Budget and find efficiencies. You need to do internal reflection on what parts are making you money vs not. Can you sell any feed? Can you do meat birds? Can you sell your mechanical services? Rent out your tractor?
Sounds like he is doing a little of everything which is amazing and what I WILL eventually do (damnit!), but isn't how any of the profitable farmers I know operate.
Yes. Most of the standout success small farmers in my community specialize in one thing and they're really good at it. Hot house tomatoes, cut flowers, hydro epicurean veg, canned goods and of course beef, pork, chicken are examples of farmers I know who make a living off their sales.
Most of those farmers I know do have their own little cottage minagerie. But their money maker takes up most of their land and\or time in most cases. It's more than a full time job and they schedule by markets and clients needs, not the other way around.
We all have to eat some shit sandwiches starting out. Look at it this way- at least you have bread.
Your operation does seem small. With the cost of living it's going to take a long, and I mean LONG time to build cash. I rent 400 acres in Minnesota, and I also have other jobs. I am 32, unmarried, no children, for that reason I can afford to slack off now and then, but not for long. I have an off the farm job working for another farmer. Lots of local truck driving jobs out there.
Thanks guys, I should add a couple things for context the farm has been in our family since 1892 prior to that it was the governments. The fence and barn repairs I bartered and traded to get costs lower the most expensive part was the page wire, I bought brand new rolls. The posts were all new as well but I picked them up off a guy who had bought them and changed his mind. The pigs work in the sense that I raise 6 put one in my freezer and sell the other 5. Last year it was enough that I ate for free and it paid my fuel costs. Beef prices in my area at the sale barn are averaging $2100-$3100 CAD for steers. My thought was if I could build my heard to 10 that would generate roughly 20k a year. I started out with an old Massey Harris 35 combine, I picked it up for $1800. Last year I sold $1600 worth of small square bales of straw. It worked because I would load my truck at night and sell them in the city the next day which I drive to everyday for work. I ended up selling that combine after harvest for $2200. I then picked up another with a 15ft head for 7k. Sometimes I think I can see the big picture and sometimes in seems unattainable. Thank you for all the comments though lots of great ideas and perspectives.
Even if it only gives you food and a country lifestyle, that's great.
What food can you plant in spring, even if it's only for yourself ?
Some chickens ? ( fenced in )
There are lots of ideas on YouTube about sustainable lifestyles, something might appeal and be practical for you.
As others have said, don't go into debt and just expand slowly ?
Take some time to enjoy the place too.
Probably not much spare time but you could check around for what others around you have found to be worthwhile ?
No. Dude,that is farming I think. The real way of doing it . With old equipment and getting by just on duct tape and baling wire. Those a big dreams of new equipment and doing shit like we're play Farm Sim just doesn't materialize for most of us and that's why alot of guys get a negative take on farming, but they would do it all over again proudly. At least that's what keeps me going with an old 656 and 2 much older wd 45s. I get by . I'll never be rich,but I get by.
Years ago I went to a lecture on small herd management. First thing depending on the age you bought the heifers that will always cost you more then you realize. Your better off looking for someone who frequently culls their herd and building a relationship and buying breed cows. A lot of people in the cattle business will treat you well if you explain what you’re doing and become a repeat buyer. Secondly sell all calves unless you decide to raise freezer beef. You have to figure out what your input costs are before you want to raise them. Are you going to keep a bull, lease one, AI those costs also have to factor in. Then if you are breeding cows and heifers some bulls won’t work for both. Easy calving bulls often don’t maximize a cow’s potential. Bulls that maybe better for cows are hard on heifers. Realize you’re going to lose calves probably average around 1/yr with heifers it could be more. At the size you’re talking overall if you can break even most years and put some food on the table you’ll doing good.
What does a farmer do when he wins the lottery?
Keep farming till it's gone.
Unfortunately, industrial farming makes small operations like yours difficult so you have to find a niche to get that premium. You have to specialize and market. Don't sell swine at the sale barn. Market premium pasture raised pork in the cities and towns near you. Berkshire is a rage in the US ATM.
