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Agricultural Matters
Life planning: starting a new small farm business
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<blockquote data-quote="Pasty" data-source="post: 3296894" data-attributes="member: 1651"><p>The one thing you need is a money maker or two. That should be the first consideration, especially if you are borrowing to fund this. You need some core business or job which is not commodity farming. Yes, you can feed yourself quite cheaply but that also takes time and you'll still have other bills coming into the household. So you either have to look for a niche business which uses little land and you think can work or you need to keep a separate job, for a while at least. You'll need positive cash flow. Perhaps you could take on some relief milking or something like that or helping at busy times on other farms. Do some fencing if have the skills and the strength. </p><p></p><p>In terms of growing your own food, it's possible but it's also possible to spend a lot of money on kit and end up with nothing. Veg and cheap cuts of meat have never been cheaper and you'll struggle to match the prices unless you are growing from seed, using home made compost (takes time) and put a lot of work into it. You'll never feed a chicken up to kill weight cheaper than you can buy a factory broiler in the supermarket unless you have a source of free grain. It's just not possible. I run all my cockerels on and we eat them and while it's satisfying and much tastier, I put in all the work and it cost me more than I can buy ready cut birds for. I do it because there is more to life than buying cheap chicken. The point being, it's not saving me any money. It's costing me but it's worth it. We are going to up our veg growing massively next year for the same reason but it would still probably be cheaper to buy it in a supermarket. </p><p></p><p>So, yes, go for it but on 10 acres you are going to need something that makes good money. Shepherds hut or something. Or buy in firewood and process and sell or something. Problem is, as with any enterprise, the early days are where you will make all those costly mistakes so my advice would be keep the day job for a while or exchange it for evening work or a couple part time jobs. Work your arse off and live the dream.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pasty, post: 3296894, member: 1651"] The one thing you need is a money maker or two. That should be the first consideration, especially if you are borrowing to fund this. You need some core business or job which is not commodity farming. Yes, you can feed yourself quite cheaply but that also takes time and you'll still have other bills coming into the household. So you either have to look for a niche business which uses little land and you think can work or you need to keep a separate job, for a while at least. You'll need positive cash flow. Perhaps you could take on some relief milking or something like that or helping at busy times on other farms. Do some fencing if have the skills and the strength. In terms of growing your own food, it's possible but it's also possible to spend a lot of money on kit and end up with nothing. Veg and cheap cuts of meat have never been cheaper and you'll struggle to match the prices unless you are growing from seed, using home made compost (takes time) and put a lot of work into it. You'll never feed a chicken up to kill weight cheaper than you can buy a factory broiler in the supermarket unless you have a source of free grain. It's just not possible. I run all my cockerels on and we eat them and while it's satisfying and much tastier, I put in all the work and it cost me more than I can buy ready cut birds for. I do it because there is more to life than buying cheap chicken. The point being, it's not saving me any money. It's costing me but it's worth it. We are going to up our veg growing massively next year for the same reason but it would still probably be cheaper to buy it in a supermarket. So, yes, go for it but on 10 acres you are going to need something that makes good money. Shepherds hut or something. Or buy in firewood and process and sell or something. Problem is, as with any enterprise, the early days are where you will make all those costly mistakes so my advice would be keep the day job for a while or exchange it for evening work or a couple part time jobs. Work your arse off and live the dream. [/QUOTE]
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