Country Landowner

Here’s the piece of equipment you’ll almost certainly want to own, if you have a few acres of land. (Image: Ford 4000 Tractor Built 1973)

Some might say, it’s just a “Big Boys’ Toy”, but if you have an area of grass to control, you’re likely to find that a proper tractor, together with a good grass-cutting attachment, is not just useful but pretty much essential.

I bought this old Ford 4000 tractor several years ago for £1,600. It’s well over 30 years old now, but it’s still reliable and works well.

I got it from a local agricultural machinery dealer. From the same dealer, I also bought a paddock grass topper. This was new, not used.

I had learned from previous experience, that buying secondhand attachments like grass-cutters is often a false economy. Previous owners often work them hard and then sell, when they’re wearing out or giving trouble.

The new grass topper was made by Slewtic and it’s been excellent. With it attached to the Ford tractor, I can cut a couple of acres of grass in around 1 hour. (Image:Grass Paddock Topper By Slewtic)

The grass topper has a single, horizontal cutting blade that’s directly driven from a small gearbox, which is itself turned by the rear power take-off (PTO)of the tractor. I think this arrangement is good as there’s little to adjust, or in my experience, to go wrong.

Some years ago, I had a different type of grass topper which used belts and pulleys to drive three separate blades. Every so often, the belts would stretch, requiring frequent adjustment. Occasionally they snapped, which meant costly replacement.

The Ford tractor is a powerful machine. As well as grass-cutting, I’ve used it to plough some land. It did this well, although only using an old, three-furrow plough, not one of the monster attachments you see on modern tractors.

It’s important to get a diesel engined tractor. Some small, old tractors are petrol-powered machines, but these use more fuel per hour and are expensive to run.

But there’s an even better reason to go for diesel…

If you use a tractor on private land, you can run it on agricultural or “red” diesel fuel. This is much cheaper than normal fuel. It costs only about one-third of the price of diesel from the filling-station, that we have to use on the public roads, so it saves a lot of money.

Fuel merchants will mostly require a minimum order quantity of 500 litres and it’s best if you have a proper fuel storage tank, although they will often dispense into 200 litre oil drums, if necessary.

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It’s a great modern dream - escaping from the “rat race” of our built-up towns and cities and moving out to the countryside - becoming more self-sufficient. As the developed World gets more and more crowded, the appeal of a simpler, less busy, more rural life gets stronger and stronger.

Together with all the concerns about intensive food production and possible health problems, being able to grow your own food, using organic methods of course, has very real attraction for us and our children.

If you own some land in the country, it’s true, you can achieve a far greater level of self-sufficiency. Probably not total, but certainly you can become far less dependent on factory farmed food and other products of big business.

But what should you look for when choosing a small farm for self-sufficient living?

I have been hearing advice from a number of people with specific experience of embarking on this type of lifestyle. There are important things to think about when deciding on your small farm.

Don’t neglect these six key selection factors, or it will make it much harder to achieve the contented, more relaxed lifestyle you are seeking.

Factor 1 - Moderate Climate

Try to live somewhere with a moderate climate. Ideally somewhere where temperatures are not extreme - rarely going below freezing (0 degrees C) and rarely too hot, say above 35 degrees C.

Heating and cooling our homes are big users of energy, so for greater self-sufficiency, it makes a lot of sense to minimise the need for energy by settling in a good climate. This reduces cost and work.

In a cold climate particularly, you either have big energy bills to pay, or alternatively you spend the summer months chopping and collecting wood, only to burn all that hard work in the winter!

With modern transport and communication links, it is now much easier to relocate to a different part of the country, or even to another country. The satistics show that millions of people are now choosing an expatriot, international lifestyle.

Factor 2 - Inexpensive Land And Property

Don’t sink all your money into the farm. If you want to reduced dependency, then you are going to need a “cushion” of fallback savings for unforeseen circumstances.

The cost of land varies enormously, depending on location. There are still places where you can buy a small farm with land for say, $100-150,000 or the equivalent. Look beyond the countries and locations where even a small farm costs millions of dollars.

Factor 3 - Like-Minded People Nearby

Try to live in an area that has a community of like-minded people who are themselves trying to achieve a degree of self-sufficiency. Look for somewhere where people grow their own produce, keep animals and where there are regular “farmers markets” for the exchange of goods. Don’t try to settle somewhere where you will appear as wierd or eccentric.

Factor 4 - Not Too Much Physical Work

It is likely that you will do a lot more physical work as a small holder and that is perhaps much of the attraction, but don’t make yourself a slave to your farm.

When choosing where to live, be mindful of the amount of physical work you are taking on and who is going to do it. Be realistic. Do you really want to have to employ staff? How many? Even if on a contract basis, you will have to supervise and of course pay for them.

Factor 5 - Don’t Plan To Earn A Living From Your Produce

People who have tried it say that it is pretty much impossible to earn a living from what you produce on the farm, while still enjoying a self-sufficient lifestyle. It’s just too much work and requires such high commitment from you and the family, that it’s not much fun.

A better approach is to reduce your outgoings and make the most of the lifestyle. For money, look at other ways to make some income or rely on your savings (see factor 2 above).

Factor 6 - Think Carefully About Animals

When you have a few acres, many people think of keeping animals, either livestock or horses. Think carefully before you jump into this - it’s a big call on your time and energy.

Animals need to be fed, watered, sheltered, health checked and generally looked after, whatever the weather and whatever other plans you may have. You will find much harder to go anywhere or do other things, when you have animals you are responsible for.

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