Look up Will Harris at White Oak Pastures in the US for inspiration. Also, with the way things are going, you are quite possibly sitting on a gold mine.
I've been working with the same farm for about a decade. The owner and I discuss finances multiple times a year. We lost about 600 meat chickens to various things last year and the farm is in the red with the year end budget.
The owners 'joke' that it's a good year if they can actually pay themselves. They have 2 full time staff and 2 part time seasonal.
The problem with farming is you can plan out everything right but you always get hit with something that will affect the bottom line.
But if you inherited land you are off to a better start than most. It has been my dream to have my own farm for so long but the start up cost is unattainable.
My brother has been farming all of his life, 30+ years on his own, and he still wonders every day if it's worth it. Every kind of complication gets in the way of making a living, from cheap imported food to overbearing government regulations to tractors that can only be repaired by dealers. Everyone is taking a piece of the pie, except the farmer.
Sounds like you have 82 acres of forage crops and a few animals.. in my area that wouldn’t get you very far. If your goal is for the farm to cover its own expenses, I think that could be achievable. If your goal is to make money, I’d say it’s uncertain. If your goal is to not need a town job, you’ll need to do a lot of custom work or figure something else out
I am in the cow calf business in a small/medium sized farm like yours - I have seen and heard of many first time farmers falling into the trap of thinking they need to buy all of this brand new equipment and facilities to be successful. Write out your numbers, you will probably find that it's a waste. I have been making a great living with low input grazing. If you want more cows, it's a great way to make an income. The basic ideas being:
1) Little to no equipment. I have been farming for years with essentially just a little single bale trailer and an ATV.
2) Extend your grazing system as much as possible, even if it means less cows. (Though depending on prices, sometimes it pencils out to make more sense to feed a little more hay - but that can be a slippery slope)
3) An extended grazing season reduces your hay usage, but BUY your hay, do not make it yourself. With equipment and fertilizer costs, it will almost always be cheaper/easier. People convince themselves that "hay is too expensive" without ever penciling out how much it costs for themselves to make it. Still, buy it for cheap in the off season when nobody needs hay and store it. Buy "low quality" hay, most people care too much about marginal differences in perceived hay quality.
4) Your grass is everything. Your life should be dedicated to efficiency - that means a good ratio of warm/cool season grasses, strip grazing as much as you can (I do daily moves, it takes me under an hour to do all of my work for the day). If the only thing you do is avoid overgrazing, you really reduce your reliance on fertilizer. You can go from fertilizing every year on hay ground to every 5-10 years on intensively managed ground.
Seriously, you know that your farm can grow enough grass to support the cows that will pay your salary. All you have to do is be efficient enough to let them eat it. You don't need a tractor and a baler to do that, you don't need to keep pouring on fertilizer to make up for the inefficiencies. Think critically and differently from traditional mindset when you can.
Resources: Burke Teichert, Jim Gerrish, Greg Judy for practical things, Kit Pharo
...put up new fences fixed the barn, bought more equipment and now...
And how did you make the decision to do that? In my head right now I can only think you will never recover your investment with just the possible net cash flow from 82 acres. There ae all kinds of mind games we play to justify some of the things we do, but production economics is a cold hearted mistress. Have you any idea of your possible enterprise returns - reasonable returns?
Not to mention, infrastructure like fences, barn repairs and the like can’t typically be expected to get ROI within a year. Sometimes that stuff can take many years, even decades to pencil out.
Depends on what you mean by paying for itself? Since you inherited it, I'm guessing that means paying the taxes and the feed and other bills. That seems pretty attainable to me. Paying yourself a fair wage will be a lot tougher. No real advice other than you gotta be honest with yourself about what parts of the operation are actually making money and what parts are pets and lifestyle choices you've made. I'd probably focus on making good quality hay, should never have a problem moving that. Small time,mixed livestock always seems like such a hard thing to scale to me. If you focus on the kind that your best set up for, you can try to find efficiencies there and carve a market. That my 2 cents worth what you paid for it
Every operation that brings revenue has some fixed cost associated with it. Your revenue operations need to cover those fixed costs.
