garden boy
Enjoys Recycling
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 16
I want to know everybodys opinion on it.I might be getting a farm soon so i want to know what makes and what dosent.HELP!!!
how do you make y'alls farming money?
- Thread starter garden boy
- Start date
Wannabefree
Little Miss Sunshine
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2010
- Messages
- 13,397
- Reaction score
- 712
- Points
- 417
You can get more for purebred hatching eggs than for breakfast eggs. Just giving you a heads up on that. It's much better to raise a well known and sought after breed for hatching eggs and chicks rather than just layers to sell breakfast eggs.
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
I think it would be smart to know you have a market before growing the crop. I was talking to a fellow farmer who knew of a couple who had 30 acres of vegetables and no market. They went under.garden boy said:Wow!!! That seems harder then i thought!! I thought it was grow,sell,buy and thats it! Thank you for everything you said,i definetly have a diffrent view on it! thanks joel_bc!
I run a small certified organic vegetable CSA.
My husband is a conventional grain farmer.
We also have chickens for eggs (approximately 30 dozen weekly), meat chickens once per year, maple syrup operation, a couple hives, soapmaking. Each of them adds about $1000-2000/year to the rest of the operation.
Here in New England there are a lot of things that I grow and sell. First off I have chickens and I sell their eggs for eating mos of the year. That pretty much gives me enough to cover the costs of the grains so I keep the girls fed. I do also offer eggs for hatching but haven't really had that take off yet. Chicks seems to be my big seller. People are even willing to pay me more to keep them until they are sexable at 8 weeks so they are sure they get pullets. I can easily sell those for 15 to 20 dollars each.
We have sheep and selling the wool each spring and fall is another thing. It was slow at first but once you build your clientelle you can sell it out pretty much a monh or two after you sheer it. Our biggest seller by far is baby goats. People will come from 3 or 4 hours away to buy baby goats if the mother is a proven milker and is friendly and easy to milk. We make cheese from the goat milk and feed the whey to the pigs but that is just for us and not really stuff to sell.
I agree that it doesn't make a ton of money but I think between the canned veggies and meat each year to get you through the year without buying food at the grocery store and having most of the feed bill taken care of by sales it does pay off in the end. Plus I have to say that my son is very well rounded and his view on the world is much more realistic than some of his friends who think that life should hand them whatever they want just because they want it. He knows that you have to work for anything in life and is willing to do it for the things that he wants bad enough. That's priceless to me.
We have sheep and selling the wool each spring and fall is another thing. It was slow at first but once you build your clientelle you can sell it out pretty much a monh or two after you sheer it. Our biggest seller by far is baby goats. People will come from 3 or 4 hours away to buy baby goats if the mother is a proven milker and is friendly and easy to milk. We make cheese from the goat milk and feed the whey to the pigs but that is just for us and not really stuff to sell.
I agree that it doesn't make a ton of money but I think between the canned veggies and meat each year to get you through the year without buying food at the grocery store and having most of the feed bill taken care of by sales it does pay off in the end. Plus I have to say that my son is very well rounded and his view on the world is much more realistic than some of his friends who think that life should hand them whatever they want just because they want it. He knows that you have to work for anything in life and is willing to do it for the things that he wants bad enough. That's priceless to me.
Joel_BC
Super Self-Sufficient
I'll start off and I hope a lot of others will join in to fill out the picture.
I'm sure you realize that we're spread out geographically - all over North America, and beyond. Some of us are even in the city or town, with backyard gardens. Situations are very different.
I'm on roughly nine acres. We don't earn money through agriculture. We tried that - growing garlic, actually, as the cash crop - at a time when there was too little, market-wise, that had been developed for organic growers. As it did not work out for us, my wife and I each found part-time jobs doing other things. But we wanted to keep living in the country.
So we grow salad veggies (lettuce, carrots, kale, cabbage family, cukes, beets, etc), corn, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, apples, pears, berries, grapes, and so on. We do it for the fresh food and the enjoyment of being involved with plants. Outdoor gardens and a greenhouse. We've had chickens in the past and may have them again in the future.
