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O/T What would you farm on 25 acres?

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JBMac

01-17-2008 07:59:21

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I was curious what interesting ideas would come out: I live on 25 acres in North Florida currently in pasture. Selling the sod now, so I'll have a blank canvas. High and dry, sandy/clay soil, some rich black soil (2-3 acres in an old bottom, all tillable, have 2 tractors (ford 3910 and MF 175), Vermeer round baler and JD square baler, fella mower and tedder, and the usual accompanament of implements, 8' disk, spike harrow, 3 bottom plow. My plan was to put it all in a high quality hay for horses to sell. Then I thought about getting adventurous, maybe a U-Pick vegetable farm, or raise livestock and vegetables for my family? Ostrich/Alpaca and Alligator farm? The animals could help teach my our first child (be here in three months) some responsibility when older. I have grown up/ worked on various kinds of farms my whole life and have an education in crop science, so I know enough to be dangerous! It's always been a dream of mine to have my own land, now what do I do with it? What say y'all?

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36 coupe

01-19-2008 04:44:48

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

Forget U pick.A strawberry grower near me sells about 10% of the crop thru U pick.The rest must be hauled to farmers markets.Sweet corn is a good seller here.Once customers taste fresh picked corn they will give up the wizzled up stuff super markets sell.Vegetables are a lot of work.Try a 1/2 acre first.

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JBMac

01-18-2008 10:55:44

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

Thanks everybody for the replies, some interesting stuff. Due to my time restriants and the equipment I already have, I"ll stick to hay for now, it"s what I know best. I may try some of the pnut hay, heard good things about it. I"m in Columbia county, Shep, your next door neighbor! I"ll contact you sometime, like to see your place.

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ShepFL

01-17-2008 15:29:51

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Long long response in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

FWIW here are my long winded observations and comments.

I was in very similar situation 4 yrs ago. I have since diversified - I am now into 2nd year of CSA, silviculture (planted pines for pulp & saw lumber) and aquaculture (catfish pond = $1.00 / lb of fish caught).
Given all the haying equipment you have you may just want to stay with that and do square bales for the horse crowd. If you just want to keep the Ag Exemption with out much labor consider leasing as pasture or pulp wood. On the other hand if you are close enough I am looking for my local tractor club to to install a Corn Maize for annual BSA fund raiser. :D Then end of yr. we could all chop and sell the silage for rent of the land.

Back To The Topic

I tried the U-PICK and unless you live next to major hard road FORGET IT! BTDT! Majority of the public is VERY LAZY! They will not come and pick your veggies - they want you to grow it, pick it, clean it and then deliver it. One year I had to plow under 10 acres of sweet corn. Beyond that you cannot anticipate the public's appetite for fresh produce and trying to grow only small amounts dilutes your focus not including the additional time for each component.

If you still insist on doing a U-PICK focus on select an item like Blueberries. They grow well in N. FL acidic soil and require little maintenance and little tillage work. Easy picking and you can sell by the pound. Good family fun also.

Next I tried CO-OP for local neighboring families and it was mildly successful. Had some exposure due to 3 families dropping out. Risk here is that if you have a bad crop year (drought, flood, etc) you are still on the hook for delivery. Guess what - that corn or watermelon you thought you were going to sell for $3 ears is now going to cost you the current market value on top of all your existing labor and growing costs just to meet your original CO-OP customer obligations. Same thing applies to subscription farming - bad yr. leaves you exposed for replacement crops at market value and if popular item low supply equals higher costs. One bad season can really dampen your desires.

What is working for me is CSA. This is Consumer Supported Agriculture. Google it on the web and you will get lots of information. The County Extension Offices are also great resources. Also use this link for FL specific production>Link

The CSA concept and practice is to get customers that want to share with you the production costs and labor of raising crops they specifically desire. You provide the land, tractor and grow only what your customers pre-pay for i.e. X lbs of fresh produce weekly for family of 4. This approach mitigates the traditional risk with "truck farming" because the customers understand that if it is a bad year it is a bad year for all. We all share the loss not just the producer. If it is a good year I get to play with my tractors, play in the dirt (theraputic stress relief for me :D ) and customers get farm fresh seasonal produce on a weekly basis.
My day job is Sr. Mgmt for IT firm and I have a niche market due to all the Hindu Indian and Singaporeans. They get a kick out of coming to "farm" and helping out during harvest time; some just pay extra for weekly delivery. To improve my marketing approach this yr. I have swapped web design & hosting for produce. I hope to get an interactive web site and I get to focus on grow the veggies!