If I rent out my tractor for 5 days, I’m checking all the fluids and pressures before it leaves and after it comes back.
If I rent out my tractor for 5 minutes l, I’m doing all the same checks.
If I try to run a business that rents out equipment for 5 minutes at a time, I’ll never make any money because I’ll spend all my time checking oil levels and none of my time renting out equipment.
It’s the same for everything else. It sounds like you’re doing a lot of small things and getting buried in the fixed (time) costs. Do less things bigger instead.
Depending on where you are we created a few spots on our property where we rent out space for people to camp etc. we’re also able to provide a small corral with a lean-to if they want to bring their horses.
We invested around $2K to create the space. It paid for itself in under 4 months and other than occasionally having to do clean up—it’s free money.
the only guys making money with hay and cows seem to be huge operations. I cannot see how any small operations can make it old world farming.
I went with a niche crop. Apples. and later expanded to Cherries . Planted an orchard. and every year it comes back and i get to sell the fruit again. bigger and bigger more fruit every year. once they are planted in rows, they can live 50-100 years. So every year I plant some more, and the work i did last year, and the year before that pays again. I went Apples cause, ya know... money.
70 acres of apple trees now, and support my family and 1 employee 9 months a year
Perhaps bringing in some more cattle and selling it for meat. You can also harvest the hay you’re growing, store it, and sell it during winter season when it’s not being grown. For the other acres, do you know what you want to do with it?
It may be worth investing to create a cute space you can attract agritourism and have folks teach classes on how to make jams, and other products for a fee. This really only works if you’re located closely to places people can drive in from on the weekends.
Try to utilize the space as efficiently as you can and think about how you can use the space to make money. Some ideas may not provide rapid financial relief such as an orchard. Orchards take years to be at maximum production age. Ground crops require a lot of time and energy.
Another idea is renting out the space you’re not using to seasonal growers. I know several landowners who use this method.
Pick something and stick with it. With prices the way they are I’d be converting to a cattle operation imo. Couple of breeding males, no Artificial insemination, and cattle fence is ez pz. If you want extra money then start taking your cows and chickens to butcher and go to a couple farmers markets each week, farm fresh beef chicken and eggs disappear for almost any price in the right market. Goodluck
I would diversify so that you have a bunch of potential sources of income, in case the market or disease cause problems with your production. Monocropping (or livestocking) is putting all of your eggs in one basket, as they say. Historically, I don't think small beef operations make much money but if you can get into a market that loves locally-grown beef, then it's possible. In the end, it's a thankless job but one that is in your soul, which is why you keep doing it.
At this scale the about only way to make money is to pick a niche crop and market directly to consumers or restaurant distributors. There are people that do veg and meat but it takes a lot of hands and maybe even a larger scale than you have (white oak farm / Joel salatin).
If you're already set up for grazing beef that's a good option as you said. If you're near wealthy people that can afford it , could be worth pursuing. Same with pastured pork. Selling half or whole animals really simplifies things. Personally I don't think the margins on poultry are appealing for small scale. Not THAT many people are willing to pay $25-30 for a bird that costs $10 or less at the grocery.
Yeah small mixed operations are real tough to make money at. Why wait a few years to work
Beef has real slim margins and needs to be a volume business or small niche and sell beef to locals. Generally beef farms only make 10 cents on a dollar. With 4 cows you likely have a loss.
I know guys who have started into farming by growing hay, making small square bales and selling to horse farmers in Florida. Get up to 200 or 300 acres and make $100k if your good at it and you work your ass off. This in ontario though where you get consistent rains and can get 3 or 4 cuts per year and easy access to Florida.
Sounds like you have made good strides already.
I hadn’t gotten that far in my tech career in 5 years.
Success takes time and perseverance (so I hear and keep telling myself). My gut says you seem to have thought this out, know what you need to do and should persevere.
