How To Make A Profit On A Small Scale Farm - 5 Things To Consider
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- čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
- Farming is dream shared by many people around the world. However, the idea of farming on a small scale may seem like a low profit enterprise. I’m here to tell you that small scale farming absolutely can be a very profitable enterprise with some very basic considerations.
Check out our website: planeview.farm
• Electric Fencing/Fence...
Video Chapters:
0:00 Small Scale Farming Is Profitable
1:50 Keep Costs Low
5:17 Start Small
8:06 Do What Works For Your Situation
11:14 Adapt To Your Market
14:13 Have A Plan
This is the video about my electric cross fences that I mentioned: czcams.com/video/y-I_fp1WbgM/video.html
Ur audio is ONLY coming in on my left headphone. Not criticizing but a lot of people won’t listen just because of this one thing 👍🏼
@@Salty_TaterTodd thanks for the info. I'll check into it. 👍
@@Salty_TaterTodd I found the issue, unfortunately there's nothing I can do to correct it on this video. It's possible that you could set your device audio settings to Mono on your device to correct it on your end. Thanks again for the heads up. Now I know what to do to prevent this in the future.
We’re only on 3 1/2 acres but the main thing we do is sell blueberries direct to consumer and it’s been profitable for us. The smaller you are, the smarter you have to be in terms of using your space and choosing products to take to market that are sure winners.
Black water pipe on top of the ground? Not in the desert. I know a pig farmer that did that once, and the water got so hot that the pigs died from dehydration because they wouldn't drink the boiling water that was in that pipe in the summer.
There are going to be exceptions to just about everything. Most that I've seen use it have put it in fence rows where it is shaded by grass or whatever else may be growing. The point was that you don't have to spend a lot of money to bury water lines. There's less expensive ways to get the job done.
I just learned that recently and it’s only spring. That’s why it’s good to get out and be with the animals. I noticed my pigs sluggish and the water nipple area was dry I thought it had a clog taking it apart the water was very hot. I use a float drinker now with the hose seems to be working.
At night
I mean... that'd be a very good way to produce clean energy and distill salt water. 😂
Yes, that's why he made it clear in the video that what works for one person with their skills, their land and their environment may not work well for someone else
Im pretty close to an Amish hub in south central PA. No competing w them when you only have a 3000 SQ ft garden. So I've developed a product line of fermented foods, dehydrated veggies , dry tea blends, pre made beverages like teas and kombucha, cayenne tincture, fresh ginger, turmeric and leafy greens!! I also sell sourdough starter pre orders and microgreen subscriptions. Mostly out of one farmers market and some through an online delivery platform that services my area. Kinda have to go the extra step when youre so small and "process" products bc selling raw veggies against Amish (and anyone with more space and experience under their belt) is a tough road. It also works out that fermenting and dehydrating are allowed with a limited food establishment license to turn your kitchen legal. At least here in PA. Gotta think smart, it's all about the product and your efficiency
You said it! You have to figure out where the gaps are in the market and then go about filling them. 👍
That was the most respectful request for a like and subscribe that I’ve ever heard. I got you bub.
Thank you!
Great advice. Thank you
Know your customer. Pretty simple but overlooked by so many.
Great content. This is really the hardest part of small farming as well as all small businesses. Anyone can do manual labor and raise live stock. Getting people to buy your products not so much. That's the hard part.
Thank you!
@@PlaneViewFarm Andrew, I’d like to offer my two cents on a few things you’ve mentioned. This is meant to help you grow, no other intentions from my advice.
Whenever I have seen other channels do collaborations, mention your channel on a bigger channel, visit other farms for tours, etc., it has generally helped the smaller channel grow. I think I was suggested your channel because I watch others who do similar types of farming. Just a Few Acres Farm in upstate New York. Country View Acres in central eastern Illinois. Farmer Tyler Ranch in northern California. Greg Judy’s regenerative farming videos, just north of you in Missouri. Cliff Honnas regenerative ranch in Bryan Texas. Crown Cattle Company just west of Springfield, Mo and also, Farm and Hammer located east of Springfield Mo.
All this is a long way of saying the creator partnerships, mentions in videos from other creators and from you to them will help your channel grow. I’ve heard nearly all of these creators (and many others) talk about some of their peers and even doing collaboration videos to help boost their viewership. It works. Maybe buy hay from one of them near you. Or trade a pig for hay if they don’t raise pork, etc. Find creative ways to help both of your channels grow.
Just a Few Acres Farm (Pete Larson) has Dexter cattle they sell by the cut, used to raise pastured pork for sale, and several types of poultry and poultry products. He does direct marketing in upstate New York of the fresh meat products and eggs at local farmers markets and clients in his area. Some of his experiences could help you find new market opportunities.
