Question:
100 Acres. Hay, soybeans, cattle, berriers??? ANy Profitable ideas?
need motivation
2011-08-25 11:20:57 UTC
Ok so i have 100 acres that i need to start farming asap. I have a large 4wd JD tractor. I have a brush hog attachment, a disk harrow, a plow, and a hay rake. I can get other materials as needed, but I need to know the most profitable thing to grow on this land. I have just cut, harrowed, plowed and harrowed the land. It is set up in 2 fields one long relatively flat 30 acre rectangle and another 40 acre chunk that is like a square with a minor valley in the middle.
The remaining 30 acres are timbers ranging from Pine to hardwoods, birch, etc. I intend to have someone come cut and 15 acres of this and it will be (with great effort) made into pasture land.
Sooo, What is the most profitable venture to head down. I intend to diversify a bit need some help please. I know mushrooms and garlic sell well, but dont grow well in NW florida. I wsa thinking of alfalfa hay in the front since i can irrigate it with the 4 acre pond, and maybe berries in the back?
How about soybeans, corn,

Any help, input, advice, suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Eight answers:
Plant Nerdette
2011-08-31 08:57:05 UTC
I agree with the previous answer, but encourage you to go with an organic production plan. If you haven't farmed the back 30 acres for at least 3 years, it is ready to go for organic production (if less then three, then you have to wait until the third year is passed to use it for organics). You will receive a premium price for your crops -- and with the types you have chosen, all can easily be grown in an organic plan.
2016-12-25 00:35:39 UTC
1
Wildrosebeef
2011-08-25 21:14:24 UTC
I totally disagree with having to start farming all 100 acres ASAP. There's nothing wrong with leaving a bit of land to rest for a bit while you start small on something. But first, you need to analyze your land, soil, topography and neiboring farms to see what is the best for you to start up with.



The most important thing is to have a good look at your soil. Look at the quality, the type and how much of it would likely be suitable for your operation. Take a sample of soil to a soil lab and have it analyzed for nutrient, type and quality to see if it is good for cropping or livestock or both.



Next, have a look at your bank account. Note the amount that you already have and compare the start up costs necessary for starting up either a crop-only farm, a cattle farm, an orchard, or a mix of any or all three possible enterprises.



Do some research on start-up costs and what it takes to start a farm. The thing that every author of every starting-a-farm article will tell you is to START SMALL and don't get in over your head, because, though I hate to be blunt, but it really looks like you are getting a bit too in over your head. There's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping a portion of your land to woodland or wilderness for the first 2 to 5 years of your farming enterprise. You can start getting rid of that little by little, but not all at once in one year. That's just ludicrous and financially very risky.



Finally, have a good look at the farms, ranches and acreages around you and see what they are doing and what they are raising.



If the soil is as good quality as it is in the Corn Belt, then you can consider growing crops. If it is not great, then it's better if you seed that newly tilled field into grass and keep it that way. Your start-up costs will be higher for starting a grain operation because of all the machinery and capital you will need to till, sow, spray, harvest and store your crop. It's the same for the orchard, not to mention the amount of time you have to spend to wait for your trees to reach their potential enough to let you even have a decent crop. For a cattle operation, if you start small, start-up costs are lower than for a cropping operation because all you need is to plant fence posts. You will need to plan a lot more, yes, especially for a good grazing operation, but you won't have to worry about the money you have to spend on fuel, fertilizer and herbicide to care for your crops.



The most important thing you MUST know is to start small. If you start at the deep-end, you will go bankrupt before you can even think about what to grow or raise for next year. That means ONLY start with one or two things, THEN work start to diversify if you feel you should or want to.



And finally, the thing to consider is that farming is mostly a way of life, not a profit-venture. If you want to start something that will get you to make money, then start a shop or something in the city. You won't get very profitable very quick if you throw all your eggs into one basket so soon.
Meghan
2016-01-21 10:05:19 UTC
The inexperienced woodworker and the very experienced person will be able to do these projects without any difficulty https://tr.im/ManualOfWoodworking

Each and every one of the thousands woodworking plans and projects which are available are so well written so that even if you've never tried Woodworking before, or if you have 2 left hands, you would find woodworking a breeze
2016-02-28 03:00:26 UTC
Well what experience do you have with farming? I would seriously consider trying to do as much as you can with what you have and not look to the government. 10 acres is not a large farm and livestock can eat it up quickly. You might want to consider smaller animals, possibly free range chickens. A lot of folks want to get away from the store bought, hormone pumped chickens. Eggs as a by product
Codi
2016-01-17 22:02:35 UTC
Here are literally thousands of organized woodworking projects in a members area and all you have to do is get them off your computer any time you want. Go here https://tr.im/GuideToWoodworking

There are thousands of plans so decide which one you are going to tackle next. The choice is yours to make so just click on the proper button for the specific project and then they are right there for you to pick one. The diagrams and instructions will be right there in the computer for you to access at any time or if you prefer you can print them out.
afton
2016-09-19 19:17:08 UTC
Lots of great replies already for this question
2016-09-16 00:53:24 UTC
I don't think it to be true


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