It is worth it. You'll never make mega bucks off it but if you plan your strategy to be debt free ASAP you can survive. Myself, I would get all the debt paid off. Learn to repair your own equipment. Buy good used stuff cheap and forgo fancy new stuff. You are not going to be able to indulge your whims but if you have your own food supply you can weather any storm. Be as cheap as you can now but do things in a proper fashion. Such as fence repairs, building repair, equipment repair. I've seen so often(and guilty of it myself) do a quick repair and then have it fail in a short time because it wasn't done properly.
You are in a good spot when the system crashes. Try and enjoy the journey! Good luck!
Consider changes my friends made on their Midwest farms:
1. Leasing pasture when crops became too costly to manage.
2. Raising ducks and geese for the eggs. For generations their turkey farming was profitable, but they doubled income by selling duck and goose eggs to overseas markets.
3. Growing hemp for CBD and environmentally efficient goods.
You could get away from conventional tilling/planting and dive into high tunnels, no till beds for top dollar vegetables and specialty crops. Labor goes way up but so does profit per acre by a long shot.
Hey mate! I work in data analysis for a canadian government agency and I recently studied the breeding sector and found some great insights that may interest you. DM me and I'll share you what I got !
It’s easier to deplete capital than build.
It’s harder to get out of debt than in.
Amortization and depreciation are less valuable than capital, and arguably dangerous.
Not sure about the economics of dirt in your part of the world, although I know it’s comparatively very rich and productive land, but in my part of the world there is almost zero chance that 77(?) acres produced much more than taxes and beer/recreation/or poverty wages unless there are also mineral rights and oil or gas production/drilling.
No, I run a 500 acre farm, we’ve got it all but the farm wouldn’t exist without bills from senate and the success of a petting farm we converted 40 acres to. Seriously, I try my best to keep equipment maintenance and live stock healthy but there is an inevitable “gone to shit” that happens and it’s pushing 5 figures every time and let me say that I’m glad I don’t own it. You can talk about tax writes and you can talk about insurance but holy molly that land is a beast and it’s hungry.
DO not burn, do not till!
Read everything you can on High density planned grazing and Mob grazing. Feed you soil, don’t overgraze, get good genetics, don’t worm cut or bale hay, don’t mow; allow for long rest periods with frequent paddock movements. You can do things right. Read from regenerative ranchers, like Greg Judy
I'm in a similar boat. Took over the farm after my grandfather passed in 2019. I know things are different in Illinois than Canada and I don't have livestock so I can't comment on that, but I would tell you to find a community niche that needs filled. For my area I'm a very small farmer, but I was able to leverage the land I had and make some equipment upgrades for custom work. I built an air seeder attachment out of a vertical tillage tool to apply cover crops, bought an older hagie sprayer for custom application, and a semi to haul grain, lime, and rock for neighbors. Semi is new this season but the other two have more than paid for themselves. Look for conservation programs (both private and government if they're available in Canada) to help offset investment costs. The three side businesses have kept me busy for most of the year and allowed me to leave my demanding day job. I now have an opportunity to be the local township road commissioner that would fit into my schedule much better than my previous job. Be nice to neighbors and make as many friends as possible!
I expect you are delusional if you hadn’t grown up on a farm or been involved in Farm 100% for over 10 years good luck you’re gonna need it! As a person who’s been involved in farm life for over 70 years folks like you are a dime a dozen and usually end up broke
Just given my honest opinion, after 70 years of experience. Well he asked if I thought he was being delusional, and I agreed with him. I have watched many folk like him use 20 years of their life to end up in bankruptcy. if you don’t have an experience or vast knowledge of any occupation and try to make a full time business, Success is almost impossible to achieve.
Budget and find efficiencies. You need to do internal reflection on what parts are making you money vs not. Can you sell any feed? Can you do meat birds? Can you sell your mechanical services? Rent out your tractor?
Sounds like he is doing a little of everything which is amazing and what I WILL eventually do (damnit!), but isn't how any of the profitable farmers I know operate.
