What You Need to Become a Farmer

by Ethan Book
on 05/21/08 at 11:45 AM

Vicki My last few posts have centered around questions submitted by you, the readers, and I must admit that I have absolutely loved answering them because they have given me a lot to think about. If you still have more questions, feel free to post them on the original post. Here is today's question:

"I wonder what it would take to get started on a very small scale. Is it a full time job? What amount of land is needed? Should a person try to work on a farm, say for a summer, to get a feel for the life?"

First of all, I believe that it is important to point out that farming is a full time job. Livestock needs to be cared for everyday of the year, crops need to be tended in season, preparations need to be made for winter, budgeting and financial decisions need to happen everyday, and upkeep on equipment (no matter how big or small) is an ongoing project. With that being said, I think I also need to point out that in 2004 52% of American farmers also worked an off-farm job (and I would bet the number is rising). Yes, farming is a full-time job, but in many instances it is not a farmer's only job.

What amount of land is needed? That is a very open ended question. It really depends on what type of farming you want to do. I know market gardeners and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers who make a living for themselves on about 2 or 3 acres. They add value by selling some processed foods, rare foods, and by having greenhouses or other things that can give them a jump on the growing season. If you wanted to have a diversified farm of crops, livestock, and hay, it is going to take much more land and a large sum of money! We own 40 acres, and I have a full-time off farm job. In addition to the land I own, we also work with my family who has 160 acres. Eventually I believe we can make farming our only job, but it will take creative marketing and farm management.

Should a person try to work on a farm...? Yes! It is important that you get out there and "do" farming as I talked about a little more in the previous post. A lot can be learned from books as far as planning is concerned, but there is so much more to farming than just planning. Farming is all about the unexpected, and the only way you can learn about that is to do it.

Some of the best advice I have received from older farmers is that you need to realize that farming isn't all romance and bucolic living. It takes sacrifice, commitment, passion, and artistry to be a successful farmer. But, it is possible, and I believe it is a wonderful life (even though it is often not the life you may see in the pages of a Country Living or Hobby Farm magazine).

Tagged with: Ethan Book, Farming
12:42:59 AM on

We have also had farmers selling their farms to the developers. I initially thought the issue was with "greedy Developers." However one neighbor who sold his farm said it this way. "I put my kids throught school. They are doctors and engineers. They do not want to farm. So, I can retire at 55 as a multi-millionare, or work till I am dead. Some years we did not show a profit because I bought a new truck. "

As a whole farmers (both large and small scale) love what they do. No one else would put 80 hours a week into something they didn't love.

02:50:17 PM on

My husband and I own a 30 acre horse ranch that also grows alfalfa and grass hay. My husband also does "custom hay" (i.e. cuts other people's fields for a share of the crop) on about 100 acres. Ethan, I love your blog. I am glad to see so many people out there still interested in farming and agriculture! Unfortunately, right now good farmland is rapidly dwindling. I think the first step to creating more farms is finding a way to stop greedy developers from growing more houses. People in my area move out to a 1/4 acre lot in the "country" so that they can raise their kids away from the "city" and then they get the towns to pass ordinances restricting farmers to the point that they can't farm anymore because the only time they are allowed to run any machinery that makes noise is between the hours of 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. when it's too hot in the summer to water and harvest most crops. I wish more people would start buying 2-3 acre lots and creating small farms. We also need to have some sort of incentives in place for farmers with large farms who don't sell out to the developers (there is a reason that more than half of farmers have other day jobs, and it's not because farmers make a lot of money). If we don't do something now, in 20-30 years, all of our food is going to be grown in South America. Keep up the good work, Ethan!

01:05:22 PM on

Try reading "A Very Small Farm" (Winchester) or "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" (Kingsolver) to give you a rough idea of subsistence farming can be like. A HUGE commitment!

12:56:27 PM on

You also need overalls.

12:35:58 PM on

What I learned while farming goes along with Ethan's first point- that farming is a full-time job. What this means is that you can never take a vacation- or at least taking one is extremely difficult. When my first husband and I had a farm where we grew hay and raised nearly 100 animals (horses, cows, chickens, goats, rabbits, etc), we would hire and train friends, family, or anyone who thought they were up for the job to care for our place and animals while we were gone, but would return to find water troughs empty, fields not mowed, animals escaped...we quickly learned that no one who is not involved in the daily cares and needs of the farm realized how much is involved. So I guess this also relates to Ethan's other point of definitely working on a farm to get the experience before you set out to have your own. There are many rewards to this life but just be aware that "full time" doesn't mean 9-5 with weekends off and two-week vacations, it means 24/7/365!

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