can you really make a living off of a small farm?

[itsasmallfarm]

hello everyone
right now am considering going to start a small farm operation, and am wondering is it even possible or worth the time and money to start something like this. okay i will try to explain a bit about my idea.

at the moment am 18 years old, and looking at career paths or more the future, and i love working/raising animals/being a farmer. i love working a garden and i enjoy raising chickens/ducks.
but now am thinking of starting off a small farm to help support myself. at the moment i live on 21 acres. and this is my idea.

i don't want to be locked into a job where i have a 9-5 office i like being outdoors,

so my idea was starting off small, with different heard/flocks of animals. you know raise say 10 pigs keep one for home consumption take the rest to market, raise some sheep and goats for the meat market (like maybe 10 of each to start off with), i would love to start some aquaponics for fresh veggies and fish to market, grow some fruit to take to farmers markets. and along the line just be a self sufficient and selling the extra (legally) to consumers.

am not looking to become the next millionaire just to make some money as a side business for awhile to a decide what i really want to do in life. so the question is can you make a go in life on a small farm any tips or tricks?

thanks for reading this itsasmallfarm out.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I am not much help at all with your question, but I can tell that you have a pretty bright future ahead of yourself. I hope everything goes well and that you never give up under any circumstances. God bless and good luck! Great way of being proactive.

thank you. am one of these people who hate factory farming for the conditions of the animals suffer, i much rather hunt/raise my food myself instead of just turning a blind eye to pointless animal suffering.

keep in mind this is coming from some one who supports fur trapping.

 

[ChicketySplit]

hello everyone
right now am considering going to start a small farm operation, and am wondering is it even possible or worth the time and money to start something like this. okay i will try to explain a bit about my idea.

at the moment am 18 years old, and looking at career paths or more the future, and i love working/raising animals/being a farmer. i love working a garden and i enjoy raising chickens/ducks.
but now am thinking of starting off a small farm to help support myself. at the moment i live on 21 acres. and this is my idea.

i don't want to be locked into a job where i have a 9-5 office i like being outdoors,

so my idea was starting off small, with different heard/flocks of animals. you know raise say 10 pigs keep one for home consumption take the rest to market, raise some sheep and goats for the meat market (like maybe 10 of each to start off with), i would love to start some aquaponics for fresh veggies and fish to market, grow some fruit to take to farmers markets. and along the line just be a self sufficient and selling the extra (legally) to consumers.

am not looking to become the next millionaire just to make some money as a side business for awhile to a decide what i really want to do in life. so the question is can you make a go in life on a small farm any tips or tricks?

thanks for reading this itsasmallfarm out.

Yes, you can make a living with a small farm! The first thing (that you seem to be already catching onto) is that you must diversify your offerings. So, chickens, eggs, pigs, sheep, veggies and more will help you diversify. Second is finding a market for the products you offer. Farmer's markets, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, livestock sales/auctions, are all common markets. Third, accounting; Keeping good records of livestock purchased and sold, feed bills, transport, and good ol' records for the IRS. Fourth, after the accounting is done, learning from your successes and failures to increase economy and efficiency. Last, Staying out of debt through that whole process! I wish you success- you can do it!

 

[bobbi-j]

hello everyone
right now am considering going to start a small farm operation, and am wondering is it even possible or worth the time and money to start something like this. okay i will try to explain a bit about my idea.

at the moment am 18 years old, and looking at career paths or more the future, and i love working/raising animals/being a farmer. i love working a garden and i enjoy raising chickens/ducks.
but now am thinking of starting off a small farm to help support myself. at the moment i live on 21 acres. and this is my idea.

i don't want to be locked into a job where i have a 9-5 office i like being outdoors,

so my idea was starting off small, with different heard/flocks of animals. you know raise say 10 pigs keep one for home consumption take the rest to market, raise some sheep and goats for the meat market (like maybe 10 of each to start off with), i would love to start some aquaponics for fresh veggies and fish to market, grow some fruit to take to farmers markets. and along the line just be a self sufficient and selling the extra (legally) to consumers.

am not looking to become the next millionaire just to make some money as a side business for awhile to a decide what i really want to do in life. so the question is can you make a go in life on a small farm any tips or tricks?

thanks for reading this itsasmallfarm out.

