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Help Me Start a Crop Farm

13 years ago

Hello my name is Jared I am 21 years old and have been a volunteer for about four years at a organic crop farm, i am trying to find a way to to start a farm with out debt. I'm really want to show my son how to farm and how to give back to the environment. please if you can help me please let me know

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Comments (8)

lily51
13 years ago
Without debt? In Illinois? What is the cost of farm land there..a farm just sold a couple months ago in our neighborhood (Ohio) for $7000 an acre. You had better have deep pockets or a sponsor of some sort.
And what sort of crops are you talking about...field crops, truck farming, etc. That would effect how much land you would need. Or are you talking big gardening rather than farming?
Sorry to be so negative, but we bought a farm 32 years ago, and a few since, and debt is more or less part of the game.
oregonwoodsmoke
13 years ago
You can probably rent a farm and the big harvest and tractor type equipment can be hired.

You are going to have to have some money, but if you've actually got cash, you can do at least a small project without going into debt.

Rent on farms tends to be low because not many want to rent them and those who do often can't be trusted to take proper care of it.
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Carol, I bet it did grow well there in spite of the short growing season. I'm assuming they started their transplants indoors to get them large enough to plant out once the temps were in the appropriate range. And it is the exposure to sunlight that made the celery so green. Most commercially-raised celery is that whitish-green because the celery is blanched. I think the blanching is intended to keep the stalks tender as too much sunlight/heat gives you tougher stalks. Seedmama, Here's how Jeff Cox grows celery: GROWING CELERY: Several years ago I purchased a book by Jeff Cox called "Jeff Cox's 100 Greatest Garden Ideas". It is a terific book and I love it. One of his ideas is a way to grow celery even if you can't give it the marshy conditions it prefers. If I ever tried to grow celery here, I'd try Jeff's method. To start his seeds, he sows them 10 weeks before his last frost. He soaks his seed overnight before sowing them in peat pots and setting them on top of the fridge so the heat can help them sprout, which can take 2 weeks or longer. He digs a below-grade trench about a foot wide and 14" deep although he says you can do the same process with a raised bed if you'd rather build up than dig down. If growing in a raised bed, he recommends a minimum height of 6" and cautions anything raised any higher may get too hot for the celery. You still need 14" of depth, but with the 6" tall raised bed, you only have to dig down 8" instead of the whole 14". You remove the soil to a depth of 14" for the trench or 8" beneath the eventual raised bed and remove all the soil. Add compost and other organic amendments to create an enriched growing mix that will hold lots of moisure and refill the trench or, for the raised bed, refill the dug-out area and build the 6" tall raised bed above it. By the way, he recommends six celery plants per person. If you want, you can add tin cans with the tops and bottoms both removed or pieces of PVC pipe inserted vertically into the ground about to the same depth that your celery is planted, or a couple of inches deeper than that. To water, fill each can or piece of pipe with water and let the pipe carry the water down to the root level of the celery plants. In the illustration in the book, he has one vertical can or PVC pipe in between two celery plants in a sort of checkerboard pattern. (Texas tomato plant growers use this method to water tomatoes, only they use large flower pots or huge, instituitional-sized cans, to water the tomato plants...it is called the Texas Pot method.) After you harden off your seedlings, transplant them into the enriched soil which you've pre-moistened so it it nice and damp. He waters his transplants with an organic fertilizer consisting of 1 T. fish emulsion and 2 T. seaweed extract per one gallon of water. Mulch the top of the bed with leaves. As the plans grow keep adding leaves so the stalks are blanched. Blanching celery stalks (but not their topgrowth leaves which need sunlight to grow) helps improve their flavor and keep them tender. This is especially important in a hotter climate where heat stress can cause the stalks to get woody and tough. He recommends feeding monthly and watering as often as needed to keep the bed moist and damp but not soaking wet. His recommendation is that you harvest the plants roots and all before frost arrives in the fall. Store them in a box in a cool basement or similar area. If the storage area stays cool enough, celery will store for months. You also could store them in an extra fridge in your garage or laundry room or whatever. If you ever run across Jeff's book, it is a wonderful book with projects grouped by the season. Dawn
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lily51
13 years ago
It's great that there's still someone out there who wants to get into farming. Talk to people in your area, your extension office, etc. to see how things work there. If you are not from a farm background, you would benefit from a mentor.

