Our First Year Homesteading: The Real, The Raw, and The Rewarding
I’ve seen blog posts on Pinterest titled “Let Me Talk You Out of Homesteading” or “Let Me Talk You Out of Getting a Dairy Cow.”
But that’s not what I’m here to do.
I’m not trying to talk you out of anything—I just want to give you an honest look into our journey: the wins, the chaos, the growth, and the things we’ve learned (even in this short but intense season).
A Quick Timeline of Our Homestead Journey
For those of you who are new here, here’s a little background on how this adventure began:
February 2024
• Purchased land
October 2024
• Moved onto the land in our camper
• Started perimeter fencing
• Created a small fenced yard around the camper
• Broke ground on our new home; slab poured
November 2024
• Welcomed our first animals:
– 3 Babydoll Southdown sheep
– Great Pyrenees puppies
– Our first dairy cow, Juniper (due Feb 2025)
– 2 Mini Herefords
• Built barns for the animals
December 2024
• Added two Mini Jerseys (1 heifer, 1 bull)
• Found out I was pregnant!
January 2025
• First trimester—survival mode
• Praying our new house would be finished (spoiler: it wasn’t)
February 2025
• Moved into the house (finally!)
• Welcomed a ram and wether to our flock
• Celebrated our daughter’s third birthday
March 2025
• First calf born
• Officially entered the world of milking
April–May 2025
• Things slowed down a little
• Fenced more of the property
• Planted our garden
• Helped start a farmers market with friends
June 2025
• Started separating the calf during the day and saw great milk production
• Launched our herdshare program
• Focused heavily on growing our homestead business
• Began shopping for another dairy cow (🙈)
July 2025
• Getting the property cleaned and prepped for baby #2
August 2025
• Expecting our second baby girl to arrive! 💗
Typing it all out like this really validates just how busy (and blessed!) this year has been. Each little bullet point holds a hundred lessons we’ve learned the hard way.
The Learning Curve (Or… the Crash Course)
There were so many moments where we felt completely in over our heads. We definitely jumped into the deep end. And while I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing everything at once, I do think we would’ve learned most of the same lessons either way—it just would’ve been a slower process.
Caring for sheep, cows, and especially learning how to milk… it’s no small feat. Don’t even get me started on the milking journey.
Juniper—our first Jersey—has been a sassy, stubborn girl. We love her dearly, but let’s just say she didn’t make it easy. Still, when we finally started getting good, creamy milk… it felt so worth it.
How We Chose Our Animals (and What We’d Do Differently)
Why We Chose Babydoll Sheep
These sheep are small, gentle, easy to manage, and just plain adorable. They’re great for smaller acreage, and their wool is valuable even in small quantities. We’ve loved having them as part of our starter herd.
Why We Chose Mini Jerseys
We chose mini Jerseys for their high butterfat milk, gentle temperament, and manageable size. They’re perfect for a family homestead and ideal for hand-milking.
Juniper, our first Jersey, was actually an impulse buy. She was bred (meaning milk would be coming soon), and she was priced well. We already had deposits on two younger mini Jerseys but wanted to get started milking as soon as we could.
Why We Wouldn’t Choose Mini Herefords Again
Let me start by saying—we really do love our Mini Herefords. They are by far the sweetest, calmest, and most manageable animals on our homestead. Their temperament is top-tier. They’re easy to move, gentle around our kids, and honestly some of the lowest-maintenance animals we own.
That said, one of our biggest goals for this homestead is to become as self-sustaining as possible. And when it comes to raising cattle for meat, Mini Herefords just don’t make the most sense for us long-term.
The main issue is this: they take a long time to mature, and even once they do, they don’t provide a large amount of meat—especially if you’re breeding them to a Mini Jersey bull like we originally planned. That cross just wouldn’t yield the kind of beef production we’d need to make it worth the time, feed, and pasture space.
While they’re an excellent breed for hobby farms or folks wanting smaller, manageable cattle for show or companionship, they’re just not ideal for producing meat at a sustainable level. For us, it came down to being honest about our goals and the resources we’re investing. We need animals that give more back in return—whether that’s through milk, meat, or both.
Would I recommend Mini Herefords to a beginner homesteader? Absolutely. They’re a dream to handle. But if your end goal is to raise your own beef and feed your family from your land, I’d suggest looking into larger breeds or meatier crosses that better meet that need.
