This is amazing! My husband and I are closing on our first homestead this week where we’ll be able to raise chickens, rabbits and a very large garden among other things. Eventually we’d like to get multiple acres where we can raise fully pastured meat and dairy, and pigs. So seeing your freezers is really something to look forward to! Thanks for the tour!!
Sooooo excited for you and your pending homestead purchase! A lot of work, but if you're anything like us, you'll wish you had made the move sooner!! It's so incredibly satisfying and rewarding!!! Kudos to you and best wishes for your homestead family!!! -Cam and Becky
You are an inspiration for those of us who pray that we can do this someday. I hope that your channel is still around then so that I can use it as reference material. 😀
You guys are so inspirational. I imagine it is so gratifying to know exactly where all your food is coming from. Curious, are your children homeschooled. I haven't seen all your videos, so you may have covered this in a previous video.
I'm so blessed by watching your videos, and I can't wait to begin homesteading this year. Thanks for sharing your information and wisdom that you've learned throughout your homestead journey.
What a great video! I couldn't click on it fast enough 😂 Good for you guys. You should be very proud of yourselves (and well fed) I look forward to every single one of your videos ❤️ Stay well, Corpus Christi TX
Looks great and so nicely organized! It must feel good to know you have a good stock pile of food! As a mom, that's always on our minds! Thanks for the inspiration and the information!
You’re back! I love love your videos. I bought your overalls and you were right. They are so flattering. How is the winter and the holidays going in your new house? Will you do any cooking videos with your amazing pantry? I think we homesteaders are all a bit bored until we can start seeds.
I’m sure you have, but I’m gonna ask any way. Have you ever run the numbers to compare what you spent buying in bulk (at one time), as opposed to purchasing at the grocery store each week/month over time? I’m just curious. Great video!
Great question - we haven't really ran the numbers for an entire years worth in comparison. What we have done is compared our annual grocery budget pre-farm, compared to what we spend now. SO SO SO much saved!!!
@@madisoncluff4889 i have a couple of family members with migraine and adhd problems which were related to food. The types of food differ per person. For example, red wine, coffee, french cheese could trigger. But the most prominent one was leaving the food additives such as flavour enhancers (for example all lays chips).
@@TheSeasonalHomestead Does that the include the electricity costs also? I only ask as here in AUS to run 5 chest freezers would actually be quite expensive. Great videos by the way I binged on them all afternoon !
I keep everything in the freezer labeled with what's inside and the date I put it in the freezer. Then, on the outside of the freezer, I have a list of what's inside. It makes it easy to look at the lists on the outside of the freezers to plan menues. Nothing gets "lost". No freezer burn😁🤷 Takes a few minutes, but makes life SO MUCH easier to manage.
Amazing! What a blessing! In a future video, could you talk a little about where you purchase your meat animals from? Namely your steers and pigs. Do you buy from local farmers or auctions? We are just starting out and have attended an auction, but couldn't understand a word that was said. lol We are also on farm related FB groups, so keeping our eyes out for possibilities. We're new to AR, so we're still trying to get to know the local farmers in the our area. We are currently raising 50 broilers and will butcher them in just a couple of weeks. Congrats on a fruitful year of growing all of your food.
Welcome to Arkansas!!!! Regarding the pigs, Cam found those via a facebook group for feeder pigs. He posted an "In Search Of" message for pasture raised feeder pigs, and got a response from someone a few hours away in central Arkansas. Bought our first pigs from him, and will be definitely going back! Cows - we bought from a friend. We've never been to an auction yet, but have been told a wide range of stories regarding them... You'll LOVE having a freezer full of chickens. So delicious and worth the effort!!!!
If you have the time, would you ever consider doing a video on the comparison between broiler chickens and your heritage birds? Did you think it was worth raising heritage breeds for meat? My husband and I haven’t started homesteading yet (we’re looking for land out of state) but we plan on trying different breeds to do our own comparison and see what we like best/is not too expensive ☺️
Great question - broiler chickens are bred for maximum profit, not necessarily taste. A few years back we had the opportunity to help a friend out by purchasing some of their extra broilers that they had pasture raised. Long story short, they we're good to eat, but was hard to see them in such unnatural "chicken" state. They grow so fast that by the time they are ready to process, their legs can't support their own weight. Something not right with that whole equation...
We always thought we'd raise heritage breed broiler chickens, but with a large family, the research told us to go for the Cornish Cross and I am glad we did. We fed them organic, soy free food and it was not cheap that way (looking at ways to cut costs next go around) but they were the best tasting chicken we've ever had. Plump and juicy! The key is to butcher them at 8 weeks, and not let them get so large they have difficulty walking, etc.
@@preppingmama yes that is what most homesteaders seem to raise! I’ve found a few people who raise freedom rangers but the majority say that Cornish cross always wins in their book due to the cost difference!
We have bought a portion of a cow in the past.. it was the best! Such a good feeling to have our freezers full. There are some great questions here. My question is .. do you ever worry about losing power? Maybe you have a generator? Also about how long will that amount of meat last your family? Great video
Yes, we worry about losing power. A whole home generator is high on our priority list to get installed soon!! We have a small portable generator that we could use in a pinch. Our freezer stock right now will likely last us a year and a half.
