The best state for homesteading

Dec 27, 2022

What’s up Farmanons!

Welcome to the Natural Life. I’m glad you could join me.

Today we’ll settle this debate once and for all (sort of)

The best state for homesteading

I tweeted this out a few weeks ago and got some pretty good engagement. When I made this image I simply googled and this was the list it gave me from some SEO optimized website.

(I know I misspelled Connecticut)

This looks like a decent list, but to be honest, I’m not so sure.

I bet there are great qualities in each state on the list. But a big problem I see with this list is… climate🤣

Homesteaders are outside, ALOT. You’re gonna be raising animals that need food and water. Water freezes, so you’ll need a way to keep the water sources from freezing. Animal feed costs money and must be stored/handled properly. When the grass and leaves are all dead and covered with snow, you’ll need food for your livestock.

There’s so much to cover when deciding the best homesteading state, so let’s dig in!

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First, let’s talk about how I got started with my small homestead.

My small farm is 3 acres on the edge of a 200 acre tract of old family land just inside the city limits of a small town in the southeastern US.

https://youtube.com/shorts/YIZonPvC8no?feature=share

I bought three acres from my late grandmother. I spent much of my childhood exploring, camping and riding fourwheelers all over this land.

About 7 years ago, I decided to build a small house out there, since no one else in my family seemed interested. It’s turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. Luckily MissBowTiedFarmer likes the outdoors and the Natural Life so she made this decision easy for me.

We’ve come a long way since first moving out here. We currently have 30 hens, 8 goats, 2 cows, a livestock guardian dog, 4 rabbits, 8 honeybee hives, a couple dozen fruit trees, and a large garden.

I’ve built several buildings, sheds, a barn, chicken house, and more. I’ve put up thousands of feet of goat fencing myself. We’ve put a ton of time and money into this place to get it to where it is today.

We get fresh milk from our dairy goat (don’t knock it till you try it, milk from a quality dairy goat is better than any other milk no cap)
We get fresh eggs from the hens
Fresh vegetables and greens 8 months of the year.
Fresh fruit from our trees and wild fruit growing all over the land.
We harvest beef from the steers we raise.
Harvest fresh venison from the wild deer on the land.
Fresh honey from the honeybees.

After all I’ve been through, what I want you to know is this:

Now is the time to get started if you are interested in The Natural Life. More people are moving away from the cities, it’s a good idea to try to get out there now, if you are able to.

So where should you go?

First, we’ll talk about what I would look for if I was trying to find some land to start a small farm or homestead.

Here is a list of some basic requirements and things to look out for.

Good qualities to look for in a future homestead location:

