I am thankful to be starting with land I already own, and equipment we already have since my dad is a commercial farmer. The only input I'm having to put in is seed costs and a lot of physical labor to make the transition to a more regenerative approach.
I’m finding my biggest problem is being risk adverse to the point of not starting. I have some medical/health issues and I’m afraid of crossing the line and doing too much. But then again the handyman I hire for odd jobs around the house is 84yo. His two workers are over 65. I guess as the saying goes: no guts no glory.
I love that I really feel better about getting the homestead I already have the money saved I thought of that took classes just brushing up knowing I’m house hunting this fall
Debt is never a good thing. And please don’t borrow money from friends and family. Do it right: save money, pay for things in cash, and invest, so you can afford to live and give to help others. Dave Ramsey knows what he’s talking about.
Add up everything you think will be needed to start an operation, then double that amount of money. After doubling it more money may be needed. A lesson we learned. Good video and well put together!
We introduced ourselves to the public one year ago meaning this is our second season selling to the public. I introduced myself by selling microgreens as live plants. This season when I came back I had those and more things to offer. It can be difficult to get started. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting your customer to take that step one booth to the left and say hello.
I'm trying to build a small permaculture farm on a few acres. No water, no structures, no infrastructure on site. Im in almost 100k already. The farm will need another 150k to finish. Its not cheap. Its not easy. I work multiple jobs trying to pay for and build it as sensibly as possible. It is an emotional roller coaster. And being from the city I wonder how we ever made it this far knowing so little. Its been an eye opener. Well worth it and no going back now. Love the videos. The advice is good too! Keep it growing.
I'm in the same boat in the mountains. What a crazy idea to start a farm at 7500 ft and hardly any know how. Fortuntate for you tube! Thanks farmer Jesse!
@@dakotahmcginlay6881 The mountains are ideal. Less pests, more ability to capture sunlight, access to thermal energy. The soil compositions are typically much richer in microbe capacity. The insurance on crops is also ideal as theres no risk of flooding or vandalism.
Money is important, but if you don’t have a lot of it (and who does?) you can lean on other forms of capital! My garden is on borrowed land that a friend and his parents are letting me use. They run a small winery and had a bit of acreage sitting idle. I’ve spent years cultivating that relationship and I couldn’t do this without their generosity. I’ve also partnered with another farmer who specializes in just hydroponic lettuce to expand his offerings to the chefs he currently sells to. Point being: don’t try and do this all by yourself. Build a team!
The very first thing that I would say is whether you have the capital or not dig up the area you want to grow and put something there anything that's food! now whether you have the capital or not call the agencies like nrcs and USDA and FSA because the faster you get that ground qualified the faster you can be in line for equipment.
Go to Printful.com, make merchandise, no money up front, great quality, sell on a Shopify website. Can't sell lettuce to the country but you can sell T-shirt, hats, hoodies, etc. No upfront costs.
It's so great to hear you say you hate putting things behind a pay wall. There's value in your content, without queation and you've clearly paid your dues by created a successful farm. We need more people like you sharing their knowledge to inspire more people to become growers. It obviously takes a lot of work and time to creat worthwhile content, but if all your content were behind a pay wall, I wouldn't even know who you are, much less learned from your experience which has reinforced the practices on my farm. Sometimes it feels like some of the more popular farming you tubers ;) are sick of growing and prefer making videos for money...I hope you can find the right balance between open sharing of educational content and revenue generation to keep your powerful message of how to grow healthy food while being the best land stewards we can available to everyone looking for it, not just those who can pay for it. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I always tell people that I have no intention of quitting farming to be a content creator. the content helps to make me a better farmer. But the reality is that up until this point, I have paid to make this content--which is TOTALLY fine, I want it to be free--but in order to produce more I simply can’t afford it. Between the podcast and videos It’s another 30 hour a week job that I don’t really get paid for and for which I still don’t fully possess the right equipment. So I do hope people will kick in to help keep it going and growing. I will continue to put up content for YT (which in full disclosure I make about 5 to 10 bucks per video here on about 3 to 4 hours of work), but if folks want additional specific content I’m only asking for $2 a month. I hate to ask it but I also do think it’s fair. Like farming, creating this content has to be financially sustainable. Right now, unfortunately, it’s just not really and that’s probably why you don’t see more full-time farmers like me making content.
This is an area where I don't think I've ever been particularly strong. We've just concentrated on living cheaply and using off farm income to build up the business. It's been a slow and conservative approach, but very low pressure. Which for my wife and I, who are not great under pressure and pretty risk averse (as much as farmer's can be), this has been a pretty good way to go. It's been okay that the farm business wasn't profitable right out of the gates. One thing that has been helpful is that I had a lot of experience farming before striking out myself and I think that has meant we've been able to be more targeted with our spending. I already had a pretty good idea of what we needed and how to prioritize those investments. But it should be said that my ideas about our crop mix and marketing outlets have changed a lot since we started out. Also my goals are constantly getting bigger. It's a process of getting to know yourself, your land and your markets, even really smart experienced farmer's change coarse. That being said, I think it's good to be more aggressive capitalizing a business, but keep in mind that you need to be constantly building up your markets and your knowledge/experience at a rate that matches your capitalization. The three areas of growth go hand in hand. A super awesome refrigerated truck won't make sense if you aren't serving a lot of markets and if you don't have the skills to reliably fill it. But if your conversion van is keeping you from serving more markets and it's holding you back from selling what you're capable of growing it's probably time. (But run the numbers). So I had skills and experience growing food, but was short on capital and wasn't up on my markets/crop mix (the business stuff). Be honest with yourself about where you're at and this will give you an idea of how aggressive to be. Maybe it's time to go for it or maybe it's time to slow yourself down and better set the stage for the future.
David, this is great. I think this beautifully articulates one of the more complex challenges in starting a farm--that balance between as you said, getting to know yourself, your land, and your markets and developing experience. That’s an important and critical challenge and it takes time. In that way it’s not a bad idea to break capitalization up into bocks--one injection to start then a couple more once a balance is starting to come together and you know what to invest in.
We are running into this as well. The banks won’t touch what we are trying to do. We want to market garden as there isn’t anything in our neighboring towns or anything on the mountain we live on as far as food farms. We have 7 uncleared acres. We are hand clearing ourselves. (Land was bought awhile ago so no debt from that). But, we bought a tractor and a camper for the property until we build structures. (Our first debts) We are trying to do the whole off grid lifestyle and build Earthen Dome structures and run off of solar and rainwater. (We need a well or better rainwater collection if we are going to do any type of market gardening for sure.) I have been racking my brain with where to start as far as grants or loans and anyone who can help. Thank you so much for this video, 🙏🏽❤️
Thank you so much for making this video specifically and also your entire channel. You inspired me not to give up on our dream of starting a farm and led me to actually find some amazing resources for my state. The topics you discuss and way you discuss them makes them easy for me to watchful, listen to and follow. Cue my ADHD brain absolutely obsessing until our dreams become reality. You sir are a godsend.
I’m in Georgia and have been searching for land capita for 4 years now. Have been saving but we know life is hard and I live in Atlanta Ga so lol it’s pricy. I been hesitant to go to banks however I’m considering it more now at this point. I would love to be a farm hand to save and help some grow a business who knows could partner or maybe take over that farm one day. But not a lot of people are open to helping. Some see just green. Any advice would be helpful
I'm looking to move from South Florida back up to Tennessee. My family is from the area. I will be starting a vegetable farm and thank you very much for all this amazing information. I'm hoping that I too can someday be successful like your farm and have followers guide me will be great. Again, thank you for the information.
But then again I'm not above being a little bit loud to get some customers attention. hey everybody check it out, I've got this, I've got this , I've got this. I'm the only seller here that has this! come try it you're going to like it! and come see me I got a good deal to! Sometimes when you're new to a market you have to call your own table!
Great video, keep it up! We bought an old farm last year. Luckily it was a capital upgrade - our house in town sold for more than what the farm cost. But we live in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful though!
While I found most of the finance suggestions to be a train wreck, a 501c3 would open up side business from private foundations. This is so helpful following success in Kentucky, a state I was avoiding. It`s doubly gratifying, listening to a pleasant host. eric. c
I should have made this video earlier! Don’t fret, even if you have no capital left you do still have loads of options. It’s really hard not to want to start with the land, but that devours so much of your capital then forces you to start immediately turning a profit to pay for said land. You got this, though!
No-Till Growers like you said....I’m not quiting my day job... and so I’m still jumping in with plantings and whatever I can start with and I’ll keep my job as long as I can and then work when I get home- I accept that I’m just so happy to start!!
Awesome! That’s the way to do it. Gotta get have that cashflow and then hopefully once the farm starts to produce you can back off the job and go full time. Every farm has it’s origin story, and almost never is it “Oh it was super easy!”. Best of luck, appreciate you sharing your situation
@@notillgrowers I inherited my place. Work to pay mortgage, but local market could use more growers. Lots of local farmer support makes it more enjoyable.
Enjoy your videos. I'm on the "back side" of farming, just turned 69 and do it for fun, not profit. But I am toying with the idea of operating a sort of farm or market gardening school for those who want to learn but have commitments that prevent them from interning or woofing. Sort of like graduate school, one weekend/month throughout a year, interspersing the time in between with videos, live chats, etc. In all of your spare time, I'd welcome your thoughts.
@@2Ryled World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It's a great thing, but you have to be able to go and live on a farm somewhere - not feasible if you can't just pick up and go away for a year.
How strange things are ....I'm 64 retired and am just starting a no till farm. I have more than enough capital to purchase any and every thing needed for many years to come BUT I am very time poor in the how much longer I draw breath way...It would be great if what one saves over a life time was available when first starting out ...oh well such is life.
Oh man. I (sorta) complain about this all the time--life should be lived in reverse. I could really use what I know and have now for when I was younger. Such is the importance of community, perhaps--having more folks around to pass down knowledge, lend a hand, and possibly chip in on finances.
I'm 61 and retired just starting out also. I could buy all the toys also but part of the fun is challenging yourself to make it on just the farm profits. I owned the land, but put 5,000.00 (put myself in the hole right away) in the well and setting hydrants by my 50x50 garden plots (5), so not bigger than I can handle yet lol! I had a riot selling vegetables for the first time this summer, and thats all I'm really after anyhow. I'm still in the hole without a green house or real wash station if a hose and 5 gallon bucket dont count. But, I don't ever want to catch myself on a couch watching Dr. Phill or I'll figure out the least painful way to end it all. Do what you can, enjoy the gardening! I'm diving in head first!
Good advice - you’re right, this gear costs more than you think. If YOU’RE still feeling underdone all these years after starting, I think I’ll consider this issue more seriously based on your advice here. Another 6 months or a year’s worth of cash could make a big difference. Very good video.
Thank you. And yes. In some ways i wish we had planned to get three bursts of capital. An initial start up. A three year boost for leaning up followed a five year boost for refining.
On the issue of debt, what changed my calvinist, hillbilly mind about it was playing city building simulators. Any time a loan became available while cash on hand was low, revenue was high, and growth was possible, I would be a fool not to take the loan. The amount of interest payed would be miniscule compared to the income from growth. I've been doing it in real life as well. Every spring, I'm coming out of the lean winter months of low hours at work and higher bills. Cash on hand is low, but income is rising and the growing season is starting. I have been using a credit card to buy gardening supplies at the time I need them, and I find my vegetable harvests greatly outweigh the amount of interest I pay on that bill.
I was able to secure a $10,000 line of credit with a local credit union for my first year. The interest rate on the line of credit is based on the federal reserve rate and stays relatively low. Local credit unions are a lot more willing to work with small businesses of any kind, it seems. As this was my first season, I did feel like 10,000 was not quite enough. This season was a bust with the crazy wet spring and not being able to get a tractor into the field till June, then said tractor breaking down for almost two months. But 10,000 was enough to lay a good base for next season and I was able to establish growing areas this season and won't need a tractor for the established growing areas next season. From my first full season on my own, I think you need to be realistic with your goals and money and understand your own context is different than others. Don't compare your progress to other's but look at other farms as inspiration to what you strive to be. You're a huge inspiration Farmer Jesse. I appreciate all that you do. Keep it up
Thank you Loved this video!! Really made us take a step back and to think before we leap. For us to really think through the steps so we're successfu. Again Thank You so much.
@@paultomlinson4783 Thank you... I shall look that up. Never heard of it prior, or did I.... Is that North Carolina or other states or federal service?
@@paultomlinson4783 Oh... same as USDA Soil and Water....... They do cost sharing also for agriculture programs of your farm that meet requirements and may pay up to half the cost of the land purchase. Same with NC State Forestry Svc for trees (Lob-lolly pine, usually)
Question: What if I am looking to purchase 40 acres of new land in order to plant new almonds, grapes or any kind of crop. Does the farmer only begin payments once the 1st crop comes in a couple years down the road OR do payments begin right away and right out of the gate?
we had to eliminate our debt to make this lifestyle possible. But I also know that my reluctance to take on new debt has made the process take longer because I don't always have a Consolidated set of resources to pull from when a major project arrives!
You could apply for an rfu grant though I was able to get paid $5k earlier this week. Which I used to purchase certain farming implements for my farm in tx
I'm trying to find a grant writer to fund a microgreen farm. I already have 17 acres l need to come up with the funds to buy greenhouses and lighting and grow tray. The return on microgreen farms are very good. Anyone know of any grant writers l could get in touch with.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Skill sets are deffinate need for start up. Knowing your market & re-invest profits is key. Its tough at Times, but doable. Fall is a good time to purchase tools & get infastructure set up & spend Winer months on education.
You all are making it sound very discouraging. 😢 My husband is working full-time so we are using part of his income to buy things bit by bit this year. We just applied for the high tunnel initiative so hopefully next year we will have a hoop house. I have no plans to buy a BCS or other power equipment right now. Wheelbarrow and hand tools are working fine just takes longer. That's the way they did it in the good old days! Jesse what would you do different if you had had the extra capital when starting?
Great question (and sorry if it came off discouraging--going more for realistic but optimistic)! For me, invest in season extension, wash pack, education, and plant propagation. Building the farm up little by little was very tough for us and on us because we needed that farm to make more revenue but needed those elements to help generate said revenue. Every farm and situation will be different
Heidi85 where there is a will there is a way! There are many ways to do things and if you commit your work to the Lord you will be blessed and succeed.! God Bless!
I am so glad to have found your video. Thanks for all of the advice you're sharing from your experiences. We are looking to start a farm, growing ancient grains, einkorn in particular. Were wanting to homestead in general for our family but having this as a business as well. Were actually looking at buying land in Eastern KY. I was pleasantly suprised when I heard you say you're in KY also. Can you please share all the places we should try to get ag funding and or loans. We are brand new to farming and have some equipment that was given to us, tillers and such. We've been looking at land and trying to figure out the best way to go about beginning. We live in Mississippi right now and are hoping to transfer after April to KY. Could you please help point us in the right direction. What would you do if you were us? P.S. my husband works 40-50 hours a week and will be continuing to work while me and my boys do majority if the work on the farm during the day. He plans to keep working until we have enough saved up for him to farm full time.
Great topic. This is basically where I'm at. Got about 20k but it's not looking like it's enough. I'm starting a poultry enterprise so it's more expensive upfront. Always appreciate your stuff guys!
Just found you and love the you are in KY. I'm in Frankfort and trying to do something similar to what it looks like you are doing. Do you or anyone you know do tours or workshops in our area. Trying to increase my odds of success by learning as much as I can from knowledgeable people dealing with similar issues. Climate, growing seasons, market, funding etc. Thanks in advance for considering my comment. BTW, really good video!!!
Hi Phil, I’m wanting to do the same as you. Mostly to feed my family and maybe a side hassle as well. I live outside of Berea and live on an acre of land. I’m retired and am looking for something to fill my time and make some $$. I’ve had a garden for a few years and need to work on building up the soil. I was thinking of doing a farmers market but don’t like all the formality of one. Instead I’m going to set up a roadside stand and sell part time. I’ve watched a few videos of people doing this and having to expand to cover the demand after only a few years. Plus it will give me time to learn and grow as I build my business and skills. Hope you’re doing well and are succeeding. Blessings to you and your business.
The other great trap in starting a business is to become the employee of your employees. You work all day then do employment paperwork in the evening. You take on marginal jobs to have work to keep your people busy. That sort of thing. It's of great value staying sub-employees small until you have things up and running.
Yeah it's unfortunate that I was stupid and thought I new it all when I was younger (49yrs now). Well long story short I fell into a job that paid me a 1099. In the USA that means I was responsible for paying my own taxes. Like that was going to happen with no guidance. My parents were struggling with addiction, and I picked up there habits. Now that I've been clean for a few 24hrs., and want to do things for my family like buy a farm or land. It's impossible! Can't put it in the wife's name because she doesn't make the money like that. I feel like I'm to old to pay back all those taxes, and also realize because of having no direction in my youth my future is limited to a rental
Hello. I am from new York City and want to be vegetables farmers any body can help me how I get land leases with in 70miles from New York City. Also advise me what time is the best time to sing a lease if I want to Grow next year 2021.
Very important points. I'm disabled and can't afford 7-day weeks. And losing my savings due to handing the initial medical costs makes it worse. I am in love with gardening and plant/microbe interaction science but love doesn't make a business or feed the cat :)
This must be the most helpful comments section on youtube. I was lucky to start somewhere that already had infrastructure, ie. raised beds and drip irrigation. I just bought soil and seed and started. About 700 bucks worth of soil and seed. Now that there's problems with politics at that site, i want to move and can see how the money adds up. I can build almost any tools i need, but some things like water, soil, seed, row covers and irrigation just cant be pulled out of thin air. I'm quite resourceful, but it's becoming obvious, to do it properly and make a strong start you need some dollars.
I don't know what the refrigeration and wash stations cost, but i had a well drilled about 95 foot, and then I bought the pump, pressure tank, 5 hydrants, and around 600 ft of 1 1 1/4 black water plastic pipe. I trenched and set everything myself and it still ran around 5 grand. Also, while I had the trenches open I ran a 110v line from my pump house to the garden area. Really glad I put power out there (about 225 ft out) for radio, electric fence (deer)... whatever. I like a radio when I'm harvesting. Oh yeah, i knew nothing about wells, but UA-cam is the answer. Too easy.
Great question, but really hard to answer in text. I may do a more elaborate video on this one because what we did start with versus what we should have started with are very different to me now.
work boots have straps on the ankles so you can pull them up. Boot strapping it means your putting on your work boots and paying with time and buckets of sweat instead of the initial capital you would need for every convenient tool and set up.
call your local ag extension office. They'll get you in touch with NRCS and get you started. You get evaluated, and ranked and they fill orders based on that. If you are a veteran you get preference.
Oh, Kentucky. One of the highest taxed states in the union. I know because I am a hillbilly. Good luck. Tell people about the taxes. Everything is taxed. House, auto's, farm equipment (everything), everything is taxed in KY.
Is there any other option than "Being undercapitalized in the beginning" ... I have dozens of friends in this business and have met hundreds more over the years. I can't think of one, off hand, who was properly funded or didn't suffer from "not enough cash" ... except those who inherited from previous generation (or a looooong line of previous generations (one guy I know can trace his family land back to before we were even an independent country)). Found out just yesterday a family nearby hung it up and gave up - back to full time employment with someone else after 4 or 5 years of tryin' to make it a go. BTW - my opinion: $10K-15K is still seriously undercapitalize. Aim for 3 times that if you can. The more you can get up front, the less pain you will feel in the subsequent years.
Indeed, no farm starts well-funded enough but that seriously has to change for farmers and farms to succeed. Farms have to stop starting in reverse where start thinking about start-up capital ten years in. And I agree. 10 to 15k is low, but if you go small, low- or no-till, and have some covered space to put a cooler and wash veg, I think you can make a pretty good go of it for that. Find another 15K in season three when your market is established (through the FSA/etc..) and you’re good to go!
I’m taking the complete opposite approach to starting my small farm. Perhaps I’m too conservative, but I want to be debt free with a huge nest egg before I even buy land. The downside to my approach is...time. I’ll be older when/if I start. That means less energy, and less time to watch things like an orchard reach maturity. Any tips on being OVER-capitalized, and not taking enough risk when young and able?
This video is like motivational fuel.
I am thankful to be starting with land I already own, and equipment we already have since my dad is a commercial farmer. The only input I'm having to put in is seed costs and a lot of physical labor to make the transition to a more regenerative approach.
I’m finding my biggest problem is being risk adverse to the point of not starting. I have some medical/health issues and I’m afraid of crossing the line and doing too much. But then again the handyman I hire for odd jobs around the house is 84yo. His two workers are over 65. I guess as the saying goes: no guts no glory.
we bought Kentuky select tabbacca and Marborol pappers and made maroborol blacks
I love that I really feel better about getting the homestead I already have the money saved I thought of that took classes just brushing up knowing I’m house hunting this fall
Debt is never a good thing. And please don’t borrow money from friends and family. Do it right: save money, pay for things in cash, and invest, so you can afford to live and give to help others. Dave Ramsey knows what he’s talking about.
Add up everything you think will be needed to start an operation, then double that amount of money. After doubling it more money may be needed. A lesson we learned. Good video and well put together!
We introduced ourselves to the public one year ago meaning this is our second season selling to the public. I introduced myself by selling microgreens as live plants. This season when I came back I had those and more things to offer. It can be difficult to get started. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting your customer to take that step one booth to the left and say hello.
I'm trying to build a small permaculture farm on a few acres. No water, no structures, no infrastructure on site. Im in almost 100k already. The farm will need another 150k to finish. Its not cheap. Its not easy. I work multiple jobs trying to pay for and build it as sensibly as possible. It is an emotional roller coaster. And being from the city I wonder how we ever made it this far knowing so little. Its been an eye opener. Well worth it and no going back now. Love the videos. The advice is good too! Keep it growing.
I'm in the same boat in the mountains. What a crazy idea to start a farm at 7500 ft and hardly any know how. Fortuntate for you tube! Thanks farmer Jesse!
@@dakotahmcginlay6881 The mountains are ideal. Less pests, more ability to capture sunlight, access to thermal energy. The soil compositions are typically much richer in microbe capacity. The insurance on crops is also ideal as theres no risk of flooding or vandalism.
Money is important, but if you don’t have a lot of it (and who does?) you can lean on other forms of capital! My garden is on borrowed land that a friend and his parents are letting me use. They run a small winery and had a bit of acreage sitting idle. I’ve spent years cultivating that relationship and I couldn’t do this without their generosity. I’ve also partnered with another farmer who specializes in just hydroponic lettuce to expand his offerings to the chefs he currently sells to. Point being: don’t try and do this all by yourself. Build a team!
I was going to ask the govment for 300,000.00
Thank you for your work! we need more farmers!
The very first thing that I would say is whether you have the capital or not dig up the area you want to grow and put something there anything that's food! now whether you have the capital or not call the agencies like nrcs and USDA and FSA because the faster you get that ground qualified the faster you can be in line for equipment.
Go to Printful.com, make merchandise, no money up front, great quality, sell on a Shopify website. Can't sell lettuce to the country but you can sell T-shirt, hats, hoodies, etc. No upfront costs.
It's so great to hear you say you hate putting things behind a pay wall. There's value in your content, without queation and you've clearly paid your dues by created a successful farm. We need more people like you sharing their knowledge to inspire more people to become growers. It obviously takes a lot of work and time to creat worthwhile content, but if all your content were behind a pay wall, I wouldn't even know who you are, much less learned from your experience which has reinforced the practices on my farm. Sometimes it feels like some of the more popular farming you tubers ;) are sick of growing and prefer making videos for money...I hope you can find the right balance between open sharing of educational content and revenue generation to keep your powerful message of how to grow healthy food while being the best land stewards we can available to everyone looking for it, not just those who can pay for it. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I always tell people that I have no intention of quitting farming to be a content creator. the content helps to make me a better farmer. But the reality is that up until this point, I have paid to make this content--which is TOTALLY fine, I want it to be free--but in order to produce more I simply can’t afford it. Between the podcast and videos It’s another 30 hour a week job that I don’t really get paid for and for which I still don’t fully possess the right equipment. So I do hope people will kick in to help keep it going and growing. I will continue to put up content for YT (which in full disclosure I make about 5 to 10 bucks per video here on about 3 to 4 hours of work), but if folks want additional specific content I’m only asking for $2 a month. I hate to ask it but I also do think it’s fair. Like farming, creating this content has to be financially sustainable. Right now, unfortunately, it’s just not really and that’s probably why you don’t see more full-time farmers like me making content.
The title here is misleading ! Its not how you find the money to start farming. Its about how you " save " the money to start farming !
104 wise lady
This is an area where I don't think I've ever been particularly strong. We've just concentrated on living cheaply and using off farm income to build up the business. It's been a slow and conservative approach, but very low pressure. Which for my wife and I, who are not great under pressure and pretty risk averse (as much as farmer's can be), this has been a pretty good way to go. It's been okay that the farm business wasn't profitable right out of the gates. One thing that has been helpful is that I had a lot of experience farming before striking out myself and I think that has meant we've been able to be more targeted with our spending. I already had a pretty good idea of what we needed and how to prioritize those investments. But it should be said that my ideas about our crop mix and marketing outlets have changed a lot since we started out. Also my goals are constantly getting bigger. It's a process of getting to know yourself, your land and your markets, even really smart experienced farmer's change coarse. That being said, I think it's good to be more aggressive capitalizing a business, but keep in mind that you need to be constantly building up your markets and your knowledge/experience at a rate that matches your capitalization. The three areas of growth go hand in hand. A super awesome refrigerated truck won't make sense if you aren't serving a lot of markets and if you don't have the skills to reliably fill it. But if your conversion van is keeping you from serving more markets and it's holding you back from selling what you're capable of growing it's probably time. (But run the numbers). So I had skills and experience growing food, but was short on capital and wasn't up on my markets/crop mix (the business stuff). Be honest with yourself about where you're at and this will give you an idea of how aggressive to be. Maybe it's time to go for it or maybe it's time to slow yourself down and better set the stage for the future.
David, this is great. I think this beautifully articulates one of the more complex challenges in starting a farm--that balance between as you said, getting to know yourself, your land, and your markets and developing experience. That’s an important and critical challenge and it takes time. In that way it’s not a bad idea to break capitalization up into bocks--one injection to start then a couple more once a balance is starting to come together and you know what to invest in.
@@notillgrowers you got it over the line. Think of it in blocks makes the idea much more clear.
We are running into this as well. The banks won’t touch what we are trying to do. We want to market garden as there isn’t anything in our neighboring towns or anything on the mountain we live on as far as food farms. We have 7 uncleared acres. We are hand clearing ourselves. (Land was bought awhile ago so no debt from that). But, we bought a tractor and a camper for the property until we build structures. (Our first debts) We are trying to do the whole off grid lifestyle and build Earthen Dome structures and run off of solar and rainwater. (We need a well or better rainwater collection if we are going to do any type of market gardening for sure.)
I have been racking my brain with where to start as far as grants or loans and anyone who can help. Thank you so much for this video, 🙏🏽❤️
I’m in southeast Tenn by the way
Thank you so much for making this video specifically and also your entire channel. You inspired me not to give up on our dream of starting a farm and led me to actually find some amazing resources for my state. The topics you discuss and way you discuss them makes them easy for me to watchful, listen to and follow. Cue my ADHD brain absolutely obsessing until our dreams become reality. You sir are a godsend.
I’m in Georgia and have been searching for land capita for 4 years now. Have been saving but we know life is hard and I live in Atlanta Ga so lol it’s pricy. I been hesitant to go to banks however I’m considering it more now at this point. I would love to be a farm hand to save and help some grow a business who knows could partner or maybe take over that farm one day. But not a lot of people are open to helping. Some see just green. Any advice would be helpful
I'm looking to move from South Florida back up to Tennessee. My family is from the area. I will be starting a vegetable farm and thank you very much for all this amazing information. I'm hoping that I too can someday be successful like your farm and have followers guide me will be great. Again, thank you for the information.
But then again I'm not above being a little bit loud to get some customers attention. hey everybody check it out, I've got this, I've got this , I've got this. I'm the only seller here that has this! come try it you're going to like it! and come see me I got a good deal to! Sometimes when you're new to a market you have to call your own table!
Great video, keep it up! We bought an old farm last year. Luckily it was a capital upgrade - our house in town sold for more than what the farm cost. But we live in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful though!
Can you do a video about what the 10 or 15k is for please
Im about to start one
While I found most of the finance suggestions to be a train wreck, a 501c3 would open up side business from private foundations. This is so helpful following success in Kentucky, a state I was avoiding. It`s doubly gratifying, listening to a pleasant host. eric. c
I literally just bought my almost 11 acre farm. I have nothing. No equipment, no greenhouses, no infrastructure, and I need a lot of it cleared.
I should have made this video earlier! Don’t fret, even if you have no capital left you do still have loads of options. It’s really hard not to want to start with the land, but that devours so much of your capital then forces you to start immediately turning a profit to pay for said land. You got this, though!
No-Till Growers like you said....I’m not quiting my day job... and so I’m still jumping in with plantings and whatever I can start with and I’ll keep my job as long as I can and then work when I get home- I accept that I’m just so happy to start!!
Awesome! That’s the way to do it. Gotta get have that cashflow and then hopefully once the farm starts to produce you can back off the job and go full time. Every farm has it’s origin story, and almost never is it “Oh it was super easy!”.
Best of luck, appreciate you sharing your situation
@@notillgrowers I inherited my place. Work to pay mortgage, but local market could use more growers. Lots of local farmer support makes it more enjoyable.
do some silvopasture.
Enjoy your videos. I'm on the "back side" of farming, just turned 69 and do it for fun, not profit. But I am toying with the idea of operating a sort of farm or market gardening school for those who want to learn but have commitments that prevent them from interning or woofing. Sort of like graduate school, one weekend/month throughout a year, interspersing the time in between with videos, live chats, etc. In all of your spare time, I'd welcome your thoughts.
What is woof-ing?
@@2Ryled World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It's a great thing, but you have to be able to go and live on a farm somewhere - not feasible if you can't just pick up and go away for a year.
I like this idea!
no loans looking for pell grants
How strange things are ....I'm 64 retired and am just starting a no till farm. I have more than enough capital to purchase any and every thing needed for many years to come BUT I am very time poor in the how much longer I draw breath way...It would be great if what one saves over a life time was available when first starting out ...oh well such is life.
Oh man. I (sorta) complain about this all the time--life should be lived in reverse. I could really use what I know and have now for when I was younger. Such is the importance of community, perhaps--having more folks around to pass down knowledge, lend a hand, and possibly chip in on finances.
I'm 61 and retired just starting out also. I could buy all the toys also but part of the fun is challenging yourself to make it on just the farm profits. I owned the land, but put 5,000.00 (put myself in the hole right away) in the well and setting hydrants by my 50x50 garden plots (5), so not bigger than I can handle yet lol! I had a riot selling vegetables for the first time this summer, and thats all I'm really after anyhow. I'm still in the hole without a green house or real wash station if a hose and 5 gallon bucket dont count. But, I don't ever want to catch myself on a couch watching Dr. Phill or I'll figure out the least painful way to end it all. Do what you can, enjoy the gardening! I'm diving in head first!
Good advice - you’re right, this gear costs more than you think. If YOU’RE still feeling underdone all these years after starting, I think I’ll consider this issue more seriously based on your advice here. Another 6 months or a year’s worth of cash could make a big difference. Very good video.
Thank you. And yes. In some ways i wish we had planned to get three bursts of capital. An initial start up. A three year boost for leaning up followed a five year boost for refining.
On the issue of debt, what changed my calvinist, hillbilly mind about it was playing city building simulators. Any time a loan became available while cash on hand was low, revenue was high, and growth was possible, I would be a fool not to take the loan. The amount of interest payed would be miniscule compared to the income from growth.
I've been doing it in real life as well. Every spring, I'm coming out of the lean winter months of low hours at work and higher bills. Cash on hand is low, but income is rising and the growing season is starting. I have been using a credit card to buy gardening supplies at the time I need them, and I find my vegetable harvests greatly outweigh the amount of interest I pay on that bill.
I was able to secure a $10,000 line of credit with a local credit union for my first year. The interest rate on the line of credit is based on the federal reserve rate and stays relatively low. Local credit unions are a lot more willing to work with small businesses of any kind, it seems. As this was my first season, I did feel like 10,000 was not quite enough. This season was a bust with the crazy wet spring and not being able to get a tractor into the field till June, then said tractor breaking down for almost two months. But 10,000 was enough to lay a good base for next season and I was able to establish growing areas this season and won't need a tractor for the established growing areas next season. From my first full season on my own, I think you need to be realistic with your goals and money and understand your own context is different than others. Don't compare your progress to other's but look at other farms as inspiration to what you strive to be.
You're a huge inspiration Farmer Jesse. I appreciate all that you do. Keep it up
I work in agriculture in exchange for food only, is there any help? 😢😢😭
Hi Brennan- I have a question? What did you present to your credit union and/or what did you request of them in order to secure your line of credit?
Thank you Loved this video!! Really made us take a step back and to think before we leap. For us to really think through the steps so we're successfu. Again Thank You so much.
Very interesting, I’m looking forward to more of these videos.
they said farmers kill others crop
I did a grant through NRCS for a certain dollar amount towards a high tunnel. It was the best thing I have done in a long time.
YouSurf 2 Natural Recourses Conservation Service
@@paultomlinson4783 Thank you... I shall look that up. Never heard of it prior, or did I.... Is that North Carolina or other states or federal service?
@@paultomlinson4783 Oh... same as USDA Soil and Water.......
They do cost sharing also for agriculture programs of your farm that meet requirements and may pay up to half the cost of the land purchase. Same with NC State Forestry Svc for trees (Lob-lolly pine, usually)
All the requirements for the high tunnel that ur suppose to not do is exactly what I want a green house for. Like aquaponics, raised beds, etc
Question: What if I am looking to purchase 40 acres of new land in order to plant new almonds, grapes or any kind of crop.
Does the farmer only begin payments once the 1st crop comes in a couple years down the road OR do payments begin right away and right out of the gate?
we had to eliminate our debt to make this lifestyle possible. But I also know that my reluctance to take on new debt has made the process take longer because I don't always have a Consolidated set of resources to pull from when a major project arrives!
Looking to buy a farm and looking for a second job to help save for it. Good advice
You could apply for an rfu grant though I was able to get paid $5k earlier this week. Which I used to purchase certain farming implements for my farm in tx
What is the best podcasts to listen to about market gardening?
I'm trying to find a grant writer to fund a microgreen farm. I already have 17 acres l need to come up with the funds to buy greenhouses and lighting and grow tray. The return on microgreen farms are very good. Anyone know of any grant writers l could get in touch with.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Skill sets are deffinate need for start up. Knowing your market & re-invest profits is key. Its tough at Times, but doable. Fall is a good time to purchase tools & get infastructure set up & spend Winer months on education.
You all are making it sound very discouraging. 😢 My husband is working full-time so we are using part of his income to buy things bit by bit this year. We just applied for the high tunnel initiative so hopefully next year we will have a hoop house. I have no plans to buy a BCS or other power equipment right now. Wheelbarrow and hand tools are working fine just takes longer. That's the way they did it in the good old days! Jesse what would you do different if you had had the extra capital when starting?
Great question (and sorry if it came off discouraging--going more for realistic but optimistic)! For me, invest in season extension, wash pack, education, and plant propagation. Building the farm up little by little was very tough for us and on us because we needed that farm to make more revenue but needed those elements to help generate said revenue. Every farm and situation will be different
Heidi85 where there is a will there is a way! There are many ways to do things and if you commit your work to the Lord you will be blessed and succeed.! God Bless!
Bought the land first to have someplace to LIVE. LOL
I am so glad to have found your video. Thanks for all of the advice you're sharing from your experiences. We are looking to start a farm, growing ancient grains, einkorn in particular. Were wanting to homestead in general for our family but having this as a business as well. Were actually looking at buying land in Eastern KY.
I was pleasantly suprised when I heard you say you're in KY also. Can you please share all the places we should try to get ag funding and or loans. We are brand new to farming and have some equipment that was given to us, tillers and such. We've been looking at land and trying to figure out the best way to go about beginning. We live in Mississippi right now and are hoping to transfer after April to KY. Could you please help point us in the right direction. What would you do if you were us?
P.S. my husband works 40-50 hours a week and will be continuing to work while me and my boys do majority if the work on the farm during the day.
He plans to keep working until we have enough saved up for him to farm full time.
Video idea: first year selling, how to make sure you have enough for market or csa shares before you commit to doing it
Great topic. This is basically where I'm at. Got about 20k but it's not looking like it's enough. I'm starting a poultry enterprise so it's more expensive upfront. Always appreciate your stuff guys!
I work in agriculture in exchange for food only, is there any help?
Just found you and love the you are in KY. I'm in Frankfort and trying to do something similar to what it looks like you are doing.
Do you or anyone you know do tours or workshops in our area. Trying to increase my odds of success by learning as much as I can from knowledgeable people dealing with similar issues. Climate, growing seasons, market, funding etc.
Thanks in advance for considering my comment.
BTW, really good video!!!
Hi Phil, I’m wanting to do the same as you. Mostly to feed my family and maybe a side hassle as well. I live outside of Berea and live on an acre of land. I’m retired and am looking for something to fill my time and make some $$. I’ve had a garden for a few years and need to work on building up the soil. I was thinking of doing a farmers market but don’t like all the formality of one. Instead I’m going to set up a roadside stand and sell part time. I’ve watched a few videos of people doing this and having to expand to cover the demand after only a few years. Plus it will give me time to learn and grow as I build my business and skills.
Hope you’re doing well and are succeeding. Blessings to you and your business.
@@billshepherd5090 that is so cool. Good luck!!!
The other great trap in starting a business is to become the employee of your employees. You work all day then do employment paperwork in the evening. You take on marginal jobs to have work to keep your people busy. That sort of thing. It's of great value staying sub-employees small until you have things up and running.
Yeah it's unfortunate that I was stupid and thought I new it all when I was younger (49yrs now). Well long story short I fell into a job that paid me a 1099. In the USA that means I was responsible for paying my own taxes. Like that was going to happen with no guidance. My parents were struggling with addiction, and I picked up there habits. Now that I've been clean for a few 24hrs., and want to do things for my family like buy a farm or land. It's impossible! Can't put it in the wife's name because she doesn't make the money like that. I feel like I'm to old to pay back all those taxes, and also realize because of having no direction in my youth my future is limited to a rental
Matthew lesko
Rule #1 DO NOT GO INTO DEBT!
Jeff Pearson, exactly!!!
Good
Hello.
I am from new York City and want to be vegetables farmers any body can help me how I get land leases with in 70miles from New York City. Also advise me what time is the best time to sing a lease if I want to Grow next year 2021.
I could direct you to an administrator that will assist you and put you though
Very interesting
What’s tools are needed to succeed in market gardening... maybe tool list with price....thanks
Perfect. That’s a great video topic. Thank you!
Very important points. I'm disabled and can't afford 7-day weeks. And losing my savings due to handing the initial medical costs makes it worse. I am in love with gardening and plant/microbe interaction science but love doesn't make a business or feed the cat :)
This must be the most helpful comments section on youtube. I was lucky to start somewhere that already had infrastructure, ie. raised beds and drip irrigation. I just bought soil and seed and started. About 700 bucks worth of soil and seed. Now that there's problems with politics at that site, i want to move and can see how the money adds up. I can build almost any tools i need, but some things like water, soil, seed, row covers and irrigation just cant be pulled out of thin air. I'm quite resourceful, but it's becoming obvious, to do it properly and make a strong start you need some dollars.
What is a bcs?
Already have 34 acres free and clear no debt except car payment, dont want borrow what would be the
best way to start?
Veg wash station, Refrigeration, and irrigation of your veg beds would probably be the most important first steps.
I don't know what the refrigeration and wash stations cost, but i had a well drilled about 95 foot, and then I bought the pump, pressure tank, 5 hydrants, and around 600 ft of 1 1 1/4 black water plastic pipe. I trenched and set everything myself and it still ran around 5 grand. Also, while I had the trenches open I ran a 110v line from my pump house to the garden area. Really glad I put power out there (about 225 ft out) for radio, electric fence (deer)... whatever. I like a radio when I'm harvesting. Oh yeah, i knew nothing about wells, but UA-cam is the answer. Too easy.
Shut up and have my sub! Good style and format, humble and informative. I like.
Haha, Best ‘I just subbed” comment yet!
What did you start out your farm with equipment wise?
Great question, but really hard to answer in text. I may do a more elaborate video on this one because what we did start with versus what we should have started with are very different to me now.
I know you said you don't want to go into costs too much but when you said 10-15K did that include land? If so I assume leased land?
I see a lot of the grants mentioned are in US, have any idea of any European programs? We are now looking fr land in Spain or Portugal
What does boot straping mean exactly?
Starting with nothing and building from the ground up with little to no resources.
work boots have straps on the ankles so you can pull them up. Boot strapping it means your putting on your work boots and paying with time and buckets of sweat instead of the initial capital you would need for every convenient tool and set up.
Did you guys get grants for your high tunnels? That’s something I’m looking into
call your local ag extension office. They'll get you in touch with NRCS and get you started. You get evaluated, and ranked and they fill orders based on that. If you are a veteran you get preference.
Veterans and are not the only ones. Native Americans do as well
loving the jazz intros my man!!!
I need help!!! I'm un Argentina. Here things are a bit dificult. I ve no idea how crowd founding works. Could you give us a hand?
Hay varias organizaciones de voluntarios q pueden ir a tu estancia a enseñarte y ayudarte
@@Bella_4016 y cuáles son. Me interesa
Oh, Kentucky. One of the highest taxed states in the union. I know because I am a hillbilly. Good luck.
Tell people about the taxes. Everything is taxed. House, auto's, farm equipment (everything), everything is taxed in KY.
Has anyone ever told u that u look like him caviezal
The Passion of the Christ guy? As a matter of fact, weirdly, yes.
Is there any other option than "Being undercapitalized in the beginning" ... I have dozens of friends in this business and have met hundreds more over the years. I can't think of one, off hand, who was properly funded or didn't suffer from "not enough cash" ... except those who inherited from previous generation (or a looooong line of previous generations (one guy I know can trace his family land back to before we were even an independent country)). Found out just yesterday a family nearby hung it up and gave up - back to full time employment with someone else after 4 or 5 years of tryin' to make it a go.
BTW - my opinion: $10K-15K is still seriously undercapitalize. Aim for 3 times that if you can. The more you can get up front, the less pain you will feel in the subsequent years.
Indeed, no farm starts well-funded enough but that seriously has to change for farmers and farms to succeed. Farms have to stop starting in reverse where start thinking about start-up capital ten years in. And I agree. 10 to 15k is low, but if you go small, low- or no-till, and have some covered space to put a cooler and wash veg, I think you can make a pretty good go of it for that. Find another 15K in season three when your market is established (through the FSA/etc..) and you’re good to go!
I'd like to start up a farm in my area, (Ontario Canada) but I don't know where to go? Any advice?
Its possible to monetize anything in this digital age of knowledge. 🤔
I’m taking the complete opposite approach to starting my small farm. Perhaps I’m too conservative, but I want to be debt free with a huge nest egg before I even buy land. The downside to my approach is...time. I’ll be older when/if I start. That means less energy, and less time to watch things like an orchard reach maturity. Any tips on being OVER-capitalized, and not taking enough risk when young and able?
Hey I’m wondering where you’re at in the quest?
Where u at in ky ? I'll help support just cause I'm in ky brother
We’re in Central KY. Outside of Lawrenceburg but, you know, despite my hoodie here, we’re in the BBN for sure.
@@notillgrowers Do you have issues with water quality in Lawerence Co? I’ve heard horror stories.
Vote for Andrew Yang.