What does it take to be a succesful farmer?

Seedcorn: I've been to one of those web-sites...out of curiosity to see what some of the giant farmers in my area have gotten. I wish they contained what the payout vs. the expenses amounted to.....that would be a true picture for non-ag people to see. I can't even enjoy the higher prices we're getting right now because the input costs have risen even more than the grain prices. You are very right that most people are just too far removed from the land....and I even live in a rural, very ag-centered community. Our two sons would like to come back to the farm, but we don't have enough land to share the income for three families....my husband tells them they make more than three times as much in a year as we do, but those things that money can't buy, they both want for their kids now. I'd like it for my grandkids too, Hopefully one of these days it can happen.

Good luck in trying to figure it out.

The future (with current rules) is larger farms for full time farmers and the part timers will exist as long as they can keep their equipment going as buying new isn't there unless they have a good job off of farm.

It's interesting that pork is priced at below what it costs to raise a pound of pork but do you see pork in the stores any cheaper?

There are a lot of things in this life that I've given up trying to figure out, and farm policy is one of them!

njfarmer,
i have talked to several folks in the industry about your situation. the general consensus is that starting a commercial poultry farm from scratch will be very, very difficult but not impossible. they said about the only profitable poultry farms are ones that are multi generational. the current figures are that on construction of a new broiler house there will be no profit to pull out for the first decade.

the farm credit bureau does have a low interest loan program to get young farmers into the business. everyone that i talked to said you would probably not survive without a second job to provide supplemental income and health insurance. driving a school bus is real popular with the local growers for this purpose.

according to a man i talked to in my shop this morning arkansas is the cheapest area to start and operate a poultry farm right now.

here is what the most received advice i have gotten for what i know about your situation. the real money for poultry is in processing and distribution. everyone said you need to get a degree in poultry science. university of georgia and north carolina were 1st on folks lists. i heard about 8 total schools named. my first recommendation of abac did not jive with the industry professionals i have spoken with.

i was told that tyson chicken offers a job to every single poultry science graduate of about half a dozen schools. the only people that progress to real money in the bigger corporations all have 4 year degrees. many of them start hobby farms once they are established in the business but they never quit their bread and butter jobs. a decent percentage of folks with economics degrees are also hired by the big companies. learning spanish is also a big plus. being able to communicate with the workers and lower level supervisors puts you ahead of the folks that only speak english.

hope this helps. if you want to get into farming then go ahead and decide how you want to approach it and head that way.
michael

A final word from me about working for the big poultry companies, Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride, etc.

If you work for them their general policy is that you cannot own any poultry of your own, for bio-security reasons. Tyson has a great part-time job I'm interested in and it would be just 10 minutes from our house. The reason I don't pursue it is because I want to be able to raise backyard chickens. Some people sneak and do keep their backyard chickens anyhow, but I couldn't and have a clear conscience. Just FYI

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thank you for the info I guess when the time comes to start planing for college I will talk with my guidance counselour at school and I will see if he can help any

One thing though, if you choose to work with commercial poultry, you cannot have contact with outside flocks for 10 days prior to entering facilities. This is why I am no longer perusing live poultry vet med.

Wow -
I have learned so much from the replies to this original posting - thank you all for your thoughts, 2 cents, and then some!

My thoughts don't come with as much personal history, but tons of passion. I am in Grad school for Holistic Health Education - I specialize in nutrition which has led me to learning to grow my own food and this year getting baby chicks so I can have my own eggs. I learn from it all so much every day! I know your dream of wanting to be a farmer because it runs through my veins as well. Even as a poor college student, I choose to support local small farmers, no matter how much more the cost, because I have learned the value of the quality of food in the human body.

If I can say anything to you, it is don't lose sight of your dream but let it change shape via what you learn and feel. Educate yourself. Intern at places - even see if you can intern at a farm one day a week for 10 or 12 weeks to get the feel of the land. Invest in what you value - like I value all natural, pesticide and drug free food, you can invest in what inspires you and what's important to you.

You are never too young to start dreaming about your future. Rick Jarow has great information for manifesting your dreams and some of his exercises are so good for determining where your heart is (http://www.anticareer.com) - it may seem strange, but the greatest entrepreneurs were very intuitive and I believe it will always be that way.

These are only my opinions. I applaud your desires, hopes, and dreams and send my greatest hopes for your success. Thanks to every farmer, especially the local, small ones - may you thrive.

Peace,
Tree