How to start your first farm? This is the question many new farmers ask, and unfortunately there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. That’s where this guide comes in! It will give you everything you need to know about starting your own farm from scratch. You’ll learn all of the basics on how orchard plants grow, what equipment might be suitable for different stages of farming, as well as some tips that can help make any farmer more successful with their first crops.
The “farm business plan worksheet” is a guide that will help you start your farm. The guide includes information on how to build a budget, what equipment and supplies you will need, and more.
Your day starts even before the sun has risen. You dress warmly and put on your rain boots before heading out into the chilly morning to feed the hens and calves. It’s a beautiful morning, and you like being outdoors, listening to the ice crunch under your boots and seeing the yard cat stretch and yawn.
You’ve already got a long list of things on your mind. Make an appointment with your accountant to discuss what you may deduct as a business expenditure this year. Consult your neighbors about the possibility of utilizing the additional acre of land at the bottom of your property. Make sure you purchase a couple extra chicken scratch packs. The fence must be repaired. Talk to the farm down the street about how they’re planning a future logging operation on their steep, wooded property.
It’s a lot, but it’s thrilling because there are so many possibilities for the future in between all the tasks.
I’ll take you through how to establish a farm in this tutorial, as well as provide you with tools to help you get started with a farming company right away.
Gregory Heilers, a former assistant farm manager, and Dr. Cindy Jones, the owner of Colorado Aromatics, a small herb farm in Colorado, were interviewed to enhance this information.
What’s included in this beginner’s guide to establishing a small farm?
- The condition of small agricultural businesses in the United States of America.
- What motivates you to establish a small farm?
- What should you do if you’ve never worked on a farm before?
- Step 1: Figure out what your specialty is.
- Step 2: Locate the property
- Step 3: Obtain funding
- Step 4: Create a successful farm plan
- Step 5: Promote your farm and its goods.
- Future agricultural company entrepreneurs may use these resources.
The status of small agricultural businesses in the United States of America:
Small farms are the backbone of the agricultural sector in the United States, with family farms accounting for 97 percent of all farms.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, you must earn less than $350,000 per year to be classified a small farm.
In the United States, there are over two million small farms, which comprise retirement farms, off-farm occupation farms, and farm-occupation farms. You can read more about the USDA’s small farm classification method on their website, but if your operation is between $0 and $350,000, you can be sure it will be classed as a small farm.
What motivates you to establish a small agricultural operation?
Gregory Heilers has worked on two new farms: his father’s 200-acre grass-fed cattle and goat farm in upstate New York, which contains an orchard, a berry patch, and a vegetable garden, as well as sections set aside for future logging; and a seven-acre organically produced market garden in upstate New York.
If you want to be successful, Gregory thinks that you should first consider why you want to establish your own farm. Ask yourself, he adds, “Is it for profit?” Is it a pastime? Is it possible to make a charitable contribution to society and/or animal welfare? What does it mean to be a good steward of the environment?
This is due to the fact that your reason for establishing a farming company will have a direct effect on your approach.
You’ll need to answer these questions, and others like them, as honestly as possible so you can figure out which path to choose. You may discover that what you actually want to do is establish a hobby farm as a side business. If this is the case, keep in mind that hobby farms have distinct tax consequences than commercial farms.
Give this quiz a go if you want to see whether you have what it takes to be a farmer. Taylor Reid, the creator of Beginning Farmers, designed it.
If you’ve never farmed before, here’s where to begin:
If you didn’t grow up on a farm and haven’t worked on one, you may be wondering how you’ll ever make your dream come true. This is a serious issue. The truth may lead you to explore an other career path since farming is difficult, and farming as a business is much more so!
Get some hands-on experience.
Many modern-day farmers, particularly those who operate big commercial farms in the Midwest, have handed down their knowledge and abilities from generation to generation.
For tiny beginning farms, this isn’t the case. These farmers had to learn how to farm by either apprenticing with other farmers, attending farm school, or putting in a lot of self-directed study time (see the resources section at the end of this article).
It’s critical, according to Gregory Heilers, to acquire that hands-on experience. “While some say that you can learn how to be a farmer by watching YouTube videos or reading books (which may be helpful), it’s essential to have some hands-on experience. If you haven’t grown up on a farm, it’s a good idea to team up with someone who understands what they’re doing.”
Gregory Heilers at the wheel of one of the farm’s tractors.
