how hard is it to farm?

[mizzou]

I want to be a farmer. I mean, I'm going to buy around 60 acres of land to use for recreational purposes occasionally, but how nice would it be to just plant some shit and then maybe harvest it if I have the time?

DrPizza, educate me. Maybe I should just build a 10ft fence and start throwing in goats and cows and pigs and see what happens months later? It would be like Chernobyl with an unstable ecosystem?

I don't want to be a full time farmer yet, I will do that when I retire. And I don't want to plant things that require a lot of attention.

I mean, if the soil is good and hydrated consistently, I don't see why you cant just plant something and then maybe have a random harvest at some point.

Like, hey honey, I'm going to drive down to the "farm" and see what the fuck is going on. Then I drive there and there's like 2 acres of wasting watermelon plants but theres enough good ones to fill my truck.


A little tongue in cheek as usual, but just curious if anyone does this

 

[sdifox]

wtf...

 

[AmdEmAll]

Bath Salts?

 

[edro]

It's easy! As long as you have $300k+ in equipment.

 

[james1701]

It is very hard. For only 60 acres, you are going to see a LOT of sweat and hard work go into it. But it can be very rewarding if you like it. There is nothing like eating what you know goes into it.

 

[mizzou]

It's easy! As long as you have $300k+ in equipment.

:awe: i was thinking more along the lines of a couple apple trees lol

 

[HeXen]

have to be a big time farmer to get rich, not much money in it if its so small. Most farmers I talk to say by the time they buy equipment, get it paid for, they then have to fix it constantly or buy all new. Contracts with companies are often super strict. Raising some corn or beans without much attention won't yield much $$ selling it on the side of the road.

 

[eldorado99]

:awe: i was thinking more along the lines of a couple apple trees lol

that isn't considered "farming", that is considered having some fruit trees in your yard.

 

[rudeguy]

paging Drpizza

Paging drpizza

 

[Red Squirrel]

It depends. At first it's hard and it gets harder as you need more stuff, but once you script everything with multiple accounts, you are laughing.

On serious note the hardest part is dealing with climate, and climate change. Your entire crop depends on climate cooperating with you. Not enough rain, too much heat, or not enough heat, or early winter can ruin crops. Climate change does not help as it creates even more unpredictable weather patterns year after year.

For guaranteed yield there's always indoor controlled climate farming, but that's more expensive to run so you'd have to produce enough to make a decent profit.

 

[mizzou]

:hmm: trees are sounding more like the lowest possible maintenance solution. Pecan's would be delightful

 

[bbhaag]

Think outside the box man. Not all farmers grow corn and beans. Last year I grew over 4500 hanging baskets and 75,000 potted plants. I grew that on just over an acre. Imagine what you could do with 60+.:thumbsup:

 

[lxskllr]

:hmm: trees are sounding more like the lowest possible maintenance solution. Pecan's would be delightful

Trees take a fair amount of work to do right. You have to keep them pruned, and maybe sprayed for fruits unless you don't use chemicals. Trees are less labor intensive than ground crops, but there's still work involved.

 

[mizzou]

Think outside the box man. Not all farmers grow corn and beans. Last year I grew over 4500 hanging baskets and 75,000 potted plants. I grew that on just over an acre. Imagine what you could do with 60+.:thumbsup:

holy cow, I would love to see a picture of that!

 

[mmntech]

:hmm: trees are sounding more like the lowest possible maintenance solution. Pecan's would be delightful

Breed pine trees. :thumbsup:

 

[mizzou]

Breed pine trees. :thumbsup:

i remember seeing a HUGE tree farm past columbia where I used to live. Anyway they were all just little seedlings then. Now when I go by there, they are getting very respectable in size.

talk about a patient form of business

 

[Kreon]

Breed pine trees. :thumbsup:

Christmas tree farming. Especially if you grow them in the country, sell them in the city. $$$

 

[pelov]

You mean like marijuana?

 

[xSauronx]

Breed pine trees. :thumbsup:

fuck that, let a wood product/forest management outfit pay you to grow trees on your land. thats what my grandmother did.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Breed pine trees. :thumbsup:

This, space them out enough and put walking trails. Put Christmas lights on all of em and make an awesome Christmas/winter wonderland. Charge people a $1 entry fee.

 

[lxskllr]

You could grow cell towers. Those are money trees that take no effort on your part.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Farming has been a decidedly casual activity for the last several thousand years, I think you'll be fine with the plan you outlined above.

 

[bononos]

I want to be a farmer. I mean, I'm going to buy around 60 acres of land to use for recreational purposes occasionally, but how nice would it be to just plant some shit and then maybe harvest it if I have the time?

DrPizza, educate me. Maybe I should just build a 10ft fence and start throwing in goats and cows and pigs and see what happens months later? It would be like Chernobyl with an unstable ecosystem?

I don't want to be a full time farmer yet, I will do that when I retire. And I don't want to plant things that require a lot of attention.
.........

Not being a farmer myself but raising cows sounds like a lot of work and the vet bills might hurt and modern farming takes alot of money. You should look into no-till farming techniques which sounds perfect for what you are thinking off.

 

[bbhaag]

holy cow, I would love to see a picture of that!

It is really hard to get pictures because it is in such a relatively small space.
These are some older pics of our poinsettia crop. Sorry about the quality the sun was really bright that day. It washed out the left side pic. The greenhouse goes back about 100 feet farther.
Our spring crop is much larger but I don't have any pics on my home PC. All my spring baskets go overhead on those black lines with red caps.

From the right

From the left

Gratuitous kid shot

 

[lxskllr]

It is really hard to get pictures because it is in such a relatively small space.
These are some older pics of our poinsettia crop. Sorry about the quality the sun was really bright that day. It washed out the left side pic. The greenhouse goes back about 100 feet farther.
Our spring crop is much larger but I don't have any pics on my home PC. All my spring baskets go overhead on those black lines with red caps.

Looks professional. Is that your main business, or a sideline?