Young and Beginning Farmers

I'd like to give a special shout out to http://www.facebook.com/farmersarecool for giving me this idea.

The Facebook page listed above is a page promoting small, local farms.  I found this article there.  Don't worry if you don't want to click the link.  I'll quote it when necessary, but it is an interesting read and there is a video form of it as well.  I'm not familiar with the news source, but this seemed to be cut and dry, lacking any major bias.

To summarize, the story is about how new farmers are facing some tough realities in the market place.  "Accurate data are hard to come by, but a recent survey by organic farm networks found 78 percent of new farmers were not raised on farms."  The reason cited for this, at the very beginning of this article is a disdain for "industrial farming" and in all honesty, I commend the folks that are willing to do something about it.    I do, however see some flaws in the business model.

The main flaw I find:
"Demand for locally raised food is growing as well, into a business that is now worth at least $5 billion, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

It's still a drop in the bucket in the U.S. food supply. And many who venture into farming find the business realities are tougher than they thought. Maureen Moody says many burn out after a couple years and look for jobs with health benefits and retirement plans."

The business aspects of agriculture are not an easy science to understand. Today's markets have a lot of volatility and a lack of initial cash flow and income are difficult for somebody just out of college. As a graduate of the class of 2010, trust me, I know.

As a member of a farming family (my parents have 3 contract chicken houses and raise somewhere in the realm of just under 1,000 feeder calves per year) I may have had the blessing of knowing this before I got started. I guess I'm the industrial farmer disdained in the article. I, however, believe that it will take ALL types of agriculture to offer the choices consumers want in the future. Hopefully somebody can benefit from my business planning model below. This is not something that I thought up, but what my father did, what his father did and so on. I am lucky enough to be doing it now, and in the interest of agriculture, I'm willing to share. I'm also open to sharing more in depth specifics of the plans I have that maybe someone could apply to their situation on a person to person level.

The first 5-10 years of my business model are in a job that isn't necessarily high paying, but gives me enough income that I can pay electric bills, cell phone bills, gas bills, and still eat. Try to avoid travelling jobs unless you feel for certain that travel is during the off season. In a separate financial pool I keep my farm income. The farm income pays for expansion of the farm. Since I have a job to pay for my living expenses, I don't have to have a lot of income right now on the farm so I'm less exposed to high risk markets. I went from having no equity (I was $2,000 in the hole last year with 0 equitable assets) in 40 cows last year to having $10,000 net assets this year. I will have roughly 30% equity in 50 cows this year. Next year, my goal is to have 45% equity in my cattle, and in 5 years, I hope to have 50 cows with 100% equity. This allows me at least a hedge against periods with low income as I can have at least some operating credit against those cows. Currently, I don't own the land that houses those 50 cows. In the next 10 years, I plan to own the land where my cows are. It will probably be in an area where the market is better suited for my needs.

The downside to this system is pretty obvious. On any given week I can "work" anywhere from 45 hours to 100 hours depending on what needs to be done. The reason I say "work" is because I, at this stage, consider time on the farm to be an enjoyment rather than a job.  This is, however completely backward from the business model mentioned in the quote above.

The key in all of this is love what you do. If you truly love agriculture, you can make it work in all sorts of creative ways. This is not a business with cookie cutter molds of business practices. Marketing is the main game-changer in all farms from the ones with 5 chickens, 2 cows and a goat, along with a 5 acre garden to the feedlot that has a 100,000 head capacity. 


According to the USDA, half of all current farmers in the U.S. are expected to retire in the next decade.  With an agricultural population that is aging, agriculture will create opportunities that few other industries can offer. It is a great time for young people to get into agriculture and an even better time for them to get creative and raise the highest quality food possible in a successful business model.