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

[itsasmallfarm]

still one day would love to make a living off a small farm, going to start small.

not really sure where to start anymore though lol. everything seems so tempting (gone from wanting rabbits to pigs to goats to cows and then back to rabbits and repeat lol).

 

[tastyacres]

I w

still one day would love to make a living off a small farm, going to start small.

not really sure where to start anymore though lol. everything seems so tempting (gone from wanting rabbits to pigs to goats to cows and then back to rabbits and repeat lol).

I would highly suggest you go to a farm and get hands-on experience with each of these! This way you will know exactly what you want!

I'll tell you right now better to go and find exactly what works for you instead of jumping around from FA to FA.

Also, You may find you can do more than one animal... As goats and pigs run really well together... Knew a farmer who ran them together for a good 10-years and loved it.

So many things you can do!!! just need to find what works for you.

 

[HoopyFrood]

still one day would love to make a living off a small farm, going to start small.

not really sure where to start anymore though lol. everything seems so tempting (gone from wanting rabbits to pigs to goats to cows and then back to rabbits and repeat lol).

Glad to see you're still following and moving forward!

If you want to try aquaponics experiments, you should! But that's a pretty challenging practice to turn into profitable business right out of the gate. You like the ideas of animals, and to be sure, they can be made into a profitable business, too, but it's harder to dial that in - especially on a small scale.

How would you feel about starting SIMPLE and just doing veggie market gardening to build your business? You can use proceeds from that to fund the development of more complicated, higher-tech farming.

The trick to easier profitability, as others have mentioned, is DIRECT selling. Don't even consider trying to play in the wholesale world. Direct marketing of animal products is a high-dollar enterprise, but it's MUCH more work to direct-market pork than it is to direct-market herbs and veggies.

The question is how much money do you want to earn? You CAN'T jump into making $250k/yr without getting into deep debt and probably getting in way over your head. But would $25k/yr suffice? You could probably get there (or more!) in 2-3 seasons and have a high profit margin just by sticking with veggies. You can always expand and diversify later! The real trick is actually getting started, and you're much more likely to succeed if you start small.

I know a farmer in Arkansas that did 100% no-till, chemical-free farming on the equivalent of 1/2 acre (in sixty 4'x100' permanent beds). He was using only hand tools (not counting a lawn mower) and had only two part time helpers. Tending the farm took 60 man-hours per week on average - i.e. three people five hours per shift, three shifts per week. He was generating about $80k/yr in sales at a profit margin of about 70%. So that's $56k/yr (USD) of profit, before taxes.

If you have the land and the water/electrical infrastructure, the only big things that you're lacking are a high tunnel (you've already noted those winter crops are where you can make a big profit), seed starting facility and washing/packing facility. He was using high-tunnel facilities that probably required $5,000 USD capital. His only other major expenses (besides paying his workers and utilities) were seed, straw (in HUGE amounts, this was the mulch he used), and rabbit manure.

Everything he produced was direct sold to restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets. I don't think he even bothered with CSAs.

The only tools that touched the soil were a rake and the occasional digging fork for harvesting root crops. He did no tilling/cultivating, used no fertilizers, prepared no compost. By the end he didn't rotate crops and he didn't even use green manures. Each year his soil accumulated more organic matter and nutrients. Since he was commercial once in a great while he had to use organic pesticides; but this was a very rare thing.

That's the kind of farming practice I'm trying to adopt on our homestead. You can start as small as you want. But this efficient farming REQUIRES doing everything by hand. So you can only be as large as you have hands to do the work.

If you spend some time at your local farmers markets you can pickup on where folks in your area are successfully direct-selling crops. If you find a farmer you really resonate with, maybe volunteer to work one day a week in exchange for them teaching you?

If you want to know more about my friend's farm, you can read more (in eye-jarring colors ) on the farm's website:
http://www.foundationfarm.com/

Good luck!!

 

[itsasmallfarm]

okay thinking about meat goats or pigs (for meat) read goat meat taste like deer which am a big fan of.

which one would you guys go for?

 

[itsasmallfarm]

well another month has gone by (its spring here but still a bit of snow left)

thinking am going with alpacas. talked to a few other owners and planning to go out and see what there like super excited

 

[Treerooted]

Good luck! I hope you're getting some good honest insight, I know Alpacas can be hit or miss depending on your location.
I've "officially" started my small farm business - $60 so far lol. .... I'm starting very small. But I have more demand for my eggs then I can meet, so at least now I feel comfortable expanding.

 

[HoopyFrood]

X2 on the caution of raising alpacas. They're fun to work with for a week (the longest I've worked with them) but they can require a lot more attention than meat animals. But the trickiest bit is making sure you have a good business plan for the fiber BEFORE you get started.

The farm I worked on for a week started with I think 12 or 14 alpacas, but grew to about 200 in just a few years. The main reason for the growth was the "rescue" of alpacas from people in the region who got a few animals with dreams of making money, then gave up when they realized they didn't have a good market for the fiber. This was in eastern Wyoming but apparently this kind of problem is commonplace. This farm actually mills almost all their own fiber from the alpacas. They also mill fiber for (and provided by) other people, too. It's an impressive operation!
http://www.sageridge.net/

And it seems that kind of marketing is needed to succeed at small scale fiber ranching. Could be an awesome idea! Just don't let people with dollar signs in their eyes tell you it's easy money in the bank

 

[Athena2344]

I recommend looking into hardy breeds that would be in demand in your area. I would recommend angora goats, as you can make money off of both their hair and young, i would also do research about which dairy goat breeds would do well in your area. I know that to have a good aquaponics system going, you need a bit of money, and a large space to earn some profit from it. I would stick with two or three different species of fowl to have a variety, make use of what you have to the best of your abilities. Keep us updated

 

[itsasmallfarm]

hello everyone, just a an update here.

still really have not started my farm, been really busy with school (this is my last year of high school/got delayed a few years due to anxiety) so now after this coming year plan on starting my small farm. so right now am starting to research what i need to know and starting to make a plan. (hoping this time next year i can start working/farming),

thank you everyone and still any ideas are very much welcomed

 

[Treerooted]

Being prepared is a great way to go! Planning can be so much fun...but daunting too. I hope you're able to connect with small farmers near you to get inspired and maybe some hands on experiences and possibly form some connections!