After watching part of the the series The Colony, ever think of building a compound as a bug out location? (Think The Prison from The Walking Dead!) While a little more obvious than just a farm, it can be built to suit and with self defense in mind. I've read books such as Backyard Homestead that show how little land you actually need if you properly plan and lay out your steading. Plus, you can custom build storage and other buildings, such as a barn, workshop, garage, greenhouse, etc. Even an armory, if you're that way inclined.
While your immediate group might only contain a family of 5-8, I think it would be useful to plan to be able to accommodate at least 10-15 for the purposes of either new comers or risk of famine/drought. I'm currently in the process of a rough-draft for a future when I'll be able to purchase and perhaps start building. Some research indicates a family of 5 can survive on a 1/4 acre if done right. An acre is more than plenty, but it is a lot of acre to try and fence in for a compound, so I may have to prioritize what can go inside or outside of the walls. Any extra acreage is a bonus, allowing for even more fields, livestock, or hunting grounds. I personally set my minimum property to 20 acres, which is a huge amount in many ways, but I think it can incorporate more terrain types and opportunities in the non-emergency scenario as well.
I'm planning on including for buildings:
multiple housing blocks (First a main house, and then either attachments or a smaller housing block)
various animal sheds in small pastures rather than a large barn,
a central stores area for water/food and dry goods, with root cellar
a garage/workshop/milking parlour?
a hay/feed building
a woodshed/fuel storage, away from food
Garden/Livestock wise:
Small greenhouse
Chicken/Turkey Coop
Pond for raising fish/waterfowl
Goat/Sheep field and shed
Pig Sty w/shed
Rabbit shed
Possible cow/s
Water source & Purification
Raised bed gardens
Orchard/Vineyard
Crop space/field
Bee hives
Along with these, I think it is important to have recreational areas to reduce stress, even as little as a small grassy area, within the walls, or a flower garden. Not everything can be built inside, but many can be squeezed in somehow. Obviously there are priorities, as with everything.
While I don't have anything for power as of yet, I plan to include it, but also try and not have electricity as a necessity, but a luxury in case of failure.
As mentioned, I'm still in the very earliest of planning stages, drawing maps and plans and gathering the capital. With luck, it will not just be an emergency home but possibly seasonal or eventually permanent home.
Some additional information I've found that might be helpful for others:
I've found info stating that for a fully vegetarian diet of 2300cal/day, per person you would need .44 acres (76 666 sq ft for a family of four)
1 Person averages 1.5lbs/week of wheat, 3003 sqft/person
1 year of corn (family of 4+animals), 2640 sqft (doesn't mention specifically, but possibly 3 pigs, 2 goats and a doz. chickens that can graze)
1 year of pork (3 pigs, twice a week meals), 207 sqft (Add 9ft per pig/piglet)
1 year of dairy (2 goats, 1844lbs of milk), 100sq ft
1 Year of eggs (13 chickens, 1000 eggs a year), 65ft
1 year of electricity (11040kWh), 375 sq ft of roof solar panels
This leads to just about 2 acres for a family of 4.
I've found other places that list 4000 sqft/person a a safe guide
I like this topic and I'd like to discuss this.
First, I'd like to say you may want to check out the 'Farm' series. It's a British series covering farming life during certain periods. There's Tales from the Green Valley which is really old farming - like ploughing with a wooden plough and seeding by hand. There's Victorian Farm which is farming in the Victorian era. And my favourite which is Edwardian Farm (the time around 1900). There's also Wartime Farm which discusses farming practices in Britain during WWII and sheds good light on the roots of our modern farming systems used today.
Next, I'd like to make a suggestion about fencing in a defensible area. One could use landscape as a defence as much as fencing. For instance, landscape your property with living fences (perhaps hawthorns that are shaped into nearly impenetrable hedge fences). Brambles could be used also, so you get defence and fruit. Build these up to either deny potential attackers straight in ways to your buildings, or to funnel them where you can see them coming early and easily. They are effective, as they could also hold most of your livestock in as well. In our large chunk of brambles, I've never seen our sheep attempt to escape through it in over 10 years.
Also, aside from some windbreaks, limit the amount of brush cover around your buildings. This denies anyone a spot to conceal themselves to watch you or attack you from easily.
As far as land use goes, I'm currently on 23 acres - about 3 of it in woodlot. The other 20 is divided right now into about 4 acres of fenced pasture and about 3 acres (give or take) in house and buldings and lawn (yuck) and I think it's too much.
I'm working on reclaiming from brush and weeds about 5 acres. I want to have about 1 acre in house and buildings (even that seems too much to me), a 1 acre garden including soft fruits (which is huge!) and the remaining 3 I want to divide into pasture. My grand plan for the pasture is to run a cow/calf pair (as far as I know butter only comes from cow milk), about 8-10 sheep (mostly for wool, but also for meat), and follow them with mobile chicken pens. The chicken pens I'd like to have one for laying hens (about 24-30, giving about 4 dozen eggs a week - based on the 7 I have now that drop a dozen a week and they are old @ 4+ years). I'd like to have some meat chickens in another mobile pen - maybe 40-50 or so. I'm not keen on cleaning out hundreds of chickens 🙂
I believe I'd run the chickens behind the grazers, so they can spread the manure and knock down the bug larvae.
As far as the pigs go, I'd have 2-4. I raised 4 on the ground last year in a fenced in area and it worked out good...till they learned they could defeat the fence at will. My penned area was about 40x60. Those hogs had the room to not be bored and troublesome. They rooted where and when they felt like it. They had their wallow. And near slaughter time, they had it manured pretty evenly...although they used a far corner for a bathroom for the longest time. They didn't need a building to live out the summer months - they didn't even use the one they had access too.
I see you listed goats over cows. I do see the argument for it, that goats require less then the cows, but again as far as I know butter only comes from cows so for me personally I'm about cows. Plus, I'd like to have the leather from the calf when it's big enough to use as beef.
Power is an interesting topic. Several of the farms around ours have had panels installed on their barns. It seems to be working out for them too. Where I am, the gov't and their contractor buddies are pushing to erect huge windmills, so I suppose that could be a workable option too. I've been running a marine battery to power a portable electrical fence charger. It's been working, but I don't think it's done too good during the really cold snaps we've had lately in South Ontario. I've found where the battery was nearly dead in a week when I should have been able to run the fence for 28 days or so. Cold does it to a battery 🙁
Good topics. Enjoyed putting my thoughts and recent experiences down.
Runs With Scissors
As far as electrical fences go, we've had good success in the past with little solar units for livestock fencing. mount them on a little pole. We've been using pieces of t-bar a few feet from the actual fence, so the horses can't reach out and knock it or chew wires. They have handy little on-off switches too, whereas our previous layout used a light switch in the barn, but all the paddocks ran off the same connection, so it could lead to problems. Also, it was a pain to walk all the way out to the far paddock just to find you forgot to turn the fence off!
I'd like to be able to keep a small amount of cattle, but butter can be made with goat's milk, it's just a pain and takes much longer to separate(3 or more days, which, without refrigeration, sucks). I prefer cow's milk, and beef for that matter, but absolutely love goat's cheese, plus in a pinch they give more for what they demand. I would like to be able to keep a variety of large stock, including goats, cows, and sheep. All have their pluses and minuses for milk, but I worry about preserving of meat. Personally, I have family members who cannot eat lots of salt, and I personally have some issues with smoked meats, so smaller stock that can be used quicker makes more sense for us.