pdhntr
Silver $$ Contributor
Dear Jesus, pdhntr! That is breathtaking property. The small sacrifice that I speak of was meant to describe the one buck that goes in the chest freezer, so the rest of the herd can thrive. I do not discount for one second the amount of effort it will take on my part.
You are spot on with what it takes to maintain the land. I am fortunate to work in agriculture, and being a researcher, I have access to seed that is not available anywhere else in the world. My chickpeas are irresistible to deer, and they do not require any fertilizer (mesorhizobium provides all the nitrogen you ever need). Chickpeas also repel ticks and most insects, although the beneficial pollinators seem unaffected. The deer can rely on my chickpeas until a hard freeze, and after that, fir trees should do the job. No need to buy corn, but if you have the space, field corn is easy to grow. Just get a short season variety for this region. Of course, corn likes lots of fertilizer and water, so it might not pencil.
I will have to buy a tractor, and I have budgeted about $15k. The other implements are virtually free (except for the loader) if you know farmers in other programs and don't mind doing a bit of maintenance. There's a decent drill I could take home tomorrow if I had a place to store it. Fencing will be expensive, but I only intend to surround my garden and livestock.
Not all of this will happen in the first year. After 5 years, I should be ready to start building a house. Student loans will be paid off, and I can finally be 100% debt-free and self-sufficient. At least that's the dream. We all know that stuff happens, and I don't pretend to believe that there won't be complications.
I put in mostly rutabaga, and some forage radish. I plant in late June, early July. This year we had some dry weather so I irrigated using a trailer with a 300 gallon tote and pump. I go down to the creek and fill it up. Irrigating takes more water than I ever expected. Don't want to use my well. I have pumped 1500 gallons in one day on the lawn and deer plots when needed.
Rutabaga works very well in this area. I pull the fences mid September, and the deer feed heavily on the tops until winter. In the spring when they need the nourishment the most, they will spend hours digging the bulbs up. The bulbs winter very well.
Good luck with your adventure.
Jim