@@TheSeasonalHomestead curious if you still feel like the 745 pounds off meat would last you 18 months? I have a family of 6 and based off everyone getting at least 2, four ounce servings a day of meat I would need to put up 1,100 pounds of meat alone for 12 months!?
Awesome. My husband like we got how much. We took off steer/2pigs. Butcher chicken and serval serval pounds of deer. Just need more chicken 😂. We are trying new recipes to use up. Next steer is October to go off and 5 pigs trying to sell in August
Hey Becky, just curious how much of the slaughtering, butchering and packaging you and Cam do yourself? We have plenty of space for pigs, cows and chickens here but the task of slaughtering and feathering that many birds and is daunting! Would be great to see a follow up video that goes more into the process of producing this much meat end to end just like your canning and vegetable production videos.
Good question Jared (This is Cam). We do the chickens and turkeys ourselves, but still take the cows and pigs to the butcher. We would like to eventually have a setup on site where we can process heavier animals easier, but for now, we'll keep using the butcher. That said, if these insane booking dates for the butcher keep up, we will likely accelerate our timeline for converting to butchering in house...
5 freezers!!!! Worrying about the electric bill would surely keep me up at night lol unless solar panels can run most it 😊 love your videos! Very inspiring! - Zee, N. Cali zone10a
You are such an inspiration and I hope to have a property like yours and the diligence/discipline to get as far as you :). One question: Do you just bring the animals to your butcher and get the packages? Or do you smoke/prepare it yourself (like ham, sausages etc?). If yes, would be great to see that process... Greetings from Germany!
So something I saw on another video where you know those reusable bags that have like the sides on it. You can get like plastic ones anyways what you do is you can stack them on top of each other. So it's easier to pull things out. Something to think about. It's my third time watching this love it you guys make me laugh when you guys laugh it
Thank you so much for sharing the pork yields spreadsheet! I love taking notes and number crunching like that. I would like to raise my own pigs someday and this helps me manage my expectations. ❤
We have 9 turkeys now. Raising a small selection of heritage turkeys for thanksgiving. They seem more sensitive than chickens, but maybe that's just us...
@@TheSeasonalHomestead the turkeys are not as smart as chickens, so it takes a bit more care to keep them safe. But, you get a lot more meat for that gentle care!
There has to be an easier freezer solution rather than having to dig through everything to find what you need. Perhaps there are refrigerator looking freezer so the digging stops. Just a thought...! However, as you have multiple chest freezers I don't think that is an optimal solution for you at the moment. But I will investigate it for myself. And by the way.....your children's art work is terrific!
Is a walk-in freezer something you’ve considered at all? Im always in awe of people who have the capacity to grow and preserve food. When going off grid, is solar going to be your primary power source? I watched another CZcamsr whose 7 freezers were used for her solar system (IDK how/why) TFS
Haven't really considered a walk in freezer at this point. The energy costs to keep a freezer room below temp would be pretty high, but if we ever open a butcher shop, we'll definitely be putting one in :)
I feel like your freezers are not big enough. You have a big family and those angels will soon grow into world destroyers eating their way through everything lol. Maybe a couple more freezers with their own dedicated solar power set up to avoid interruption that could spoil the stock. Maybe you also need an outdoor stove much like a pizza stove made from fire bricks. Best for when the electric grid is down to do all your cooking for the cost of wood foraged for free in the property. Your journey is just spine tingling exciting for me. That something bad is happening soon is just palpable in the air specially with Brandon and Cackles in charged. How could something so good turn to shite so quickly. I hope your family stays safe. I wish you can tell us a little of what you do to secure the homestead.
If we need more freezers, we'll add more freezers :) We just recently got a freeze dryer, so the hope with that is to actually convert some of our freezer goods into freeze-dried goods that need no energy to store well at that point... Solar is on the horizon for us as well. Always something :)
We hope to put in solar soon, but with the cost to put those in, it's at least a 20 year payback, based on our electric bills. We have found other ways to save on our electric bill.
