Fresh air, working with your hands, home-grown fruits and vegetables, spending quality time with your family… These things all sound pretty great don’t they? Well, if this sounds like some things from your wish list you’ll be glad to know that these are just some of the reasons many people have taken up the art of hobby farming.
Hobby farms have really grown in popularity in recent years and today, more families are seeking out larger plots of land away from densely-populated cities in order to start their own hobby farm.
Obviously, there’s a lot more you are able to do when you have more space around your home compared to when you live on less acreage. One reason that people have been seeking out more land is hobby farming, which is not only fun, but comes with a lot of benefits, making it a popular pastime that’s quickly becoming big among families.
What is a Hobby Farm?
Before we go into the benefits of hobby farming, what exactly is this new trend anyway? While farming has traditionally been viewed as a full-time occupation for much of history, hobby farming takes a different approach. Think of hobby farming as a small-scale farm done without the expectation of bringing in a significant - or any - income. A hobby farm is often done by people as just that - a hobby. This is different from traditional farms that are worked as a full-time occupation and with the goal of generating income. Hobby farms can range in size and can be as big or as small as you’d like. Generally, most people choose to have a vegetable garden and some animals such as chickens, and possibly even small livestock, like goats on their hobby farm. Now that you know what a hobby farm is, keep reading for some of the benefits owning one comes with.
1. Rewarding
Having a hobby farm can be rewarding in multiple ways. For one, it can be extremely physically rewarding to build and create something with your hands, whether that means planting a garden or caring for animals. By creating a hobby farm, you’re fostering growth and reaping the benefits of that growth, which is a very rewarding process. You and your family will enjoy the experience of literally planting seeds that you’ll be able to enjoy in the future. It can also be rewarding to share the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor with loved ones.
2. Mental Health
Connecting with nature has been shown to have a positive effect on mental health. The hustle and bustle of everyday life juggling work, friends and family can take a toll on us, but having a hobby that gets you out into nature and working with your hands can be a great way to bring peace and tranquility to your life. Working with your hands and spending time outside creating things with your family will lead to a deeper feeling of connection between you and your home, land and actions.
3. Physical Health
Speaking of health, owning your own hobby farm can also have a big impact on your physical health and wellbeing. As you can imagine, maintaining even a small hobby farm requires a certain level of physical labor - from clearing, planting and harvesting, to caring for animals and your land, owning a hobby farm requires a lot of consistent work. All of this work is a great way to not only relieve stress, but it’s also a good way to stay in shape. If you’re looking for a reason to cancel your gym membership, then owning a hobby farm will give you plenty of physical activity, without it feeling like exercise. Not only will you get in regular physical activity caring for your hobby farm, but you’re also likely to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables if you’re growing them yourself. All of this extra movement and additional produce you’ll be eating will have a positive impact on your overall health.
4. Quality Time
A hobby farm requires all hands on deck, making it a great way to spend screen-free time with your family and bond over projects. It can be hard for families to set aside quality time together, but with a hobby farm, it happens naturally. You and your family will get a lot of quality time together completing projects around the farm and doing the necessary maintenance that’s required to keep the farm running. With no distractions from technology, you can be assured that this quality time will truly be high quality.
5. Life Lessons
Every parent wants to teach their children the important lessons in life, like responsibility, hard work and accountability. A hobby farm is a great tool to communicate these lessons to your children because it teaches them through real action and results. Giving your children tasks to complete around the hobby farm will give them a real sense of satisfaction, especially when they see the impact their work is having, like bonding with the animals or harvesting fresh vegetables.
6. Fresh Food
Of course along with all of the other benefits of having your own hobby farm, one of the most obvious benefits is the fresh food you’re bound to reap. Between fresh eggs from your chickens to vegetables straight out of the ground, to year-round herbs, your family will have a lot of fresh food to enjoy thanks to your hobby farm. In fact, this is one of the main reasons a lot of people go into hobby farming. It starts with wanting to have more control over what your family eats and wanting to know where your food comes from and before you know it, you have a plethora of fresh food you’re able to enjoy on a regular basis.
If you have some extra land, then a hobby farm is a great use for it and something that you can enjoy with your whole family. If you’re interested in living on a bigger plot of land, then we can help you find something that’s a perfect fit for your family and your lifestyle.
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Kevin McLemore is a second generation real estate broker, having grown up in the business. The McLemore Group is centered around the strong bond that Kevin has with his father, Dan McLemore. They have been working together selling land, homes, and commercial projects for over 20 years.
Kevin specializes in helping sellers of unique properties get maximum value for their property with as little headache as possible. He has brokered transactions throughout the greater Charlotte region including the upstate of South Carolina.
Copyright © 2024 The McLemore Group - All Rights Reserved.