guildfordcycads

I might come across as naive for asking this, livestock farming without slaughter. The truth is, I’m actually quite familiar with the livestock sector. But this is about a personal, future project that aligns more closely with my own life philosophy and spiritual path.

I’m reflecting on commercial production systems that could still be profitable. I’m not aiming to be rich — I just want to live well and provide a good life for my future family.

I’ve already outlined a few ideas, some of which could be combined with ecotourism and might not be bad options:

• Fiber farms (sheep with high-quality fiber genetics, and possibly alpacas). Here, the males are castrated and incorporated into the wool production cycle. This would be combined with artisanal textile production (that’s where things get tricky, haha, I’m not very good at that part).
• Egg production, integrated into an extensive plant cultivation system (though I see limited future in this, especially due to the issue of male chicks);
• Horses, though they require significant investment and have very long production cycles;
• Beekeeping (this one seems promising, but I’m concerned about the spread of the Asian hornet and other threats, which makes me want to diversify).

I believe you might be able to offer interesting insights. I’ve read, for example, that in India there are “Ahimsa” silk production methods. It makes me wonder — has anyone ever successfully developed livestock farming aligned with the principle of Ahimsa, or non-violence in other species?

I plated this Nikitas gift persimmon tree early spring. It didn’t do much the last few months. Recently is shot out all of this new growth. Wondering if I should let it do it’s thing or trim anything off. Thank you for the help!