This sounds like you're done a lot of thinking on the subject. Whether or not you can "make a living" might depend on your standard of living. Are you going to want the latest of everything electronic? Do you have a phone that's going to cost you money every month? How about internet? Utilities? Do you have housing for the animals you'd like to get? They will all need shelter of some sort. How will you acquire said animals? You will also need to purchase feed and bedding. What are your plans if one gets sick? Will you take it to the vet? There are also vet bills. What kind of vehicle do you drive? You will need insurance and license. My suggestion would be to find a job for now so you can earn some money to get started, and put some aside for emergencies. Don't live above your means. If you're on a Spaghetti-O budget, don't go buying steak and lobster. I admire you for your idea and sincerely hope you can make it work. I just think it may take some time to get there.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Many people small homestead and live simply and happily. As stated by others, don't plan on the latest and greatest stuff, but you can definitely small homestead.

If you desire to make money at market, that requires more effort.

First and foremost (and it sounds like you've thought of this somewhat), find out what is legal to do in your area. Many places have relaxed farm to consumer direct laws that prevents you from having strict FDA oversight, farm visitations, and regulations. But KNOW that is the case. Don't assume. If you want to be certified organic, you'll have to jump through those hoops. Find out what kind of food handling certificates, if any, you'll need. (Most farm produce does not need any food handling certifications, but if you sell any baked goods too, you might)....EDITED TO ADD I just caught you are in Canada, so it won't be FDA, but it will be Canada's equivalent of ag and food oversight laws.

Then you have to consider land cost and reliability. That is the number one factor for any farm effort. It sounds like you've got 21 acres to access right now? Is that cheap or free? If it isn't your land, be sure you have something signed on paper (written contract) before you begin to plant on land that is not your own. You don't want to be evicted just as you are about to come to market.

Once you've got the land secured at a price you can afford within your budget goals, then you can move forward.

Just as you have been doing, continue to learn the agriculture quirks of your area. Which crops grow best. What doesn't do well. What do you have to do to make them grow well?

Next, what markets are in your area? What do people want? How much do they want to pay? As with most businesses, location, location, location. You have to get your stuff to a market that is close enough for you to make it worth your while. That will require reliable transportation, so you will have to plan for that in your costs.

Then ply your craft. Start small and grow. Get your name out there. Be the best, brightest, and tastiest. Always be on time and do what you say you are going to do. If you say your market time is from this to this, make it so. If you say you will be there, show up (on time). Be faithful. Don't think you can go one week, skip a couple, and still have customers the next time you arrive. Local farmer's markets are very competitive in most areas now. Many require a booth "buy in" or some other regulation to get into them. If you don't show up on time for the booth assignments, you won't get one.

Also planning for next year begins this year, and a year ago. You need to know what you will do when and have seeds purchased, field prepared.

Have a Plan B, and C, and onward down, for WHEN crops fail not if. I agree that it is important to diversify so that if one area is bad that year, the next crop can carry you through.

So living simply off the land, homesteading is very doable if you are willing to work hard and live humbly. You might find enough spots to sell a little here and there, but it won't fund anything.

If you want to really get into this as a sustainable living, then you will have to work at plying your farming trade.

My son-in-law works hard doing just those things I listed above. My daughter and grandbaby are living the good life on a farm in Tennessee under a farm use agreement with the property owner...we'll cultivate these acres for you if you let us cultivate these acres for us. They sell organic at the local farmer's markets doing well at vegetables, plant starts, with a side on eggs. They grow almost all their own food, and what they can't grow, they trade at the farmer's markets. They do have some cash for car and equipment maintenance, though my SIL does most of the repair work himself (and there is always something to repair on a farm).

