Life planning: starting a new small farm business

[Robw54]

My dad left his last office job at about 50 and set up as a gardener/groundskeeping/decorator, i think he earns more now and the work never stops coming

Massive demand for that kind of thing - I called round for a decorator recently 6-8 week waiting list. People are so busy these days they don't have time or the inclination. A lot of people doing BTL now with full time jobs and no time to do this stuff themselves.

Few cards, ladders, platform, decent brushes and maybe a van away you go - outside work in the summer and internal in winter.

 

[Dave645]

It has been interesting reading the comments on this thread, sadly they are all correct.
If you want your dream you will have to set yourself up carefully.
1. Where you want to set up for new life is of great importance to what you want to do. and to who your selling your stuff to, for small growers you need to skip any middle men and go direct to the public for max income return.
2. Animals need a lot of food, a few acres will not support many, and even if you get the balance right you still need to make fodder from the land for winter feed, or buy it in. Not forgetting shelter and bedding, possibly machinery.
3. Fruit it sounds easy, but they are still weather dependant and soft fruit can grow large crops that go to waste. Again location if your in a good spot and get a lot of passing traffic a pick your own will help.
Or be prepared to create products to sell from these fruit that give them longer shelf lives.
4. Don't expect to get any meaningful income for a long time. So don't borrow anything. Unless you have a job that's paying it back.
5. Talk to farmers in the area your thinking of setting up in. They may have land to rent, or help in other ways.
6. 50% plus of your farm income will be made from your marketing skills, you can have the best product in the world, but you will make nothing until you sell it.

Don't give up on dreams but be realistic. Unless you have hit on a gold mine idea, don't try to go to fast on borrowed money, or you just end up working for the bank, or losing it all again.

Good luck.

 

[marcusthehat]

In light of the above, my wife, larned from my mother, has made jam this years.
Post retirement, 10 or so years ago, we established a vegetable garden, majoring on "heritage" raspberry, blackcurrent (a 500kg yield, in the 3rd year) and ruhbarb, which in our mostly peaty soil, absolutly thrive.
Anyway, making superb jam, from our own essentially organic fruit, or blackberries, damsons, quince and apples picked elsewhere.
*Zero additives, no water added, & only natural pectin from suitable complentary fruit.
By the time one pays for pots (40p apiece, when bought by the pallet) & sugar, and allows anything for labour.
Less than no point whatsoever, financially.
When compared to Bon Mama and other very good store bought jams and preserves.
So we rather give it away with a glad heart.
*She "might" be able to turn a small profit by "adulterating" with water and pectin, to maximize the return from the fruit.
But marginal even at that.
£3.00-£3.50 a pint, no problem whatsover, but even £2.00 or £2.50 for a 12oz pot of jam, never!

 

[Dave645]

Regarding the above, it's no big surprise. Maybe they would need to look at alcoholic uses they are always popular lol, Maybe ice cream, type uses. But fruit as you point out can be hard to turn into coin but tast great.
Ice cream can be a big money spinner if your in the right spot to sell it, and can do a deal with a local dairy farmer.....location location location.

 

[Robw54]

In light of the above, my wife, larned from my mother, has made jam this years.
Post retirement, 10 or so years ago, we established a vegetable garden, majoring on "heritage" raspberry, blackcurrent (a 500kg yield, in the 3rd year) and ruhbarb, which in our mostly peaty soil, absolutly thrive.
Anyway, making superb jam, from our own essentially organic fruit, or blackberries, damsons, quince and apples picked elsewhere.
*Zero additives, no water added, & only natural pectin from suitable complentary fruit.
By the time one pays for pots (40p apiece, when bought by the pallet) & sugar, and allows anything for labour.
Less than no point whatsoever, financially.
When compared to Bon Mama and other very good store bought jams and preserves.
So we rather give it away with a glad heart.
*She "might" be able to turn a small profit by "adulterating" with water and pectin, to maximize the return from the fruit.
But marginal even at that.
£3.00-£3.50 a pint, no problem whatsover, but even £2.00 or £2.50 for a 12oz pot of jam, never!

I'd pay £5 for the jam you describe if marketed right - you can't compare that with something mass produced. You spent that on a pint a some shows/festivals/pubs.

 

[marcusthehat]

Part of the problem is delivering/transporting, glass jars through the post are problematic and expensive to post, to ensure they arrive undamaged, SM(Senior Managment ) has tried/is trying through via various local outlets, without a deal of success.
Unfortunately in the depths of Nth Co. Antrim, we haint got the necessary footfall.
And she has concluded from observations in shops and conversations, that people are eating less jam, probably due to affleuence/affectation?
regards
Marcus the custard maker.

 

[Kidds]

I know plenty of folk that associate jam with poverty and refuse to eat it purely on those grounds.
I'm not one of those people I hasten to add.

 

[Old McDonald]

@ Bertie T, Some of this post repeats some of what others have posted, but is from my own perspective and considerable experience.

I am one of those who did not have a farm to go onto when leaving school, but my father had a part-time smallholding and produced most things that smallholders produced post-war. I therefore had the great advantage of experience of market garden type crops, a range of poultry and small/young livestock. You do not, and need to get it well before buying land. I later acquired the experience of breeding sheep and cattle.

I did not give up the day job when I bought my first house, neglected steading and 9 acres. It paid the mortgage in the first few years. I have been back behind a desk on more than one occasion when I needed more money. I spent a total of 27 years behind desks. You probably also need to spend as many years or more in your job. You can switch jobs, but will you be able to make enough to support your borrowing? Will anybody even lend to you if you give up your current work and begin something new, including self-employment?

Your goals are admirable. I understand stress as an employee. There is always (I use the word advisedly) somebody in a position to cause you stress. They do not need to have seniority. Have you considered a sideways move in your occupation? The only way you can be sure of avoiding bankruptcy is to ensure that your income exceeds your expenditure. That means being an employee with a guaranteed income, and the budgetting ability to keep your total expenditure below that income. Annoying, but true.

Your plan is also admirable, but has some flaws. The amount you can save depends on your present income/expenditure ratio, and is unlikely to be great enough to achieve your goal in a few years. You mentioned 3 to 5. Unless you already have the bulk of the cost of what you have in mind buying then you have no hope of buying what you want. You are young and have time on your side.

Either keep your present job, or find another one, and buy absolutely anything that will meet your accommodation requirements and is within easy commuting distance of your job, so long as it has at least a decent sized garden and is in an area where you could at least keep a few poultry. Ideally you want it to have more land, but that might not be possible.

As already stated, you need a job to support a mortgage. The usual banks and building society sources are your starting point. If you cannot obtain the required funds from them then do not buy. Other sources of finance are too expensive and also fraught with danger. There are threads on here about such sources. I am not in the UK but you have already been advised by another poster that he is not aware of any scheme such as you mention in point 3 of your plan.

As Pasty said, you need some money making ideas (more than one) to have any chance of making a profit. My advice is to assume you will never make a profit from your land. You will certainly never make millions, but you can enojy a rich rural life if you approach the task sensibly. Why have you pre-judged the situation and decided upon organic? Do not espouse conventional ways of doing anything. They are usually easier for beginners because many more people are already doing things that way - hence they are "conventional".

I have had no livestock, or even poultry, for two years now. I do not like it, but we had to sell our stock due to an enforced visit to the UK for family reasons. It has made life much easier and enabled me to go ahead with other work that the stock would have prevented. I will buy more in the reasonably near future.

Keep the job, find somewhere you can afford, borrow sensibly and you can do it.

I have owned five farms in four different countries, and rented an extra couple of thousand acres at one time. I would do it all again if I was young enough - and you are.