Hi Jared I started by working for my cousin, then spent 2 years working as what was essentially a migrant farm worker. saved my $ and bought my first house on 2 acres for $27,000. You can pretty well figure ... it wasn't much of a house. But, it kept the rain off and I worked another job and worked on the house and farmed my little one acre of date palms and 1/2 acre of produce. The next year I leased an additional 1 1/2 acres of dates. Eventually sold that place and now have 5 acres with on acre of dates producing and another planted. Will eventually have 4 acres planted. I admire your desire to stay out of debt. It means you have to live like no one else for a while, and save save save. With a family, that will be harder than it was for me but it is possible. Then look for the right opportunity. Be patient, and you will find it. Then 2 things about farming. 1) grow what you love to grow and what loves to grow for you. Different kinds of farming require different kinds of work. One will be better suited to you and who you are. Best way to find out is work for other farmers and learn from experience. 2) always have a market before you plant. This is the farming equivalent of location location location. May your crops grow well and your markets swell. Arthur the date guy and do drop a word and let us know how it goes

Try looking up permaculture and biodynamic farming as well - some of the practices/ideas are pretty far out, but I like the basic tenets - that the land, soil, water, plants and animals are all part of a web that is and must be interconnected for any part to do well. There are magazines - ranging from homesteading ones to active working farmers - try Backwoods, Grit, Back Home, Acres USA, Progressive Farmer (I think that's the title), Mother Earth News and a few others, oriented toward small operations, either with an eye to self-sufficiency or producing for sale. Try any number of the publications from Back Home or Storey Publications to get an idea for raising livestock, living, farming on a small scale. If your chosen area publishes a farmer's/market bulletin, get hold of copies and see what is being sold at what prices. Talk to restaurants, etc., and see what they want, then figure out if you can grow it in the quantities and for a price that will allow you to make a profit - some things are in short supply because they are very hard to grow in bulk! Bear in mind that, while you won't necessarily need a large acreage, depending on your operations, you will HAVE to have good water and soil. And the water you will need for as long as you are there - so a good well or excellent spring, and not a lot of building plans in the area for the near future that might run down the water table will be a plus - look at the water situation in Raleigh, NC for a BAD example to stay away from. Granted, droughts are under no-one's control, but... Look at the weather, climate, etc. in the area you want to move to, and then go there and start asking questions - there are microclimates that are warmer and that are colder than the norm in all areas. The nat'l weather service did put out a book with the average temperatures, rain/precipitation, humidity, wind, etc., for each month for the past 10 years, so get a copy of the most recent edition and look at the patterns. Things ARE changing, but you can see trends and patterns. Spend time in the possible areas, a week or more and more than once, and don't just talk to realtors - they may not know the answers - so talk to the farmers and the people who live there. County co-operative extension agents can be founts of information. Think of your market - if you have to drive more than 2 hours to get to your market(s), more often than once or twice a week, you will need to factor in the costs of gas (which won't be getting cheaper) into your profit margins. If you can have something that people will come get, you have less in the way of transport costs, but you will have to figure in the time it takes to deal with the customer(s), and the interruption of other jobs. If the production of "after-market", processed things is in your plans, check local regulations about slaughtering and selling meat or eggs, about value added products like jams and jellies, what is needed or not in the way of facilities - some areas have a central facility for processing crops that is open to the community, and some, you can use facilities that aren't then being used, such as churches in the mid-week. Enough, you don't need overload. As you can see, there's a lot to think about and decide before you ever buy land, for life-style and location, size, etc., etc., etc.

To the OP. Maybe the philosophy is that with no mowing deck, it is no longer a mower and doesn't require the safety switches. Still, you may want to run through the what ifs in your mind and be sure that is the right choice. Seat switches are even a great tool as if you should fall off, the tractor will at least stop, not keep going and do damage to something else. Onward to your project: You could use a variety of switches to crank, shut off and run the headlights- but you could really do that with one switch. If you will be rewiring it anyways, just the cheapest ignition switch that would replace what you have would work. Some switches have a light function in them. It would be a cleaner install. Don't forget the fuse in the wire that travels from the solenoid to the + on the switch. JRJ- unsure why you didn't start your own thread , but it sounds like you have a problem with the seat switch or the wiring. Please start a new thread should you need more help.

Everyone's yard is split into public and private, utilitarian and aesthetic. Obviously, your front yard is public, though areas screened from the road can be considered private. Side yards are more often utilitarian, being home to air conditioners and trash bins, but sometimes these types of items are in the front yard. Try to keep utilitarian areas and items out of view of aesthetic areas. Parking is a utilitarian need, but it can be made more aesthetic. I recommend you create a parking area off your driveway by paving an area large enough for at least 2 cars. You should put tough, evergreen shrubs at the front of this area to prevent people from parking too far forward onto your lawn. Either add a walkway from this area to your main walkway or continue the shrubs around to force people to walk up your driveway to reach your door. If you don't block an obvious path, people will take the shortcut. You could start out with crushed gravel contained with timber or the concrete edging used around your planting bed then top it with concrete later. You will need a gravel base regardless.While this is not what most people think of as landscaping it seems an important consideration to your household. While I understand how moving the gate seems like a good solution for on-street parking for guests, how often do you anticipate such gatherings? Do a search on houzz for drought resistant or drought tolerant plants. There are some articles with a wealth of heat and drought tolerant ground cover perennials. [HERE[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/10-fall-blooming-shrubs-for-southwest-gardens-stsetivw-vs~74628630) is one I like, and [HERE[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/10-essential-native-shrubs-for-southwestern-gardens-stsetivw-vs~70830667) is another. There are also many articles that highlight a single species of plant. Check with local nurseries to see what they suggest. Make note which areas of your yard get sun all day and which get some shade, especially afternoon shade. I would concentrate plantings in the bare area close to your fence, but remember that no matter how drought tolerant a plant is it will need irrigation for the first year. The use of a soaker hose can ensure water is applied where it is needed. When choosing plants for a large yard mix them in groups of 3 or more, repeating plants and colors across an area. Mix together plants that bloom at different times of the year so there is always something of interest. Do not try to plant your entire yard. Concentrate on an area that needs help the most.