Absolutely loved watching this I’ve been living in cities my whole life but I’ve started to get my own foods and make them from scratch. I go out to farms to pick up beef and pork and make my own bacon I’ve even started to try and butcher my own meat now it’s not up to the standards of a butcher well considering I’m the one eating it it doesn’t matter if I don’t cut the steak quite right. I did notice one thing that might be really beneficial to you guys it seem to me you were vac sealing all of your stuff with food saver. Now the machine is affordable however the bags are extremely expensive. Your products are back sealed you’re getting the maximum amount of time you can preserve them by freezing. It’s even far better than the butcher paper. I also use my vaccine when I’m marinating meat or even making dry rub bacon. I bought myself a small chamber vaccine now it is an investment for sure however it is for superior to the food saver one on many levels. First of all I can Seal mind meets in the chamber but it will also allow me to seal liquids. So leftover stews chillies soups can be vasealed in the bag and then dropped into a part of water later heated up cut on the bag I’m pouring to the bowl good to go. The chamber vac sealer bags are significantly cheaper than the food savers however these bags have to be sealed within the chamber . they will not seal outside the chamber like the food saver bags do. But if you have something bigger like a fillet of salmon where you want to vac Seal it in one piece instead of cutting it up . you can use the food saver bags for these unusually large objects and seal it with your chamber vac sealer outside the chamber most people don’t know this. In addition you can also seal mason jars inside your vac sealer. So if you wanted to seal up something dry like pastas and rice where you don’t want it to come into contact with any moisture this can be done easily. I am also sealed my tallow and lard in mason jars in my chamber a long wait pickled eggs and dill pickles inside the chamber. And no advantage of this vacuum seal chambers is if you used half a jar of something instead of just putting it in the fridge and hoping you use it up again in time you can put it in your fat seal chamber 30 seconds later it’s sealed up good again to be used at a later date. So although the Chain Bird vacc seal was an investment it easily will pay for itself within a season and everything after that is where it start saving your money when you look at how expensive food saver bags are in comparison to the chamber fax sealed bags I calculate it out one day and for a food saver bag it was cost me $.89 for a chambered bag it was costing me $.05, now that’s a pretty big saving you also save electricity or gas when you don’t have to have a pot on the stove to seal every type of canning you’re doing. Now considering the amount of food you guys store and preserve it will easily pay for itself perhaps you already know this and I’m just telling you stuff you already know but if not I just thought I’d throw it out there.
Have you guys tried onion top pesto. And if you don't have pine nuts you can use toasted walnuts. So cutting off your onion tops helps to make the bulb get bigger. Something to think about
I think she said one time they buy a few things they dont grow like baking goods but not much. Unless it was a different vlogger..I watch a few of the homesteaders. I 🤗
@@AlohaNLight2All you might be right! I remember a few years back they were able to grow at least 9 months of produce but couldn’t remember if they had finally reached their goal to grow a year’s worth of supplies. I watch a lot of homesteaders too so I also start combing their stories in my head as well 😂
We try hard not to. Some things that we can't grow, we need to buy (Olives, avocados, olive oil, rice, etc). We just realized that we hadn't gone to the store in a month just now, and that's even with hosting a full Thanksgiving crowd. Whew!
Great breakdown! I'm curious, how do you prevent freezer burn with such large quantities of meat? Presumably some of the meat stays in the freezer for a very long time.
This is essentially a years supply of meat for our family. We literally do not buy any meat from the store, so though it looks like a lot in the crates, this is what we will typically go thru in a 52 week period.
@@TheSeasonalHomestead Thanks for the reply! You find that you don't experience freezer burn within a year? I typically see some within 4 months. Is the wrapping special? Or is there a particular temperature at which you set the freezers? Thank you!
@@victorbuza676 vacuum freezing which removes the air limits freezer burn which is driven by air in the packaging allowing to pull moisture from the meats. Also, I typically freeze large amounts of cooked turkey. I freeze the turkey in its own juices and fat. The juice and fat creates a freezer burn barrier. Also when I unfreeze this turkey it tastes fresh without that old turkey taste.
Wow!, That's a lot of freezer storage. You guys should consider a freeze drier for another method of preservation. it has reduced my freezer storage by 70%
Totally!!!! We did in fact just get a freeze drier. Haven't had the chance yet to get it going, hopefully soon!! Kids want to try freeze dried skittles (of course!)
Can you tell us about your water fountain and bottle filler? I've never seen one in a residence, but when I saw yours my mind melted. How many times throughout the day does my wife or I have to stop and get a drink for one of our five kids? Is it affordable? Did you have to special order it? Thanks!
Husband found it on an auction site for around $250, brand new. Straight from the manufacturer they are like $1800, so we were super excited for that deal. checkout www.bidfta.com, and maybe there is an auction location near you. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for your videos. Have you ever looked into alternative storage for the freezer items that is not single use plastic? I have been looking myself as I feel bad about all the vacuum seal bags I use and the plastic waste that it produces but have not found anything yet. Thanks!
We are getting a pig in Aug 2023 /from the butcher…. My question is …. How easy is it to tell them what you want from the pig??? So if we don’t eat a lot of ham what else can we have made from that ??? I don’t know how this whole thing works…. And feel overwhelmed with this process. We are getting a 1/2 cow around that time too but that’s an easier thing to break down…. Thank you
We butchered our chickens and turkeys. Usually take the cows and pigs to the butcher. Would be nice to have a butcher area on site for larger animals, but that's a ways out for us at this time. Sure would be nice though with how far out you need to schedule a butcher appointment, right?!?
How does one know how much to grow? Did You start out growing a crazy amount for the year, then cut back once you figure out how much of each produce you go through? I want to grow produce for my own personal consumption but have no clue where to start.
That may have more to do with blanching them for too long prior to freezing. Everything I freeze is usually 3 minutes or less blanch time, then an ice water bath to stop the cooking and then freeze. I have thawed in the refrigerator, a bowl of cool water, or directly into a simmering pot, all with pretty much the same results. They will lose some of the fresh crispness with blanching but they shouldn't be soggy. Sorry your having trouble with that, I hope you have better luck next time!
