My agricultural pursuits generate perhaps 1/3 of my income, about $7k/acre/year, with very specifically focused marketing. There are a lot of ways to make this game work, but doing the same thing as your neighbor isn't one of them. I do derive pleasure from it, but haven't the luxury of doing it for that reason only. I grow ONLY specialty crops, not because I'm a snob, but because I want my kids to go to Ivy League schools, and the people who buy my specialty crops are less subject to the economic fluctuations that the rest of us are. Because of that, I have no problem with marketing my product while some of my local "competitors" are coming home from the farmers market and feeding their produce to their livestock or compost piles. Poor planning is the reason most beginning farmers fail; they don't understand the complexity of the business, underestimate costs and time required, fail to do adequate market research, fail to diversify not only crops, but markets and techniques, and do not incorporate flexibility into their business plan so that they can recover if unexpected circumstances occur. The other frequent cause of failure, as with those in the restaurant industry I serve, is under-capitalization. IMHO, one should not depend on ANY income from a new large-scale farming operation for the first five years, because it takes that long to establish a viable and profitable system that incorporates sufficient diversity, redundancy, and flexibility to weather the inevitable misfortunes that everyone in this industry encounters. And yes to BCS, with 33" tiller, moldboard plow, brush mower, and chipper shredder attachments. Get the Honda motor if possible. Hire a tractor for larger jobs unless you can buy one and be the one hired.

I think my question is pretty clear: You have offered your place for sale to some potential farmer. You have not named a price, said how many acres, soil type, water resources, etc. You have said a rental income of 32k justifies buying your place and trying to make a living farming it. There is no way to know that without knowing at least the answers to the questions above. In most parts of the eastern US the market value of land makes trying to "make a living" by selling farm produce is an impossibility. It's all fine if one bought the place years ago when it was much less valuable in relative terms, and/or paid off the mortgage if there was one by doing some occupation much more remunerative than farming, or most workable of all, inherited the land. Buying land these days, most places, to live by farming is not feasible. The result will be a big loss of time/labor and any money invested.

Willamette, There are a lot of factors that determine your success. Lots of people have a lot of good answers. I have a little over an acre that I took on because a friend does very well on his little acre by Seattle. He and his wife are retired and do theirs alone. They have corn, beans, squash, peas, carrots, berries, lettuce, potatoes and the like. He has a mid-size Kubota and a good gas tiller. He lives next to his plot and his wife cooks for him. After watching his success for years I jumped when I had the chance to have a similiar plot. Boy, did I have a lot to learn! It's a lot different than a garden. My plot is about 5 miles from my house so tractors, tools, equipment and so on must be hauled down there. Top speed on the Deere is 12-15mph. I also have 4 kids and I do all the cooking and canning although my husband helps with the haying he still has a full time job, I mean besides fixing what I break :p My 15yo son was to help but he injured himself and could not work all summer. While my friend's garden looked beautiful, mine suffered comensurate to the neglect it suffered. Also, my land owner specified in our agreement that I could not use chemicals, pesitcides or herbicides due to the fields proximity to his house and his family's allergies. While my friend in Seattle does not use row covers or black paper mulches, I am definitely planning on using them this year to thwart the squash bugs and weeds. There are some implements I think will help immensely, esp. a 3 pt cultivator.(Honey, if you are reading this, my birthday is coming up! :) This year I am also planning on fewer vegetables and more grain crops (oats and spelt). Hopefully my son won't get hurt this year and the kids manage better, maybe even help out a little. I may even bring along the chicken tractor and move that around to help control more weeds. It can be done, and one of these days I will get it done. Meantime, I listen to the old farmers, read, and roll up my sleeves. I love watching seeds grow up into food that goes into my pantry. The sense of accomplishment when I see my loft full of hay, jars full of food and my pantry filled with apples, squash and beans from my own hand is worth the effort.

Everyone I know who goes to farmers markets expects to pay more than in the store. This is because our produce isn't shipped half way across creation from California or Florida or Mexico, sprayed with various chemicals and then displayed with listless flavor on shelves and refrigerated bins for who knows how long. And the hobby farmers don't last. Once they get rid of their stuff or get tired of slow days (there will be a few) their commitment isn't generally the same as those of us who produce for a llving, as a way of life and/or to supplement our incomes. I am at farmers markets in the inner-city, catering to a lot of low-income people and even they expect to pay more. One reason too, in the inner-city, the few-and-far-between grocery stores often charge premium prices for all of their stuff and a lot of it has a tendency to be lower quality than grocers in more affluent areas of town. That's just the way it is. Anyway, I seldom have anyone complain about price. They are elated that we are selling our produce in their neighborhood. I also LIVE in the neighborhood in an old ethnic Eastern-European neighborhood and we have a mix of all kinds of people. My farm is about 15 miles to the west where I hope to build a house some day. All I know is we don't try to gouge anyone or do the lah-dee-dah type of marketing. But, we do expect to be paid for our labor of love. And I believe most people can appreciate that. The ones that don't? Well, they go to Walmart Supercenters and discount grocery stores and they get exactly what they pay for. Sometimes it's great...I love Aldi's 89 cent pineapples and sometimes it's not so great...Everyone have a safe and happy Memorial Day Holiday!