The Newfarm Forums

[Jen]

I find myself with 65 acres that has been conventionally cropped for many, many years. I would love to do something else, but need to at least make enough off the land to replace the rent I was receiving. And I can't go out and buy a whole bunch of equipment. Anyone care to brainstorm ideas on what to do with these acres? I am certain that I don't want a long term CRP agreement.

[ken hargesheimer]

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Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-ranching worldwide in English & Spanish

Proven Practices for Profitable Crop Production [SEE NO. 9 BELOW]

No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as No-till (Baker)


1. Open mind.
2. Willing to make changes [first, in the mind and second, in the field & pasture]
3. Restore soil to its natural health. [Contamination: inorganic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.]
4. Maintain healthy soil [produces crops with few diseases, pests and weeds. Healthy soil produces healthy crops to have healthy people.
5. Feed the soil; not the crop
6. Increase the soil organic matter every year
7. Maintain plant diversity [with crops and with green manure/cover crops]
8. Manage crops for highest profit per acre; not highest yield per acre.]
9. Little or no external inputs [It is not necessary to buy anything from anybody. Certain things are recommended]
10. Leave all crop residues on top of the soil.
11. No-till: no plowing, no disking, no cultivating
12. Permanent beds [crops]
13. Sloped land [Beds on the contour; no terraces]
14. Permanent paths [walking; mini-farms]
15. Hand tools and power-hand tools for mini-farms
16. Permanent tracks [tractor wheels. 15% yield increase.]
17. Tractor [small tractor] & no-till planter/drill [no lister, no plows, no tandem disk, no cultivators]
18. Organic certification [If market demands it. Expensive]
19. Organic fertilizers
20. Organic disease control.
21. Organic herbicides.
22. Organic pesticides.
23. Biological pest control.
24. Attract beneficials [bats, birds, insects, toads, spiders, snakes, frogs, lizards]
25. Protect pollinators [honey bees, native bees, wasps, yellow jackets, dirt daubers, butterflies]
26. Protect soil organisms [worms, micros]
27. Crop rotation
28. Strip cropping
29. Inter-cropping
30. Soil always covered
31. Use mulch/green manures/cover crops
32. Alternative/foreign cover crops [non-legumes, legumes]
33. Feed the soil through the mulch.
34. Organic matter [Free. When economically feasible, transport to the farm. Use as mulch]
35. Compost [for special uses or to use surplus organic matter]
36. Drip irrigation [Purchase or DIY using poly]
37. Seed [open-pollinated; heirloom vegetables].
38. Alternative/foreign/ethnic/niche crops [grains, fruits, vegetables, roots, fibers, herbs, nuts, medicinals, flowers, dyes, syrups, sweeteners, crafts, seeds, spices and ornamentals]
39. Marketing [No contracts with corporation. Market may be only for your production
40. Alternative marketing [think outside the box!]
41. Value-added products [very profitable]
42. Agri-training and/or educational tours [train others, especially young people]
43. Protect nature [wildlife, native plants, streams & riparians, ponds & lakes, wetlands, forest and prairies.]
44. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!

Ken Hargesheimer

Websites: newfarm.org; agriculture.com/future; dirtdoctor.com, rodaleinstitute.org, rolf-derpsch.com [English, Español, German]; echonet.org [English, Español]; leisa.information [Bahasa- Indonesia, English, French, Portuguese, Español]; attra.ncat.org, [English, Español]; tearfund/tilz [Footsteps: English, French, Portuguese, Español] thefutureisorganic.net
acresusa.com, newfarm.org/depts/notill/index.shtml;
http://larryhaftl.com/ffo/farchive.html — Fukuoka Natural Farming [English, française, italiana, deutsche, Portuguese, español]
http://mulch.mannlib.cornell.edu/cclists.html#mulch
[English, español, française]

Read: “Micro Eco-Farming” - Barbara Berst

Free Agriculture DVD. Email your postal address to minifarms@aol.com

[Christopher Moss]

[barb]

Hi,
You have a good size piece of land. Being the way it was farmed it is going to take sometime to build it back up to grow organicly. It is hard to say what to grow when most things need some form of machinery.
Look into what is a good seller in your area, then decied what of those you would be able to really do. It takes a few years to build up your sales. Look into if any place in your area is looking for a crop that they would agree (in writting) to buy if you grow it for them. Small live stock is a fast turn over of moneies.
free range chickens for eggs and meat sell well take little money or work, Goats for meat sell well and pretty easy to care for. they will also help to build your soil back up.
chemical free feed crop is always looked for and till you get machinery maybe a local farmer that would work the land up for you and help with the harvest.
good luck it all takes money and a lot of work.