Thank you. Butcher costs vary WIDELY, but from our years of doing this, it usually falls somewhere between $.65 and $.95 per pound, hanging weight. If you call a local butcher in your area, I'm sure they'd be happy to share their costs with you.
Quick question did you guys steam them not steam them boil them for like a minute before freezing them or did you just freeze them reason why it's cuz I don't want to learn an easier way instead of having to boil blanch them that's the word instead of blanching them I'm text talking because I'm watching your video LOL
looks great. do your kids befriend the animals? do they get upset when you have to butcher them? i’m sure the meat is so much healthier but i would grow so attached to them all after having cared for them every day :(
Interesting enough the kids, though they name the animals, are totally ok with the whole process. Knowing from day one the animals purpose softens the blow a bit. It's actually a very respectful thing for us all, and a wonderful teaching moment on many fronts.
Just got a freeze dryer!!!! Expect to see more of that in future videos. We've done a few test batches of powdered eggs and such, and so far we LOVE IT!!!
I'm trying to learn something about chicken. Why kill and freeze them in bulk when you can eat them fresh as needed? Do they die in the winter, or what's the reason? Thanks.
Great question -- For our family, it made sense to raise all the birds at the same time, and do all the processing(killing) in one weekend. It would take too much time if, as part of dinner prep that day, included catching a chicken, processing a chicken, cleaning the chicken, etc... Just logistically makes more sense to do them all at once.
For us, it totaled around $1.50 per pound(the pounds we took home. Butcher charges $0.65 per pound hanging weight, plus $0.75 per pound for curing meats.
Yes, it's being researched right now. Solar has always been in the plan, just need to get our money tree to start growing so we can pay for it all :) -Cam
What’s the benefit of killing and freezing the chickens rather than just slaughtering one at a time as and when you need? Is it just quicker when you want to cook?
Yes, when we need it, it's there. Doing them all at once saves a lot of time as well. We can do 75 or so in one day, whereas doing then one at a time, they would take a lot longer in total...
I can't wait till I have a property that I can homestead like this on, yall are an inspiration!
This is amazing! My husband and I are closing on our first homestead this week where we’ll be able to raise chickens, rabbits and a very large garden among other things. Eventually we’d like to get multiple acres where we can raise fully pastured meat and dairy, and pigs. So seeing your freezers is really something to look forward to! Thanks for the tour!!
Sooooo excited for you and your pending homestead purchase! A lot of work, but if you're anything like us, you'll wish you had made the move sooner!! It's so incredibly satisfying and rewarding!!! Kudos to you and best wishes for your homestead family!!!
-Cam and Becky
I cannot hold back my excitement... I love this. Thank you for documenting your journey.
You are so welcome!
you are the ideal family. America needs more people like you.
The whole world needs people like theme tbh
Healthy living family
You are an inspiration for those of us who pray that we can do this someday. I hope that your channel is still around then so that I can use it as reference material. 😀
We have no plans to take any of our video's down :)
You guys are so inspirational. I imagine it is so gratifying to know exactly where all your food is coming from. Curious, are your children homeschooled. I haven't seen all your videos, so you may have covered this in a previous video.
Yes indeed. Youngest three are homeschooled. Oldest one was as well until this year, he convinced us to let him try public school. So far, ok.
I think it is amazing what you do and that it is a family effort. Thank you for sharing.
I appreciate that!
I'm so blessed by watching your videos, and I can't wait to begin homesteading this year. Thanks for sharing your information and wisdom that you've learned throughout your homestead journey.
You are so welcome! Thank you for your kind words!
What a great video! I couldn't click on it fast enough 😂 Good for you guys. You should be very proud of yourselves (and well fed) I look forward to every single one of your videos ❤️
Stay well,
Corpus Christi TX
I was so happy to see a new video up! I know they are hard work so I truly appreciate all that you share! Thank you!!!
what a great video!!! wish you could post more videos. Love your channel and what you are doing .Sooo inspiring. thank you and God Bless
Thank you so much! We post videos as soon as we can get the footage and edit them. Thanks for your patience!
Looks great and so nicely organized! It must feel good to know you have a good stock pile of food! As a mom, that's always on our minds! Thanks for the inspiration and the information!
Love your videos. Would be great if you did "a day in the life" following you both around for the day :)
Amazing!! I am so impressed with your freezers of meats and vegetables. Thanks for sharing!!
Love the organization for the love of a deep freezers. ❤️
Thanks for showing how much food can fit in the freezers. It helps me plan for starting food storage.
You are so welcome!
You’re back! I love love your videos. I bought your overalls and you were right. They are so flattering.
How is the winter and the holidays going in your new house?
Will you do any cooking videos with your amazing pantry? I think we homesteaders are all a bit bored until we can start seeds.
Sorry for taking so long to reply, Heather :) Winter is indeed a nice break from the bustle of growing, but still plenty to do!!
www.dovetailworkwear.com
I’m sure you have, but I’m gonna ask any way. Have you ever run the numbers to compare what you spent buying in bulk (at one time), as opposed to purchasing at the grocery store each week/month over time? I’m just curious. Great video!
