I was originally drawn to Plowing with Pigs and Other Creative, Low-Budget Homesteading Solutions because I am planning to raise pigs, but it turns out you really can't judge a book by its cover! While there is a chapter about pigs and the many ways they can help you around your homestead, this book is actually a collection of many different affordable homestead solutions. The … [Read more...]
Starting a Farmstead Creamery
When I started making cheese in 2002, my friends immediately started asking if they could buy it. When I called my state department of agriculture to learn the requirements, I was quickly overwhelmed and gave up on the idea as soon as the woman on the phone mentioned $15,000 as the starting price for a pasteurizer. Because I was only milking one goat at the time, there was no … [Read more...]
Cottage Food Freedom
Thanks to new laws currently on the books in more than forty-two US states, small-scale food businesses can now be operated from home kitchens. These state laws, often referred to as “cottage food legislation” or “cottage food laws,” have nothing to do with cottage cheese and everything to do with allowing you to sell certain food products to your neighbors and community. By … [Read more...]
Chat with the authors of Homemade for Sale
Today we're chatting with Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, authors of Homemade for Sale: How to Set Up and Market a Food Business from Your Home Kitchen. What type of home-based business do you have and why did you decide to start it? We're all about returning to a nation of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. We write about this in many of … [Read more...]
Review: Homemade for Sale
If you happen to live in one of the 42 states that passed a cottage food law and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you might have thought about starting your own homemade food business. If so, you should check out Homemade for Sale: How to Set Up and Market a Food Business from Your Home Kitchen by ecopreneurs Lisa Kivirist and John D. Ivanko. This book has everything the … [Read more...]
