how hard is it to farm?

[Iron Woode]

you can grow a bunch of pumpkins.

Just make sure you sell them before Halloween.

 

[mizzou]

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

cool!! looks very nice

 

[DrPizza]

You might be able to homestead farm on 60 acres - that is, be almost self-sufficient.

If you think that you're going to be a full time farmer, and make a living on 60 acres, starting from scratch, and have to purchase all the equipment up front, etc.?? Good luck with that, unless you find some niche market where there isn't much competition in your area. I've seen farms let 100s of watermelons go to waste because there wasn't a market for them. Ditto just about any produce - it's only fresh for so long; unless you have grocery stores capable of doing high volume sales, it's going to be tough.

If you don't have a lot of greenhouses in your area, that's an avenue that might be worth exploring. Greenhouses are remarkably cheap. You can get a 30'x100' greenhouse for about $8k. (High tunnel, plastic covering with a 4 or 5 year warranty on the covering; certainly not glass for that price.) Buy your potting soil in bulk, and plant popular types of baskets & plants.

BUT, you better have a market for what you grow.

 

[bbhaag]

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

It's my main business. Been doing it for about 15 years now. The location in the pics was built in 93.

 

[dr150]

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

Impressive. Most impressive.

I admire/envy your entreprenuership! :thumbsup:

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

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.

Tap, tap...damn thing must be broken.

 

[sleep]

ahh.... from stolen land. killed the most of them off....you shouldn't be worried.

 

[DrPizza]

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.

I've taken my dog to the vet's office - routine check-up, shots, flea medicine, etc.

And, I had the vet come to my farm, anesthetize a goat so he could perform an emergency surgery.

Guess which one cost more. You're probably wrong. Most of your vet bills might be from one visit a year, if that. Vet bills aren't that much for raising beef. Then again, you take care of a lot of that stuff yourself. You'll do all the shots, all the worming, etc. I have a great big storage container behind me filled with things like syringes, needles, etc. And fortunately, that stuff is a hell of a lot cheaper than you'd ever think. I think 100 needles and syringes runs around $16. Most annual vaccinations cost well under $1 per animal. And many medicines that you keep on hand, just in case (penicillin, erythromycin, sulfa drugs, etc.) are cheap enough that if you don't use them before they expire, you really aren't out that much. At a glance, enough penicillin to make 333 gallons of treated water for poultry costs under $20. Yeah, that cheap.

Don't worry, there are plenty of other costs that'll get you.

 

[DrPizza]

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

Nice! I've often considered getting a smallish (30x60) greenhouse to give me something else to do; maybe in a few years. Unfortunately, a lot of the Amish farms have greenhouses now, so making anything more than spending money would be difficult to do.

 

[uhohs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEJHrmliVQw

 

[aloser]

https://apps.facebook.com/onthefarm/

 

[VulgarDisplay]

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.

Every farmer I know also complains about how hard it is to get rich farming. After they tell me that they hop into their $60,000 truck and drive their $120,000 boat down to the river and drink beer all day.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Every farmer I know also complains about how hard it is to get rich farming. After they tell me that they hop into their $60,000 truck and drive their $120,000 boat down to the river and drink beer all day.

Something tells me they're not farming soybeans.

 

[KillerCharlie]

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

Depends on what you farm... if you do 3,000 acres of corn like my dad's cousin, $300k is a drop in the bucket.

 

[IronWing]

First, go talk to your local NRCS folks to find out what they'll pay you to do. The key to farming success is to get the taxpayer to subsidize most of the stuff you want to do with your farm.

 

[Iron Woode]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEJHrmliVQw

milk farmer's rap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwB4DbKWrhU

 

[bbhaag]

Nice! I've often considered getting a smallish (30x60) greenhouse to give me something else to do; maybe in a few years. Unfortunately, a lot of the Amish farms have greenhouses now, so making anything more than spending money would be difficult to do.

I've got a used quonset hut that I'm thinking about selling. It's a little bigger at 30x100. How close are you to Illinois? It comes with a Wadsworth Control System, exhaust fans, heaters, haf fans, automated end vents, ect. The whole nine yards to get an operation up and running.
PM me if you're interested. We can go over the details.

Edit:It's a Nexus Columbine Series. http://www.nexuscorp.com/Structures/GrdGrdBrochure.pdf

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

First, go talk to your local NRCS folks to find out what they'll pay you to do. The key to farming success is to get the taxpayer to subsidize most of the stuff you want to do with your farm.

Because gaming our way through business has worked so well.

 

[AreaCode707]

I want to hear what you think a 10 ft fence around 60 acres is going to cost you.

 

[bbhaag]

First, go talk to your local NRCS folks to find out what they'll pay you to do. The key to farming success is to get the taxpayer to subsidize most of the stuff you want to do with your farm.

Those subsidies keep your mouth fat and happy and your family well fed.

 

[dbk]

I see it as being very difficult.. I much prefer to sit and stare at a computer screen for the rest of my life. Much props to those that produce all that meat and the little veggies and fruits that I eat.

 

[Brigandier]

It's not complicated, but the brute force of its simplicity may overwhelm you.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Every farmer I know also complains about how hard it is to get rich farming. After they tell me that they hop into their $60,000 truck and drive their $120,000 boat down to the river and drink beer all day.

We have a $5M (land) farm for corn; Yet there is close to $5M worth of equipment needed to take care of the farm. Along with 18 hr days when climate windows open.

3 Harvesters, Front loader, 4 tractors; 4-5 trucks to pull the corn trailers, tillers, etc.

Fertilizer & seed is not cheap.

All equipment has to be maintained.

One can start a small produce farm; When you start animals; you need to ensure that you have the proper food supply. Also, if a milk farm; you need to take care of the cows ever day.
Meat farm is less work.

Anything that will be commercialized will cost a few $100K to get setup, equipment and infrastructure.

5-10 acres will allow you to live off the land as a hobby.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I tell you what OP.

Set up a 10x10 garden in your back yard upcoming spring. At the end of next year come back and tell us how that went.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I tell you what OP.

Set up a 10x10 garden in your back yard upcoming spring. At the end of next year come back and tell us how that went.

Take pics every couples of weeks to record progress