{"id":33640,"date":"2013-06-05T16:08:08","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T21:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=33640"},"modified":"2025-12-15T20:07:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T02:07:53","slug":"9-rules-for-starting-your-own-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/featured\/9-rules-for-starting-your-own-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Rules for Starting Your Own Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Forrest<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Forrest Pritchard, farmer and author of <\/em>Gaining Ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve dreamed of becoming a farmer, growing food not just for yourself but for your greater community. You yearn to work with the soil, and are prepared for a life of physical toil, intellectual challenges, and uncertain finances. All that\u2019s left is to trade in your suit and tie for sturdy boots and a dilapidated hat.<\/p>\n

Congratulations. The world needs you. According to this article<\/a> in The<\/em> Atlantic<\/em>, there are currently more bus drivers than farmers in the United States<\/strong>. While at first glance this might seem like an arbitrary statistic, consider this: which is more likely to happen first, a bus driver needing to eat, or a farmer needing a bus ticket? Food ranks in the upper echelon of human needs, right beside oxygen, sleep, and cuddling with your sweetheart.<\/p>\n

The planet needs nutritious food, and that requires thoughtful, intelligent people to grow it. So if you\u2019re genuinely considering farming as a career, tape the following 9 rules for starting a farm to your refrigerator, tack them to your barn door, or commit them to memory. After fifteen years of running my own farm, these lessons were hard won, but continue to serve me well. As you pursue your own farming dream, keep them in the forefront of your mind. Following them might not guarantee success, but they will certainly put you on the path to economic and agricultural sustainability.<\/p>\n

9 Rules for Starting Your Own Farm<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Rule #1: Avoid Debt!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Coin

Farming doesn\u2019t HAVE to be financed with borrowed money. Avoiding debt should be a primary goal for any new farmer, even if they have to start very, very small for a few years. That\u2019s how our farm started. And clearly, I still save my pennies.<\/p><\/div>\n

Why is this #1? Why does it have an exclamation point after it? Because\u2014listen up\u2014in the past fifty years, debt has tanked more farms than drought, plague, and pestilence combined. If there\u2019s one thing our national housing crisis has reinforced, it\u2019s how economically debilitating debt can be for the average person. Farmers aren\u2019t immune to these challenges. Legions of great producers have abandoned their farming dreams simply because they couldn\u2019t pay their debt when the bank came calling.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, debt (borrowing money, with interest) allows us to accelerate our goals, turning dreams of tomorrow into realities of today. While borrowed money might buy us a tractor, a new barn, or even the land we\u2019ll be farming, experience, the most valuable farming asset of all, cannot<\/b> be purchased.<\/p>\n

Experience doesn\u2019t come with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, and it certainly doesn\u2019t come from a book. Agriculture is fraught with uncertainties, surprises, and intellectual challenges. And that\u2019s just before lunch. Adding monthly payments to this intimidating list financially handcuffs most people right from the start.<\/p>\n

So does this mean \u2018never take on debt\u2019? Certainly not. There are plenty of times when leveraging assets makes sense. As you gain farming experience, and create reliable cash flow in your business, these opportunities (or necessities) will become clearer. In the meantime, however, embrace this generalization: avoid debt as much as possible.<\/i><\/p>\n

Rule #2: Allow Yourself the Opportunity to Fail<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wait a minute. This was supposed to be about not<\/i> failing, and now we\u2019re saying failure\u2019s an opportunity? Ironic, I know. Bear with me.<\/p>\n

Our culture seems obsessed with failure, simultaneously terrified and captivated with the concept. I know people who spend their days avoiding the humiliation of failure at all costs. Some of these people fear failure so much, they never try to accomplish anything<\/i>. The thought of failure paralyzes them.<\/p>\n

If failure is a major concern to you, here\u2019s a spoiler: in farming, you will fail<\/strong>. 100% chance. In fact, with apologies to Benjamin Franklin, failure on a farm is every bit as reliable as death, taxes, and Paul Schaffer calling a rimshot.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what no one ever told me. It\u2019s okay to fail. Moreover, in farming, it\u2019s important<\/i> to fail. While painful at first, failure can be an enormously useful tool. It helps us learn our personal limits of time and energy. It\u2019s an instrumental timesaver in the long run, letting us know what works well, and what\u2019s a complete boondoggle. Failure provides us perspective for future enterprises, making us intellectually stronger, more emotionally resilient.<\/p>\n