Great question - we haven't really ran the numbers for an entire years worth in comparison. What we have done is compared our annual grocery budget pre-farm, compared to what we spend now. SO SO SO much saved!!!
@@madisoncluff4889 i have a couple of family members with migraine and adhd problems which were related to food. The types of food differ per person. For example, red wine, coffee, french cheese could trigger. But the most prominent one was leaving the food additives such as flavour enhancers (for example all lays chips).
@@madisoncluff4889 cut back natural sugars n stop all processed foods. Do farm to plate👩🏽🌾
@@TheSeasonalHomestead Does that the include the electricity costs also? I only ask as here in AUS to run 5 chest freezers would actually be quite expensive. Great videos by the way I binged on them all afternoon !
We do the same thing (buy in bulk from local butcher), it’s a good chunk of money up front but cheaper in the long run.
You guys have a filtered water bottle filling station in your home?!?! Ok you guys are my new hero’s!!
It's a gamechanger!! Soo happy we put them in :)
Your kids did a great job on the art work.
This is all intimidating, gonna have to start back in your first videos for us noobs to get started! LOL
I love those artistic labels! These must have saved your family tons of grocery money! The price hike on all grocery items nowadays have been crazy !
So I came here to see the freezer tour and that was awesome but I have to say your kids are great artist
Found your channel today. Got my abo! Great work! Greetings from Germany 😀👋🏻
I keep everything in the freezer labeled with what's inside and the date I put it in the freezer.
Then, on the outside of the freezer, I have a list of what's inside.
It makes it easy to look at the lists on the outside of the freezers to plan menues.
Nothing gets "lost".
No freezer burn😁🤷
Takes a few minutes, but makes life SO MUCH easier to manage.
That is a fantastic idea! We are still one of "those" with an inevitable pile of freezer garbage at the bottom, lol We are getting better though :)
Amazing! What a blessing! In a future video, could you talk a little about where you purchase your meat animals from? Namely your steers and pigs. Do you buy from local farmers or auctions? We are just starting out and have attended an auction, but couldn't understand a word that was said. lol We are also on farm related FB groups, so keeping our eyes out for possibilities. We're new to AR, so we're still trying to get to know the local farmers in the our area. We are currently raising 50 broilers and will butcher them in just a couple of weeks. Congrats on a fruitful year of growing all of your food.
Welcome to Arkansas!!!! Regarding the pigs, Cam found those via a facebook group for feeder pigs. He posted an "In Search Of" message for pasture raised feeder pigs, and got a response from someone a few hours away in central Arkansas. Bought our first pigs from him, and will be definitely going back! Cows - we bought from a friend. We've never been to an auction yet, but have been told a wide range of stories regarding them...
You'll LOVE having a freezer full of chickens. So delicious and worth the effort!!!!
@@TheSeasonalHomestead Thank you so much! I'll look for those feeder pig groups. We live in central AR. Blessings!
If you have the time, would you ever consider doing a video on the comparison between broiler chickens and your heritage birds? Did you think it was worth raising heritage breeds for meat? My husband and I haven’t started homesteading yet (we’re looking for land out of state) but we plan on trying different breeds to do our own comparison and see what we like best/is not too expensive ☺️
Great question - broiler chickens are bred for maximum profit, not necessarily taste. A few years back we had the opportunity to help a friend out by purchasing some of their extra broilers that they had pasture raised. Long story short, they we're good to eat, but was hard to see them in such unnatural "chicken" state. They grow so fast that by the time they are ready to process, their legs can't support their own weight. Something not right with that whole equation...
We always thought we'd raise heritage breed broiler chickens, but with a large family, the research told us to go for the Cornish Cross and I am glad we did. We fed them organic, soy free food and it was not cheap that way (looking at ways to cut costs next go around) but they were the best tasting chicken we've ever had. Plump and juicy! The key is to butcher them at 8 weeks, and not let them get so large they have difficulty walking, etc.
@@preppingmama yes that is what most homesteaders seem to raise! I’ve found a few people who raise freedom rangers but the majority say that Cornish cross always wins in their book due to the cost difference!
@@Isabel_fit I respect Joel Salatin a lot and he raises mostly Cornish Cross.
I absolutely love your channel…greetings from England
Awesome! Thank you!
I would love to shop at your house!! Hahaha! Great work. Wish I had that "stash" like y'all have. Costco has nothing on you!
Your comment makes us happier than you know!!!! Thanks for tuning in with us!
We have bought a portion of a cow in the past.. it was the best! Such a good feeling to have our freezers full. There are some great questions here. My question is .. do you ever worry about losing power? Maybe you have a generator? Also about how long will that amount of meat last your family? Great video
Yes, we worry about losing power. A whole home generator is high on our priority list to get installed soon!! We have a small portable generator that we could use in a pinch. Our freezer stock right now will likely last us a year and a half.
@@TheSeasonalHomestead curious if you still feel like the 745 pounds off meat would last you 18 months? I have a family of 6 and based off everyone getting at least 2, four ounce servings a day of meat I would need to put up 1,100 pounds of meat alone for 12 months!?
Blessings to all!
