Profit Maximisation with 5,000 acres fertile organic land

[Melchie]

I hope a don't get a good hiding for this post. Please forgive for stepping into a forum where I have close to zero knowledge of the subject area (farming). I've googled to try and get an idea of what I need to know but am not having much luck. I would very much appreciate any advice or comments.

Assuming that you had 5,000 acres of fertile land and you could only grow organic produce, what would be the most profitable produce to grow : (assuming access to water, something not to heavy to transport, average temp approx 25 Celsius very low cost of labour and all the machinery you would need, greenhouses etc ).

I had a look online and listed: saffron, cotton, washabi, mushrooms, hemp, avocados, and a variety of herbs, lavender etc.

I'm guessing it would make sense just to stick three items to help with economies of scale and ensuring the soil is kept fertile with crop rotation.

I'm sure quite a number of you are face palming at the moment; I would be very interested to hear what you would grow given the conditions listed to maximise profits.

Many Thanks

Joe

 

[Farmer Roy]

Err, from MY point of view ( as a zero till dryland Cropping Australian ) if I was going to go large scale organic anything it would be livestock.
Beef ?
Lamb?
Pasture raised pork?
Probably incorporate goats for weed control & pasture raised chickens / eggs as well

Depends where you are & your goals / motivation also

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Welcome along, Lord Melchett
I'm sure you'll get a right drubbing for mentioning the "O word"....
I'd advocate hemp, if regulations allow, one of the best soil conditioning crops; huge, rapid biomass and almost too versatile.
I know very little about most of the crops you mentioned but that would be an ideal first option IMO. It doesn't really require fertility to be successful, they don't call it's cousin "weed" for nothing.
You could possibly sow lucerne between rows and bale that up or graze it off for some free N

 

[wasted years]

I would advocate hiring a good lawyer due to the offers of marriage you will receive.

 

[Chae1]

Grow grass and build a dairy. There's going to be a butter shortage soon.

 

[Farmer Roy]

I would advocate hiring a good lawyer due to the offers of marriage you will receive.

sh!t - for 5000 acres I'd marry him & have his children . . .

 

[Kiwi Pete]

sh!t - for 5000 acres I'd marry him & have his children . . .

I'll knit him a jumper, beggar off

 

[slackjawedyokel]

That's a very open ended question and as such you could grow just about anything you want. If you're in the wrong climate for the crop you want to grow it may mean large investments in infrastructure (5000 acres of greenhouse would cost a bit...).
Also generally crops that have the greatest potential of profit also carry the greatest risks; you may buy expensive seed, do all the correct soil preparation etc and the crop may still fail (esp organically when you have no fungicides, pesticides etc). You may go for maximum profit but produce a maximum loss, compared to a crop such as organic winter oats, where the profit will be much less but will be almost guaranteed. Just depends on where you are on the risk prone / averse spectrum.
Saffron etc? Fine but very labour intensive from what I understand so if you want max profit you'd need to be producing it somewhere that labour is cheap.

 

[multi power]

Grass, for dairy cows

 

[Brisel]

I think you'd want livestock as part of your rotation for fertility building. From what you've described as to the average temperature your unit obviously isn't Great Britain! Can you add any more detail to location, local markets etc? Access to minerals, manures, water for irrigation, labour, machinery, annual rainfall, soil types?

What to grow? The first answer is what the local market wants but with your scale the transport could be justified for something that suits the land but needs to travel further to its consumer. I recommend a spread of crops to spread your risk. You will need a long crop rotation in organic production. Soil type will dictate what you grow too. The access to labour is a big factor too.

 

[KMA]

Well for a start you wouldn't be anywhere in the British Isles that I can think of

 

[7610 super q]

2000 acres grass for livestock, 2950 acres wheat/ barley. 50 acres of herbs.

5000 acres is A LOT OF LAND.

 

[Goweresque]

There's a big difference between the most profitable and the most practical. 5000 acres of arable could be done standing on your head, people do that in this country. 5000 acres of a niche crop could be more problematic.

 

[D14]

I hope a don't get a good hiding for this post. Please forgive for stepping into a forum where I have close to zero knowledge of the subject area (farming). I've googled to try and get an idea of what I need to know but am not having much luck. I would very much appreciate any advice or comments.

