Who went into farming?

Pops · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:09 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

I grew up on little places and always dreamed of owning one. When we moved here I thought we would raise vegetables, small fruit and small animals.

But now we have a little alfalfa patch and bottle-feed and background dairy calves for most of our cash.

Gotta adjust…
_________________
Make a plan and work it:

CarlinsDarlin · Moderator Joined: Jul 02, 2004 Posts: 1422

I grew up in a rural area. My dad never farmed (as an adult, that is - his family farmed when he was a kid), but my grandparents, just up the road, did. In the Ozarks the soil is mostly thin and rocky, and not suited for growing large crops, but it's excellent pasture. Grandpa raised cattle & chickens (commercially), and grandma had her side projects of katadin hair sheep and rabbits.

Like a lot of young people around here, I left to go to college, with no intention of coming back. I was looking for something else, somewhere else. Well, like specop mentioned, I found that it's not all it's cracked up to be. After about 20 years of working with my degree, ranging from places like Little Rock, AR, to Houston, TX, I was homesick for the mountains. So my husband and I came back to family land.

We have what we affectionately refer to as a "farmette." Our share of Grandpa's original land is only 14 acres, but it's good land. Our topsoil is great, and we have both woods and pasture. We raise large gardens and small livestock - chickens, (sell eggs and birds), dairy goats (sell milk and kids), and rabbits so far. Because my brother, with his 12 acres, is right behind us, we may be getting into raising cattle soon enough, fencing the entire 26 acres to let the cattle run back and forth, sharing the land. But that's later down the road.

I wouldn't trade the sound of a whipporwill or a frogs' chorus at night, for all the money on the planet now. Carlin still works off the farm, bringing in much needed income, and I do some consulting work from time to time, but our land is paid for, our house is paid for, and for the moment the farm feeds us - I'm not worried about making a million. You never realize what you have till you lose it - I'm glad I came back.

Kathy

Specop_007 · Expert Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 6283

PrairieMule · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

pip · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

Hagakure_Leofman · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:55 am Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

I'm from a high-tec background, designing and developing web sites, while I was living in central sydney australia. For 10 years I wasn't outside of a 10 minute walk to the center of the city. I paid over $500/week renting apartments and studios to product web sites for ethereal cosmetics companies, fashion people and photographers.

I got sick of it.

Moved to my grandparents farm to 'cool out' from burn out.

I stayed a little longer than I expected....

Now, I grow my own vegetables, look after my horses and cows. I still make web sites, only now only for horse people. Even this activity doesn't have the ring it used to. Nothing in that world compared to cutting hay so that you know you've got enough for the winter, or seeing your vegetables mature. We've recently got ourselves a house cow which we'll be milking soon.

I'll never want that previous existence again.
Get in touch with the soil, and you won't look back.

vfr · Tar Sands Joined: Dec 31, 2007 Posts: 95

cudabachi · Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:39 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

I´m now a rancher/farmer with little previous experience other than working the rice fields when I was in college.

Just harvested my first corn and watermelon crops and now have a crop of passion fruit actively growing. I´ll also be drilling a well and installing an irrigation system this year as well as building a structure to raise hogs (plan to sell 500 per month) and poultry too.

Gonna be a busy year.

cudabachi · Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:49 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

And to add to my previous post, I´m doing a lot more investing in the place these first few years as opposed to living off of it. However, it will soon pay its own way, especially after the hog operation kicks in. Profit margins are really good here....on the order of 50% or more, but inflation is a bitch.

As for trucking, I´m actually opening a parallel operation for trucking.....the ranch gets first dibs on the trucks, afterwards, they work in the general marketpalce.

kjmclark · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 326

- You said passionfruit and I nearly flipped. Passionfruit? Then I saw Venezuela and thought Shocked

Venezuela?

The internet is amazing. Thanks for sharing - and good luck!

Heineken · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

Hagakure_Leofman · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Who went into farming?

Thanks Heineken,
I didn't see your reply until now.

Good isn't it... there is a web site called path to freedom and it says it beautifully.... something like producing your own food is a radical and dangerous act... as it threatens to set you free.

Grower · Coal Joined: Feb 14, 2008 Posts: 2

Experience sort of builds on itself. I grew a few things in my grandfather's garden when I was little. My mother let me tend one of her beds when got older. Then I had had extensive landscaping and perennial beds around our first little house, and until we got a dog, I had a little 15x20' plot in the back yard.

When we moved to our small country place seven years ago, I put in a big garden, about 8,000 square feet. I just read the Johnny's Seeds catalogue because it has such wonderful cultivation information. In fact, I copy and paste each seed variety I grow into a log book, leaving room for notes as I learn stuff.

Then I attended a state sustainable ag. convention and met people doing what I was doing. I attended chapter meetings after that and grilled other people, went on farm tours, and read a lot of books, magazines, and websites.

Today we sell at a local market, 5 miles from us, a city market 50 miles from here, and run a 20-member CSA. We do this on less than two acres of ground, and we do it organically. We also raise laying hens and broilers, though the broilers are just for us.

PP, we can probably rig up something to take produce to the local village, though that needs more thought. We are rural, but there are probably enough people living around us who'd come to us. A lot of the area is getting built up as farmers die off and their offspring sell off the place to developers. Those who move in have no skills at all. We're still surrounded by countryside, but within a mile or two we'd have enough to sell or barter if we needed to. By the same token, we might have problems with theft if the situation got really bad, but I guess you deal with one thing at a time.

Another option is to devote the ground to fewer vegetables and more small grains. A sixth of an acre will grow 5 bushels of wheat. A scythe and a windy day will get it harvested and into storage.

These days I'm leading workshop session at the convention and hosting farm tours for people who want to do what we did on just a few acres. We plan to grow, but not to more than two people can handle, maybe 5 acres, max, as long as our current situation holds.

I do think anyone can do this. Start very small, build experience, and connect with people who know what you want to know. You can even work as an intern for a farmer. Check your state sustainable agriculture organization.

The thing is, if you don't start small now, you likely will not be able to accumulate enough skills fast enough to do it PP. It's one thing if the corn fails today. But if you're depending on it for food when what you grow is all you get? Well, it helps to have some experience.