So you're thinking of becoming a farmer but haven't transitioned yet. You may make the leap down the road...say, in a year or two. That means you're putting the necessary effort into planning well before jumping in. Of course, you may already be further along, even living on the land. If this is the case, don't worry, we've all found ourselves in a place in life and decided we needed to take a step back and reevaluate. Your ability to take an honest look at where you are and adapt will be the key to your success. Either way I hope these perspectives can be of help to you as I certainly wish I would have heeded their wisdom earlier in my life. Having offered that, here are the priorities and actions as I see them to help you to get ready to farm.
- Get Some Land. Now I realize that sounds obvious...I mean, after all, it's hard to really farm without at least a little land. You don't need too much but you do need some. If you're one of the lucky ones who has inherited land, fantastic and congratulations! But most of us have to find and buy our own land. For a couple of reasons I believe the time to do that is now. First, I believe that rural/farm land prices will only escalate over time as more and more food will need to be produced to feed a rapidly expanding global population. Second, if you need to finance the land as many people do, interest rates are at absurdly (and artificially) low levels. If you need financing, you might as well take advantage NOW. (I'll point out the obvious here that this is just the author's opinion and nothing in this essay should be construed as a professional recommendation. Just personal opinions of a rambling farmer.) Getting land is an undertaking in and of itself though. Consideration must be given to the region and climate since so much of farming depends on what Mother Nature decides to do. There is also that tiny problem of how to pay for land. Consider making a trade. You may be able to find cheaper land in a more remote area that is equal to what you could sell your suburban home for. If you are not already a home owner, then your main focus will have to be how to save for land. No matter what your situation, the next priority on the list is probably the most important.
- Get Out of Debt. If you're an American, you're almost certainly in debt. Almost all of us are...the entire country is. We use credit for mortgages, furniture, automobiles, appliances, school, health care, home improvement and, of course, for consolidating other debts we owe! Our society seems to collectively embrace using debt to enjoy today what virtually none of us saved for yesterday. Whereas we once left college with degrees in hand and went straight to a waiting job, today we leave laden with tons of debt and, with no jobs waiting, leave to occupy city parks instead. Debt becomes part of our life and few of us are ever able to jump off the treadmill that propels us to chase always more income to pay it off. Of course if you've amassed a lot of debt it is easier said than done to get out of debt. It begins with a change in mindset. Rather than dreaming of what we want in the moment and seeking immediate gratification, we must keep our focus on the ultimate goal of farming. The best way to get there is to pay down the debt. Make your farming dream so real that you can almost taste it and it will become easier to forgo the taste of that morning latte because it means you are one dollar closer to your dream. The purpose of this article is not to give debt management advice, but rather to underscore the importance of doing everything you can to eliminate the debt you have. Society has conditioned us to believe we're entitled to conveniences and luxuries, whereas the mentality of farming is about living on what we can produce and do ourselves and not borrowing. Get into the farming mentality NOW. For every dollar that goes out ask yourself, do I need to spend this now or should this be saved? The less debt you have as a farmer then the less income you'll need to realize. Even with reducing debt in most areas of our life, many of us still need a mortgage for our land and home. In this case you'll be forced to choose from paths that I'll present later which will carry more income opportunities (and risk) than if you had no mortgage to repay.
- What Do You Really Need? In the farmer mentality you will likely find that you don't have a lot of time or interest in those things that occupy so much of your mind-share (and wallet) as an urbanite. This makes the transition easier once you've made it. Urban life seems to require many non-essential expenses and distractions such as cable/satellite TV, lattes, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, dining out, gym memberships, furniture, clothes, tobacco (not necessary to this farmer), alcohol, movies/sports/concerts, lodging/vacations, pet care, shiny appliances, repairs to shiny appliances, pest control, lawn services, water bills, and so on. You'll find as a farmer that you'll incur very few of these expenses. Take whatever steps you can to start practicing this now. Instead of missing TV, farmers will become distracted by nature and the pleasures of growing their own food. You can too! While the Internet may be seen as a very real necessity for farmers, particularly given their isolation and need to connect with customers, that one expense can consolidate to give you access to most news, information and even free video programs on Hulu, YouTube, iTunes and elsewhere. All of these expenses seem "necessary" to us as urbanites, but viewed through the lens of a farmer they are quite unnecessary indeed. If you can't cut the cord and do without them where you are now, the farming life may not be for you.
