BENEFITS OF RAISING AND CARING FOR LIVESTOCK As people lead increasingly hectic and busy lives, many of us crave returning to our agricultural or pastoral roots, which until only a few generations ago possibly would have been the norm. Being able to produce your own food can be satisfying when as consumers, we are presented with packaged foods that seems far removed from the producer. Personal desires, which may seem like idiosyncrasies, can be catered for e.g. if you like well marbled beef, you can take beef to higher weights and if you want to wear a hand spun jumper from your own coloured sheep or alpaca, you can. Lifestyle blocks offer many advantages, including distance from neighbours and room for the children to play. Also, those near urban areas especially can fetch a premium over properties with a smaller footprint. Evidence is suggesting that children raised with farm animals might be healthier and the honest manual labour that a lifestyle block often brings is likely to be beneficial
Farmlands Lifestyle Guide
for their toiling parents. Even small acreages can be attractive to contractors for silage or neighbours looking to lease land but farming the land for yourself offers the potential to generate income solely for yourself, which might help to offset the costs of a more expensive property. Energy deficiency is a global issue. Pasture species have the ability to capture energy from sunlight throughout the year and generate organic matter provided they have sufficient water, minerals and are not too cold or hot. Ruminant animals (including cattle and sheep) have the ability to digest pasture species, which would otherwise be poorly utilised by mammals, to produce animal protein in meat and milk, in addition to wool, horn and hides, which are of value. Land allows lifestyle farmers to keep grazing animals in a potentially productive environment in smaller herds or flocks, which are more reminiscent of traditional farming practices. This allows for greater human interaction and personal care than might be possible on large commercial farms. Whilst high quality eggs can be produced in
intensive systems, the ability for hens to free range might be expected to vary their diet and allow expression of behaviour that makes the consumer feel good, regardless of any changes to the flavour or nutritional value of the eggs. For those that are fortunate enough to be able to fulfil a lifestyle dream, small scale farming can be hard on the back but overall good for both body and soul.
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