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

[itsasmallfarm]

Do you or did you enjoy school? It's always great to keep learning. I wish I would have got into the entomology field. Your idea of the aquaponics sounds so neat...can you grow some oysters and lobsters in there for me!

i may be 18 but am still in school lets just say anxiety hit me causing a few missed years of school, now am having to play the catch up game. doing online course and such.

anxiety is the main reason i want to be a farmer, be self independent. (i think that's the word am looking for)

 

[Jacquie Button]

In the states most are on their last year of high school at 18. So to me your doing fine. Anxiety is a big deal and I I'm glad you are feeling better. My nephew suffers from it and is 16. He doesn't know or can figure out why he feels that way. It was very heart breaking watching him go thru that and his parents felt so helpless. You sound like you have a good grasp on what you want to do, will your parents help in your goals?

 

[enoryz]

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.

I agree with The Angry Hen, I wish my head was on that straight at that time in my life.

 

[Jacquie Button]

I agree with The Angry Hen, I wish my head was on that straight at that time in my life.

Yes! The would've should've done that part of life!

 

[itsasmallfarm]

In the states most are on their last year of high school at 18. So to me your doing fine. Anxiety is a big deal and I I'm glad you are feeling better. My nephew suffers from it and is 16. He doesn't know or can figure out why he feels that way. It was very heart breaking watching him go thru that and his parents felt so helpless. You sound like you have a good grasp on what you want to do, will your parents help in your goals?

my parents have no problem supporting me with this, they just want to make sure i do the right thing, (not spending thousands on a farm to find out i don't like it )

 

[itsasmallfarm]

okay a quick update,

first off thanks to every one who has replied.

next i think am going to start with a small aquaponic system to raise some fish and veggies for home consumption, next if it works out i may start a small farm out of it. then i will look into a humanely raised meat source, (such as pigs or rabbits) to raise, and then from there move on to the next and the next until am in a farm setting/homestead lol.

 

[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.

 

[rjohns39]

I have been looking into this a bit myself. The aspect I have been looking it is the zoning in the area you own land or wish to purchase land. There are regulations as to number and type of animals you can have as well as irrigation. The key is figuring out within the given restrictions what animals and crops will be most profitable. For example where I live, one the same acreage you could have one cow, 5 goats, or 25 chickens. In one year which of those would give me the best profit? If two animals are really close in profit, is one easier to raise? If you can irrigate 1 acre, which crop will give you the biggest yield/profit?

I feel similar ambition to you, but I'm trying to be a realist and crunching numbers.

thank you, at the moment the 21 acres are my parents/where i live. will have to look into what is legal to raise here, more on the numbers (as with chickens for example we can have 299 layers before we need a permit/quota to raise)

my main goal at the moment would be to become an aquaponic farmer, (raising fish and veggies together), then branch outward to other markets with for example meat goats and sheep.

I admire your approach. I'll suggest a book: "PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS: Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 Acres" Joel has a lot of material out there about direct marketing and the art of growing multiple forms of meat and the synergies behind them. For Example: he uses layers for pasture maintenance to clean up behind the cattle, spread the manure and remove the fly larva. His hogs turn his compost for him and clean up his forests.

I'll also tell that aquaponics can be challenging as it con go sideways in a nano-second. Make sure you have plenty of non-chlorinated water with a neutral Ph. It's also more expensive to start-up--but with the right design, you can get it together on a shoe string budget. The key to this is no debt and cash reserve.

Another thing to consider is the gourmet market. Check out Slow Food and the Livestock Conservancy. Raising heritage breeds can help adjust your price points upwards, but they bring in their own set of challenges.

There's also a lot of good information at APPPA. Also, I don't know if FTCLDF practices in Canada, but if they do it will be the best $125/year you spend. If they don't, see who they recommend as they monitor Canada Ag law on a regular basis, so I would expect they have a sister organization.

Decide your approach early on as it will also point to your market space. Are you going to be organic? Non-GMO? Sustainable? Heritage? Also look at how those types of things open up free marketing exposure. Do a google search on "Wise Traditions" and then look for farmers.

I wish you the best of luck. I started my journey way late in life.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

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.

at the moment we have a heated shop which the goal is to set the system up in. i am find with processing food for myself but i think i would go with a custom processor, would cost more but then you do not need a facility.

I admire your approach. I'll suggest a book: "PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS: Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 Acres" Joel has a lot of material out there about direct marketing and the art of growing multiple forms of meat and the synergies behind them. For Example: he uses layers for pasture maintenance to clean up behind the cattle, spread the manure and remove the fly larva. His hogs turn his compost for him and clean up his forests.

I'll also tell that aquaponics can be challenging as it con go sideways in a nano-second. Make sure you have plenty of non-chlorinated water with a neutral Ph. It's also more expensive to start-up--but with the right design, you can get it together on a shoe string budget. The key to this is no debt and cash reserve.

Another thing to consider is the gourmet market. Check out Slow Food and the Livestock Conservancy. Raising heritage breeds can help adjust your price points upwards, but they bring in their own set of challenges.

There's also a lot of good information at APPPA. Also, I don't know if FTCLDF practices in Canada, but if they do it will be the best $125/year you spend. If they don't, see who they recommend as they monitor Canada Ag law on a regular basis, so I would expect they have a sister organization.

Decide your approach early on as it will also point to your market space. Are you going to be organic? Non-GMO? Sustainable? Heritage? Also look at how those types of things open up free marketing exposure. Do a google search on "Wise Traditions" and then look for farmers.

I wish you the best of luck. I started my journey way late in life.

thank you, i have looked into the heritage market before, and will be something i consider going on in the future, i agree with aquaponics can be very hard and it will not be my sole idea (but i can only afford to do some much at the moment, so i will have to decide on what to do.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

also does any one raise pigs or live stock in the woods (sheep/goats)? where i live half our land is full of trees which could be used to house live stock in? (of course with a fence and a shelter for them.)