Welcome to Debray Farm
At Debray Farm, we believe in homesteading, bringing you the best of Easy Care Katahdin Sheep. Sustainable timber, and forestry practices, including invasive control, tree planting and the use of non-valuable timber for heating the home in
Knoxville , Ohio.
Homestead
A drone view of the the Home, pastures, garden and equipment shed, pond, timber area, and back field
I went to the 80 Annual Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation
District Meeting and Banquet last night and got the biggest shock of my life.
When Aidan Sammut the Cross Creek/Yellow Creek
Watershed Program Manager got up to speak.
I figured he was going to talk about Creek quality.
But he started saying a lot of good things about
Debray Farm, Deb and I.
Then he made the announcement that Debray Farm
was the Conservation Farm of the Year.
It wasn't easy keeping the tears that were in my eyes
from flowing before I walked up front.
If you have never seen a buck make a scrape, here it is
Sometimes it's not an easy decision, Beavers, Trees, or Pond.
If you want to save trees you need to have the beavers removed.
If you want to save your beaver pond you need the beavers.
So I decided I need the beavers for my pond and I'll take the trees back to the sawmill.
This equipment shed at the
JFK Tree Farm was
framed from elms cut and milled
at the Debray Farm and erected at JFK.
8 X 18 Chick coop framed from the Debray Farm Sawmill
Homesteading Consultancy
Homesteading consultancy for sustainable living.
I have a couple friends that had 10 days to get their chickens out of the city limits and part of homesteading is helping others that are trying to homestead.
I have 17 acres in the certified tree farm program and there is about 4 acres grass land that isn't in the program. I helped them build a portable chicken coop on that property. Below is the 10 day progression of the building the coop.
Skid beams and lumber milled on the sawmill, and headed for the JFK Tree Farm.
Sustainable Timber
Forestry Management is constantly improving your Timber quality, quantity and forest Health.
Loading a Log on the Saw Mill Deck
I use a very cheap Harbor Freight winch to load logs on to the sawmill deck.
I mounted the winch to the workbench and take the cable over the log, then under the log, back to the wall under the workbench and connect it to a cable on a locust post.
If the log is too heavy to turn by hand I use the winch to turn the log. I just put the winch hook in the end of the hollow Woodland Mills Can't Hook Pipe.
My choice is Woodland Mills Portable Sawmills | Woodland Mills USA
Portable water and feed system because
there is no electric or water other than a
small developed spring.
Nesting boxes with sloped bottom
and egg collection area.
Tom installed an automatic coop door that opens every morning at 9 AM. He needed a door that was higher than any of the package systems out there because the geese will not duck down to go out a door.
It includes a solar panel, charge controller, 12V battery, weekly programmable timer, Electromagnetic Power Relay 8-pin 10A DC 12V, and 24" 12V Linear Actuator.
I was at the property picking green beans this morning and got to witness the coop door opening at exactly 9am.
Solar panel, and Charge Controller
This cherry fell and it's top is in the fork of a small maple tree. First I'm cutting to release the stump and then cutting up the tree until I get to good wood and above where the black ants are.
I couldn't get the tractor and winch above the tree so I put a snatch block on a tree above the fallen tree and ran the winch cable from the tractor to the snatch and down to fallen tree.
I got it almost down, went to adjusted the cable and check my camera and the tree fell. Luckily all I got was a cut on my arm.
All is well that ends well, I pilled the log to the tractor and headed to the mill.
When we first moved over to Debray Farm and were living in a camping trailer and building Our Home. I cut Cherry Logs and sold them to Denoon Lumber Sawmill. I took the money and bought Oak trim at their show room for our Home.
Timer, Relay, Battery, and Actuator
Coop Door Wiring detail
My favorite logging combination Mahindra 4035 Tractor and a Tajfun E35 Winch
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact us
Reach out for questions of Homesteading, Forestry, or Katahdin Sheep
Debray Farm.
Location
Debray Farm
1202 township road 249
Toronto, Ohio, United States
About us
Debray Farm, is in Knoxville, Ohio, stands as a testament to the beauty and resilience of nature. Including homesteading, sheep, timber, forestry, and hunting. As a past Hunter Safety Instructor I believe in Conservation not Preservation of Our Natural Resources. Debray Farm works constantly to make the forested areas healthier by removing invasive species, planting what will some day be valuable timber, and using non-valuable timber to heat the home. Debray Farm also believes in working with other homesteaders and small locally owned businesses to supply quality food and products .