Category: Homesteading

Ohio CAUV Notes

Land used exclusively for commercial agriculture can be valued, for property tax purposes, based on the gross proceeds from the agricultural use. To qualify, you need to have used the land for agricultural purposes for three years producing an average gross income of at least $2,500 (or, if you have 10+ acres, there is no income requirement).

Once you qualify, file DTE Form 109 with the county auditor. You need to re-assert the commercial agricultural use each year to continue CAUV status. If the land ceases to be used for agriculture, three years of “makeup taxes” are owed — however much you would have been taxed minus the amount actually paid.

2023 Hatch – Turkey Hatching

We’re setting up the incubator tonight to get our first dozen turkey eggs going.

I need to leave the incubator sit overnight to get the temperature and humidity regulated. Tomorrow, we’ll be putting the eggs into the incubator.

Notes:

General:

Pointy end down, may need to leave empty space between eggs so they fit

Temperature
Forced-air incubator, so set to 99.5 degrees F (monitoring for temps between 99 and 100 F)

Humidity
First 25 days, relative humidity 50-60%
Final three days, increase humidity to 65-70%

More Sprouts (and chicken chow!)

The tomato plants are starting to get big — still a few weeks before we can plant them outside, but we have plenty of healthy plants.

I had basically given up on the asparagus (they were older seeds), but I finally have five plants sprouted — this is part of my endeavor to get more plant once / harvest yearly stuff growing.  

And then there’s the chicken chow — this is Bocking 14 comfrey. It doesn’t go to seed, but provides a high-protein leafy food for chickens and turkeys.

Barn Cats First Trip to the Vet

We took the cats we trapped to the vet to get neutered. They were surprisingly chill in the car — not their favorite activity, but they were quiet and looking around as we drove. Dropped them off at a low cost / feral clinic in the morning, and we picked them all up a little after 4PM.

Each kitten has two days of pain killers & need to limit their activity. A neighbor will be taking the other gray kitten (the one we call Pebbles), but Ash and Fritter will be staying inside for a few more weeks so we can take them for a booster shot next month.

They are both recovering well so far — Fritter ended up having an incision in his belly, too, so Ash is recovering quicker. But they’re both happy to curl up together and nap.