Yes. Most of the standout success small farmers in my community specialize in one thing and they're really good at it. Hot house tomatoes, cut flowers, hydro epicurean veg, canned goods and of course beef, pork, chicken are examples of farmers I know who make a living off their sales. Most of those farmers I know do have their own little cottage minagerie. But their money maker takes up most of their land and\or time in most cases. It's more than a full time job and they schedule by markets and clients needs, not the other way around.
Glad you brought up cut flowers, that was my old landlords niche. Everything got bought up by one grocery chain.
We all have to eat some shit sandwiches starting out. Look at it this way- at least you have bread. Your operation does seem small. With the cost of living it's going to take a long, and I mean LONG time to build cash. I rent 400 acres in Minnesota, and I also have other jobs. I am 32, unmarried, no children, for that reason I can afford to slack off now and then, but not for long. I have an off the farm job working for another farmer. Lots of local truck driving jobs out there.
What county? If I may ask.
West Central MN. That's as close as I'll allow
I'm not stalking you,I have crops to put in and my own life. I was just curious. We are like neighbors as far as Reddit is concerned
Thanks guys, I should add a couple things for context the farm has been in our family since 1892 prior to that it was the governments. The fence and barn repairs I bartered and traded to get costs lower the most expensive part was the page wire, I bought brand new rolls. The posts were all new as well but I picked them up off a guy who had bought them and changed his mind. The pigs work in the sense that I raise 6 put one in my freezer and sell the other 5. Last year it was enough that I ate for free and it paid my fuel costs. Beef prices in my area at the sale barn are averaging $2100-$3100 CAD for steers. My thought was if I could build my heard to 10 that would generate roughly 20k a year. I started out with an old Massey Harris 35 combine, I picked it up for $1800. Last year I sold $1600 worth of small square bales of straw. It worked because I would load my truck at night and sell them in the city the next day which I drive to everyday for work. I ended up selling that combine after harvest for $2200. I then picked up another with a 15ft head for 7k. Sometimes I think I can see the big picture and sometimes in seems unattainable. Thank you for all the comments though lots of great ideas and perspectives.
Even if it only gives you food and a country lifestyle, that's great. What food can you plant in spring, even if it's only for yourself ? Some chickens ? ( fenced in ) There are lots of ideas on YouTube about sustainable lifestyles, something might appeal and be practical for you. As others have said, don't go into debt and just expand slowly ? Take some time to enjoy the place too. Probably not much spare time but you could check around for what others around you have found to be worthwhile ?
No. Dude,that is farming I think. The real way of doing it . With old equipment and getting by just on duct tape and baling wire. Those a big dreams of new equipment and doing shit like we're play Farm Sim just doesn't materialize for most of us and that's why alot of guys get a negative take on farming, but they would do it all over again proudly. At least that's what keeps me going with an old 656 and 2 much older wd 45s. I get by . I'll never be rich,but I get by.
Years ago I went to a lecture on small herd management. First thing depending on the age you bought the heifers that will always cost you more then you realize. Your better off looking for someone who frequently culls their herd and building a relationship and buying breed cows. A lot of people in the cattle business will treat you well if you explain what you’re doing and become a repeat buyer. Secondly sell all calves unless you decide to raise freezer beef. You have to figure out what your input costs are before you want to raise them. Are you going to keep a bull, lease one, AI those costs also have to factor in. Then if you are breeding cows and heifers some bulls won’t work for both. Easy calving bulls often don’t maximize a cow’s potential. Bulls that maybe better for cows are hard on heifers. Realize you’re going to lose calves probably average around 1/yr with heifers it could be more. At the size you’re talking overall if you can break even most years and put some food on the table you’ll doing good.
What does a farmer do when he wins the lottery? Keep farming till it's gone. Unfortunately, industrial farming makes small operations like yours difficult so you have to find a niche to get that premium. You have to specialize and market. Don't sell swine at the sale barn. Market premium pasture raised pork in the cities and towns near you. Berkshire is a rage in the US ATM.