Awesome. My husband like we got how much. We took off steer/2pigs. Butcher chicken and serval serval pounds of deer. Just need more chicken 😂. We are trying new recipes to use up. Next steer is October to go off and 5 pigs trying to sell in August
Hey Becky, just curious how much of the slaughtering, butchering and packaging you and Cam do yourself? We have plenty of space for pigs, cows and chickens here but the task of slaughtering and feathering that many birds and is daunting! Would be great to see a follow up video that goes more into the process of producing this much meat end to end just like your canning and vegetable production videos.
Good question Jared (This is Cam). We do the chickens and turkeys ourselves, but still take the cows and pigs to the butcher. We would like to eventually have a setup on site where we can process heavier animals easier, but for now, we'll keep using the butcher. That said, if these insane booking dates for the butcher keep up, we will likely accelerate our timeline for converting to butchering in house...
5 freezers!!!! Worrying about the electric bill would surely keep me up at night lol unless solar panels can run most it 😊 love your videos! Very inspiring! - Zee, N. Cali zone10a
Great job! Amazing!
This is so awesome! Family goals 😍
Excellent team work guys.
You are such an inspiration and I hope to have a property like yours and the diligence/discipline to get as far as you :). One question: Do you just bring the animals to your butcher and get the packages? Or do you smoke/prepare it yourself (like ham, sausages etc?). If yes, would be great to see that process... Greetings from Germany!
So something I saw on another video where you know those reusable bags that have like the sides on it. You can get like plastic ones anyways what you do is you can stack them on top of each other. So it's easier to pull things out. Something to think about. It's my third time watching this love it you guys make me laugh when you guys laugh it
Thank you so much for sharing the pork yields spreadsheet! I love taking notes and number crunching like that. I would like to raise my own pigs someday and this helps me manage my expectations. ❤
Your missing turkeys!!! They are a lot of fun to raise!!!
We have 9 turkeys now. Raising a small selection of heritage turkeys for thanksgiving. They seem more sensitive than chickens, but maybe that's just us...
@@TheSeasonalHomestead the turkeys are not as smart as chickens, so it takes a bit more care to keep them safe. But, you get a lot more meat for that gentle care!
Awesome, love the videos
If you don't eat pork roast much, consider having shoulder bacon next go around. Sooo good!
That's a wonderful thought. I'll ask our butcher for that cut next time we are there :) -Cam
There has to be an easier freezer solution rather than having to dig through everything to find what you need. Perhaps there are refrigerator looking freezer so the digging stops. Just a thought...! However, as you have multiple chest freezers I don't think that is an optimal solution for you at the moment. But I will investigate it for myself.
And by the way.....your children's art work is terrific!
Is a walk-in freezer something you’ve considered at all? Im always in awe of people who have the capacity to grow and preserve food. When going off grid, is solar going to be your primary power source? I watched another CZcamsr whose 7 freezers were used for her solar system (IDK how/why) TFS
Haven't really considered a walk in freezer at this point. The energy costs to keep a freezer room below temp would be pretty high, but if we ever open a butcher shop, we'll definitely be putting one in :)
It would be cool to see a video on making the bars
I feel like your freezers are not big enough. You have a big family and those angels will soon grow into world destroyers eating their way through everything lol. Maybe a couple more freezers with their own dedicated solar power set up to avoid interruption that could spoil the stock. Maybe you also need an outdoor stove much like a pizza stove made from fire bricks. Best for when the electric grid is down to do all your cooking for the cost of wood foraged for free in the property. Your journey is just spine tingling exciting for me. That something bad is happening soon is just palpable in the air specially with Brandon and Cackles in charged. How could something so good turn to shite so quickly. I hope your family stays safe. I wish you can tell us a little of what you do to secure the homestead.
If we need more freezers, we'll add more freezers :) We just recently got a freeze dryer, so the hope with that is to actually convert some of our freezer goods into freeze-dried goods that need no energy to store well at that point... Solar is on the horizon for us as well. Always something :)
Luv your videos hope you have solar energy cause my electric bill is high with just one freezer lol happy holidays
We hope to put in solar soon, but with the cost to put those in, it's at least a 20 year payback, based on our electric bills. We have found other ways to save on our electric bill.