At least 3 acres, you can make do with a small lot, but animals are going to require at least an acre. More is always better in my opinion but it gets expensive, and you can do a lot more than you would think on a just few acres.
Soil Quality - This one is not a deal breaker because you can always use raised beds for gardening, or build up bad soil. But dirt that is plagued with large rocks or has absolutely horrible nutrient content/chemicals could be a problem. You could do a soil test to help you decide if you’re planning to garden or farm the land in the ground.
Existing Fruit trees/bushes - I would look for properties with existing fruit trees. Wild fruit/herbs are a huge asset so be sure to walk the land and see what’s out there.
Existing irrigation system for livestock or plant nurseries - a place that is already set up for raising animals is highly valuable.
Existing barns or greenhouses - anything that is already in place is going to save you time and money.
Well drained. The land needs to be able to drain fairly quick, you don’t want an area at the bottom of a hill or near a creek that floods, however, creeks can be a good thing, as a source of water, or for fishing.
Semi Cleared. If you are going to build a house, you will need a spot cleared without trees. Clearing land of trees costs money, so if you can find land that has a spot already cleared that would make a good house location (high spot) this is a plus. You are also going to want some cleared land for activities, like a barn, or a green house, a garden will require sunlight, crop planting will need land without stumps or rocks, so keep this in mind when looking for a place.
Woods. I love woods, it would be ideal to find land with a patch of woods along with a flat cleared area, this way you could have an area to work with animals or crops and you could still cut some trails to ride fourwheelers or walk in the woods. Trees are a good source of fire wood, obviously, and it’s nice to have trees around for shade. I don’t like trees by my house because they fall in storms and they make messes. Wooded areas can be a source for many wild herbs and fruit. Some wooded land may even have valuable native herbs or wood that can be harvested as a source of income. Even rocks can be a valuable source of income.
Fences. Fences are important to keep animals in and Humans out. If you are planning to keep animals on your land, a place that already has fences will save you a lot of time and money. This is also good because the fence layout will already be set up and it will be easy to build on what is already there. If you’re putting fences up, land with a ton of brush and trees will need to be cleared before you build the fences so the cash register dollar signs are just spinning now, fence material and labor is not cheap these days. (i know a guy who builds his own fences)
Water source - A pond is a big plus. Ponds are good to have especially if you can fence it in and incorporate it for animal water source. Ponds are a good source of food as you can stock it with catfish (mmmm mmm), bream, bass, etc. good eating in a high inflation, super market cleared dystopia. Ponds also hold water for you to water your crops or drink yourself if the shit hits the fan.
Privacy- you want your house to be off a major road or highway, the further the better. It’s no fun burying your pets and worrying about your toddlers if they go in the front yard. Also you don’t want people/police driving up, all up in your biznass! What is natural about that?
Of course there are thousands of other “pluses” a piece of land could have. Oil/mineral rights, river access, lake access, timber farm already planted, a water well, natural springs, windmill, solar farm, deer stands sitting next to a huge cornfield feeding all of the deer into monsters every year. The possibilities are endless when looking for good farm land.

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Bad Fences - Some fences aren’t any good. It will cost even more money to fix them than it would to start new, keep an eye out for severe rust, sagging, falling down posts, etc. None of this is a deal breaker, but keep it on the list and knock the asking price down accordingly
Neighbors - You don’t want neighbors that are going to be bothered by your homesteading endeavors. You never know, one day you might need to store several old trailers full of cow shit in your front yard, or you might need to bring a concrete truck down the driveway to pour a barn slab, but your neighbor owns the driveway and won’t let you. If you are sharing access to the land, make sure you guys are compatible. Neighbors who are also your relatives could be a positive or could be a huge negative so keep that in mind.
Cellular/Internet service. Where I’m located my cell service is ok, but my home internet sucks! Keep this in mind if you have a need for fast internet, I think starlink fixed this, but its still not available everywhere for some reason.

Avoid these things at all costs when looking for a new homestead location:

Land/Water locked, or land you can’t get an easement to. Land needs access by easement so that you can drive to it. You also need easement to run water/power to the location. If the land is surrounded by land that is owned by someone else, you’ll need access. A bank will not let you borrow money to buy land without proper access.
Wetland - deep swampy bogs and wetlands are usually protected from development. Not to mention, the cost to develop wetlands. Stay away, unless there are spots on the land that are higher up and more easily developed. A swamp on the back of your property is not a deal killer, there could be some value to having some wetland, but you don’t want it all swamp/wet land.
Land within a city with ordinances that prevent you from fulfilling your dreams. Some cities and even states are less desirable for homesteading. We’ll cover this some more below.
Land so far away from civilization that your family leaves you after a few months. Some people are in fact built different. They don’t mind being 100 miles out from a small town with no cell service and no way to get packages delivered except by supply plane. But for most of us, we still like to be able to ride into town and get a nice dinner every once in a while. I would say 30 miles out of town is about far enough. You can get better deals on land that is farther out, this decision is totally up to you, just keep it in mind when looking for your homestead location.

So this is a basic criteria to use when shopping for some good homestead land. Obviously, the ultimate decision on where you start your homestead really depends on what you’re planning to do with the land.