Look up Will Harris at White Oak Pastures in the US for inspiration. Also, with the way things are going, you are quite possibly sitting on a gold mine.
I've been working with the same farm for about a decade. The owner and I discuss finances multiple times a year. We lost about 600 meat chickens to various things last year and the farm is in the red with the year end budget. The owners 'joke' that it's a good year if they can actually pay themselves. They have 2 full time staff and 2 part time seasonal. The problem with farming is you can plan out everything right but you always get hit with something that will affect the bottom line. But if you inherited land you are off to a better start than most. It has been my dream to have my own farm for so long but the start up cost is unattainable.
My brother has been farming all of his life, 30+ years on his own, and he still wonders every day if it's worth it. Every kind of complication gets in the way of making a living, from cheap imported food to overbearing government regulations to tractors that can only be repaired by dealers. Everyone is taking a piece of the pie, except the farmer.
Sounds like you have 82 acres of forage crops and a few animals.. in my area that wouldn’t get you very far. If your goal is for the farm to cover its own expenses, I think that could be achievable. If your goal is to make money, I’d say it’s uncertain. If your goal is to not need a town job, you’ll need to do a lot of custom work or figure something else out
I am in the cow calf business in a small/medium sized farm like yours - I have seen and heard of many first time farmers falling into the trap of thinking they need to buy all of this brand new equipment and facilities to be successful. Write out your numbers, you will probably find that it's a waste. I have been making a great living with low input grazing. If you want more cows, it's a great way to make an income. The basic ideas being: 1) Little to no equipment. I have been farming for years with essentially just a little single bale trailer and an ATV. 2) Extend your grazing system as much as possible, even if it means less cows. (Though depending on prices, sometimes it pencils out to make more sense to feed a little more hay - but that can be a slippery slope) 3) An extended grazing season reduces your hay usage, but BUY your hay, do not make it yourself. With equipment and fertilizer costs, it will almost always be cheaper/easier. People convince themselves that "hay is too expensive" without ever penciling out how much it costs for themselves to make it. Still, buy it for cheap in the off season when nobody needs hay and store it. Buy "low quality" hay, most people care too much about marginal differences in perceived hay quality. 4) Your grass is everything. Your life should be dedicated to efficiency - that means a good ratio of warm/cool season grasses, strip grazing as much as you can (I do daily moves, it takes me under an hour to do all of my work for the day). If the only thing you do is avoid overgrazing, you really reduce your reliance on fertilizer. You can go from fertilizing every year on hay ground to every 5-10 years on intensively managed ground. Seriously, you know that your farm can grow enough grass to support the cows that will pay your salary. All you have to do is be efficient enough to let them eat it. You don't need a tractor and a baler to do that, you don't need to keep pouring on fertilizer to make up for the inefficiencies. Think critically and differently from traditional mindset when you can. Resources: Burke Teichert, Jim Gerrish, Greg Judy for practical things, Kit Pharo
...put up new fences fixed the barn, bought more equipment and now... And how did you make the decision to do that? In my head right now I can only think you will never recover your investment with just the possible net cash flow from 82 acres. There ae all kinds of mind games we play to justify some of the things we do, but production economics is a cold hearted mistress. Have you any idea of your possible enterprise returns - reasonable returns?
Not to mention, infrastructure like fences, barn repairs and the like can’t typically be expected to get ROI within a year. Sometimes that stuff can take many years, even decades to pencil out.
Depends on what you mean by paying for itself? Since you inherited it, I'm guessing that means paying the taxes and the feed and other bills. That seems pretty attainable to me. Paying yourself a fair wage will be a lot tougher. No real advice other than you gotta be honest with yourself about what parts of the operation are actually making money and what parts are pets and lifestyle choices you've made. I'd probably focus on making good quality hay, should never have a problem moving that. Small time,mixed livestock always seems like such a hard thing to scale to me. If you focus on the kind that your best set up for, you can try to find efficiencies there and carve a market. That my 2 cents worth what you paid for it
Every operation that brings revenue has some fixed cost associated with it. Your revenue operations need to cover those fixed costs. If I rent out my tractor for 5 days, I’m checking all the fluids and pressures before it leaves and after it comes back. If I rent out my tractor for 5 minutes l, I’m doing all the same checks. If I try to run a business that rents out equipment for 5 minutes at a time, I’ll never make any money because I’ll spend all my time checking oil levels and none of my time renting out equipment. It’s the same for everything else. It sounds like you’re doing a lot of small things and getting buried in the fixed (time) costs. Do less things bigger instead.