Lots of other issues from logistical concerns to packaging, handling livestock, treating abscesses, foot problems, fly control, fencing ideas, water solutions and tons of things you might be able to incorporate.
I hope this helps. Best of luck in your journey.
Thanks for sharing, thank you Ron, from rural life with Ron for bringing me here.
Awesome video! Thank you for talking about this, it helped alot.
Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful.
I love your cowboy hat!😂😂😅
great video !! Perfect timing for me, at least. I used to raise pigs; can't hardly give one away here, now. I kept dairy goats for most of 10 years, and might have broke even, but doubtful. I had neighbors with meat goats making big bucks, but I'm a retired animal care person ( zoo, and race horses ) so I couldn't wrap my head around the raising for meat venue. That's all changed. I now raise barnyard birds for mostly the Asian market; ducks, quail, geese, pheasant, with some chickens and branching into turkey. What prompted this was becoming allergic to red meat. If it's hatched, we can eat it. If it's born, we can't , to sum it up. Most of the birds I raise now I could never afford as meat. Plus, my land is mostly heavy woods that I had logged off twice, but it still won't grow produce or grass due to the amount of shade from neighboring woods. It was great for pigs and goats, though. So, that's another thing to consider, what you want to do BEFORE buying land. I bought this 20 years ago for 700$ an acre and I loved hiking in my woods. Now, my needs have changed, and honestly, this small farm doesn't meet them without lots of creativity.
Great video. Thanks for sharing
Thank you!
We are just about to get into cows and chicken soon!! And im very excited for more videos love your approach and knowledge!!
Thank you very much!
Good video! Adapting to your market rather than following what's trendy is very important. It's easy to find the trendy and think you have to go that route.
You're absolutely correct! For me, it's a fear of falling behind. However, in reality, if I know my market as well as I should, my ability to compete shouldn't be affected by what's trendy from one minute to the next.
Thanks
Thank you for sharing this important info. Strange how a few years ago when I was watching a lot of animal & homesteading vids I didn't come across anything like this. Seems like top channels don't really make this kind of content.
Thank you! I appreciate that more than you know!
Liked your personal experiences in the steps you shared about starting a farming business. :-) It makes me more convinced I have to find a way to write out what I want to build. The main detail was knowing how you will sell your product/s. I would have assumed you could just sell things anywhere. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Good luck! 👍
Trust me its not cheaper to rent! I just dont buy new. Most things with a little bit of elbow grease and no more than 10 hrs of work you are in business. I buy scap price which is usaully about what you would pay for a week of renting. And it dont take me long.
Facts. My dad bought a craftsman mower used for $500 on FB marketplace, needed a battery, new belts, and smth else. So toss on an extra $150-200 and he had a great mower that would've otherwise cost $2-3,000+
Great and educational video. Is amazing see your passion and how your explain the hard work in a small farm. Be a small farmer is my plan and I would like to start with Aberdeen Angus (low-line) or Dexter. By the time I have to quit my job or retire. Congratulation on your achievements.
Thank you very much!
Very informative. I’m starting a farm in Thailand. And your info is very helpful. ,!,,,l
Thank you! Good luck!
SUPER timely video. There's been alot recent attention on this exact topic - profit margin - on various small farm / homestead youtube channels of late. And I understand why. Prices are impacting all of us, producers and consumers.
We have raised chickens off and on, primarily for eggs over the past 20+ years. I'm curious if Plain View Farm (and any others) have you ever done a back of the envelope calculation on what $$$ you have invested - JUST IN FEED ALONE - in maintaining a smallish flock of laying chickens?
We have ~25 layers of various ages, who get 1/2 layer pellets 1/2 cracked corn. My wife and I ballparked $1.25 per dozen - in feed cost alone - being built into our "break even" number. (We estimate) We sell only to family and friends in a strictly mom and pop setup - not trying to derive a big portion of our income or maximize profit.
Would like to do a sanity check & compare this with others, running feed chicken feed costs. Anyone care to discuss / share numbers ?
I could have told you about 8 or 10 years ago. I haven't had more than just a few yard birds for the last few years. We've kept them going with kitchen scraps and a little bit of feed. I'd be interested in hearing if some other folks have numbers on that as well.
I'm a multi generation farmer. I left to weld and now I'm local to home. I purchased some of my grandpas land. Im going with fruit for this property. I can't see me row cropping on a large enough scale to survive.
0:04 1973, eh? I follow "WTF Happened In 1971", and there was a lot of crazy stuff that really started happening right around that era. (When the u.s. gov't went off the gold standard).