So, thumb your nose at that sagging bookshelf loaded with self-help books telling you you\u2019re not a failure. Yes you are! Get out there and fail! But while you\u2019re failing, fail well. Fail gracefully and thoughtfully. It\u2019s the only sure way to recognize success when it finally arrives.<\/p>\n

Rule #3: Identify Your Market Before You Start Farming<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Pile

Beautiful, but these beets (and many more) were all ready to be picked at the same time. These were shared with my family, but would have also found happy homes at my local farmers market.<\/p><\/div>\n

So you want to raise cattle, grow watermelons, or start a sauerkraut business. Maybe you just want to sell wool to local knitters. Awesome. I like steaks, sauerkraut, and knit caps as much as the next guy. But how are you going to find customers like me? Do I live in your neighborhood, or five hundred miles away? How much of your stuff will I buy? How will you find others<\/i> like me? What will you do if I buy ALL of your stuff, and you\u2019re sold out? What will you do if I buy NONE of your stuff, and you\u2019ve got a barn full of it?<\/p>\n

Before you plant that first seed, jar your first kraut, or shear your first ewe, take the time (lots and lots of time) to figure out where<\/b> you\u2019re going to sell your products, who<\/b> is going to buy them, and how<\/b> you\u2019re going to do it. Once you\u2019ve done this, create a backup plan. Then, come up with another<\/i> backup plan. Chances are you\u2019re going to need them.<\/p>\n

Small and niche producers spend an enormous amount of effort finding their customers. This is every bit as important as growing the food to begin with, because without appropriate sales channels, fresh produce will quickly languish. When all those watermelons ripen at the exact same moment, you\u2019ll need a place to sell them\u2014and fast. Have a solid marketing plan prepared well in advance.<\/p>\n

\"Fast<\/p>\n

Rule #4: Match the Land to Its Suited Use<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Animals

We try to take our cues from nature. In the Mid-Atlantic, grazing, foraging and gleaning opportunities present themselves nearly year-round.<\/p><\/div>\n

We can try to force our human dreams onto the land, or we can work with what nature gives us. On our farm, wild turkeys, deer, cottontail rabbits, and raccoons naturally flourish. As such, it\u2019s no coincidence that we\u2019re able to raise free-range chickens, sheep, cattle, and pigs on our land. While the correlations may not be identical, when we stand back for a moment and consider the landscape, there\u2019s a nice pattern here.<\/p>\n

Conversely, a few years back, we tried raising free-range ducks. We learned the hard way how they evinced their waterfowl instincts: In a matter of weeks, they turned acres of pasture into muddy ponds. They methodically tipped over their automatic watering troughs (it\u2019s a long story, but trust me, they did it), creating sloppy watering holes in our pastures that we dubbed \u2018quack mires.’ In their own way, ducks were telling us that they belonged near water, not out on pasture. We listened. The following season, we stopped raising ducks and have been happier ever since.<\/p>\n

Rule #5: Grow Your Passion<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Shovel,

Shovel, dirt, gumption. Check, check, and double check. What comes next?<\/p><\/div>\n

Everyone knows that farming is hard work. So do yourself a favor: grow something that you love. Like blueberries? Then grow blueberries, for Pete\u2019s sake. If you grow what you\u2019re passionate about, it will help mitigate those difficult days when the sledding gets rough and things don\u2019t go your way. It may seem like common sense, but we often find our decisions driven more by finances, tradition, or inertia than by something we truly love<\/i>. Go out on a limb, and grow heirloom apples if you want. Consider it your first reward. There will be more.<\/p>\n

Rule #6: Set Reasonable Goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yes, yes, we all know that you were a double major, the captain of the fencing team, and turned down a Fulbright to construct Mongolian yurts in the Peace Corps<\/a>. You\u2019re talented, we get it. Now repeat after me:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay if I can\u2019t feed the entire state of Nebraska, so long as I can supply my local market.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay if I don\u2019t make \u2018X\u2019 number of dollars this year, as long as all of my bills are paid.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay if I don\u2019t add an additional enterprise, until I get really good at the 3 other<\/i> enterprises I\u2019m already trying to master.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, you workaholics, it\u2019s even okay to take Tuesday afternoons off to drink a few beers and read a book, especially if you work all weekend (like I do). Take care of yourself<\/b>. Burnout is big in farming. You already know that the work is physically taxing, with unique emotional demands. Find your pace. Visualize a fifty-year career, and set annual, reasonable goals that will get you there. Check in with yourself frequently. And by all means, if you raise flowers for a living, be sure to \u201cstop and smell the petunias\u201d from time to time. Or the daffodils. Whatever…I raise pigs, cut me some slack.<\/p>\n

