5 Very Practical Things I've Learned Since Starting a Small Farm

1. Don't use the front door... go around back - We have a front door. It's beautiful. Perfectly placed and symmetrical and flanked by 2 large picture windows as well as a couple of dormers up above it to really give it scale. It leads to a nice little landing with a beautiful (and original) antique light. We never use it. In fact, if you knock on it, we won't answer. If you ring the Ring doorbell I installed, there's a 30% chance I'll even answer it... and then tell you to "Go around back". Neighbors know this... The first few days, after we moved in, my neighbor Rick came by (shirtless) to introduce himself as well as my across the road neighbor Craig... to drop off some frozen salmon he caught in Alaska... and to gossip. We've had no less than 28 trades people come to do work in and around the house... they all know to go around back. It's the way its done. The front door is just a disguise. Everyone knows this... I had to learn.
2. There's a magical spot on the back porch - We don't wear shoes in the house. They all come off on the back porch. It's a good sized porch, but if you don't get your shoes in a very specific spot, they will get wet or snowed on. If you can't fit your shoes in that spot, at least turn them upside down or flip your boots on their sides. Everyone knows this... I had to learn.
3. If you're on the fence about buying a tractor, they'll bring out a hat - On day 2 of move in, I had already bought a farm truck. The next big purchase was to be a tractor. They're not cheap... and so you need to get things right the first time. You buy too big, you run the risk of hitting fence posts and not getting through tight spots. Size it too small and you may not have enough power or features (like 4 wheel drive) to get key work done... Like pulling out logs and concrete or lifting pallets of feed and water. I STRUGGLED with this decision, even before taking ownership of the farm. The whole family went to the tractor dealer and we looked at 25hp - 60hp models. $20k-$80K depending on the attachments to get... and it adds up. A front bucket... box blade... backhoe... tiller. I landed on a 30hp model and swallowed the idea of the price... but I said "well, let me think on it for a day or so..." And out came the Kubota hats... one for my 4-year old son, one for me and one for my wife. And we went home with a contract and purchase order for a 30hp tractor with all kinds of toys. It's beautiful... and I love it. But the hat is the way they get you. Everyone knows this... and I had to learn.
4. You're likely doing it wrong, but nobody will tell you unless you ask - My field was 3 feet high with grass that had gone to seed and was in unusable state for any livestock. We had a really hot and dry Summer so it was also yellow and dead. I had planned to have it cut once the tractor showed up and now it was 4th of July weekend. Not sure about the rest of the world, but this area is fully into fireworks and the 4th of July. And I stressed the entire weekend about a stray bottle rocket setting the field ablaze... but the neighbors around us kept firing them off. Thankfully, nothing bad happened and I got around to cutting the field. Took 4 hours with the tractor and the brush hog... and it looked beautiful. I even mowed a nice walking path for my wife and son to make it easier for walks out to the trees. A couple weeks went by and I was talking with my neighbor (Rick... remember him? Still no shirt). First thing that comes up is how thankful everyone was that the field didn't catch fire... and he wondered if I'd get around to asking to borrow his brush hog to cut the field prior, but I didn't. Apparently, you're just supposed to ask for help. Everyone knows this... but I had to learn.
5. Everyone but you knows the story and the details of your property - We bought our farm from another family who bought a larger farm. They bought the property from the people who now live on the 5 acres next to us. The well water treatment guys went to school with both of those people and they've serviced this well before. The HVAC guys have been to the house before and recommended the same solutions I'm getting. I have learned, all I need to do is say where my house is and everyone knows a story, a purchase or a person that lived here. I recently bought fencing from the supply store a mile away. I told them I was doing repairs. "You know we installed that fence, what happened?" Everyone knows more than I do about my house... but that will change over time. Everyone knows this... I had to learn.

And those are just a few of the practical lessons... I expect more.