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A Farm of My Own:  Self-Supporting Farms  |
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Rosenwalt
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Rose Marie
NY
77 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 09 2006 : 5:29:59 PM
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How many of you out there have a self-supporting farm? What kind of farm do you have? What have you found to be profitable? What do you think of co-ops?
Do any of you have a tree farm?
We're testing the waters here 
Rose in NY |
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garliclady
True Blue Farmgirl
274 Posts
Reidsville
NC
274 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2006 : 04:41:27 AM
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Right now my husband works another job and then we both work the farm and we are not quite ready to step out and do it full time. We do have several friends who now have self supporting farms .These are small farms. Most have CSA's as a regular income then sell at farmers markets , resturants and co-ops. They all started out with at least one spouse working off the farm.
Cornerstone Garlic Farm http://www.localharvest.org/listing.jsp?id=6792
My Recipes http://recipecircus.com/recipes/garliclady/ |
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MullersLaneFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
596 Posts
Rock Falls
IL
596 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2006 : 07:12:57 AM
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We're not self supporting but we're working on it. Our niche is farm tours of an old fashion farm and giving lessons in old time arts such as blacksmithing, soapmaking, spinning, et al
Cyndi
Joshua 24:15
Ol 'MacDonald has nothing on us!
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com |
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Rosenwalt
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Rose Marie
NY
77 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2006 : 3:20:29 PM
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Cyndi,
I just checked out your website and I love it. It starts out at the very top in a tribute to God. Can't get better than that!
Rose in NY |
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Rosenwalt
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Rose Marie
NY
77 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2006 : 6:49:48 PM
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I'm already learning quite a bit from you garliclady, and now I'd like to ask you....what's CSA?
Thankee, thankee,
Rose in NY
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garliclady
True Blue Farmgirl
274 Posts
Reidsville
NC
274 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2006 : 05:18:12 AM
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Community Supported Agriculture- Is basicly where people pay your farm a fee upfront and in turn they get a bag full of produce from that farm on a weekly basis. Some farms deliver them others have pickup spots. With this agreement they understand that sometimes there is crop falures and weather problems that make not all weeks the same in the amount of produce they get. The take that risk with you.
With a CSA you have to plant a wide variety of vegetables fruit and herbs . And you have to plant more than you think you will need.
That's why most sell at farmers markets or wholesale surpus to other venues.
All the CSA's arond here have pickups at the farmers markets and they bring any excess produce to sell at the farmers market to other customers.Most Csa Farmers either started first sell just to farmers markets or only with a handful of customers. Some of the more experinced farmers do it on a much bigger scale haveing 100+ subscriptions.
Those of us that don't have a CSA have a niche . Mine is selling garlic (which no one else has). Others Goat cheese ,Freerange meats and chicken , Mushrooms etc. Most of us do grow other things but specialize in one area.
Rose there is a lot of garlic grown in NY and several garlic festivals
that is another venue to sell is to sell at festivals. We hope one year soon we ca come an sell at the Hudson vally festival It is the largest garlic fest on the east coast.
For more on CSA's check with you local extention office.
GL
Cornerstone Garlic Farm http://www.localharvest.org/listing.jsp?id=6792
My Recipes http://recipecircus.com/recipes/garliclady/ |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2006 : 11:12:11 AM
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My husband works "off the farm" and we both work on, too. We're in the stage of deciding what our niche will be - we're testing the waters with sheep/lamb, and last year was what I consider a successful small start - this year we've a flock of 25 pregnant (we hope!) ewes, so we'll go from there. A group of us "rural lady farmgirls" are getting together on the first Sunday in March to see if there is a way we all want to pool our resources and resourcefulness to participate in some sort of co-op, farmers' market or CSA...
I just asked my spouse about tree farms - a couple of friends have toyed around with that idea, but nobody I know has actually done it. I DO know that there are 2 or 3 successful holiday tree farms in Utah that make picking your tree out an "experience," rather than the go-to-the-lot-and-get-a-tree type thing.
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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MullersLaneFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
596 Posts
Rock Falls
IL
596 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2006 : 09:25:19 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Rosenwalt
It starts out at the very top in a tribute to God.
To God be the GLORY!
Cyndi
Joshua 24:15
Ol 'MacDonald has nothing on us!
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com |
Edited by - MullersLaneFarm on Feb 17 2006 09:25:38 AM |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2006 : 6:07:52 PM
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A self-supporting farm is my ultimate dream-goal. My next step is to enlarge our lamb market and to find another local/internet niche. What are your next steps?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 07:00:46 AM
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Well...
My dad's farm is currently self-supporting. He leases the land to a younger guy.. (my dad can't get around very good any more) and manages to pay the taxes on the property with the proceeds of the lease agreement.
But, the farm doesn't support HIM! or my stepmother! They have social security and retirement income! LOL...Even when they were younger they had full-time off-farm jobs.
I'm trying to be funny, but also asking a serious question -- what exactly do you mean by self-supporting? How many people do you think the farm should support? What standard of living do they expect? It is certainly possible to have a subsistence living on the farm - raise enough farm products to eat and keep in reasonable health and sell the surplus for cash - just look at the Amish. But they don't wear shoes in summer, have electric or telephone bills, internet access, cable TV or digital cameras.
