Hobby Farms/Lifestyle Farms

I was thinking, while driving my chores, about the term "hobby farms," and how it makes me feel. It's always bothered me, though it's now a well accepted label for my type of farm. But my farm is not a hobby. It's a business, a lifestyle, even a life line. To me, the term "hobby" makes me feel like it's something I do in my free time. In reality, free time fits around the farm.

I do needlepoint, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and other things as hobbies. They do not suffer if I do not get to them, though I might. My guitar is more than a hobby to me, but even that will exist if I take time away from it. It has so far at least. But my farm inhabitants, from horse to chickens, dogs to goats, would not exist if I put them aside. They need me for their sustenance, but they also need my company. I matter to them.

I can't say that about everyone's farm animals, but it's one of the reasons I have goats, and the donkey and horse that I have. I am an individual to them. Some of us get along better than others. Some times we all get on each other's nerves. But if my animals were to leave here, they would miss me. Some would just plain die for the lack of me.

It's not that I'm all that special. It's that they are. Some animals, I've seen it with donkeys, develop such a strong bond that they have broken hearts if their loved one goes away. My chickens could care less, but goats certainly develop bonds to their herdmates and their keepers. It's hard on them to move from farm to farm. I wish more people remembered that. The idea of "hobby goats," diminishes them as unfeeling items to own. In reality they are caring friends who provide us with companionship, babies and/or milk, along with other gifts.

So who cares about this? I think it's important for people to remember when making the decision to enter farming. I also think it's critical for legislators and bureaucrats that these are not "hobby choices," when they seek to regulate and control small farms. Too much interference (translate: expense) diminishes the farmer's ability to feed the family, the farm, their neighbors perhaps and to protect the land from development. The term I prefer is "Lifestyle Farm."

I don't consider myself a homesteader because my farm is not based solely on supporting my family. I'm not a conventional commercial farmer because I don't practice mono-cropping and I do look at my animals as individuals and not just a commodity. But we all have the same choice of lifestyle, in whatever form we choose. I think these choices need to be respected as we respect married vs. single, gay/straight, Catholic/Protestant. Our existence strengthens everyone around us, and for lots of us that's more than just a "fun thing we do on the side." My farm is part of my identity, and it's certainly part of the footprint I leave behind when I go. To me, that's more than my hobby. I hope others feel the same way.