Re: Advice for new farmers?

Posted by kcm.MN on January 21, 2020 at 21:41:53 from (174.219.25.115):

In Reply to: Advice for new farmers? posted by Cowboy2005 on January 21, 2020 at 20:03:44:

I think a lot depends on where you choose to live as you age and get out on your own.

For us, life has dealt an extreme amount of blows. Our physical health was taken away in large part at an early age. Later calamities continued piling up until we finally retreated to where we live now, which REALLY IS in the middle of nowhere!

There's maybe 12 households in our township. Nearest neighbor is a mile away as the crow flies, or 5 miles by road. Can't see another yard light from our place except in Winter, and just that one neighbor's. Small towns all around us. Nearest larger town (still less than 4,000 people) is 75 miles away, and the nearest city (Grand Forks, ND) is over 100 miles.

Where I'm going with this is, in our area of tiny little towns, the very small grocery stores don't carry much in the way of produce. And often, what they have is simply not fit to eat! About 2 or 3 months ago, we were in a small grocery and I went to pick up a piece of produce. My thumb went into it like it was Jello pudding!

Add to that our climate, and how it is so very difficult to grow much of anything up here. The nearest Farmer's Market is 75 miles away, and only lasts about 3 weeks.

I've been wanting to build some grow tunnels to extend my growing season. Have also figured a way to grow so that our often-excessive ground moisture won't be a problem. And hopefully, in a few years, I'll have a starting area where I can start seed and have them grow for a month before transplanting, further increasing the season.

Point is, in this area, such an operation can do quite well. There is little cost for machinery, as no soil is tilled. No machinery for harvest. Nothing needed but a sub-compact tractor, or maybe even a riding mower with a decent trailer. Small operations like this are popping up all the time. Some people try it while in between jobs, but others really work to make it into something. And all that's needed to make a decent living (at least at this time) is 10 to 20 acres.

As the population continues to grow, more and more of these operations will appear. There's still room for a lot more, but eventually the amount of competition will likely force prices for such produce to go lower. That's why I mentioned our area.

This area is one that very few people want to live in, and it's an area where you really have to think outside the box in order to survive. So with that in mind, you might want to "consider" locating yourself in some such area where good produce is difficult to come by.

Another possibility is to look into specialty crops. Some examples would be lavender, mushrooms, old-world grains that demand top dollar, etc. Another possibility is to consider growing a specialty crop, then packaging or processing it yourself. Grow all kinds of tomatoes and make custom ketchups and sauces. Grow carrots and/or sugar cane and open a drink bar. If you're artistic, you might even want to try your hand at small-scale woodworking, making things out of wood that nobody else wants; woodcarving, wood turning, etc.

Then you also have the option of raising animals. There are lots of people who like rabbit meat. Many people like chicken, but are tired of the forced-fed that they get in the stores. Specialty milks is another option. Maybe even raising your own milk animals, then making custom ice creams and/or butters. It doesn't have to be organic - that's just another way to charge more for an identical product. Costs to get organic certification are high, so therefore you have to price your product(s) higher. Lower prices anyone? I don't care if it's organic as long as it's good quality, but others think differently.

No matter what you do in life, ALWAYS give it your all. Even if you think it's a short-term job, do your best and treat it as if this will be your job for the rest of your life. You never know....it might just be!

Someone posted a video the other day about this man who grows citrus in Nebraska. Ah, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk

If you want to see where good ideas, dreams and hard work will get ya, watch that video. It's a shining example!

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