Agricultural occupations are among the most hazardous in the world, so it’s no wonder that Gregory advises learning from individuals who can teach you what you need to know and share tales from their own experiences to help you understand the often unexpected risks of working on a farm.
“Farm work can be extremely dangerous,” Gregory says, “so hearing some scary stories from an old timer (or, at the very least, someone who’s been around a bit) to let you learn from others’ mistakes and knock some sense into you before you find yourself in a potentially fatal situation would be great.” Read this frightening story from Modern Farmer if you need a real-life shock to wake you up.
Apart from the risks, there is a lot to learn about how to establish a farm and farming, not least how to balance the finances and come out ahead! Naturally, as with any job, pick your mentor carefully, since there are both skilled and inept farmers. Use the tools listed at the conclusion of this article to discover methods to get experience before starting your own business.
There’s good news if you’re ready to put in the effort and acquire the essential farming and business skills to become the successful small business farmer you know you can be. It’s possible!
As you move along, you’ll pick up farming skills.
Dr. Cindy Jones is a biochemist and herbalist by training. She and her husband decided to establish a small herb farm in their native state of Colorado around eight years ago.
Cindy had never farmed before, but she was an avid gardener who grew the herbs she required for her beauty care product company in her own big garden.
Even without any prior agricultural expertise, starting a small herb garden felt like a logical next step. “We started into farming with little experience other than gardening and quickly discovered that farming is quite different from gardening. Just by doing, networking, and talking to other farmers, we’ve learnt a lot. During the summer, we have a farmers market every Saturday and have met other farmers that way,” Cindy adds.
Cindy Jones on the farm, with calendula on the left and lavender on the right.
Of course, there are other methods to accelerate your learning, and Cindy is no stranger to devoting time to reading in order to improve her company. “Recently, a couple of books, ‘Woman Powered Farm‘ by Audrey Levatino and ‘The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer‘ by Jeff Carpenter and Melanie Carpenter, have both been helpful.”
Of all, not everything can be taught from a book, including how to establish a farm. Building strong connections and networking may also aid in the acquisition of necessary skills, particularly in the early stages.
“I learnt a lot from other lavender farmers who are eager to share what works and what doesn’t work for them. The United States Lavender Growers Association was formed with the express purpose of assisting growers. I am one of the original members of this organization, and via USLGA, we have numerous chances to share and learn. Each year, we expand our growing space somewhat and get a better understanding of what we’re doing. We’ll get it right one day!” Cindy has no likely already accomplished this, with a flourishing company based on the farm’s products.
Decide if you’re establishing a farm for profit or as a pastime.
Hobby farming may be a better match for you if DIYing your farm learning experience is more appealing to you, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Hobby farming allows you to try things out on a small scale initially.
Plant a much smaller patch of veggies before planting an acre of vegetables, for example, and take the time to solve and learn from issues as they occur. After a time, you’ll have honed the abilities you’ll need to advance. The University of Vermont Extension offers a lot more information about hobby farming vs commercial farming. Read their hobby farming company information sheet if you’re interested in learning more.
Step 1: Figure out what your specialty is.
Even if you know precisely what kind of farm you want to establish, jumping in headfirst is never a smart idea.
Let’s say you decide to establish the passion fruit farm you’ve always wanted in your home state of Florida. What if, as you prepare to harvest your first batch, you discover that all of the passion fruit demand is concentrated in Southern California, rather than Miami, as you had assumed? Even if you do find a way to deliver your products to California at a reasonable price, what if you discover that locally produced passion fruit is all the rage?
You’re out of business in only one yield, all because you didn’t know where your target market was or what their values were. If you had done your homework, you would have discovered that there was no demand for passion fruit in Florida. You would then have had the option of growing another in-demand crop or starting your farm someplace else. You would have saved yourself a lot of effort in any case.
Don’t skimp on market research.
While knowing what you want to develop helps, you’ll still need to figure out who will purchase your goods, where you’ll sell them, and how you’ll do it, all while considering rivals.
Even if you have no prior experience with formal market research, you may do your own investigation by going out and learning more about your consumers, distribution routes, and how to establish a farm.
Learn more about your local market if you’re already interested in a product. While shopping, visit farmers’ markets, meet other local producers, and converse with consumers. Better better, visit farmers’ markets to check if any crops or goods are missing.
Also, check with your local extension. Most elements of gardening and small farming are covered by extension services, which offer localized resources. Oregon State University Extension, for example, offers a “Small Farms” site where you may learn more about crops, grains, soil, animals, and other topics.
