Starting small

[E.B. Haymakin']

The discussion about the 65 hp tractor got me to think about getting into agriculture today, and how we think agriculture may change in the future. I would currently call myself a hobby farmer, and have 2 small tractors. We operate a 20pto Kubota, and a 42 pto New Holland. Do any of you think agriculture in this country will see a resurgence of small farm operations? If it does happen I think it will be in areas that land prices are high, and will concentrate on limited acres. But, like many of you have said you either inherit big operations, or work for them. I think the big, and medium family farms will be in rural areas. Anyway, any opinions on were farming may be headed are appreciated, good, or bad.
E.B.

 

[rrlund]

In the more economically depressed areas,like mid Michigan,the farmsteads near the buildings where there are odd shaped parcels that don't work with large equipment are being used to grow large gardens,horses,maybe a cow or a pig or two,but the economy of scale still applies to farms in general. Even if you discount the cost of fuel and fertilizer,the price of equipment and repairs makes farming on a small scale prohibitive. Can a farm that might gross $15,000 a year afford a $5000 repair. Just go to the parts counter and see how long a small operation could survive.

 

[E.B. Haymakin']

I would agree with that. In my case I am taking advantage of property similar to that, and my own. With fuel prices high baling hay can return a little money, and lessen the number of cuttings. Essentially the only reason it works for me is the property needs to be maintained anyway. Now any breakdowns, and then what? Don"t know.

 

[JDknut]

I could see a future in the small operations to serve a high-end niche market, raising premium grade or "organically" grown products. But I think the only way to get into a classic production farm operation is to "choose the right parents".

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

There was an article in, of all places, the New YOrk Times, this last weekend aout small farming operations a few miles north of the city. Two/three person operations on small parcels. The high end niche is the key. They're doing organic, and they make their money by enlisting "subscribers" who pay a fixed amount per year for a supply of veggies, etc . . . The call it the Community Supported Agriculture model, so it might be worth Googlin' that phrase to see what you come up with.

The link is to the Times article.
NY small farmers

 

[Anonymous-0]

It depends on what you consider small, in the area where we are most farms average 65 acres, seem to do okay with beef, small dairy and lambs.Many Amish farms are even smaller but still are able to survive if not thrive. There was an article in a our local paper about a local farmer going back to the traditional farming, raising food crops, chickens, egg layers, small dairy, keeping bulls for steer herd and pigs to feed waste to. They don't consider themselves organic either.

 

[JoshuaGA]

I don't see how to be a small farm in the commodies market, but then again I don't see how people farm anymore. There are too many costs to make a decent living. The key to me is you must be your own salesman. ON PAPER AS A ROUGH ESTIMATE I can make money off a 475 acre farm, BUT we already own 240 acres, and I'm basing it on doing direct marketing. I mean, if you wanted to farm 160 acres, you would either have to be a contract producer or else be direct market your products. As thers have said, a niche market. To make money, you could sell organic pork, or free range eggs, or grassfed beef or raw milk or goat cheese or breeding stock sheep. The possibilities are endless. To me, I think a good farm should have a mix of products to offer. Around here, every farm grows peanuts, cotton, and cattle. We grew peanuts, cotton, a few cows, and hogs. Hogs were our living. They were needed, we were wanted. Then came the 98 crash and we lost hogs and nearly lost everything. We struggled, and except for my sister, we all worked to try to make it. Me and dad worked for a neighbor at $6-7 apiece plus mom working in the scool system. 240 acres and we couldn't make a go of it. Now we have chicken houses and do some farming on the side, but we do much more observation. We see what works, what doesn't, what isn't worth the effort, and what should be done. If you really want to farm small, you need to farm smart. I ain't trying to scare you, but an honest opinion now can save some woe later. I sincerely hope this helps to some degree.

JoshuaGA

 

[E.B. Haymakin']

Well I"m already into hay, and don"t plan on getting into anything else. I also don"t plan on expanding a whole lot either because I couldn"t handle the work load. I work full time for a large corporation now. I can"t see where I could ever make enough money to pay all the expenses of farming, insurance-life, health, home, etc, and make a living. I guess I was questioning if agriculture was going to lose enough capacity in the future that it would cause people to "grow their own"? I read in the paper earlier this week that wheat was a record highs, and all market pressures were going to force food prices higher. Reading the posts on here many of you are convinced the higher prices for commodities aren"t going to pay the dividends that high prices should due to high input costs. Altogether the current situation just isn"t an improvement for producers, just more risk.
So, do any of you think "do it yourself" agriculture will make a come back?