My husband and I haven't taken the leap yet - we're both employed by big corporations - and we own our land free and clear! But we have cars and tractors and snowmobiles and jet skis and computers that all take batteries and fuel or electric - and those things are EXPENSIVE. We jokingly say that we are going to live off the land some day - and my husband tells me I'll need a new wardrobe, because I'm going to lose a lot of weight!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
Edited by - brightmeadow on Feb 19 2006 07:02:12 AM |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 07:44:35 AM
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Well - I guess I mean self-supporting to whatever extent that means to the individual. For instance, for me, a farm would have to be able to provide enough income for electric bills, car payments, etc. - I'm not willing to go "off the grid" completely.
I am thinking that with an appropriate niche market, our farm (@17 acres) could support our family of four very well. Am I living in dreamland?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 10:53:28 AM
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Really, the only person that can answer that is you. The best way is to draw up a business plan, just as if you were going to go apply for a loan. How much revenue can you expect to realize from your crops? Is it seasonal or year-round? How much would bad weather impact your harvest? What are the expenses of taking it to market? If you plan to raise livestock, it's not just the cost of the feed but also housing, manure removal, and veterinary expenses. If it's produce or field crops, you have to figure on storage, processing (like drying, for example) if you plan to farm organically you need to look at fertilizer, weed and pest control costs, soil amendments. Are you going to buy a tractor? New or used? How much to keep it in good repair? What about harvesting equipment? Tiller, hay rake? Baler? combine? Cider press? Don't forget the cost of your own labor. Are you going to advertise? Where? How much will that cost? Do you need extra insurance if your customer comes to your farm? If you still have enough left to pay the mortgage, insurance, car payments, and electric bill, go for it!
When I started raising Angora rabbits I was in love with the idea of producing my own wool. Not to mention how cute they are! At $13 an ounce the wool seemed pretty expensive. I learned you could harvest the fiber 4 times a year, about an ounce per bunny. $52 a year just in fiber, right? And then I could raise babies and make even more money. And fill my freezer with the ones that didn't have good wool. But as it happened, I learned that there were grooming and tatooing equipment to buy, not to mention registration expenses. Every time I had a new litter I had six weeks to get six new cages built, at about $40 per cage. The time commitment between feeding, grooming, hauling away droppings, and building cages was more than I could handle while still working full time and trying to maintain an organic garden and raise two girls. Some of that expensive wool just blew away in the wind, and some of the rabbits just didn't have good wool. I learned I was no expert at judging which ones, at six weeks old, would grow into a good coat and which ones wouldn't, so I kept feeding them far longer than that. The ones with good mothering instincts didn't necessarily have the wool characteristics I wanted. And the ones with good wool didn't want to have anything to do with the buck! Rather than trying to sell 1 oz of wool at a time, I stored it. I had bags of wool sitting around in my garage, and they got infested with moths, and I had to throw it away.
I only had 44 rabbits when I got a job transfer out of state and had to look at moving the rabbit farm... when I decided it was a crazy idea! I realized I'd been raising rabbits for over a year and I hadn't done any spinning in all that time, which is why I originally started with the rabbits. I sold, butchered, and gave away the rabbits. I considered it a life lesson.
I still have dreams sometimes of barns and outbuildings with rabbits multiplying and needing fed and watered and groomed - I wake up in a cold sweat. Even so, I still think about raising a few rabbits from time to time, and I won't let my husband get rid of the cages.
I'm not trying to be negative, just think you should be realistic and consider all the resources it takes to farm. Don't quit your job until you are pretty sure you aren't going to cause hardship for your family. And make sure you have a market for that specialty crop, whatever it is.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 2:17:21 PM
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That is some good advice. Thank you. Right now, I am lucky enough to be home full time - just working some odd jobs - and my husband works a decent, full-time job with good benefits. So, I feel like we're in a pretty good entrepreneurial (sp?) position. I'm working on a business plan right now - and I'm excited to see just what this farm can produce. It's turning out to be a journey, and it's both exciting and frustrating...but worth itr!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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Rosenwalt
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Rose Marie
NY
77 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2006 : 6:32:00 PM
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Yes, I am a little fearful of making the wrong decision as to what to sink our money on and what we'll be successful at on the farm. I'm glad I tapped into this place. I've learned oh so much already! I'm reading lots and lots of books too. I think I need to get my soil tested and see what the land would like to see grown on it!
Thanx everyone for your advise again....keep it comin' please!
Rose Marie,
Central New York
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bubblesnz
True Blue Farmgirl
291 Posts
helen
New Zealand
291 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2006 : 8:21:47 PM
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| In new zealand, with 17 acres to keep the family, you would need to find a niche market or raise calves till weaner stage, 6 weeks. This way you only need sheds as they dont eat grass. Then you can use a few acres for some cows, to supply milk, saves buying in. Works well here and is a good money turnover. Just means committment. Everyday feeding, twice a day. |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2006 : 8:42:35 PM
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I'm nervous about deciding what to sink time/effort/money into, and discussions like this are invaluable to me, too. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences - I learn from every single one of them.
I've not thought of working solely with farm animals, like raising calves - there are so many niche markets to tap into, I need to add that to my "brainstorm."
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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A Farm of My Own: Self-Supporting Farms |
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Self-Supporting Farms