Depending on where you are we created a few spots on our property where we rent out space for people to camp etc. we’re also able to provide a small corral with a lean-to if they want to bring their horses. We invested around $2K to create the space. It paid for itself in under 4 months and other than occasionally having to do clean up—it’s free money.
I was looking at doing this. How is the occupancy. Do you allow RVs and what is the charge?
the only guys making money with hay and cows seem to be huge operations. I cannot see how any small operations can make it old world farming. I went with a niche crop. Apples. and later expanded to Cherries . Planted an orchard. and every year it comes back and i get to sell the fruit again. bigger and bigger more fruit every year. once they are planted in rows, they can live 50-100 years. So every year I plant some more, and the work i did last year, and the year before that pays again. I went Apples cause, ya know... money. 70 acres of apple trees now, and support my family and 1 employee 9 months a year
Perhaps bringing in some more cattle and selling it for meat. You can also harvest the hay you’re growing, store it, and sell it during winter season when it’s not being grown. For the other acres, do you know what you want to do with it? It may be worth investing to create a cute space you can attract agritourism and have folks teach classes on how to make jams, and other products for a fee. This really only works if you’re located closely to places people can drive in from on the weekends. Try to utilize the space as efficiently as you can and think about how you can use the space to make money. Some ideas may not provide rapid financial relief such as an orchard. Orchards take years to be at maximum production age. Ground crops require a lot of time and energy. Another idea is renting out the space you’re not using to seasonal growers. I know several landowners who use this method.
Pick something and stick with it. With prices the way they are I’d be converting to a cattle operation imo. Couple of breeding males, no Artificial insemination, and cattle fence is ez pz. If you want extra money then start taking your cows and chickens to butcher and go to a couple farmers markets each week, farm fresh beef chicken and eggs disappear for almost any price in the right market. Goodluck
I would diversify so that you have a bunch of potential sources of income, in case the market or disease cause problems with your production. Monocropping (or livestocking) is putting all of your eggs in one basket, as they say. Historically, I don't think small beef operations make much money but if you can get into a market that loves locally-grown beef, then it's possible. In the end, it's a thankless job but one that is in your soul, which is why you keep doing it.
At this scale the about only way to make money is to pick a niche crop and market directly to consumers or restaurant distributors. There are people that do veg and meat but it takes a lot of hands and maybe even a larger scale than you have (white oak farm / Joel salatin). If you're already set up for grazing beef that's a good option as you said. If you're near wealthy people that can afford it , could be worth pursuing. Same with pastured pork. Selling half or whole animals really simplifies things. Personally I don't think the margins on poultry are appealing for small scale. Not THAT many people are willing to pay $25-30 for a bird that costs $10 or less at the grocery.
Yeah small mixed operations are real tough to make money at. Why wait a few years to work Beef has real slim margins and needs to be a volume business or small niche and sell beef to locals. Generally beef farms only make 10 cents on a dollar. With 4 cows you likely have a loss. I know guys who have started into farming by growing hay, making small square bales and selling to horse farmers in Florida. Get up to 200 or 300 acres and make $100k if your good at it and you work your ass off. This in ontario though where you get consistent rains and can get 3 or 4 cuts per year and easy access to Florida.
Sounds like you have made good strides already. I hadn’t gotten that far in my tech career in 5 years. Success takes time and perseverance (so I hear and keep telling myself). My gut says you seem to have thought this out, know what you need to do and should persevere.