The greatest thing about these portals is how localized they are. If you live in Oregon and want to learn more about cultivating blackberries, here is the place to go. Many university extension programs also provide reports tailored to particular agricultural crops. These studies, like this one on the University of Maryland Extension Portal, may contain estimates for production costs and returns.
It is also strongly suggested that you contact your local state department of agriculture as part of your study. They will not only be able to offer you the most up-to-date information on farming in your state, but they will also be able to assist you in determining which licenses you need to apply for and provide you with local information on food safety, pesticides, market access, and much more.
If you’re still having difficulty deciding on a business, check out this article on how to choose a high-value crop, which includes comprehensive guidance on how to assess your resources and personal factors. The Profitable Plants Digest offers some niche-specific guides if you’re prepared to pay a little money.
Also, keep an eye on developing market trends. In recent years, states that have legalized cannabis and hemp cultivation have showed potential for small farmers.
You may read this comprehensive guide if you still want to learn more about formal market research methods.
Step 2: Locate suitable land
After you’ve decided what you’re going to farm, you’ll need to select whether to purchase or lease land.
You will have full control over the usage of land if you purchase it, but you will also take financial risk for the success of your business. One of the main reasons why leasing property is a popular choice for many beginning farmers is because of this. It reduces financial risk and needs less money up front.
If you’re looking for farmland to lease, look for individuals that possess property but aren’t doing anything with it. Many landowners with arable land aren’t farming it, but they might profit from it in the form of tax credits connected with agricultural usage or to increase the value of their property. If you’re interested in learning more about this approach, see Greg Judy’s book “No-Risk Ranching.”
If you are unable to locate a tenant for your property, you have a few alternatives, including incubator farming, rooftop farming, and SPIN farming.
Purchasing your own piece of property
Buying a farm, or farmland, isn’t for everyone who wants to learn how to start a farm, but if you think it’s the best choice for you, there are a few helpful tips to help you get started. According to Ann Larkin Hanse, writing for Mother Earth News, you should limit your search to places with off-farm job opportunities (or markets for your farm products and necessary farm support services).
“Get an old-fashioned paper road map and draw two circles: one with the off-farm job in the center and a radius as long as the distance you are willing to commute, and the other with your customer base in the center and a radius as long as the distance you are willing to travel to market,” Ann suggests. “You should search for land where the circles overlap.”
Elayne Sears’ illustration, courtesy of Mother Earth News
When searching for land, there are a few things to keep in mind.
It’s important familiarizing yourself with the items you’ll need to consider while you explore before you discover the appropriate individuals to assist you purchase land. This will at the very least include:
Consider where you’ll sell your goods or how you’ll access sales channels based on your closeness to markets. You’ll have a lot more trouble getting to market if they’re hundreds of miles away. It’s often easier to start small and expand from there. By now, you should have finished your market research and have a decent understanding of where your target market is situated. Use the graphic above to help you choose the “correct” location to begin your land search.
Water supply: It’s critical to have a consistent supply of water, so be sure to ask plenty of questions and weigh all of your choices. How will you supply water for your company’s plants, animals, and processing needs?
If the property you’re buying has a well, it’s always a good idea to find out what kind of well it is, how deep it is, how much water it produces, and how old it is. A water quality report may also be required.
If the property is linked to a municipal water supply, understanding the cost of the service may also assist you in determining the viability of a certain business venture. If you have to pay per gallon or cubic foot, you may want to think about starting a camel dairy instead of trout farming.
Soil quality: Like water, most farmers need high-quality soil. Request soil test results from the current owner. Soil tests are often accessible via the local extension department, and buyers should demand test reports from vendors.
Soil testing may be a useful tool for predicting production capacity and costs. Based on the test findings, accurate fertilizer requirements estimates for particular crops may be produced, which can be translated into a monetary value while growing. Different soils may have an effect on livestock’s development and health, necessitating supplementing in certain cases.
Facilities & Infrastructure: Depending on the kind of farm you desire, various outbuildings may be required. A vegetable stand or farm store may need a capital outlay. What about your animals? Is there a place on the property where you can keep the animals you want to raise? What about the processing plants? Processing and storage facilities will vary depending on the crops and animal products.
Remember to consider factors that aren’t directly linked to the property. What modes of transportation and roads do you have access to and from the region where you’re farming? While you’ll want a good mix of simple access and closeness to your sales markets, bear in mind that busy highways may harm cattle, soil, and water quality.
