Farming full time?

[KDailey]

I have a question for all of you that farm full time. What exactly does it take? How did you even get started?

I would give absolutely anything to be able to farm full time my whole life (I'm 20 now). I would like to have horses, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits and chickens. I also want a vegetable garden and some fruit trees. Now I know that's a lot of variety but it wouldn't be like 50 cows and 50 goats etc, more like maybe 10 cows, 10 goats/sheep, and the garden size would depend in how well I could keep it up and storage space for the produce.

Please tell me your story of how you got started and what you get out of it as well as what you've had to sacrifice.

 

[SheepGirl]

I don't farm full time, but my neighbor used to. He grew up and lived in South Dakota with a large commercial sheep flock (numbering in the hundreds or thousands depending on the year) and made his income off of that. He uses those same philosophies to manage his "hobby" flock he has now in MD (he's now an appraiser).

But personally, I would definitely look into the economics of it. Figure out how much money you need to make a year to sustain yourself and any of your dependents.

Then, figure out how many animals of each species you want and make some enterprise budgets. They will help you determine how profitable it will be to raise them. And many people don't factor in labor as a cost, but I would if I were you since you want to farm full time. Count your labor because you technically could be using it to do another job that pays MUCH better. (Farming is definitely not a profession where you get rich. In fact, unless you are on a commercial scale, you really just break even or make little profit.)

Also, when you factor in selling prices for animals, make sure they're market prices specific to the time of year you plan on selling them (prices fluctuate month to month...even week to week). If you want to sell breeding stock/pets, don't use those prices because you're not guaranteed to sell them for that purpose or for that price. But if you sell them at auction, you are guaranteed to get that price because there are always buyers.

Feed costs also fluctuate. Contact the local feed store to see what feed prices are and contact a local hay producer to see what their price per ton is. Ask if their prices change. (The "basic" ingredients at our local Southern States changes every week or so, but the 16% textured sheep feed is $22.70/cwt year round). Giving your animals pasture saves purchased feed costs. But sometimes the price of land makes that prohibitive (land here in MD ranges from $12,500 to $25,000 per acre). Feed is usually the #1 cost, so it IS worth it to shop around at different feed stores every time you purchase. Feed prices at TSC are wayyy high when compared to the same feed that is milled locally. (At TSC, whole corn is $10.79 for 50 lbs while at Bowman's Feed, whole corn is $6.50. That's a big difference, especially if you're buying 1 ton (40 bags) of feed.)

There are a lot of variables, but for those who farm full time, it is usually worth it.

Good luck!

 

[kstaven]

Only thing we gave up was the convenience of all night stores and being able to get stuff two blocks from home. The gains more than outweighed it all.

Only thing that gets most people is that 9-5 days are gone and farms work 7 days a week including holidays.

It is a totally different world when you farm for a living and one I wouldn't give up for anything. Lost convenience, regained myself and more control over my destiny and income. Just have to remember you don't have the safety net of a guaranteed weekly paycheck like slaving for some one else.

 

[KDailey]

Thank you do much for your replies.

Right now I'm living on a little over 100 acres. We have several horses but are selling a few, one bottle calf (heifer), some ornamental chickens and a few Dutch rabbits (pet quality).

My goal in life is to be able to support myself and my family with things we've raised ourselves and for the man of the house to work a normal job while I stay home and do most of the farming and raising the kids. I'm not the kind to trust other people with my children so until the kids were old enough to at least be able to tell me what's going on I wouldn't want to leave them with someone else.

My boyfriend also has a portable sawmill and his dad buys pine logs and they saw them for lumber so we can build all the fence and paddocks/pens that we need at very very little cost.

Here's my "wish list" of what I would like to do on my farm

-have a few horses that can be ridden to gather up the animals as well as be able to go to local playdays and compete on.
-have one or two cows strictly for milk, can maybe sell the calves as bottle babies
-have a few cows strictly for raising the calves for meat or sell what we don't need ourselves
-chickens for meat and eggs and Cochins for the fun of it, maybe learn to show them
-goats and/or sheep to raise for meat and milk and possibly 4H or pets depending on the market
-seperate barns/sheds/paddocks for each species
-garden to grow vegetables and possibly some fruits for ourselves and sell the excess
-flower garden for my own enjoyment
-wood shop for boyfriend to make furniture and shelves, etc

I know this is going to take years to build up to what I'm wanting but as far as I'm concerned the profit isn't even part of the equation. My whole goal is to be doing something I love and being able to feed my family on it. The boyfriend (husband to be) would work so we'd have cash for things I cannot raise or produce on my own.

Does anyone have any tips for me on any of my goals? Anything at all that will point me in the right direction

 

[Roll farms]

Tip: Grow your own hay.

We used to have horses. I never had time to ride them, spent hours cleaning up after them / grooming them, and tons of money on feed and supplies. I realized I was never going to get ahead if we kept them, they 'ate' all my profits and a lot of my time.

One good cow can produce 3-4 gallons of milk a day. If you had a cow, you wouldn't necessarily 'need' milk goats.

One good dairy goat can produce 1 g + of milk a day. I would think that would suffice for the average family....a couple of does, with rotating lactations, could supply you.

I decided the poop clean up and increased hay / grain costs weren't worth having a cow, so we sold her. Got the fever again, bought a young heifer....lost the fever...sold her.

Point being, your plans will change. Not every idea will pan out or be as wonderful as you want / hope.... You gotta be flexible.

Another tip: Have what people want to buy...not just what YOU like. I've tried several breeds / types of animals that I liked that didn't sell well, for various reasons....
I once *swore* there would never be a Boer goat on my farm. HAHAHAHHA...now I have a herd of them. Gotta have what people wanna buy, if you're hoping to sell any.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Getting into farming is expensive, you need land, equipment, buildings... We are full time grain farmers and around here, its nearly impossible to start without buying an existing farm or having one passed down from generation to generation.

To be a full time farmer, you cannot have 10 cows, 10 sheep, a few chickens and what not. Thats a hobby farm, you won't make enough to live on. You need to have LOTS of animals to make it worth your time and money.

Some of my family are dairy farmers, they have about 150 milking cows at a time, plus the ones who are in the breeding process. They are a small operation compared to some.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Only thing that gets most people is that 9-5 days are gone and farms work 7 days a week including holidays.

x10

I live on a large grain farm, during the spring when we're seeding and fall when we're harvesting we run around the clock. That means many sleepless nights, and many more when your only getting 1-2 hours. Theres no such thing as being "off" at 5pm, you pretty much live at your workplace.