My Hindu/Asian customers have already pre-paid for first session 2008. Majority of what they want is squash flowers and their traditional herbs (exotic to me). Herbs are generally very easy to grow and they will pay premium prices - I sell in clear little clamshells for $5.00 per shell. As the yr. progress we move into eggplant, peppers (HOT and mild), snake squash, fresh beans, field peas and okra aka Lady Fingers and punkins.
Last year I brought in sweet corn and the Indians went NUTS over it, they are used to traditional corn i.e. Indian corn aka maize etc. used for flour. They never had it before. Not much call for spuds or tomatoes but I love them so we grow alot of them for canning. See this link for veggie producton in FL>Link

Another>Link twist I am adding this year is planting for cut flowers Zinnias, Gladiolus, Sunflower, Butterfly Weed and Blue Spiraea hoping to sell to CSA customers and local florists before Mother's Day. Got the idea from County Ext. Office as I was thinking meat goats but I don't have the time to do build fences, etc.
On the subject of ORGANIC -
If you do consider 100% ORGANIC it is a very lengthy and expensive path to get certified. Your Ext. Agent can give you more details on the levels of ORGANIC. (see this link>Link

This>Link yr. I am working on +70% Organic due to split farm production i.e. organic and convential products. While ORGANIC demands higher market prices you need to expect heaps and heaps of admin work, more labor and equipment time in the field until you get your practices "dialed in" not to mention the "blemished" produce and reduced yields. The benefits are I can label and sell CSA products as ORGANIC per NOP rules. While this is a tough road the returns are better than average for reasons I really don't understand - perhaps the "greening" cycle we are going thru as a nation.

So there you have it from one N. Florida part time grower to another. I am in Sanderson, FL. Where are you? My email is greg underscore sheppard at APL dot com if I can help any.

Good Luck and Keep the Faith!

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JoshuaGA

01-17-2008 15:15:26

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to Larry D., 01-17-2008 07:59:21

Steve in MN said: (quoted from post at 01:37:58 01/18/08) I'll go along with JT. If you got horse people in the area, hay is a good way to go. Only need to buy seed the first year, a little fertilizer each year after. A little riskier because of the weather concerns when it's time to bale. But $$'s per acre of return will be pretty good.

If you don't mind or can stand not having an income for a year or two, don't mind rotary mowing and spraying, and want good hay, consider perrinial peanuts. They are a sprigged hay crop, full of protien, and are not shatterprone as long as they are not tedded. We sprigged 5 acres 2 years ago and have $250 an acre sprigged, plus 4 sprays each year at $150 each, and mowing inbetween. They are a very competive crop when established, just slow to establish. Our neighbor, who grows them, makes $5 a square bale, with no shipping costs, and I hear people in Florida, especially around Ocala, giving $8 to$9 a bale. Horses love it, goats and cattle love it, and can even be used with hogs. If yo can't wait, make bermueda grass hay. Just A Thought.

JoshuaGA

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jubilee johnny

01-17-2008 14:04:22

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

I have 20 acres beside the little Tennessee River in NC. I am thinking of growing nursury stock like trees and shrubs for markets like Atlanta. Being so close to the river I wouldn't have to worry so much about flooding, etc.

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Mike (WA)

01-17-2008 12:20:41

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

The 2 to 3 acres of good bottom land will give you more of a market garden than you probably want to do, especially if organic. Balance can be hay, pasture, combination of the two, etc. Depends on how much time you have to devote to the project(s).

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Blue3992 (N Illinois)

01-17-2008 11:55:27

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

Interesting question. Sometime before, someone on this board posted a link to some site (USDA, I think) that had info on "specialty" crops that people could grow with limited land. Rasberries and Blueberries were on the list. Mara-juana was even on the list too, I think it was for medical use, assuming you were in a state where it was legal. I read the blurb they had about it--it was interesting. The USDA required all sorts of high-security fences, and you had to register with the DEA, etc.

Anyway, wish I could find that site, if I come across it I'll post it.

For organic vegges and the like, you may want to check out the movie "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." I haven't seen it yet, but it's a documentary about a guy outside of Chicago who grew organic stuff and sold it to restaurants and individuals.

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John (MO)

01-17-2008 11:48:03

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

I`d look into growing about 50/75 houses, then I`d retire on the profit and buy 10 times that much ground someplace way less populated. But that is just me.

