Hi Everyone, 

I am new to the forum and looking forward to exchanging advice and information on small farming.

I have been hobby farming on very small acreage for the last 8 years in Victoria.  I have goats (mainly rescue goats), a pony, some chickens and guinea fowl, two cats, a dog and will be picking up my first alpaca herd guard in a couple of weeks.  I love growing vegetables and fruit but I need to plant more fruit trees and start preserving my produce.  My main interest is the goats; I enjoy rehabilitating and training them, making cheese and, after seeing some very fluffy birds' nests around the block last Spring, I have recently started to harvest their fibre for spinning.  I must learn how to knit once I have spun the fibre.

Apart from the humane treatment of my animals and the local wildlife, I try to manage my property with self-sufficiency as my highest priority.  Total self-sufficiency is unlikely for me due to the size of my block (and, to a certain extent, the local climate) but I have fun researching what I will do next and learning from my failures.  I find putting in a hard day of physical labour and standing back to see tangible results very satisfying.  An ongoing challenge for me is achieving the right balance with regards to the amount of cultivation and stock numbers whilst improving the condition of the land.  I rely on an off-farm income to indulge my agricultural pursuits.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more from others about their farming pursuits!

Cheers,

Willow