Resources for Beginning Farmers/Ranchers
We get several calls, letters, and emails each week from beginning farmers and ranchers asking for information, advice, money, land, and validation. We answer each one with encouragement and sources of information to help them make a sound start to their business. Here are some recent questions.
Q. I want to start a farm, raise my family there, and provide quality food for people. Please send me anything that will get me started.
A. Congratulations for planning to start farming or ranching! There are lots of opportunities today for people who look beyond typical commodity crops and who build solid businesses. The quality of life in raising a family on a farm has tremendous benefits as well.
The short answer to your question is to treat your farm as a business so you have enough profit to stay on it, and to learn from people who are already doing what you want to do. ATTRA (below) has lists of organizations and internships that provide learning opportunities in each state.
Q. I want to make my living from a small farm. Is that still possible?
A. There are literally hundreds of enterprises you can run from a farm or ranch based on the natural resources, history, or culture of the area or based on your skills and interests. Farm/ranch startups need high-margin enterprises and limited risk, particularly those that entail skilled labor and management.
A recurring recommendation for highest profit is with certified organic crops; low-cash-input enterprises reduce risk, such as grass-based livestock, dairy, and poultry operations. The most efficient approach is to “stack” enterprises that feed each other, using the same land base or facilities. That’s obviously not limited to startups, as crops and livestock are integrated enterprises on many farms.
ATTRA is the sustainable ag information clearinghouse for enterprise ideas, production practices, and marketing; check its website for online documents and references: www.attra.org. The USDA SARE program also has a number of publications that can help with marketing or raising crops and livestock: www.sare.org. The USDA National Ag Library Alternative Farming Center has lists of resources for many farming topics: http://afsic.nal.usda.gov. Your local Extension office can also link you with publications and experts for your area.
Q. How do I get the money to buy farmland or start farming/ranching?
A. First, treat your farm/ranch as a business. Make a budget and cash flow projection to be sure all your decisions lead to profit BEFORE spending any money. Any lender will want to know that as well, so they can be assured of getting repaid.
Second, don’t expect free money. There are no grants for farm startup, but there are a number of loan programs. Start with the USDA Farm Service Agency, with offices in most counties. Look at our financial resources document: www.cfra.org/resources/beginning_farmer . Resources in many states are listed here: www.stateagfinance.org/types.html.
Third, consider other options to debt. Starting small, creating a work-in arrangement, or running a subscription market garden can reduce your need for cash. Look on these websites for examples: www.cfra.org/resources/beginning_farmer/success_stories and www.farmprofitability.org (a series of case studies).
Contact: Wyatt Fraas for more information, wyattf@cfra.org or 402.254.6893.
Q. I want to start a farm, raise my family there, and provide quality food for people. Please send me anything that will get me started.
A. Congratulations for planning to start farming or ranching! There are lots of opportunities today for people who look beyond typical commodity crops and who build solid businesses. The quality of life in raising a family on a farm has tremendous benefits as well.
The short answer to your question is to treat your farm as a business so you have enough profit to stay on it, and to learn from people who are already doing what you want to do. ATTRA (below) has lists of organizations and internships that provide learning opportunities in each state.
Q. I want to make my living from a small farm. Is that still possible?
A. There are literally hundreds of enterprises you can run from a farm or ranch based on the natural resources, history, or culture of the area or based on your skills and interests. Farm/ranch startups need high-margin enterprises and limited risk, particularly those that entail skilled labor and management.
A recurring recommendation for highest profit is with certified organic crops; low-cash-input enterprises reduce risk, such as grass-based livestock, dairy, and poultry operations. The most efficient approach is to “stack” enterprises that feed each other, using the same land base or facilities. That’s obviously not limited to startups, as crops and livestock are integrated enterprises on many farms.
ATTRA is the sustainable ag information clearinghouse for enterprise ideas, production practices, and marketing; check its website for online documents and references: www.attra.org. The USDA SARE program also has a number of publications that can help with marketing or raising crops and livestock: www.sare.org. The USDA National Ag Library Alternative Farming Center has lists of resources for many farming topics: http://afsic.nal.usda.gov. Your local Extension office can also link you with publications and experts for your area.
Q. How do I get the money to buy farmland or start farming/ranching?
A. First, treat your farm/ranch as a business. Make a budget and cash flow projection to be sure all your decisions lead to profit BEFORE spending any money. Any lender will want to know that as well, so they can be assured of getting repaid.
Second, don’t expect free money. There are no grants for farm startup, but there are a number of loan programs. Start with the USDA Farm Service Agency, with offices in most counties. Look at our financial resources document: www.cfra.org/resources/beginning_farmer . Resources in many states are listed here: www.stateagfinance.org/types.html.
Third, consider other options to debt. Starting small, creating a work-in arrangement, or running a subscription market garden can reduce your need for cash. Look on these websites for examples: www.cfra.org/resources/beginning_farmer/success_stories and www.farmprofitability.org (a series of case studies).
Contact: Wyatt Fraas for more information, wyattf@cfra.org or 402.254.6893.
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Start up small farm
I would like some recomendation on reading or resources for ideas for a small farm for profit. I would like it to be low imput, not certified organic but as close to organic practices as possible. I live on 120 Acres near Davis, California. Any ideas would be helpful. The local farm advisors were not much help so far.
Thank you
Heidi Wulff
re: start up small farm
Ms. Wulff - Congratulations on considering a farm startup! There are indeed many opportunities for people willing to look beyond simple commodity crops and markets.
I'm sorry to hear you didn't find help locally. Someone should have been able to direct you the UC-Davis Small Farm Center (www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/), which is nationally known for its work with small farms and alternative crops.
Some other resources for you are:
- ATTRA, the national sustainable ag clearinghouse: www.attra.org. Many online resources for crops, practices and markets. Many articles have further resources. Call to ask for more if you don't see what you need. ATTRA also has lists of internships, where you could learn-by-doing, and organizations by state that could help you find local resources and examples of what you want to do.
- USDA SARE, the Sustainable Ag Research and Education Program: www.sare.org. This national website has a number of excellent publications, many of which are online and free. (In particular, I'd recommend the New American Farmer publication, which profiles 60 farmers around the country). The site also hosts the SARE grant database, with reports and contacts for hundreds of farmer, researcher or nonprofit-led projects that explore farming, marketing and community practices.
- The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center at USDA's National Ag Library: http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/. AFSIC has many bibliographic listings on sustainable ag topics. You can look up the publications from these lists to find out more about the specific crops and practices you want for your farm.
- Joel Salatin's books, especially You Can Farm. It's an inspirational call to create just the type of farm you describe. It's available many places. His earlier books cover details of how to do what this book introduces.
Best wishes - Wyatt
starting a farm
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