Good luck to your endeavors. If you can, find a mentor who can show you the way. That can really help get you established in your area.

Lofmc

 

[The Angry Hen]

I am not much help at all with your question, but I can tell that you have a pretty bright future ahead of yourself. I hope everything goes well and that you never give up under any circumstances. God bless and good luck! Great way of being proactive.

 

[Jacquie Button]

I believe that if you have the knowledge and dedication you can be successful in anything. You are young and of course you will learn by trial and error. Life is beautiful and you should enjoy all you can! Go for it!

 

[ChicketySplit]

Sask, CA is good grain country, so raising livestock in that area shouldn't be a problem...I hope you keep is posted on your endeavors!

thank you, i love the idea of being able to provide a whole array of different products to some one, (animals being raised free from suffering) will have to keep track of prices sales etc, i live in the middle of farming country (sask canada) so farming is a big part of my province and community/family

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

This sounds exciting! I'm really happy you're looking into what YOU want to to do, and not what someone else wants for you. This is a huge issue in my area (San Francisco Bay Area - the number of students I've seen pursuing med degrees or computer science because of parental pressure, despite hating the subject themselves...).

I recommend approaching this as you would if it were the type of business idea you need to pitch to investors. Write up a full business plan. There's lots of resources on how to do this, but the basic idea is to specify EVERY anticipated cost to start (housing, food, allowances for medical care for animals, cost of seeds/sprouts for produce, water costs, workers that may need to be paid, etc), then to specify a range of profits you expect to make, based on sell values in your market in previous years. Include the absolute worst case scenario for yield and pricing, and don't assume you'll make more than that. The idea is to determine WHEN you should expect to turn a profit, and how much.

You need to be sure your profit will cover your living expenses. This might be hard for the first year, maybe more. You may need a day job while you get off your feet, or you may be able to rely on your family during this time.

Actually writing down this plan in a formal manner will be so valuable. For one, it's great if you do decide to expand and actually need to pitch to an investor. But it's also extremely valuable to be able to refer back to a formal document, to see what you projected and how the reality differs from that. Perhaps you got unlucky and had desease ravage your livestock. That may mean you need to allow more $$ for preventitive medical care. Since you have all the projections written down, you can edit that figure and see how it might effect your profits.

The important thing is never to make decisions because you assume it will balance out. My boyfriends family runs a horse ranch, and they continually invent deals and discounts to their borders on the fly without doing the math. Now they're stuck alienating one of their oldest customers, because they gave a deal when she only had 3 horses, that she could pay full for two and have the third on pasture and pay only for food. This was when the customer couldn't afford 3 horses and was facing selling one. Now she has 8, 3 in stable and 5 on pasture (paying only for feed), and she's costing them money as they have to turn down new customers who would pay in full for pasture space. You will want to look at the full repercussions of your choices, so you can make them wisely.


It sounds like you are really passionate about this, and I'm so happy you have the chance to do what you love! I wish you bushels of luck!

 

[lazy gardener]

One market you haven't mentioned is Restaurants. Many restaurants will pay quite a premium for well grown veggies/meats. The difference is in the taste! Not to mention, that if they can advertise their menu as being at least partially provided by local sustainable agriculture, that will increase their customer base. Your undertaking sounds energetic. I suggest that you start small. But, I urge you not to put all of your eggs in one basket (pun intended) with Aquaponics. Many mixed reviews about the success/failure of aquaponics. Your climate is going to make this venture even more costly, difficult. You will need a heated green house.

Are you comfortable processing your own meat? Something to think about. Processing is very time consuming. And you may run into a lot of regulations regarding your processing facilities. On the other hand, if you send your meat products to be processed, that will be quite costly. But may be well worth it if you don't like to process, and if you would rather get your hands dirty in the soil, than get them dirty with all that meat processing and packaging entails.