What to Consider?
- Vision and Values: A farm is both an extension of the vision and values of the individual(s) who start(s) it, and it has to be carefully planned to make sure that it fits within that vision as well as within the particular confines of the place where it is established.
- Place Matters: A fertile agricultural land is a must with good supply of water.
- Planning: New farms need to have a well designed business plan that takes into consideration individual infrastructure and financial needs, the viability of marketing strategies, and the farmer’s production capacity and knowledge.
- Education and Experience: Preparation, knowledge, and training are essential. But so is being able adapt quickly to the unexpected, to persevere when factors beyond one’s control conspire against you, and knowing how/when/what/where to expend time, energy, and resources.
- Managing risk: It is helpful to plan careful to manage risk through diversification, financial management, and the ability to withstand a couple of bad years.
- Start small: For most beginning farmers, we advise starting small to allow time for details to be worked out, for additional learning to occur, and to mitigate the size and scope of problems that will inevitably arise.
Tag: Starting a Goat farm
