Every new project costs new money. There are a million things to want for each project. Try to build out one project at a time so you can finish the project. It can take a while to earn that money back. Don't go broke trying too many ventures at one time. Let the farm start to pay for new projects.\ \ The more you optimize, the more you spend in money up front but save in time. Do what you want with that. Make it easy - but don't go broke.\ \ Expect income in year 3-4, and if you get up and going before then: you're doing amazing.\ \ The NRCS (Nature Resources Conservation Society) has tons of free money to give away that all of our taxes have paid into. Those applications are due Oct-Dec depending on where you live. Reach out to them ASAP to see what help they can offer. There's help for nearly every part of farming from start up to final product prep. SERIOUSLY DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS FREE MONEY. This is huge: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/Indiana-NRCS-FY2023-EQIP-Practice-User-Guide.pdf
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) can probably offer advice too. You need to have your farm registered with the FSA to take part in the NRCS EQIP Grant. Call your local NRCS office to get the latest User Guide.
2023's application was due Dec 16th.
Look up the closest university's extension office nearest you. Extension's goal is to get the university's research findings into the hands of the community.
If you're thinking of building something small... Build it bigger. Future you will want it bigger.\ \ A giant white board is one of my favorite tools. I found a used 4' x 10' long one and I sketch/plan a lot of things out on it instead of paper.\ \ For crop planning/garden planning: I love SeedTime. The free version is good enough to start. If you're going to do veggies the SeedTime website is INSANELY awesome. Just do the free version to start. So far, they've done a training and sale on the full version at least once a quarter. Now is a good time to plan a garden out. The app tells you when to start plants. https://seedtime.us/jkmel4ukl4tonac09iap\ \ Start an LLC:\ Google ""your state" + small business development center" (Example: Indiana small business develop center) and reach out to them. They'll help you get an LLC started for free, and can give you info about demographics for your area. It can just be a general farm LLC without being too specific. The first thing they'll tell you is that you need to have a business checking and savings account that's separate from your own. Transfer money from your account and then spend it through the business bank account so that you can keep track of what's business and what's not. Taxes are real, save every receipt. The Expensify App could be helpful for storing receipts digitally. Just do the free version until absolutely necessary. Every trip to/from the farm is fuel + mileage, every trip to a store from anywhere for anything farm related is fuel + mileage. That's all tax write off.\ \ Taxes: I had an excellent (and free) on-line meeting with Jana at Roost Bookkeeping. After our talk she recommended just doing TurboTax instead of going through her as I was brand new, and nothing was complicated yet. She was really helpful in getting me up to speed on what I should do during the year and told me to reach out to her in a few years. She said to pass her info to anyone I wanted. She came from a farming background. That was important to me. She can help even if you're out of state.\ \ And then more random thoughts...\ \ Build in a way that lets you easily expand. Don't lock yourself into a small build out and then have to change/re-design (spend more) in the future.\ \ Do you want 50' long, 30" wide, in ground, growing beds this year? Plan a space where you could do 100' rows in two years without having to move the plot. Prep it all now and cover it with a silage tarp. Some people can do 12" paths. I'm not nimble and I know I'd kick my profit a lot. I didn't do 15" either. I had the room and I went 18". It's lovely.\ \ Raised beds are very expensive.\ Get a soil test for where you want to plant. Heavy Metal tests are VERY important if you're growing in any urban area.\ \ Veggies are nice because you can eat them. Look up "most profitable crops" and mostly grow things that you'll eat. One broccoli fruit per plant isn't profitable. You can fit roughly 16 lettuce plants in the area it takes to grow a broccoli/cauliflower.
Selling to restaurants may be a better play than taking up every Friday night packing the car and being up at 5am every Saturday to go to market.\ \ You should be doing things in the fall and winter to be ready for spring. It's hard to get outside "because it's cold out" but if you can get something done, you should.
- Spring plants are started in the winter for eating in the spring, not started in the spring.
- Summer fruiting crops are started in the winter (tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers) and harvested in the summer.\ \ Your time is SO EXPENSIVE. Try to do things that are less work.\ \ There are a lot of wealthy people, charge prices that make you a profit. Your friends and family are NOT your target market.\ \ The Thriving Farmer Podcast is STUFFED full of money making ideas.\ \ Start here: https://spotify.link/lCPABDAMADb\ \ U-Pick berries and flowers could be awesome. The more the customer can do themselves the better for you. People pay for experiences. Strawberries: https://spotify.link/ZloVshRMADb\ \ If you can rent out an acre or four, that might be great. Just make sure you don't rent to someone who is gonna spray chemicals all over. Make sure that you include "Harvest Rights" in your lease so that you can still harvest what you started or can take them to court for what your produce would be worth at market.\ \ If you can, draw people out to you for experiences. Items for sale on trailer = non permanent structure (can skirt some tax laws).
Bees, chickens, cows... anything that you'd feel bad about killing is on a whole 'nother level than just killing some produce or flowers. If you go chicken coop, the roll away nest boxes look awesome. At any rate, try to hang the boxes at waist level so that you don't need to bend over to pick up eggs every single day. Try to do the same for the area under their sleep roost so that you can just use a rake to pull it off of the shelf and into a bin, instead of having to rake and then pick up poop/straw from the ground.\ \ Remember that it sucks when your pets/animals die and Vet bills are expensive. Start with one living thing at a time. If you think a predator can get your animals, they absolutely can. Protect them.
Each venture takes time away from your other ventures.