Neighbors: Depending on the situation, they may be a tremendous help or a huge impediment. Do they make agricultural products? What are their methods of production? Are they a good match for yours? If you want to establish an organic vegetable farm, but your neighbors use severe pesticides and herbicides on their Christmas tree plantation multiple times a year, it may hurt your chances.
If you have a good connection with your neighbors, running a profitable agricultural business will be much easier. “Meet your neighbors,” adds farm manager Greg Heilers. Help your neighbors if you can. Do your best to be a nice neighbor. Farming used to be a much more communal endeavor. It is much simpler to be a successful farmer if you have even the smallest amount of community support.
“For example, if a calf, cow, or bull escapes and enters a neighbor’s field, do you want them to a.) keep your animal and never come asking if you had an animal escape, b.) sell it off right away and keep the truth from you, c.) knock on your door and ask if you have any cattle, or d.) recognize your cattle right away and drive them back to your place for slaughter?
In a similar vein, be certain that any property you’re considering has excellent fencing. Installing your own will almost certainly be expensive, and if you believe you can get by without one, keep in mind that it may have a negative effect on your relationship with your neighbors. It’s been said that “excellent fences make good neighbors,” so search for a location with them and you won’t have to worry about offending your neighbors if your cattle or goats escape into their lush-looking bean patch.
You may even be able to form a bond with your neighbors that extends beyond consenting to perimeter fence. In the best-case scenario, your farm’s outputs (particularly those that aren’t your main value-added product, such as manure) may be useful inputs on your neighbor’s farm, or vice versa.
Step 3: Obtaining funding
Finding the money to learn how to establish a farm and make your goal into a reality will be a key element of your go-to-market plan if, like most small farmers, you didn’t inherit a farm.
Look into your financing possibilities.
A excellent place to start is Cornell University’s guide on developing and financing your farm company. It will guide you through several funding alternatives, including self-financing. It will not, however, advise you to take out a credit card loan. In fact, this book explicitly advises against doing so, since you’ll be better off reinvesting any earnings back into the farm, and if you don’t pay back the loan quickly enough, your interest rate will skyrocket.
On help you think through your choices, Bplans also has a thorough guide to financing a new company.
However, while applying for financing, keep in mind that you must be reasonable. If you can avoid purchasing costly equipment in the outset, do so. “Starting a small farm is a lot of hard labor, and there is little equipment available to assist farmers on a small scale, so most of the work is done by hand,” Cindy Jones, owner of Colorado Aromatics and a small herb farm in Colorado, explains. This year, we finally bought a small tractor to assist with tilling, ditching, and post hole digging, but some of our early perennial plants, such as lavender, aren’t spaced correctly for a tractor.”
When your company grows, you’ll be able to purchase items that will make your life simpler. Even if you don’t have much cash on hand at this point, a bank will be more willing to lend you money if they perceive you’re operating a successful business.
Make a business strategy.
Writing a business plan will be necessary for anybody seeking a loan. This is no different for a farmer who wants to start his own business. Even if you don’t need a financing, a business plan may help you figure out which of your ideas are viable and keep track of your objectives. On our Business Planning Guide page, you can learn more about creating a business plan. If proving your company ideas is more important to you right now than getting financing, a Lean Plan—or a shorter, more agile planning process—might be the way to go. 
Examine some farm and agricultural business plan examples.
Don’t know where to start with your agricultural business plan? Check out our free farm-specific example business plans, which include a fruit farm business plan, a botanical perennials company plan, a feed and farm supply strategy, a hydroponics business plan, and more!
Obviously, you’ll need to figure out your manufacturing costs before you sit down to create your business plan. You’ll also need to figure out how much your rent or lease will be.
Step 4: Promote and sell your goods.
You may promote your agricultural goods in a variety of ways. While farmers’ markets are the most apparent example, there are a variety of different outlets via which you may promote and sell your goods.
If there is adequate foot traffic in the area, a vegetable stand or farm store on your own land may be a viable alternative.
Another popular approach is to sell your goods via a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), in which customers pay a fixed fee for a “share” of the season’s output in return for regular delivery of the items as they become available. This approach is popular since you are paid at the start of the season, which may help you avoid the infamous cash-flow problems that plague most farm companies.
You may even be able to locate a local growers’ cooperative that enables you to join forces with other farmers to market your goods under one brand.