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mile0001

01-17-2008 11:22:15

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

Depends on how much time you have, and if you want to make money or not. If you don't care about the money and just want to have fun, do what ever appeals to you the most.

If you want to make money and have a lot of time to put a lot of work into it. Look at organic vegetables and selling them via a CSA. A couple near us do that on 8 acres, selling to the Twin Cites and make about $250,000. It's not easy though, it took them 10 years to get there, and a lot of work.

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jayinNY

01-17-2008 10:51:54

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

You can do any number of things. Hay being the easiest. You could grow veggies, raise beef or sheep, chickens, sell meat and eggs. Or you could diversify and do a little of each. Are you going to do this full time for income, or after a off the farm job. Also remember what works for you, maybe you dont like cows or chickens, so pick something you enjoy but that can be profitable for you j

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Don L C

01-17-2008 09:39:09

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

How about a sod farm? ....later you will need to buy more land.....great money maker..... ..

DON SOWTHWEST OHIO

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Joe in MN.

01-17-2008 09:35:07

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

You could try growing Poppies --- I hear they have that going on in Afghan Countries -- and do very well at it --- also Marijuana is a high cash crop --- but I think the law don't like that growing for some odd reason --- Good luck in your adventure ....

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Gerald J.

01-17-2008 09:27:18

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

There was a book on the contract gardening or pick it yourself concept 20 or 25 years ago. The title was someething like, "make 100,000 on a acre of ground." Basically the customers subscribe and you deliver them a week's supply of available veges during the growing season.

Horse owners are hard to please and often want to feed sedentary horses with way too much protien (alfalfa) and when they bloat, then they ration the alfalfa and the poor horses whose instinct is to eat grass constantly then eat the barn because they are empty all the time. The least dust leads to rejected bales whether dirt or real mold. After a few years selling horse hay, I decided it was more valuable to me plowed under to fertilize corn, but you have to have a market.

Find your markets, then pick your crops. The best crop without a market is worse than worthless, it cost to raise so its a looser.

Gerald J.

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John S-B

01-17-2008 13:41:17

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to Gerald J., 01-17-2008 09:27:18

The book was "How to make $100,000 farming 10 acres" by Booker T. Whatley. A VERY good book for the small farmer. Although a little dated on prices, the methodolgy is sound. I would highly recommend it.

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Gerald J.

01-17-2008 15:09:31

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Re: That's the one. in reply to John S-B, 01-17-2008 13:41:17

That's that the one.

Gerald J.

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Stephen in SOKY

01-17-2008 08:52:28

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

I do a little market gardening. It's VERY labor intensive. I think it's safe to say I'll never do any more self pick market gardening. I just never dreamed what folks would do to someone elses property. Hay would be my first choice, especially if you're working off farm.

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Steve in MN

01-17-2008 08:37:58

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

I'll go along with JT. If you got horse people in the area, hay is a good way to go. Only need to buy seed the first year, a little fertilizer each year after. A little riskier because of the weather concerns when it's time to bale. But $$'s per acre of return will be pretty good.

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Tradititonal Farmer

01-17-2008 08:18:41

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

If you're close to some health conscious consumers organic vegetables can be a real moneymaker.Here local grown mostly with organic techniques will get 2 or 3 times the grocery store price plus with increased trucking costs all produce is getting more expensive.

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rrlund

01-17-2008 08:13:33

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

What do you have a market for? It wouldn't pay,for example,to grow corn or soybeans on a small acerage if you had to haul 100 miles to the nearest elevator.Same goes for any commodity.

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Dave from MN

01-17-2008 08:11:18

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

I have 23 tillable here and I am planting (tentatively)10 acres corn, 6 acres rye is in now, 6 acres hay this spring, renting 15 acres for beans. If I can get a small irrigator what is rye will also be seeded to hay next fall. Hopefully I will grow from there.

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01-17-2008 08:05:51

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Re: O/T What would you farm on 25 acres? in reply to JBMac, 01-17-2008 07:59:21

A u pick vegetable farm would be a way to loose good income. you could grow veggies, pick your self, sell at farmers market. Most people do not know how to handle plants so they can continue producing. I would think more along the lines of hay, put in small sqrares if you are going to sell to horse people, most cannot handle the big rounds. Put 20 in hay, and the other five as pasture ground for livestock?
JIm

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