Rule #7: Don\u2019t Worry About What Other People Think<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"There\u2019s

There’s an old man open gate, and stand in the field area.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1994, when I was twenty years old, I found myself talking to an older farming couple at a local picnic. We both raised cattle for a living, but they sold their animals straight to corn-fed feedlots. They asked me about my farming ambitions, and I told them of my dream to sell 100% grass-fed beef. The cattle would be completely organic, and I\u2019d direct market the meat myself. I told them our farm could provide food for several hundred families once I really got going.<\/p>\n

Their reaction? When I had finished speaking, they turned to each other, made eye contact, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.<\/p>\n

Eighteen years later, despite this withering response from my elders (they apologized for their behavior after they managed to stop laughing, bless their hearts), our farm has accomplished all of these goals and much, much more. If I had worried what my neighboring farmers thought of me, I certainly wouldn\u2019t be sitting here now, typing this list. Believe in yourself, and just go for it.<\/p>\n

As for that couple? Five years ago, they put a sign up at the end of their lane: \u201cFree-Range Beef for Sale.\u201d The sign is out there at this very moment. Pardon me while I indulge in a moment of uncontrollable laughter.<\/p>\n

Rule #8: Have a Sense of Humor<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Lighten up Francis: When it comes to farming, it\u2019s only a matter of life or death.<\/p>\n

Think about it for a second. Take an average day at a mainstream job. What\u2019s the worst that typically happens? A client gets pissed off, or an irate customer reams out the supervisor. Maybe Larry (whatever happened to guys named Larry, anyway?) gets his tie caught in the fax machine…again. Somebody get that guy a golf shirt!<\/p>\n

On any given day on a farm, things die<\/i>. And not in any noble, dignified, or discreet kind of way, either. Things die screaming, eviscerated, and\u2014more often than we\u2019d care to think about\u2014partially masticated. Have you ever walked through the morning dew to check on your free-range chickens (cue love theme from St. Elmo\u2019s Fire<\/i><\/a>), crested a hill, and found them slaughtered willy-nilly (cue Insane Clown Posse\u2019s “Night of the Chainsaw<\/a>“), their gleaming entrails spilled across the clover?<\/p>\n

Frankly, it puts this whole farming thing in perspective pretty quickly. And faced with the possibility of daily mayhem, a sense of humor can be a handy-dandy coping mechanism.<\/p>\n

I learned this particular bit of wisdom from Travis, a farmhand of over 50 years. Travis arrives on my farm each morning sporting an un-ironic trucker\u2019s hat, unruly lamb chop sideburns, and an emotional disconnect that leaves no doubt he\u2019s capable of neck-punching me into a coma. After pulling a mummified calf from a laboring heifer one afternoon, he regarded me with pale, unblinking eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know,\u201d he said, \u201cif we didn\u2019t laugh about things, we\u2019d probably end up just murdering each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right you are, Travis. Right you are.<\/p>\n

Rule #9: Read. Ask Questions. Share Your Knowledge.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Okay, so this is really numbers nine, ten, and eleven all rolled into one. Consider it a farming Venn diagram.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t like to read? Start. Read everything that hits your intellectual radar.<\/p>\n

Shy? Get up near the teacher if you want to learn anything.<\/p>\n

Have an ego? Better to lose it now, before Mother Nature loses it for you.<\/p>\n

Last but not least (bonus rule!): Be generous with your knowledge, especially with people who want to learn from you.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s the list. Still want to be a farmer? Congratulations again! You\u2019re entering a world of excellent company. As Bob Evans (yes, that<\/i> Bob Evans) once told me, there\u2019s no finer group of people on the planet than those who call themselves farmers. By all means, join us.<\/p>\n

Be sure to also listen to my podcast with Forrest: <\/strong><\/p>\n