Maybe Illinois is differnt than Ohio, but many, many people rent out their farms here.
Where you are, probably anywhere between $125-$250+ per acre. THen figure out all your expenses and see if you would actually make any money.
A lot depends on what crop you're growing, weather, what the markets are doing for your crop, and how you market it.
hilltop_gw
13 years ago
Congrats on wanting to be a young farmer.

If you're near an urban area then garden produce might be the way to go. You could possibly sell to small restaurants.
Or get into decorative pumpkins and gourds. Starting without debt is difficult and if you're working another job and have a family time might be hard to come by.

In our area land costs run $3200-$4200/ acre or more and rents are in the $200-$275 range. A recent article stated that land turned over/sells about once every 31 years or so, so if something comes up for sale the few that really want it are willing to pay high prices. In our area tracts generally run in 80 acre or 160 acre plots. Add in the cost of equipment and it's expensive. Wineries are popping up in our area. 5 acres will get you started, but it takes a few years for actual product to grow and be available to sell. It's very, very labor intense.

Determine what type of farming you are interested in and contact a current owner to see if you can work and be mentored and possibly increase duties or take on some ownership. Be aware some owners may be wary of having young children around due to the safety and liability concern. Our insurance company had a no-passenger policy which did not allow others to ride along.
kokos
13 years ago
Farmer job is nice...no one over your head, fresh air all day. I enjoy it. Others don't.
You won't get rich farming.
softmentor
13 years ago
Hi Jared
I started by working for my cousin, then spent 2 years working as what was essentially a migrant farm worker. saved my $ and bought my first house on 2 acres for $27,000. You can pretty well figure ... it wasn't much of a house. But, it kept the rain off and I worked another job and worked on the house and farmed my little one acre of date palms and 1/2 acre of produce. The next year I leased an additional 1 1/2 acres of dates. Eventually sold that place and now have 5 acres with on acre of dates producing and another planted. Will eventually have 4 acres planted.
I admire your desire to stay out of debt. It means you have to live like no one else for a while, and save save save. With a family, that will be harder than it was for me but it is possible. Then look for the right opportunity. Be patient, and you will find it.
Then 2 things about farming.
1) grow what you love to grow and what loves to grow for you. Different kinds of farming require different kinds of work. One will be better suited to you and who you are. Best way to find out is work for other farmers and learn from experience.
2) always have a market before you plant. This is the farming equivalent of location location location.
May your crops grow well and your markets swell.
Arthur the date guy
and do drop a word and let us know how it goes
aaroncavano_gmail_com
12 years ago
Best thing to do is know what crops are selling high that will be sustainable in our area. I always watch the stock market for the top producing crops. Start with a stock app I know of that is just for crops and the top crops out there.

Here is the website: http://topcropapp.com

Here is a link that might be useful: aaron
wertach zone 7-B SC
12 years ago
I also wish you luck! I just bought out my siblings shares of my Dads small "farm" and I am trying to figure out a way to make it pay the debt that I incurred!

At least you are young and ambitious! That is rare these days!

Do you plan to buy, lease, lease to own, or possibly set up a share crop arrangement? Are you willing to move long distances?

Most states have a free agricultural advertizement paper that may also be available on-line. Something similar to what we have here in S.C., it is called the SC market bulletin.

I have saw a few ads looking for people to manage horse farms, dairies, ETC. with rent free housing. You can run an ad for free in ours. You might run an ad in one and find what you need. If you are willing to move to another state or cross country your odds will improve.

With your background in organic, you have a good start on growing high cash crops.

Again, I hope you do well! Just keep your nose close to the grinding stone.

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