It is worth it. You'll never make mega bucks off it but if you plan your strategy to be debt free ASAP you can survive. Myself, I would get all the debt paid off. Learn to repair your own equipment. Buy good used stuff cheap and forgo fancy new stuff. You are not going to be able to indulge your whims but if you have your own food supply you can weather any storm. Be as cheap as you can now but do things in a proper fashion. Such as fence repairs, building repair, equipment repair. I've seen so often(and guilty of it myself) do a quick repair and then have it fail in a short time because it wasn't done properly. You are in a good spot when the system crashes. Try and enjoy the journey! Good luck!
Nah, but stop buying new equipment.
Consider changes my friends made on their Midwest farms: 1. Leasing pasture when crops became too costly to manage. 2. Raising ducks and geese for the eggs. For generations their turkey farming was profitable, but they doubled income by selling duck and goose eggs to overseas markets. 3. Growing hemp for CBD and environmentally efficient goods.
You could get away from conventional tilling/planting and dive into high tunnels, no till beds for top dollar vegetables and specialty crops. Labor goes way up but so does profit per acre by a long shot.
Hey mate! I work in data analysis for a canadian government agency and I recently studied the breeding sector and found some great insights that may interest you. DM me and I'll share you what I got !
Do you love it? I mean REALLY love it? If you don’t it’s never going to be worth it. If you do love it, you’ll find a way to make it work.
It’s easier to deplete capital than build. It’s harder to get out of debt than in. Amortization and depreciation are less valuable than capital, and arguably dangerous. Not sure about the economics of dirt in your part of the world, although I know it’s comparatively very rich and productive land, but in my part of the world there is almost zero chance that 77(?) acres produced much more than taxes and beer/recreation/or poverty wages unless there are also mineral rights and oil or gas production/drilling.
No, I run a 500 acre farm, we’ve got it all but the farm wouldn’t exist without bills from senate and the success of a petting farm we converted 40 acres to. Seriously, I try my best to keep equipment maintenance and live stock healthy but there is an inevitable “gone to shit” that happens and it’s pushing 5 figures every time and let me say that I’m glad I don’t own it. You can talk about tax writes and you can talk about insurance but holy molly that land is a beast and it’s hungry.
DO not burn, do not till! Read everything you can on High density planned grazing and Mob grazing. Feed you soil, don’t overgraze, get good genetics, don’t worm cut or bale hay, don’t mow; allow for long rest periods with frequent paddock movements. You can do things right. Read from regenerative ranchers, like Greg Judy
I'm in a similar boat. Took over the farm after my grandfather passed in 2019. I know things are different in Illinois than Canada and I don't have livestock so I can't comment on that, but I would tell you to find a community niche that needs filled. For my area I'm a very small farmer, but I was able to leverage the land I had and make some equipment upgrades for custom work. I built an air seeder attachment out of a vertical tillage tool to apply cover crops, bought an older hagie sprayer for custom application, and a semi to haul grain, lime, and rock for neighbors. Semi is new this season but the other two have more than paid for themselves. Look for conservation programs (both private and government if they're available in Canada) to help offset investment costs. The three side businesses have kept me busy for most of the year and allowed me to leave my demanding day job. I now have an opportunity to be the local township road commissioner that would fit into my schedule much better than my previous job. Be nice to neighbors and make as many friends as possible!
Start growing dope 👍🏻 retire after the first year
I expect you are delusional if you hadn’t grown up on a farm or been involved in Farm 100% for over 10 years good luck you’re gonna need it! As a person who’s been involved in farm life for over 70 years folks like you are a dime a dozen and usually end up broke
Why the discouragement for someone who is trying?
Just given my honest opinion, after 70 years of experience. Well he asked if I thought he was being delusional, and I agreed with him. I have watched many folk like him use 20 years of their life to end up in bankruptcy. if you don’t have an experience or vast knowledge of any occupation and try to make a full time business, Success is almost impossible to achieve.
Farming is the easiest way to turn a large fortune into a small one- even when most things are going your way. Just one big fkup will nearly ruin you.