When the World Feels Unsteady, Here’s Where Real Food Security Begins

A lot of conversations with customers have begun the same way lately: “Do you ever have calves for sale?”

I tell them that sometimes we have Jersey steers, but we keep all our heifers to grow the herd. And that’s when they share what’s really on their mind, that they want to raise a calf for their family because it feels more affordable than buying a finished animal, and because quietly, they’re trying to create something steady in a world that no longer feels that way.

These questions aren’t about chasing a homesteading dream. They’re about families trying to anchor themselves against the uneasiness they feel every time they walk into the grocery store. I hear it in their voices long before they ever say the words. The grocery store doesn’t feel the same anymore. People are noticing the changes. Prices creep upward, slowly but relentlessly. Produce tastes flavorless, fruit spoils faster. Corn out of season has vanished. Foods that used to be reliable now come and go without warning. And it isn’t just “inflation” this our food system showing strain.

Recent tariffs have raised the cost of imported food, ingredients, fertilizer, equipment, and feed. When those costs rise, stores bring in less variety, lower quality, or simply stop carrying certain items. Consolidation in the beef industry means four giant processors control most of the meat, so one disruption can ripple across the entire country. Labor shortages leave some crops unharvested entirely. The whole system feels unstable.

People aren’t imagining, Their bodies know something is shifting before their minds can articulate it.

So when they start asking about raising calves or buying a cow, I understand. They’re not looking for a project. They’re trying to build steadiness, to reclaim some control in a world where even the basics feel uncertain.

And because I care about these families, because I recognize the fear hidden under these practical questions, I do my best to answer them honestly.

A steer or a milk cow is not the kind of security most families imagine.

A good dairy cow is a three to five thousand dollar investment before she ever gives a drop of milk. A young beef steer, even at 600 pounds, is around two thousand dollars just to get started. And with cattle, all your meat or all your milk rests on a single animal’s shoulders. If something happens to that one animal, the emotional and financial loss is enormous.

One cow carries your entire dairy supply. One steer carries your entire year of beef. If they go down, everything goes with them.

People picture cattle as sturdy, almost bulletproof, but the truth is that cows and steers can break your heart in an instant. A good milk cow can be standing strong at night and down with milk fever or another metabolic crash by morning. When a cow goes down, she’s often too big to move, too heavy to lift, too fragile to drag into a barn. There have been moments I’ve come out after a storm and found a cow lying in the snow, and I have prayed, actually prayed, that she was a goat I could scoop up and rush to the vet.

And steers? They can look perfect at feeding time and dead an hour later from bloat. No warning, no time to intervene, no chance to save them. Just gone. That’s the kind of loss that hits you in the chest and steals the breath right out of your lungs.

A cow is a thousand-pound heartbreak you cannot carry.

A steer is a thousand-pound investment you cannot replace overnight.

You kneel beside them. You talk to them. You do everything you can — and sometimes you still lose them.

No one prepares you for how heavy that moment No one tells you how quiet the pasture feels afterward.

It’s why, if I were homesteading instead of farming, I would choose a handful of dairy goats or sheep over one cattle every single time.

Not because I don’t love cows, I do, but because smaller livestock you spread your risk. If one becomes ill, you haven’t lost everything. Their fit into the daily rhythm of a family.

They support the household instead of overwhelming it.

And for people truly seeking food security, the answer isn’t “get a cow.”The answer is to diversify with animals that fit into your real life.

Below is how I would build a resilient homestead food system, the kind that holds a family steady through uncertain times.

PART 2: The Homestead Animals That Build Real Food Security

Food security doesn’t come from going big. It comes from going manageable, diverse, and resilient. Below are the animals I would stake a family’s stability on.

1. Dairy Goats — The Backbone of a Family-Scale Dairy

Goats are hands down the best dairy animal for most homesteads.

Why goats outperform cows for family food security:

• Milk production that matches real family use

• Spread-out risk (multiple animals instead of one)

• Far lower feed requirements

• Easier kidding and fewer life-threatening metabolic crashes

• Manageable size and temperament

• Produce a manageable amount of milk.

  
  

2. Hair Sheep (Dorper, Katahdin) — Meat That Makes Sense

Sheep, especially hair sheep, are the most efficient meat animals for a homestead.

Why hair sheep matter:

• Harvest in one year (vs. two or three for beef)

• Thrive on grass and minimal feed inputs

• Gentle on land and fencing

• Manageable for one person

• Naturally shed, no shearing needed

3. Rabbits — The Quiet Emergency Food System

Rabbits are the hidden gem of homestead protein.

Why rabbits are vital:

• Incredibly fast reproduction

• Low feed requirements

• Clean, quiet, easy to house

• Simple home processing, no equipment needed

• Rabbits have one of the highest protein-to-feed ratios of any livestock species.

• Their manure is “cold,” meaning it can be applied directly to gardens.

4. Quail — The Fastest, Easiest Protein Source

Quail offer meat and eggs with unmatched speed.

Why quail work:

• Ready for harvest in 6–8 weeks

• Daily eggs

• Tiny space requirements

• Extremely feed efficient

• Quail eggs are higher in vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3s compared to chicken eggs.

5. Chickens — The Heartbeat of the Homestead

Chickens are the steady drumbeat of food security.

Why they matter:

• Daily eggs

• Eat kitchen scraps

• Easy to raise and maintain

• Provide manure for gardens

6. Small Pigs (Kune Kune, AGH) — The Missing Link: Fat

Most families overlook fat, but it’s the cornerstone of food security.

Why small pigs matter:

• Provide nutrient-dense lard (high in monounsaturated fat)

• Thrive on pasture, garden surplus, and forage

• Gentle, manageable breeds

• Moderate feed needs

The Power of Diversity: Resilience Through Variety

A cow is a single point of failure. A goat herd is not.A sheep flock is not. A multi-species homestead creates redundancy, which is the foundation of stability.

Food security comes from many small streams, not one overwhelming flood.

And This Is Why Supporting Sustainable Farms Matters

Not everyone can raise all (or any) of these animals, and that’s where local farms come in.

The cheapest farms are also the most fragile. They rely on free land, government leases, waste-feed sources, or inherited infrastructure. When the world tilts, tariffs shift, diesel rises, feed prices spike, they disappear.

But farms built on sustainable pricing stay. They remain . They continue feeding the community when supply chains falter, when grocery stores run thin, when uncertainty grows.

When you support my farm and other like mine, you’re not just buying food. You are building the food security you will rely on later. You’re choosing a system rooted in soil, not corporations. You’re investing in resilience, for your family and for mine.

And if someone truly wants to raise their own animals, I will help them. Goats, sheep, rabbits, quail, pigs, even a cow, if it’s the right fit. I will guide them with honesty and care, never with fear.

To every parent who has looked at me with that quiet worry tucked behind their eyes. I see you. You’re not imagining the shift . You’re responding to it. And I’m right here with you, building something solid enough to carry us all a little