Is it realistic?

[imour]

Do you think its possible to support yourself and your town simply from your own farm? I had looked up stuff about it, and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Mainly people be sarcastic about the magic aspect.. I am interested in starting a small farm and acres of land, and my granddad has one that he gave up on years ago because of his age. I felt an air of similarity to the story. Honestly, I would love to own a farm and support myself, but I can't yet. If I know that it is possible, then I can put effort into it and study.

 

[rippytrippy]

probably, if you know what you're doing and where to invest. Farmers can get crazy rich

 

[LRangerR]

If you know what you're doing then yes definitely. It's quite different from the Stardew experience, but it's a game after all. If you've got a green thumb even better. It definitely helps if you have an affinity with plants.

 

[Anhaga]

Do you think its possible to support yourself and your town simply from your own farm? I had looked up stuff about it, and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Mainly people be sarcastic about the magic aspect.. I am interested in starting a small farm and acres of land, and my granddad has one that he gave up on years ago because of his age. I felt an air of similarity to the story. Honestly, I would love to own a farm and support myself, but I can't yet. If I know that it is possible, then I can put effort into it and study.

It probably depends on where your farm is, what you're growing, how much land you have, and whether or not by "support," you mean "make all the things you or anyone else would need" (because the answer to that is probably no). In the US, it's going to be a bit tough for the simple reason that cost of living here is pretty high in areas with good farmland (I'd imagine it's similar in many areas of northern Europe and in the UK). The really important thing would be to go in with some savings and to plan well; you never want to have a bad season or problems with animals simply because you didn't plan well or hadn't learned enough beforehand. If you're in a situation where you can go into a farm or agricultural internship (yes, they exist!), that can be an excellent way to learn, especially if you want to learn how to manage a farm that integrates plant and animal produce.

 

[imnvs]

I would not recommend taking lessons learned here and apply them to farming in the real world, no.

 

[Ereo]

Real Life farming is very different from stardew valley farming.

It is possible to live on a farm and be self-sufficient, especially in a community. Look for "simple living" and "self-sufficiency". It's probably a hard life though. If you want to test, just try gardening and growing your own veggies for a while.

We had a small vegetable garden when I was a child and I remember the problem being that crops will all mature at the same time. So you have a week in summer where you have to eat 20 heads of lettuce. And no one wants to eat zucchini after a while.

 

[LRangerR]

Real Life farming is very different from stardew valley farming.

It is possible to live on a farm and be self-sufficient, especially in a community. Look for "simple living" and "self-sufficiency". It's probably a hard life though. If you want to test, just try gardening and growing your own veggies for a while.

We had a small vegetable garden when I was a child and I remember the problem being that crops will all mature at the same time. So you have a week in summer where you have to eat 20 heads of lettuce. And no one wants to eat zucchini after a while.

That's the difference between growing crops for profit and growing for personal use. Fortunately we live in the days of electrical cooling, so we don't have to worry about things going bad too soon, but preserving food has always been an issue. That's why there's so many preservatives in food that have questionable effects on our bodies.

 

[PoppyForPenny]

Some of the most successful farm families I've known did roadside attraction farms. Pumpkin patch with corn maze, petting zoo, pick your own berries or tree fruit. I've also known good folks who made a decent living staggering crops to offer at multiple local farmers markets, along with specialty items like lavander essential oil, duck eggs, cider, fancy cheeses. And many farmers where I grew up sold to, and were subsidized by large corporations, like Canola (soy, corn, sunflower, safflower, rapeseed oil), OreIda (potatoes and oils) or Blue Diamond (almonds/nuts).

 

[LRangerR]

And many farmers where I grew up sold to, and were subsidized by large corporations...

The IRL joja route.

 

[BringsTheSnow]

Some of the most successful farm families I've known did roadside attraction farms. Pumpkin patch with corn maze, petting zoo, pick your own berries or tree fruit. I've also known good folks who made a decent living staggering crops to offer at multiple local farmers markets, along with specialty items like lavander essential oil, duck eggs, cider, fancy cheeses. And many farmers where I grew up sold to, and were subsidized by large corporations, like Canola (soy, corn, sunflower, safflower, rapeseed oil), OreIda (potatoes and oils) or Blue Diamond (almonds/nuts).

@PoppyForPenny is right about diversifying or going corporate. That is my experience as well.

It is possible to be successful on a small farm but I don't know you would support the area so much as you would be supplementing the supply with a local alternative. It depends on where you live and what the community already has going on nearby.

The people in my area, East coast USA, that farm for a living do a lot of farmers markets or are particularly well known for their pick-your-own fruit and also have a store on-site that sells their other produce (apple orchard w/ pumpkin patch and a farm store). Some sell to local restaurants (through a local produce distributor or directly to the restaurant). Some also sell directly to local cider/jam/etc. makers. I live in a major foodie town so we have a lot of restaurants, breweries, cideries, wineries and, pre-COVID, also a lot of big wedding events that all help support the local farming economy.

 

[LRangerR]

Also foraging is a real thing. If you can attain the dangerous skill of being able to pick edible wild mushrooms, those can help supplement things.

 

[Anhaga]

Also foraging is a real thing. If you can attain the dangerous skill of being able to pick edible wild mushrooms, those can help supplement things.

Honestly, the best way to start with wild mushrooms is to do the ones that it's hard to mistake. Lion's mane, morels, chanterelles--there are types that are really hard to mistake for anything poisonous, and they're a great way to start. Also, finding a local mushroom hunting group can be, quite literally, a lifesaver. They'll help you learn about dangerous types in your area.

 

[LRangerR]

To be fair, there ARE mushrooms that look like chantarelles and morels. Idk bout lion's mane off the top of my head. I also don't know how relevant it is to the areas where those mushrooms grow either, they might be in entirely different regions.