Absolutely loved watching this I’ve been living in cities my whole life but I’ve started to get my own foods and make them from scratch. I go out to farms to pick up beef and pork and make my own bacon I’ve even started to try and butcher my own meat now it’s not up to the standards of a butcher well considering I’m the one eating it it doesn’t matter if I don’t cut the steak quite right. I did notice one thing that might be really beneficial to you guys it seem to me you were vac sealing all of your stuff with food saver. Now the machine is affordable however the bags are extremely expensive. Your products are back sealed you’re getting the maximum amount of time you can preserve them by freezing. It’s even far better than the butcher paper. I also use my vaccine when I’m marinating meat or even making dry rub bacon. I bought myself a small chamber vaccine now it is an investment for sure however it is for superior to the food saver one on many levels. First of all I can Seal mind meets in the chamber but it will also allow me to seal liquids. So leftover stews chillies soups can be vasealed in the bag and then dropped into a part of water later heated up cut on the bag I’m pouring to the bowl good to go. The chamber vac sealer bags are significantly cheaper than the food savers however these bags have to be sealed within the chamber . they will not seal outside the chamber like the food saver bags do. But if you have something bigger like a fillet of salmon where you want to vac Seal it in one piece instead of cutting it up . you can use the food saver bags for these unusually large objects and seal it with your chamber vac sealer outside the chamber most people don’t know this. In addition you can also seal mason jars inside your vac sealer. So if you wanted to seal up something dry like pastas and rice where you don’t want it to come into contact with any moisture this can be done easily. I am also sealed my tallow and lard in mason jars in my chamber a long wait pickled eggs and dill pickles inside the chamber. And no advantage of this vacuum seal chambers is if you used half a jar of something instead of just putting it in the fridge and hoping you use it up again in time you can put it in your fat seal chamber 30 seconds later it’s sealed up good again to be used at a later date. So although the Chain Bird vacc seal was an investment it easily will pay for itself within a season and everything after that is where it start saving your money when you look at how expensive food saver bags are in comparison to the chamber fax sealed bags I calculate it out one day and for a food saver bag it was cost me $.89 for a chambered bag it was costing me $.05, now that’s a pretty big saving you also save electricity or gas when you don’t have to have a pot on the stove to seal every type of canning you’re doing. Now considering the amount of food you guys store and preserve it will easily pay for itself perhaps you already know this and I’m just telling you stuff you already know but if not I just thought I’d throw it out there.
Que família organizada. Parabéns!!!!
Have you guys tried onion top pesto. And if you don't have pine nuts you can use toasted walnuts. So cutting off your onion tops helps to make the bulb get bigger. Something to think about
Great videos! Also, I will bet every penny I own that you guys are LDS :)
Did you guys have to buy any food from grocery stores this year? It’s incredible how much you guys grew!!!
I think she said one time they buy a few things they dont grow like baking goods but not much. Unless it was a different vlogger..I watch a few of the homesteaders. I 🤗
@@AlohaNLight2All you might be right! I remember a few years back they were able to grow at least 9 months of produce but couldn’t remember if they had finally reached their goal to grow a year’s worth of supplies.
I watch a lot of homesteaders too so I also start combing their stories in my head as well 😂
We try hard not to. Some things that we can't grow, we need to buy (Olives, avocados, olive oil, rice, etc). We just realized that we hadn't gone to the store in a month just now, and that's even with hosting a full Thanksgiving crowd. Whew!
What state are y’all located? We just found your channel and your property is beautiful
We are in Arkansas :)
I love your channel.
you guys are so clever
For upright freezers you could use Velcro straps to keep closed.
That's a good idea.
Cool system. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Great breakdown! I'm curious, how do you prevent freezer burn with such large quantities of meat? Presumably some of the meat stays in the freezer for a very long time.
This is essentially a years supply of meat for our family. We literally do not buy any meat from the store, so though it looks like a lot in the crates, this is what we will typically go thru in a 52 week period.
@@TheSeasonalHomestead Thanks for the reply! You find that you don't experience freezer burn within a year? I typically see some within 4 months. Is the wrapping special? Or is there a particular temperature at which you set the freezers? Thank you!
@@victorbuza676 vacuum freezing which removes the air limits freezer burn which is driven by air in the packaging allowing to pull moisture from the meats. Also, I typically freeze large amounts of cooked turkey. I freeze the turkey in its own juices and fat. The juice and fat creates a freezer burn barrier. Also when I unfreeze this turkey it tastes fresh without that old turkey taste.
Wow!, That's a lot of freezer storage. You guys should consider a freeze drier for another method of preservation. it has reduced my freezer storage by 70%
Totally!!!! We did in fact just get a freeze drier. Haven't had the chance yet to get it going, hopefully soon!! Kids want to try freeze dried skittles (of course!)
Wish we had room for that many freezers.
Can you tell us about your water fountain and bottle filler? I've never seen one in a residence, but when I saw yours my mind melted. How many times throughout the day does my wife or I have to stop and get a drink for one of our five kids? Is it affordable? Did you have to special order it? Thanks!
Husband found it on an auction site for around $250, brand new. Straight from the manufacturer they are like $1800, so we were super excited for that deal. checkout www.bidfta.com, and maybe there is an auction location near you. Thanks for watching!
Great vid, do you buy anything from supermarkets?
Sometimes. Mostly the stuff we legitimately can't grow here, like olives, olive oil, tropical fruits, etc.
Thanks for your videos. Have you ever looked into alternative storage for the freezer items that is not single use plastic? I have been looking myself as I feel bad about all the vacuum seal bags I use and the plastic waste that it produces but have not found anything yet. Thanks!
We are getting a pig in Aug 2023 /from the butcher…. My question is …. How easy is it to tell them what you want from the pig??? So if we don’t eat a lot of ham what else can we have made from that ???
I don’t know how this whole thing works….
And feel overwhelmed with this process. We are getting a 1/2 cow around that time too but that’s an easier thing to break down…. Thank you
When you smoke your meat consider also smoking neck bones and ham hocks for stocks and soups
Our Ham hocks come smoked from the butcher. Will have to try the neck bones though. Would add some good flavor to the stock!!
great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Done so well since you moved! Did you butcher any of your meat yourselves?
