Things I wish I'd known before I got a Farm...

[Rosalind]

If you must have animals other than chickens--something I would only recommend if you do not work outside your home, because it will eat phenomenal amounts of time--then Joel Salatin has some of the best info out there on how to manage livestock efficiently and relatively inexpensively.

If you are going to farm veggies and fruit and so forth, take ALL of patandchickens' advice about identifying and serving a market, then read some more about the significance of marketing your crop, how to, where to start, how to grow a market, and think about what you will do if your local Whole Foods wants you to start supplying them. If there is one thing I can not emphasize enough, it's that monocropping is not a successful business strategy for anyone who owns less than a zillion acres. On 5-30 acres, you don't have enough leeway for a crop failure. Heck, people on 1000 acres don't have enough leeway for a crop failure. But if you're growing veggies and fruit to supply the local restaurants, farmers' market and Whole Paycheck, and the arugula fails but the peaches do well, you'll be OK.

You may also want to consider hydroponic systems (for TOMATOES, you weirdos

), gourmet mushrooms (morels and blewits sell for >$40/lb., oyster mushrooms go for about $6/lb. but are easier to cultivate), cut flowers, Xmas trees, farming fish in tanks for food or for bait, farming algae for biodiesel crops. Think beyond the basic cow-pig-chicken and corn-veggies-cotton paradigm. Diversify as much as you can without compromising your ability to supply a market--that is, there's no sense in keeping a 10 gallon aquarium full of algae, two chickens and so forth, you need to be able to supply an actual market. But within the space you do have, make sure you have marketing plan A, plan B...plan Z...

Water rights. Know the ones that apply to the property. If the property does not come with water rights...well, another poster mentioned her relative whose irrigation costs broke the bank. It happens even in the most temperate climates. You want a property with water rights. Preferably development rights too. Look into the state and local regulations and programs for development rights; some states allow you to sell your development rights back to the state to preserve green space, heritage land, etc.

You can find weather history of an area on Weather Underground.

Also think of your age and health. Farming is lots of hard, heavy labor, and every one of my farming relatives got osteoarthritis from it. There are farmers who keep at it till they are ancient...they have magical genetics or something that the rest of us mere mortals aren't gifted with. Some crops are less labor than others (trees are pretty easy to mind, all things considered), but sooner or later you end up wishing your back was 20 years younger.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Thinking back the well issue is number one. Try and get as much info on that up front.

The state of the roads year round. Ours are horrible in the rain - sometimes unpassable.

Septic system and where your access is. Have it pumped before moving in so you can forget about it for a while.

A water pump (or running water) out by the barn (and I guess a barn!) and fences around the perimiter.

Electricity in the barn. Another must have.

The state of the soil for planting.

How far awy the stores and gas stations are.

Do you have to pay for a helicopter when you call 911? Our neighbors had to move because they couldn't afford it any more and they wouldn't transport her over the roads with her heart condition.

Are the neighbors good people? I love our neighbors and it makes a difference.

How many animals can you have legally - even if no one really cares it is best to know this up front.

Good luck!

 

[Their Other Mother]

One thing I learned. If you can do it yourself or you can make it you are better off. I grew up with a Dad who could fix anything and build anything from anything. I married a City boy and transfered him to the country. Now that Dad is not around things that get broken stay broken because DH dosen't know how to fix/build stuff and we can't always afford to pay someone else to do it.

 

[amyquilt]

Quote:
Fantastic post!!!

 

[ams3651]

forgive me for skipping ahead, if your planning on farming for profit your biggest question is what you will be farming. Its very hard to make a profit from grains and livestock. Is there a market in your area that is untaped? Goat meat? Organic meats or vegetables? Maybe you could talk to farmers in the area and see what they have to say about what they farm or the local market. You will be limited by the number of acres you have and what you will do with it. And understand it will be a full time job. A small hobby farm is a little less work but mainly for supporting the family in meat, eggs, vegetables, etc. you will need soils tested if your growing and seeded possibly if your getting livestock. It you can get a small farm thats already functioning it would be a good start.

Oh and the most important thing you need to know, it has to be in your blood. Its alot of work and you need to love it.

 

[tazcat70]

Quote:
Question: How much land would you purchase? I

Great post! I love the alternative ideas on farming. I never would have thought of mushrooms but at $40 a pound that is nothing to sneeze at!

I love this thread! Keep up the thoughts.

 

[ruth]

I've just started the farm venture myself. We incorporated as a farm and so it will help to be able to write off the thousand dollars a month it's costing right now just to keep everything fed. I had no idea how much time it would take to tend to 60 chickens, 16 ducks, 6 peacocks, 5 dairy goats, 4 dogs, 3 cats and the list grows. What I'm finding is that everything needs a different food, a different cage, babies need to be moved out into sun and then back into coop, when there's bad weather everybody has to be able to move into adequate shelter which means barns and stables and sheds all have to be kept clean. I'm working from the time I get up till around 9:00 p.m. just trying to keep everything fed, watered, caged, cleaned, etc. I decided to put off a large garden till next spring because this spring, our first one here, I learned important lessons about gardening also. Mainly that a small garden isn't worth the time and effort. I didn't get enough out of most crops to even make a meal for DH and I. I also learned that having a watermellon patch over there, and a kitchen garden over here, and flower gardens out front, and an herb garden out back, etc. took hours a day to water them all and keep them weeded. Next spring, one large garden in one central place.

We are blessed that we work from home and can put in the time but I did just hire a group of men today to come and help with all the maintenance and repairs that need to be made on this 100 year old place because I have realized I just don't have the time to also get all the fences mended and painted and gates put back up and barns and building reroofed - so that will cost several thousand dollars but at least will get done and get off my list. I can't get horses till I get the fences repaired. I can't make full use of barn or carriage house or log cabin till I get them reroofed and repaired.

So under what I've learned - it takes much more time and money than you think and I don't see a profit ever - I'm hoping we can meet our own needs and become self-sufficient and I'd be happy at that. I reallize there's probably some IRS rule that you have to show income and I will meet that by selling eggs, chickens, ducks, registered goats, goat milk, etc. We are also going to use the farm as a learning tool and a place to visit for children. There's a few orphanages in the next town and a boys home so we are planning on having the kids be able to come here and have a picnic and gather eggs and learn about farm life - If and when we ever get everything cleaned up and running smoothly.

It's more work than you can ever imagine and I now have a great respect for the farmer. I think food should cost a hundred times more than it does now that I know how much work it takes.

 

[greyfields]

You cannot have hobbies or vacations. The farm becomes all of those combined into one.

My best advice, try very hard early on to not buy anything new and seek out people who'll help you fix up old junk to get started wtih. There were some things I bought going in which I don't use as much as I thought I would; whereas I'm stuck using junk which I need to use a lot, and wish I could afford better or new. You won't know any of this until after the first year.

 

[pimpdaddywrinkles]

Quote:
Have you ever smelled a Mushroom plant?

$40.00 Lb seems like nothing!

Wooo Thats not tip-toeing through the tulips

 

[ruth]

I also learned that if raising animals it's best to stick to one thing. I told my husband the other day I could raise 500 chickens a lot easier than I can raise a few chickens, a few ducks, a few peacocks, a few goats because of the constant and varying needs and each housed in a different place. If I just focused on chickens I could put thousands in the huge two story barn and sell eggs and chickens for meat and chicks to farms and probably poo to gardeners - hey maybe I'm onto something.