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

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itsasmallfarm

itsasmallfarm

Crowing
7 Years
Oct 27, 2016
2,419
4,244
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canada
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 said:
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. :)
Click to expand...
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!
 
The Angry Hen said:
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.
Click to expand...
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 said:
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!
Click to expand...
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
 
itsasmallfarm said:
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. :)
Click to expand...
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.
 
I have never been to Canada, I really want to! How is your weather where you live? I live in the Central Valley in California and we have not been below 60 degrees in 184 days! We have had little rain although this year had given us a bit more as we have been in a drought for quite a few years. I raised pigs and steers for 4-H and FFA thru my school years and loved every second of it. I wish you luck and smarts! Farming is tough...my dad farmed almost his entire life and it is a demanding job and now he is with the family restaurant. I think they are just as demanding!
 
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!

itsasmallfarm said:
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
Click to expand...
 

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