We butchered our chickens and turkeys. Usually take the cows and pigs to the butcher. Would be nice to have a butcher area on site for larger animals, but that's a ways out for us at this time. Sure would be nice though with how far out you need to schedule a butcher appointment, right?!?
Thank you for sharing!! #goals
i think youv e got food for years!!? well done
How does one know how much to grow? Did You start out growing a crazy amount for the year, then cut back once you figure out how much of each produce you go through? I want to grow produce for my own personal consumption but have no clue where to start.
I want some land to grow a big garden
Great video! Do you have any tips on thawing vegetables? Mine are always soggy ☹️
That may have more to do with blanching them for too long prior to freezing. Everything I freeze is usually 3 minutes or less blanch time, then an ice water bath to stop the cooking and then freeze. I have thawed in the refrigerator, a bowl of cool water, or directly into a simmering pot, all with pretty much the same results. They will lose some of the fresh crispness with blanching but they shouldn't be soggy. Sorry your having trouble with that, I hope you have better luck next time!
@@TheSeasonalHomestead thank you so much!
Love your videos! Would y'all mind sharing costs for the butcher's services?
Thank you. Butcher costs vary WIDELY, but from our years of doing this, it usually falls somewhere between $.65 and $.95 per pound, hanging weight. If you call a local butcher in your area, I'm sure they'd be happy to share their costs with you.
Amazing
Can you do video how to freeze vegetables and fruits.How you rise chicken what did you feed?
😀
Wow!
I’d love to hear the recipe for the granola bars!
Quick question did you guys steam them not steam them boil them for like a minute before freezing them or did you just freeze them reason why it's cuz I don't want to learn an easier way instead of having to boil blanch them that's the word instead of blanching them I'm text talking because I'm watching your video LOL
looks great. do your kids befriend the animals? do they get upset when you have to butcher them? i’m sure the meat is so much healthier but i would grow so attached to them all after having cared for them every day :(
Interesting enough the kids, though they name the animals, are totally ok with the whole process. Knowing from day one the animals purpose softens the blow a bit. It's actually a very respectful thing for us all, and a wonderful teaching moment on many fronts.
I grew up in this way and was totally ok with it, if you wanted to eat meat you had to be! And the meat was so delicious it was hard not to be 🤣
You need a freeze dryer. You can take the food out of those freezers and freeze dry it to make more space or get rid of freezers.
Just got a freeze dryer!!!! Expect to see more of that in future videos. We've done a few test batches of powdered eggs and such, and so far we LOVE IT!!!
Do you blanch your veggies before freezing??
Yes we do 👍
@@TheSeasonalHomestead thank you 😊
How long can you freeze stuff for?
I'm trying to learn something about chicken. Why kill and freeze them in bulk when you can eat them fresh as needed? Do they die in the winter, or what's the reason? Thanks.
Great question -- For our family, it made sense to raise all the birds at the same time, and do all the processing(killing) in one weekend. It would take too much time if, as part of dinner prep that day, included catching a chicken, processing a chicken, cleaning the chicken, etc... Just logistically makes more sense to do them all at once.
Hi, that is really cool. But i am from Europe. How much is 725 lbs? in Kilogram? Kind regards from Austria. ❤
Have you ever looked into reusable freezer bags? It seems like y'all go through a lot of singlue use plastic with all of the freezer items.
What happens if the power goes off? Do you have some kind of back up generator? Thanks.
how much does it cost to take a pig to a butcher near you? Prices are pretty high near us...
For us, it totaled around $1.50 per pound(the pounds we took home. Butcher charges $0.65 per pound hanging weight, plus $0.75 per pound for curing meats.
Are you thinking of going solar to help with the coat of electricity?
Yes, it's being researched right now. Solar has always been in the plan, just need to get our money tree to start growing so we can pay for it all :) -Cam
I might have missed it but, what kind of pig did you grow?
We raised three pigs. They all were a cross between Large black, Tamworth, and Berkshire. They were wonderful!!
Do y'all butcher them yourselves or hire it out?
Are you smoking any of your pork like the hams and bacon yourself ? Or do you have the butcher do that?
Currently, our butcher cures/smokes the ham and bacon for us. Eventually, we'd like to get to a point where we are doing all of it.
Curious how much of this you actually eat per year? is this something that would last you a few years if you couldn't restock?
What’s the benefit of killing and freezing the chickens rather than just slaughtering one at a time as and when you need? Is it just quicker when you want to cook?
Yes, when we need it, it's there. Doing them all at once saves a lot of time as well. We can do 75 or so in one day, whereas doing then one at a time, they would take a lot longer in total...
We get fresh produce throughout the year in India, there's no winter
Lucky lucky!!!
Don't forget to subtract the weights of your containers! You can't eat cardboard and plastic. ;)
How much you invest on soil, seeds, jars , electricity and labour. I think it's been equal to wat you spend on food
Have you ever had a power outage what do you do with that many freezers
We have a back up whole-home generator to keep power on in the event of a power outage...
Pls use the metric system for weight units