It’s important to note, finding a good place for your homestead is alot like starting a business. Don’t get analysis paralysis. There is no perfect place. All you can do is make the best decision you can with what you have available. It’s not a good idea to rush into buying land, but it’s also not good to sit and wait forever.

There’s no real “deal breakers” pretty much anything can be overcome, you’ll learn and improve each year.

The next question to ask yourself is:

What are you planning to do on your homestead?

Are you interested in starting a fruit tree nursery, or put a large chicken farm out there?

Most towns/states would be more friendly to a fruit tree nursery than they would a large chicken farm. Many towns have ordinances for large farming operations.

Most of your issues will arise when you try to do some of the following on your homestead.

Big daddy government is going to cause you pain when you try to:

Build a house without a permit
Try to live “off grid”
Try to earn income from your land
Try to sell anything raw lol
Try to build outbuildings, sheds, etc
Try to start a large animal farming operation

Some states are friendly to small farming operations who are trying to build a business. Some states are absolute nightmares for a small farm.

To be honest, none of them are great. All city and state governments are filled with rules and regulations. It’s basically a money grab, they want to take money from you at almost every step of the way.

Building a house? You’re gonna need a permit and house plans stamped by an architect
Running your own water line or digging a well? You’ll need to pay a fee to have it turned on, and they may not even allow you to dig a well.
Starting a business? Depending on what you’re selling, the fees and requirements could be astronomical
Taxes are another big ticket to think about if you will be living in a state with high property taxes

So what’s the best state for homesteading laws and regulation?

States and cities with friendly homesteading laws and low taxes are more likely to be republican ran. I don’t make these rules.

For whatever reason, republicans seem to be slightly more friendly toward people trying to be independent. But even heavy republican states and cities love telling people what they can and can’t do.

There’s no perfect state that will let you grow and sell whatever you want without proper permit and fees.

The best you can do is find a place that is the least burdensome.

Some homestead friendly states (regulation) include:

Tennessee
Alaska
Missouri
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida

One website even said California. I’m sure that there are places within any state that can be homesteader friendly.

It’s best to decide what your plans are for your homestead and then do research into the laws and regulations for some of the places you’re looking at.

Climate

Another big issue for homesteading is climate. There are many fine states in the US that are perfect for farming, but they are far north where the weather is not as ideal as some other locations.

It’s still totally possible to run a successful homestead in the far north, but it’s going to be much more difficult for you.

Have fun trying to live off of your land when it’s covered in snow and ice for 5+ months out of the year. I don’t know, I guess I’m a wimp, but I don’t do snow and ice. (unless I’m on a snowboard)

If cold weather is not a problem for you, then go ahead with your bad self!

Where would Farmer start a homestead?

If I had plenty of cash and wanted to start over. I would look at Florida. The climate there is perfect in my opinion. It has an almost year round growing season. You can grow tropical fruits like bananas, oranges, lemons, etc outside with the right setup.

I’m not talking about Miami, I would be farther up in the panhandle 30-50 miles off of the coast. You would want to be off of the coast as a buffer from hurricanes, you’ll still get high winds, but at least you wouldn’t get flooded.

In this location you still have easy access to beaches and great fishing in the gulf of mexico.

I would try to find a place on a river in a wooded location, with some open land for animals and a big garden. How cool would it be to have a small aluminum fishing boat ready to run trot lines in the river right behind your house?

Tired of eating catfish? No problem, just hook up old Ford and haul the Contender down to the coast to load up on fresh red snapper!

There’s still plenty of good whitetail deer hunting in northern florida/southern georgia. And we all know Heavy Desantis is about as good of a Governor as you’re going to find as far as freedom.

I think Florida has everything I’m looking for, but that’s for another life. I’ve got my roots buried deep down here in <redacted>.

Well that does it for today, thanks for reading!

WAGMI

Farmer