Anyone in Ga started a small farming business?

[terrilhb]

My husband and I are thinking of starting a small farming business. But I have no idea how to go about it. Does anyone have any experience and know how. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

What are you thinking about producing?

 

[terrilhb]

Right now we have chickens, goats and want to get quails. And possibly some other types of birds.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Your question is very broad and I'm not quite sure what you are asking. What type of production are you thinking about to make a profit? Are you going to breed goats and sell them. Sell eggs? Sell chickens?

What questions do you have?

 

[terrilhb]

Sorry. We want to sell goats, chickens, eggs, and quail. We do not know how to start one and get the financing to start it. I do know that where we live we do not need a permit. I do not know where to go to get this started or who to talk to about it. I know that to start off it won't be profitable for quite awhile. Thanks for the help

 

[Spookwriter]

Pretty open question.

Does Georgia have something like a County Farm Agent? That would be
the person I would start with. Local County Farm Extentsion agent or whatever
Georgia calls them.

 

[boykin2010]

I wouldnt exactly call what i do a farm but i know a lot of people around here have small farms. I have sheep and chickens for livestock. I have a donkey a dog 2 cats and some fish too but those dont count as farm animals i dont think.

What kind of info are you looking for

 

[terrilhb]

boykin2010
We are looking to get a small business loan so that we can finish doing what we need to for the goats and chickens. We also want to fence in our property for the animals. And do a few other things for the animals. We are also looking to get some quails to raise and sell. How did you get started on your small farm

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
As far as "starting" a business as a sole proprietor, you do just that, you start doing business. You track your income and expenses and report any profit (or losses) to the IRS. Bam, you are in business. An accountant can get you started on the appropriate record keeping.

As far as borrowing money... Financing can come from many sources; your own savings, home equity loans, credit cards, a business loan. If you go the route of a unsecured business loan, your lenders (probably your local bank) will want to see some sort of written and well researched business plan and you will have to sell the loan officer on your business plan.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I'll tell you how I got started. I bought a farm with a layer house. I moved in, put the layer house into production and started selling eggs. I followed the applicable laws of my state, which wasn't much. Wisconsin requires me to register my livestock with the state, so I did that. I wanted to do business under a business name. Wisconsin requires me to register my company name by filling a "doing business as" form with our county clerk. I did that. I started keeping the appropriate accounting books for my own info as well as for tax reporting purposes.

I financed any upgrades myself, or with the occasional use of a credit card. The rest of the facilities were included in the original farm mortgage.

Doing business as a Sole Proprietor means that legally the business and I are one and the same. Any profit the business makes is mine, any liabilities the business incurs are also mine. There are other forms of business structure that you can choose that separates the business from your personal finances, such as a Limited Liability Corporation, or a Corporation. You can read up on these and if one of those sounds like it's appropriate to what you would like to do, an attorney can help you file the appropriate paperwork with your state.

If I wanted to borrow money to finance some major construction or purchase more livestock, I would either save up the money, or get a loan from the bank.

A loan is much easier if you have some collateral to back up the loan though, such as your home (a home equity loan). Otherwise you are going to have to sell the loan officer on a business plan, which may be difficult given your lack of experience in farming and business.