Finally, although the supermarket era has made retail sales of farm products more challenging, there are still many of small, local health and natural food shops with whom you might collaborate, benefiting from their sometimes fervently devoted client bases.
Begin by creating a marketing strategy. If you’re writing a company plan, you’ll also need to consider your marketing strategy.
Resources for learning:
Use the links below to learn more about how to establish a farm, how to farm, and where you can get some hands-on experience.
Websites
ATTRA: For prospective farmers, Attra offers a fantastic database of internships and apprenticeships. Room and board are usually provided in addition to a modest stipend. The option to search by state is the site’s greatest feature. However, since there are so many internships and apprenticeship programs available throughout the United States, if you’re searching for something more specific, check out this list of websites that provide a range of job possibilities.
Helpx.net: This website lists a number of small farms, rural B&Bs, and other places where you may labor in return for accommodation and board (no pay) and learn the ropes of your chosen profession via informal and formal internships/apprenticeships. This is a worldwide website.
WWOOF is a pay-per-country database of organic farms all around the globe. Again, lodging and board are provided, but there is typically no monetary compensation. WWOOF work is often regarded as a casual or semi-formal internship.
The Cornell Small Farms Program: This is a fantastic place to start if you’re searching for enterprise-specific publications, information sheets, and articles about farming, particularly if your goal is to get as much knowledge as possible.
The 20 Best College Farms: If you’re searching for a college where you can gain hands-on experience while still receiving a contemporary agricultural education, Best College Reviews offers a list of locations to explore. The top 20 schools were chosen based on many factors, including farm size, interaction with the main campus, sustainability, courses offered on the farm, students who use the farm, and community integration.
Additional resources
Publishing houses: While Amazon has a few excellent books on beginning a farm company, you may discover that your specific specialty isn’t covered. If this is the case, there are alternative choices, such as going directly to the websites of publishing houses. Browse Acres U.S.A., Chelsea Green Publishing, and Storey Publishing, according to the Northeast Beginning Farmers Project.
Farming publications: You may also subscribe to a variety of farming magazines. This is a great way to keep up with the newest farming news and learn more about farming methods, hacks, equipment, and best practices. Growing for Market, Acres U.S.A. (which also puts on a fantastic conference each year), Graze, the Stockman Grass Farmer, and the Packer are also popular publications. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so be sure to do your own study, maybe in connection to your own specialty.
Online communities: There are a lot of excellent online communities that can help you get started, or where you can just ask questions and receive answers from others who are either experts or dabbling in the same field as you. Permies has grown to become the biggest permaculture website on the internet, as well as a valuable resource for a wide range of topics, from homesteading to animal husbandry. Despite its location in the United Kingdom, the Farming Forum has a lot of interesting discussions on subjects such as weather, livestock and forage, equipment, and much more. Agriculture.com’s community forum is a somewhat rougher American version of this site. Another excellent forum for anybody interested in commercial farming is Farm Chat.
Farming and food production are both free. Business Plan Examples: This section’s 14 example business plans should offer you a good idea of how to create your own small farm business plan.
Steps to take next
“There is always something else to do,” Gregory Heilers wisely observes. You’ll exhaust yourself attempting to do everything. Take a moment to smell the flowers, err…manure. […] You can do more in six out of seven days than you can in seven days. Create efficient processes by prioritizing, organizing, and prioritizing.”
We’d love to hear from you if you’ve established a farm or are in the process of learning how to start a farm company. What have been your personal experiences? What difficulties have you faced? What has turned out to be a huge success? Are there any essential resources that we’re overlooking? Let us know @Bplans on Twitter!
Note from the editor: This story was first published in 2016. In 2019, it was upgraded.
Farming is a business that anyone can start. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about farming and success. Reference: farming for beginners.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you start a successful farm?
A: This is a difficult question to answer as there are many factors that go into setting up and running a farm. As such, I can only give you my opinion on the matter. Its important to have an understanding of what your livestock requires in terms of food, water, shelter and proper care.
How do I start a farm with no experience?
A: To start a farm you need to learn how to grow crops and raise animals, as well as get the right building materials. You can also ask on our Beat Saber farming discord for help
What is the easiest farm to start?
A: That really depends on your playstyle. Some people prefer to farm the first two levels, while others do not see a point in farming until after they have beaten all of the songs on expert.
Related Tags
- how to start a small farm for profit
- factors to consider when starting a farm
- starting a farm business plan
- starting a small farm business
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