Hobby Farming 101- avoid turning your dream into a nightmare Made with Xara Starting Summer 2011 - Hobby Farming with Livestock 101 So you have worked hard all your life and have had a life-long dream of having a hobby farm when you retire.   Congratulations, we are here to make sure you approach your dream with your eyes wide open and it doesn’t turn into a nightmare. Collectively we have been involved in farming for over 50 years from working on a commercial dairy farm to raising a few chickens to supplement our diet.  We can walk you through the good, the bad and the ugly of start up hobby farming and hopefully prevent you from making some of the more common mistakes ... including many that we have made ourselves.  We have experience with raising chickens, cattle, horses and sheep.  If you are interested in raising other livestock we can arrange for livestock specific speakers. We will take you through the process that will optimize your transition from city living to country dwelling.  Within limits we can adapt the course to the participants’ background and experience. We have experience in both continuous learning, course design and adult education.  A comprehensive course manual will be provided to all participants.  In addition, participants will have 3 months of post-course support from the instructors. Topics to be covered include: • Expectation reality check • Questions to ask before you buy such as zoning, set backs and building restrictions • Tax implications - overview • What features to look for on a hobby farm such as drainage, water, fencing and other structures • Setting up for livestock - minimum requirements • Buying livestock - do’s and don’ts • Animal Husbandry- housing, nutrition and health (and where to go for more information) • Large and small equipment - must haves, nice to haves and get someone else to do it for you • Costs and record keeping  - making sure the dollars make sense Obviously some of these topics are too broad to cover in depth in two days but we will direct you to other resources. This course is only for those who want to hobby farm, not those who want to start a commercial farm operation.  For those who want to go into commercial operation, we recommend going to your local agricultural college for in-depth study.  Fill out the Expectation Reality Check Questionnaire Contact us for more information