Assuming that you had 5,000 acres of fertile land and you could only grow organic produce, what would be the most profitable produce to grow : (assuming access to water, something not to heavy to transport, average temp approx 25 Celsius very low cost of labour and all the machinery you would need, greenhouses etc ).

I had a look online and listed: saffron, cotton, washabi, mushrooms, hemp, avocados, and a variety of herbs, lavender etc.

I'm guessing it would make sense just to stick three items to help with economies of scale and ensuring the soil is kept fertile with crop rotation.

I'm sure quite a number of you are face palming at the moment; I would be very interested to hear what you would grow given the conditions listed to maximise profits.

Many Thanks

Joe

I would think 5000 acres of organic is unviable. The capital reserves you would need to get it up and running and to manage the considerable crop failures you would have would be massive and thats without thinking about buying the actual land. A good friend who farms 800 acres converted 250 acres to organic, a mix of grass and wheat as well as a couple of crops of potatoes. He signed up to the conversion scheme and then as soon as it finished he converted it all back. He would tell you that even though the idea of organic is supposed to reduce the intensiveness of farming, it in fact increased it considerably. All harvested crops either failed or struggled to find a premium market. His few beef and sheep did ok but he was supplying local butchers that were not being asked for organic meat so again premiums were not great. He thinks in hindsight he perhaps should of opened up a farm shop and done it that way alongside a pick your own and cafe etc.

 

[Farmer Roy]

I would think 5000 acres of organic is unviable. The capital reserves you would need to get it up and running and to manage the considerable crop failures you would have would be massive and thats without thinking about buying the actual land. A good friend who farms 800 acres converted 250 acres to organic, a mix of grass and wheat as well as a couple of crops of potatoes. He signed up to the conversion scheme and then as soon as it finished he converted it all back. He would tell you that even though the idea of organic is supposed to reduce the intensiveness of farming, it in fact increased it considerably. All harvested crops either failed or struggled to find a premium market. His few beef and sheep did ok but he was supplying local butchers that were not being asked for organic meat so again premiums were not great. He thinks in hindsight he perhaps should of opened up a farm shop and done it that way alongside a pick your own and cafe etc.

as I said - go livestock
minimal cost ( apart from land / stock / water infrastructure that is . . . )
sell direct to customers
works in the small ( urban centric - most urbanised country in the world apparently ) population of Australia, cant see why it wouldn't work where there is a much larger population . . .

 

[Grain Buyer]

5,000 ac, I'd go for Avocados, Saffron, and Washabi.

 

[michael N123]

Rent it out and spend your time between Bora Bora, Skiing and peasant shooting

 

[Wellytrack]

Plant it in leeks @7610 super q

 

[Melchie]

Err, from MY point of view ( as a zero till dryland Cropping Australian ) if I was going to go large scale organic anything it would be livestock.
Beef ?
Lamb?
Pasture raised pork?
Probably incorporate goats for weed control & pasture raised chickens / eggs as well

Depends where you are & your goals / motivation also

Thanks very much for your reply and input, the location is a fairly remote location in Africa, there is an airfield close by but I'm concerned about the weight of produce when exporting to external markets.

 

[Melchie]

Welcome along, Lord Melchett
I'm sure you'll get a right drubbing for mentioning the "O word"....
I'd advocate hemp, if regulations allow, one of the best soil conditioning crops; huge, rapid biomass and almost too versatile.
I know very little about most of the crops you mentioned but that would be an ideal first option IMO. It doesn't really require fertility to be successful, they don't call it's cousin "weed" for nothing.
You could possibly sow lucerne between rows and bale that up or graze it off for some free N

Much appreciate your reply . The reason for the O word ! (i) I thought it might help with investors, especially with the rise in popularity of organic cotton. (ii) I visited a few small holders farms in two remote areas in two countries in Africa, both complained about the change in soil and quality of produce since being encouraged to use fertilizers. (iii) On a first trip to Italy several years ago I remember eating a tomato, it was the first time I experienced what a real tomato tasted like., it was grown in a back garden , I cant remember if it was organic or not, it was certainly different from the tasteless tomatoes from tescos. (not sure why i added the third point !) . (iv) final point is price premium, I'm aiming for best possible return for potential investors.