I know that the public is now much more educated about organic farming and crops, so now people have a conscious choice whether to buy conventional or organic. By that I mean that many areas now have organic outdoor and indoor markets. So this is a big change. Our story might have gone differently if we had started out 10 or 15 years later.
I'm sure you realize that we're spread out geographically - all over North America, and beyond. Some of us are even in the city or town, with backyard gardens. Situations are very different.
I'm on roughly nine acres. We don't earn money through agriculture. We tried that - growing garlic, actually, as the cash crop - at a time when there was too little, market-wise, that had been developed for organic growers. As it did not work out for us, my wife and I each found part-time jobs doing other things. But we wanted to keep living in the country.
So we grow salad veggies (lettuce, carrots, kale, cabbage family, cukes, beets, etc), corn, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, apples, pears, berries, grapes, and so on. We do it for the fresh food and the enjoyment of being involved with plants. Outdoor gardens and a greenhouse. We've had chickens in the past and may have them again in the future.
I know that the public is now much more educated about organic farming and crops, so now people have a conscious choice whether to buy conventional or organic. By that I mean that many areas now have organic outdoor and indoor markets. So this is a big change. Our story might have gone differently if we had started out 10 or 15 years later.
- Thread starter
- #3
garden boy
Enjoys Recycling
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 16
Wow!!! That seems harder then i thought!! I thought it was grow,sell,buy and thats it! Thank you for everything you said,i definetly have a diffrent view on it! thanks joel_bc!
Joel_BC
Super Self-Sufficient
A lot depends on where you live, I think. In some places, you might have success just by raising some crops, putting a sign on your farm's gate - "Fresh (whatever) for Sale" - going to the local outdoor farmers' markets with a pickup-load of food, etc. Some places have big, thriving year-round natural-food retail outlets. And these days, there are often free or cheap advertising possibilities such as local internet bulletin boards - so you can advertise your farm.
These are just general ideas, though. Others here can recount their experience on their land in their regions.
These are just general ideas, though. Others here can recount their experience on their land in their regions.
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I wish I could tell you how I make my farm money....but if you're talking about PROFIT, there is none. Of course, I'm not a full-time farmer. I do raise goats and sell a few each year. I even sell a few dozen eggs, and a few chicks here and there. I do what I do because that's how I choose to live my life. It makes me happy to know where my food comes from. It makes me happy to be able to grow it and preserve it and to enjoy it. I guess if I did it full-time and really promoted what I do I might bring in some extra income, but I don't think I could ever make a living at it. I wish you well. 
- Thread starter
- #6
garden boy
Enjoys Recycling
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 16
thanks! I hope you make money anyways!lolfrustratedearthmother said:I wish I could tell you how I make my farm money....but if you're talking about PROFIT, there is none. Of course, I'm not a full-time farmer. I do raise goats and sell a few each year. I even sell a few dozen eggs, and a few chicks here and there. I do what I do because that's how I choose to live my life. It makes me happy to know where my food comes from. It makes me happy to be able to grow it and preserve it and to enjoy it. I guess if I did it full-time and really promoted what I do I might bring in some extra income, but I don't think I could ever make a living at it. I wish you well.
FarmerJamie
Mr. Sensitive
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2010
- Messages
- 9,433
- Reaction score
- 16,413
- Points
- 393
If you're taking about profit, buy low and sell high. 
There are so many variables, there is no easy answer. It's all about what you put into it.
I agree with FEM, if I sell enough eggs to cover the feed and supplies I use AND still have enough eggs for us, I consider that profitable for me. Won't be able to retire on it, though.
I raise my own food for my family as much as I can, that good enough for me.
There are so many variables, there is no easy answer. It's all about what you put into it.
I agree with FEM, if I sell enough eggs to cover the feed and supplies I use AND still have enough eggs for us, I consider that profitable for me. Won't be able to retire on it, though.
I raise my own food for my family as much as I can, that good enough for me.
