Preparing Your Homestead for Inclement Weather

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Preparing your homestead for inclement weather may not always be on your mind, but it’s a critical task that shouldn’t be left to the last minute. When you see the storm clouds rolling in, it’s not the time to be clamoring about trying to pick up things you might need to keep your farm operable. Let’s discuss some essential equipment you should have on the homestead and how to keep it ready to go.

Preparing Your Homestead for Inclement Weather

When making decisions during a critical incident, life, limb, and property should always be prioritized in that specific order. Always cover your bases with the essentials of life for you, your family, and your livestock. This article looks beyond that, assuming you’ve already covered those basics. Remember never to mix those priorities when recovering from a disruptive weather incident. Always verify that it’s safe to work before starting any clean-up activities.

Generators

Generators can be a lifesaver in the boondocks, literally. Both you and your livestock can’t survive long without water, and most of us rely on electric pumps to bring that water to the surface. As with most things, you get what you pay for in generators, so research your purchase well, and don’t panic buy; that’s a surefire way to get raked over the coals with pricing.

Consider your options carefully and have a proper, safe way to connect your generator to your homestead without back-feeding into the grid. What capacity generator you pick will dictate how much of your homestead can run on generator power. We keep a 25kw generator on the farm, which will run our house comfortably and allow us to weld or run high-demand equipment.

Your typical small contractor generator you buy at big box stores is woefully inadequate for prolonged power outages, but if that’s all you can afford, then it’s better than nothing. Be sure to give these small generators a break since they’re not up to the challenge of running continuously. I suggest PTO generators for people with a tractor because you can buy a higher-capacity generator for less. Also, your tractor can run continuously, unlike these small contractor-style generators.

Dirt Moving Implements

Roadways and driveways tend to wash out. Be prepared to rebuild them with dirt-moving implements such as a box blade, 3-point road graders, and landscape rakes. Box blades, or grader boxes, are great for moving large quantities of materials around a site, and I find mine very useful when spreading material dropped off by a tri-axle dump truck. It’s not great for minor washouts or finish work, however. A road grader attachment or a landscape rake is the better option for finishing a driveway repair or smoothing out some light washouts. Landscape rakes are also helpful when clearing tree branches and debris from areas after a storm.

Chainsaws

Chainsaws are standard fare when preparing your homestead for inclement weather. Trees tend to fall in inconvenient places, like your driveway, on a barn, or over powerlines. Never cut a tree on lines; let the professionals handle that, but there is bound to be a time when you need to cut a tree up enough to make way for a vehicle. 

I could get snobbish about what saw is the best, but frankly, any reliable saw will fit the bill. Most saws can be reliable, but you need to maintain them correctly. Fuel is the most common cause of unreliable chainsaws (or any small gas-powered tool). Always use shelf-stable tool fuel and high-quality fuel oil additives. Pump gas is terrible for saws, especially when stored for long periods. The ethanol in pump gas dissolves fuel lines and gums up carburetors, causing them to fail at the least convenient time. Also, keep a stock of bar-and-chain oil and spare sharp chains because you’re guaranteed to need both.

As a side note, I have used battery-operated saws for the last year or two for minor clearing and limbing activities. They’re not a replacement for a gas-powered saw, but they are a convenient option for the right job, and I’ve found them to be very reliable. Don’t rely exclusively on a battery chainsaw, but don’t dismiss their usefulness.

Water Pumps

Flooding of basements and other low spots can cause severe problems. Fire Departments in my region typically keep two types of small pumps on hand for these situations, and you should, too. The first type you should have is a quality electric submersible sump pump that will pump from a low water level. Get a quality unit because it’ll likely last you a lifetime and needs to be reliable. The other type of pump should be a gas-powered unit, preferably a trash pump, also known as a diaphragm pump. Trash pumps are less susceptible to jamming when a foreign object gets sucked in, and if you’re pumping out stormwater, you’re guaranteed to have random junk floating around. Just like your chainsaws, make sure you use quality tool fuel to run these pumps because ethanol-based pump fuel will destroy the fuel system of these small engines.

Snow Equipment

I’ve survived many three-foot snow storms using the bucket of my tractor. Clearing paths and roadways with just a bucket on your tractor can take a long, cold, and frustrating time. A snow push blade makes clearing the area much faster if you have large, flat areas, such as a yard or parking lot. You can buy a pre-built pusher or build one from a retired pickup truck plow.

If you’re plowing long, narrow areas, like a driveway, a pickup truck-style plow mounted to your tractor’s loader is far more ideal and will save time. Be sure you can angle this plow to push snow to the sides instead of being stuck pushing snow forward. A manual tilt plow will do, but if you can add a third function to your tractor’s loader and hydraulically control it, you’ll be loving life.

Then there’s the most expensive option: a PTO-driven snow blower. If you have the cash to burn, tractor-mounted snow blowers are excellent. I wouldn’t want to be stuck looking behind me the whole time, so if you have a front-mounted PTO, then I’d consider this avenue, but as far as three-point attached snow blowers go, I don’t think my neck could handle that for long.

What sorts of equipment do you keep for emergencies? Let us know in the comments below.