May 13, 2024

VIDEO: Reviving the Independent Farmstead with Shawn & Beth Dougherty


Learn practical yet extraordinary information on how to create your own independent farmstead from husband and wife farmers and authors, Shawn and Beth Dougherty. They offer in depth information on their 30 years of experience growing soil, biodiversity and nutrient dense food with grass-fed animals and intensive pasture management. They share their inspiring journey to help new homesteaders make better decisions and fulfill their farming dreams while enjoying a happy family life. For complete details, read their in depth book, “The Independent Farmstead.”

22 thoughts on “VIDEO: Reviving the Independent Farmstead with Shawn & Beth Dougherty

  1. We have managed goats with zero problems using Premier 1 electric net fencing and they have helped tremendously in clearing locust saplings and multiflora roses.

  2. I love the way you talk about using surplus and scraps to produce useful food or fuel on the farm. It reminds me of Joel Salatin's statement that they don't need to lock their vehicles at night except in August, to keep their neighbors from filling up the backseats with extra zucchini.

  3. Bought the book. I found it an interesting blend of reference and lyrical anecdote. I admit there were one or two topics I skipped over while reading through because I did not feel they were relevant to me at the time but I feel comfortable referring to back to this particular book if they become so.

  4. Were 9 years remediation here in west Michigan on our urban homestead, composting vermiposting have enabled us to turn sand into 7.5% organic matter topsoil, much higher in the garden areas and containers.were fungal dominated winter spring and fall, summer it goes bacterial when the heat drought and pH control the situation, everything browns out because the wrong organisms take over, too much short lawn really heats that top soil up, city water at 9.0pH kills biology with chloramine fluoride and aluminum in high ppm amounts killing most biology. We have started spraying compost tea and companion planting to drive everything fungal and keep it that way so we can do a no weed no till no water urban farmscape that helps to feed us, and the local impoverished community. Enrichment for our household and the community simply by growing organic food.Your work and observations will enable us to upscale jump into a larger farm situation when the time is right.Thank you again for your insight, looking forward to getting back to nature and symbiosis – Freedom from dependence on a unsustainable system! Love wins aloha and Mahalo!

  5. The book is on the top of my wish list! I was wondering if it covers balancing the farmstead, homeschooling, with young children. If not do you have a blog where you talk about it? Loved this video series and hope to pursue this life with our children.

  6. Thank you for this great information! I love your book too! We’re about to get our first sheep. Praying for wisdom from the good shepherd and researching as much as I can from people like you. Excited to find out about the Cornell online library (My Alma Mater), I totally forgot about it! My student job was working on the online catalog in the library. Our farm is in Northern VA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *