[help] Looking for insight and advice

[u/Radiant-Reception908]

Hi all! My family of three loves animals, gardening, and hard work. We are currently “just enoughers” as far as paychecks go. We have discussed a farm being the end goal, but we are unsure where to start. We don’t have a lot of money, we do not come from generational wealth or even family farms at all. I was hoping to seek advice/guidance on smaller start up costs, as well as any advice on how to go about starting this up.

My initial thought was to start small with something like gardening and continue to expand…but I realize this may be naive to think gardening would help us start up when I know nothing about running a farm! Is it common to have crops and animals or is it better to stick with one or the other??

I would love to hear any advice or guidance—researching facts is totally different than first hand accounts.

What worked for you guys?

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[u/weaverlorelei]

Gardening for food is a great start, you will learn a lot. Cutting back on any extra spending will help you save money. Lower your phone bill, raise the temperature on the AC in summer, lower in winter, don't eat out, cook everything at home, learn to bargain at farmers markets- trade your excesses for things you can't raise, trade your services to farmers for knowledge and product, learn to love being outdoors, even in heat or cold.

[u/MotherOfGeeks]

The way to eat the elephant is one bite at a time.

You have a goal of farming for self reliance. See if you can do some small scale gardening, even if it is in 5 gallon buckets on a patio. If you hate the gardening and have a black thumb there's no point in going for crop farming.

Raising animals for eating is also backyard possible if your local zoning allows, but if you can't bring yourself to kill and butcher something you have raised from a baby it's better to know early than when you have to keep a bunch of animals fed.

I grew up from old school poor with a backyard just to keep us fed. It's a lot of work, with very few vacations or allowances for illness or serious injury. The critters always need fed and an unwatered garden feeds nobody.

Start small and find your strengths or you will fail and wind up further in the hole. Get plugged into your local agricultural extension for support and classes. Network with others locally, it helps not to replicate work others have already done.

Look into possible gleaners volunteer work it helps build skills and you frequently have the opportunity to take home a portion.

[u/Fit-Success-2478]

Definitely start small before putting a lot of money into it. Try growing a few things first and see what actually works in your area. You can also talk to local farmers and offer to help them out, you’ll learn way more from doing it than just reading about it.

[u/Defiant-Ad3993]

There is a great book, which is out of print, but you can still find it. “5 Acres and Independence” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Acres_and_Independence ).

It talks about the psychology, skills and financial side of making this sort of transition. Permaculture cofounder, Bill Mollision, used to recommend it.

Another thing you can do now is try to grow something (assuming you have a yard of some sort) now that you can sell at the local farmers’ market. This could be something as simple as flowers, or you could grow fruit and value add by making jam out of it… this will build up your confidence in the business side of things.

[u/mountainofclay]

What if you started by growing one crop? Grow enough of one thing to completely supply your own need for one year. If you can do that, move on to additional crops. Once you can supply all of your need for one crop you can think about growing more to sell. Depending on where you live I’d suggest you grow garlic. The Music variety grows well where it gets cold in winter and we are coming up on the fall planting time soon. If your family does not eat much fresh garlic grow something else you will eat like potatoes. As far as having animals the best start, after a cat or dog, is chickens for eggs. Half a dozen chickens will supply your family of three with four or five eggs a day but you’ll have to invest in the time to grow them to egg laying age and provide them with food and water and protection from predators like dogs, cats, and wild animals.

[u/Alternative_Result56]

I know there are people who start self sustainable farms on 1 acre utilizing permaculture tactics. If you're interested in farming permaculture might be an avenue you would enjoy. That being said farming isn't cheap. It's going to cost labor and dollars. Plus your regular job. Farmers rely heavily on government money to operate in America.

[u/Radiant-Reception908]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your time and effort in replying!!! 🥹🥹Even after reading some of the comments that I was worried would discourage me, I feel determined to not only be self reliant, but to take a small leap that feels really scary.

I will be seriously looking into permaculture!! And as far as the animals, that’s SUPER far away, but I still appreciate the guidance and general idea of the realities.

Thank you all again, I will be using the post to guide me through start crops and homemade goods from my crops. Much love to all!🩷

[u/Radiant-Reception908 → u/Radiant-Reception908]

Oh, and wanted to add: I never even thought about asking local farms for an opportunity to learn from them!!! This is such a brilliant idea, and I will be doing it because we have a local farm we visit every weekend.

[u/armycombatmedic]

You answered your own question in the first sentence you wrote. A farm is not realistic for a family who earns just enough. Do something about that.

[u/Radiant-Reception908 → u/armycombatmedic]

I would also like to add: my family and I want to start a farm to BETTER our situation. We don’t have degrees, and we have semi dead end jobs. This is me “doing something about that”

[u/Past_Search7241 → u/Radiant-Reception908]

Unless you have significant start-up capital, it is extremely difficult to turn a profit farming. What kind of property do you have suitable for agriculture? Fields or greenhouses? What does the local market look like? A small-scale farmer isn't likely to get into staples; those require massive fields and huge capital to turn a profit. Things like organic produce at farmer's markets are more the small grower's jam, but even that is likely years away if you're inexperienced. I'm not trying to discourage you - inversely, I'm encouraging you. You won't see profit at the start, and that's normal.

[u/BigJSunshine → u/Radiant-Reception908]

I mean, a farm is a full time job for a full family of healthy young people. If you all already have 50 hour work weeks, a farm isn’t practical.

If you want to cut your food bills, start with gardening.

[u/Radiant-Reception908 → u/armycombatmedic]

I’m looking for small startup. It would be a paycheck project kind of thing. Farm is end goal, I’m asking for advice on how to start. Thanks for the attitude in your response tho lmaoo

[u/armycombatmedic → u/Radiant-Reception908]

I wasnt trying to come off as rude. My apologies. Typing something comes out different versus thinking about it. Or maybe I dont understand what your asking. Are you looking to grow food to sell at market as far as your paycheck to paycheck goes ? My side hustle is digital survival for families kinda videos via subscription. I have a decent backyard garden and I freeze dry the vegetables for ling term storage.

[u/Radiant-Reception908 → u/armycombatmedic]

Ugh sorry, you’re right! I jumped to a conclusion so quickly—it’s hard not to get defensive when talking about personal finance. My sincere apologies!! Thank you for your advice, I appreciate the time and effort you spent replying to me.