[Tom]

Jen, you are in the same spot today I found myself 5 years ago. We had two parcels totaling 95 acres, and decided to venture into organic production on one of them without doing too much planning. Your 65 acres may seem small scale, but it also can be much more land than you need, depending on the type of crops/animals/activities you may choose. I sense that you have some attachment to the property, which I can relate to, since my family has owned our property for 120 years.

It sounds like you have limited financial resources available, which is not necessarily a bad situation. It does mean you may have to perform more work by hand, on a small scale to start. A smaller amount invested to get started equals lower risk for you as the entrepreneur.

There are two things I would do initially before making any other decisions. The first is to get your soil tested. You need to find out what the strengths and weaknesses of your soil are. When I say soil test, I mean something beyond what the local extension office would offer. If you have an organic grower group in your area, they can probably give you a referral to someone who can do the proper testing and interpret the results for you. You really need to know the organic matter level in the soil, as well as the calcium/magnesium/potassium ratios and a number of other micronutrient levels. This will give you an idea of the cost involved in starting the soil in the right direction. Sourcing for any recommended materials is more complicated, if you intend to go the organic route.

The second thing I would do, and it is time consuming, is to go through the process of writing a business plan. This is not an easy thing to do. If you do this correctly, you will convince yourself first, and then others, that your idea is likely to succeed. In my state, the local extension periodically offers a program which walks you through the process. The program is called NxLevel (www.nxlevel.org). I have also found related information on two other web sites (www.acresusa.com and http://attra.ncat.org). I believe each state has what are known as Small Business Development Centers to help folks like us get started. Your local chamber of commerce may also be able to provide information. The business plan concept helps walk you through the process of building your idea into identifying potential markets, as well as estimating financial data to determine profitability potential. As I am currently developing a plan myself, the key element seems to be start small and find the people who are interested in what you have to offer. This is your base to build off. If you are near any Farmer's Markets, visit one to see what the growers are doing, and talk to the market manager.

If you are interested in creating a sustainable environment on your property, but are unable to handle it yourself, you may be able to find students/interns, etc. who have the knowledge and ambition, but lack the main resource - the land to get started, to work out a partnership of some type.

[atina]

If your goal is minimal equipment and minimal time input from you while taking care of the soil and improving it for the future, you might consider planting a hay crop on it and selling the crop green in the field to someone else who does the cutting and harvest.

The hay roots will improve your soil.
You will control erosion.
Conventional growers don't generally use chemicals on hay.

[Jen]

Hello All - I am so glad to see responses! I hope you all come back with more replies!

The reason I have this land available is that the conventional grower I was renting to has gone belly up. I never wanted to rent to conventional growers, but really had no choice other than to let the land go to grass until I had time to figure out how to handle it. I am not particularly in favor of subsidised farming, and have always felt the rent I was getting was just coming from tax payers. Not that I am totally against it - I just don't want it. I do, however, have that rent built into my budget, so I don't want to go long without it. (I could easily rent it again to another farmer for corn and beans.)

Let me give you some more information. Here's the equipment we have: a tractor, 33 hp diesel with front loader, rear tiller, a blade and a small rough mower. We do not have the ability to buy much more than that in terms of expensive equipment. We do have some money to invest in our operation for things that will return our investment in the first two years.

This particular land does not have access to water. There are no buildings on it. It is seperated from our farmstead (where we produce cut flowers and produce.) - by a dry creek. If we did anything expensive it would be a well.

So - that said - any more ideas given more information? We love dealing with animals, though we are complete novices. I wouldn't have any idea where to sell free range chickens in that quanitity. The wholesale market is a mystery to me!

Thanks so much for your ideas and any future ideas you have!!!!

[Morgan Reeder]

Fence it and plant a good pasture mix for your area. Hurry up and get planted this fall. Fence can wait until spring or summer depending on how quick the pasture establishes. Rent it for grazing, possibly start your own herd in a corner.