How I live so inexpensively while maintaining a very comfortable lifestyle.

Electricity

The farm provides all of our needs of electricity from the solar cells and various sunflower fuelled generators.

Solar cells and generators

The milling of our flour can use strictly solar to mill the flour but If needed I can use the grid by switching the source of our electricity

Water

Our water is provided by a well in our lot on the east side of the farm and is pumped to the water storage tank under the tack room in the basement so it will not freeze in the winter. There are two pressurized holding tanks that hold about 200 liters of water and the pressure is about 55 lbs psi. The water is pumped to the house and barns and various hydrants through the farm.

Sewage

We have three approved sewage facilities, Two for the house and one for the north barn

Food

I grow most of our food. We mill spelt flour which is used everyday for things like bread making and pancakes. Our milk comes from a friends cow since ours is dry which I use for yogourt making every day. I do drink milk everyday.

We grow food in our gardens every year and store the produce over the winter in various location depending on the temperature and humidity requirements

Transportation and vehicles

I have two diesel cars and truck that run on sunflower oil which we produce at the farm in our regular pressings each month. There is always some extra which I filter and store for fuel for the tractors and cars.

I maintain all of the tractors and vehicles and am very knowledgeable in the areas of mechanics and diesels running on sunflower oil. With everything here on the farm there is no need for any travel.

WE do some deliveries with a sunflower powered delivery vehicle.

All machinery is well maintained

I am very able to fix , repair and construct anything mechanical. I am able to use our machine shop, the welding shop and woodworking shop to do necessary maintenance and repairs.

Heating of water and home

I log with the horses to provide all of my firewood which is stored in a wood shed. in the winter my hot water is provided by the wood stove using a heating coil in the wood stove that circulates without the use of electricity in a water tank I constructed. In the summer I use evacuated tubes to supply plenty of hot water.

Evacuated tube tanks for house

Income

We press sunflower, flax, hemp and Camelina oils which we take order for from various stores and customers. We mill spelt and rye flours along with corn flour at our farm in the mill that I refurbished

We do sell some eggs as well as some vegetables during the summer.

The newly approved apartments are a good source of income from our workers living at the farm.