degrees to.. work for a company untill I'm 70? :( Thanks for listening to my TED talk

Great video . 👍

I'm computer illiterate, poor, cheap, old and lazy. so, I'll just watch new homesteaders and help them grow as youtubers and good humans. )

Thanks!

Words of Truth here. Thank you

Alot of truth there. Good video.

Interesting I'm doing it because I've decided I don't have a choice. It's very close to a life or death thing in my mind. It certainly has cost a lot of money to get started. I had to clear 12 trees off the property and have lumber delivered and buy chicks and seeds and potting soil. I'll have to buy a bunch of fencing too and everything together is nearly 10 grand. Luckily I already have access to a tractor for tilling land and stuff. But that's all initial investment. Afterwards, with the way I planned everything out, it should save a lot of money on grocery costs. If I can get people interested, I may even be able to sell off the extra and make a little profit on the side if I'm lucky.

Great video 👍🏻

Great advice

Thanks for a great video.

I agree with most of what your saying except for the part where you say it’s expensive maybe it is for you but there are a lot of ways to cut cost and save money I got 2 pig almost butcher weight and I spent a total of 40 dollars on them I got them young on a trade for something I paid 40 dollars from then I fed them grain that I got from a store because it was expired and have not spent a cent on anything except for the original $40

Well said, young man.

Everything your saying is true. It's a hard tuff life. Farming in general is hard. But it's also beautiful, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It mite come a time when the price of food won't matter if their isn't any on the shelves.

I watch all your videos I live in NC but originally from South Africa and im.buildong my homestead in South Africa. In South Africa, homestead is not as expensive cause they have a cycle which keeps everything low cost. Only expensive thing is machinery.

Amen!!

Perfect video👏👍

Great video! You just said the flipping truth!

I really think you should get a Dutch shepherd dog to have as a shepherd for your cattle or your sheep and as a good protector dog for your family animals aswell now I know your own family pet dog your going to say I have them but that’s it there pets Dutch shepherd dog are all round good farm dog and then you can breed him to your female dogs and have good off spring aswell you should think on it so your chickens are safe and your other animals aswell

I bought a “cowboy’s” house. He never fixed a darn thing. Nothing. I gutted it. Am still in the process of fixing it to a comfortable state. I have acres that he let a horse tear to pieces. Old worn out barn and just terrible conditions. I garden and have egg layers. I have to get up 6 days a week to deliver the mail to city folk who order on Amazon all day just so I can retire and my daughter can have a life. I can’t imagine having so much money in my 40s that I don’t have to work and can spend money so freely.

Still wanna homestead.