Hello, I’m newer to the channel but enjoying the content. What state is your farm located? How difficult was it finding good lowline stock? Are they registered? Any pros or cons for you for registered vs unregistered? The hardest part is cost of land in my area. Hoping to buy some land in the future
I'm located in south central Missouri. My cattle are commercial (unregistered). In fact, there aren't many registered lowlines were I am. I'm not too concerned about registration because I have no plans to sell breeding stock, but to fill a niche in my local butcher beef market. The smaller size is very appealing to many who do not want to buy a 1200-1500lb steer.
Honestly, I just stumbled onto this group of cows and decided to buy them. I was actually planning to get into Miniature Herefords when I found these for sale.
If you're unable to find a piece of land for sale, renting might be something to look into. Sometimes you can work out a deal to repair fences and clean up pastures, remove brush, on a place that's been let go in exchange for use of the land. Good luck to you! Thanks for watching!
I've been in various positions of ag. and animal industry for 23 years. I was a horrible job hopper due to an unknown neurological condition and got stuck in the "paralysis by analysis". Between my diverse jobs, smaller projects I was able to weasel in, and research in between; I was able to do a lot of compare and contrast. I saw what worked and didn't on a lot of different levels. That condition I mentioned earlier, effects some major elements of farming, but I'd love to find a way to clean up and pass on my observations.
I imagine that you have a lot of information to contribute. One of the good things about all of the different social media platforms is that information is much easier to share than it was in the past.
I would advise not to get your hopes up on making a profit and not to invest alot of money into farming. Honestly forget about being a farmer all together because farmers are broke, but salesmen and marketers are successful. I can produce top quality food easy enough and so can everyone else, but i cant sell water to a dying man in the desert so I've not been able to earn a dime by farming. Be a good saleman and maybe you can figure it out
There's a whole lot of truth in what you're saying.
They say the secret to making a million dollars farming is to start with 2 million dollars
Had another farm... What makes a farm, the farmer or the real estate? If a farmer buys a second field then sells the first is it still a farm? If a farmer sells his field and buys another, how is that not a farm? Can a farmer farm only on leased land? I think so.
Great point! I sold out and moved to town when my oldest daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. We kept a few goats and chickens, but we had given up on what we'd started. I have a habit of saying it the way that I do because there was a break in our plans, but I guess we never really stopped being who we are.
How do you know?
🤣 you're the first one to ask!
This has been my problem, starting small. My goal is 3200 acres, it’s difficult for me to start with 5-10 acres and put all the time into the land just for me to sell and then move to something bigger, you know?
I know exactly what you mean!
What makes you think you can do 3200acres if 5-10 seems like a hassle? Maybe do 50 first and see how you cope
@@chalisblur it’s not the hassle of running a farm, it’s putting in the land work and time, knowing I’m going to sell for something bigger. It would just be nice to buy my 3200, and slowly mold it the way I want 1 time instead of 15 times for smaller parcels as I sell and upgrade to bigger
@@butterbar9680 I can agree with that, but you don't have to do it 15 times. Only once, to see if it's a good fit with your lifestyle, then upgrade straight to your ideal size. To your success!
You’ll get out of the small farm what you put in
Ive got a half acre 😅
You might want to look into miniatures 🤔
I think greenhouse growing tree nursery selling cutting will be my route I take with small amount of land in my area
Good video. Put the phone down.
Thank you! The phone has my notes on it.
Step one is having land to do anything on.
You're not wrong. However, there are a lot of farmers renting land.
@@PlaneViewFarm what are the best ways to find rentable land?
@davekohler5957 Honestly, one of the best ways is to drive around looking for places that are overgrown, then pulling in and asking the owner. Sometimes, they'll trade use of the pasture for fence repairs and other upkeep. At least for the first year. You could also post some ads, letting folks know that you're looking. I see that done a lot.
@@PlaneViewFarm Thank you. Those are good ideas
Great vid.
Anyone else having issues with the audio here? I can barely make out anything being said....
I think I may have found a possible issue. You might be able to correct the problem by setting your device to Mono in the audio settings. It seems to be an issue that varies from device to device for some reason. I think I have found a way to prevent it in future videos, so thanks for the heads up.
Get your hearing checked, seriously. I’m half deaf in right ear and he sounded fine to me. Another comment complained sound was only on the left side on their device. You may have hearing loss on your left side.
Wasn't my hearing that was the issue lol. It was something to do with that audio. Never had any audio issues before on YT before that video...odd. At any rate on another device the audio is fine. Now I know that's a thing for future reference.
Read the book 5 acres and a fool