- Learn to Garden. Now! Regardless of which income producing paths you choose one thing is constant among all farmers; they ALL garden and grow at least some of their own food. No matter where you are currently living you should be able to practice some gardening skills. Learn to plan your garden, plant and germinate your own seeds indoors, transplant into small raised beds or container gardens, learn how to improve soil, how to identify and manage pests, study companion planting and square foot gardening if you are keen on a small parcel or raised beds if room allows and so on. And you don't just have to focus on your veggies. Practice with small fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and even blueberries. By the time you get to your ideal farm you'll be comforted by the hands-on gardening skills you have practiced and the knowledge you have gained through reading. And think about the usefulness of the hours spent dreaming over free seed catalogs rather than paying to go out to the movies!
- Get in Shape. I don't mean do more push ups, squats and more crunches. Sure, those are great if you're trying to look good on club night but the cows and sows on the farm won't give you a second glance. Farming takes a toll on the body. Your tasks could include bending and kneeling to weed and plant, hoisting 50 pound or more bags of feed and balancing them over a feeder, carrying crates of chickens, shoveling compost or wet snow, bending over cheese vats, lifting heavy wet trays of veggies out of the sink to prepare for the market and so on. To make matters worse, if you get injured while on the job you'll have no one to call to inform you can't make it in that day, so you better get your body ready. How? Focus on flexibility and tone. To my way of thinking, this means yoga and pilates more than dumbbells and pull up bars. It also means getting your weight down to the right target level for your age and height, so walking, hiking, swimming or climbing may help. Whatever it takes, get your body in farming shape!
- Read - For millennia knowledge was passed from elders to juniors in social circles so that succeeding generations understood important food production, preservation and survival skills. Unfortunately, most of us missed out on that transfer of knowledge as our parents and grandparents instead were part of the convenience generation that food marketers cultivated. So how do we regain those lost skills? Start by reading as much as you can. The problem is sifting through all the sources of information available such as books, blogs, articles and magazines. Your study assignments go even beyond reading to watching movies, videos and listening to podcasts. The choices are many and it can be hard to find exactly what you want, so I suggest finding topics that intrigue you and then learning everything you can. Farming will be more rewarding when you're doing what you love. Once you find something, get involved with a forum or group and start talking with your virtual buddies.
- Find Like Minded Souls - Get off of Facebook and get onto Farm Dreams or other sites like farm-dreams.com. Seriously. Other alternatives are local food groups, organic farming associations, farming conferences and more. Find people who share your ideals and who are searching for the same answers. Networking will get you there much faster and your eyes will be opened to new possibilities. Talk to people who have taken a similar journey and ask them to share their story. Find people who have learned the skills you are seeking and reach out to them. Ask them for resources or see if they would be willing to let you watch a farming activity the next time they do one, like making soap or collecting honey for instance! And seek out and attend all of the free farm tours and events you can find.
- Find Your Passion - Why exactly do you want to farm? What excites you and what do you want to do? Do you long to grow the best tomatoes and sell directly to leading chefs? Are you aching to become an artisan cheese maker? Do you want to be the next Joel Salatin and have a farmstead of chicken tractors, eggmobiles and salad bar beef? Of course there is no right answer but there are wrong ones, with those being the ones that you are not passionate about. Otherwise, it will quickly become just a laborious job for you. Sure, the idea of being surrounded by chicken tractors may seem great to you now but have you spent much time pulling them up every day, hauling feed and removing dead chickens as needed? Oh, yes...did you know that there ARE mortalities on the farm that you'll have to deal with? If you're not up for that then veggies or crafts may be more your cup of tea. Spend some time day dreaming. Actually picture yourself doing these tasks and be honest about whether you will be happy doing this every day for years to come. Either way, find out what you truly love and then set out to do it. One way to get a taste of it is to seek a farm apprenticeship or internship if you can find one, or to volunteer on local farms if they'll have you. At the very least, look for crop mob or farm volunteer days you can be part of. A quick comment on asking to help on a farm... be understanding when you approach farmers. You may wonder why your act of generous volunteer labor isn't immediately accepted, but realize that it's actually a disruption in the daily routine and more work for the farmers to teach you chores or answer questions when you "help" for a day or week than not. Having said that, many farmers are invigorated by being able to inspire or tutor someone with a genuine interest and respectful approach.
- Focus on Lasting Investments - There are many things you may want to buy before becoming a farmer that will help you once you're on the land. There may also be items you want to trade in for something more practical. For example, how about trading your shiny compact car for a good, solid used truck that you can ultimately drive into the ground. In addition to saving money when buying and insuring this truck, it will be useful for hauling animals, seed, feed, fertilizer, tools...you name it, and being an older model it will be easy for your rural friends to repair and keep running. If there are ANY new items you are considering buying between the time you read this sentence and the time you move to the land, ask yourself this question: is this item essential to my farming dream? If not, you don't need it. If you can afford it then the choice is yours, but make sure it will be a lasting investment well worth the expense. After all, farming is not about deprivation. But if you're not sure how to afford living off the land then perhaps you should consider postponing any discretionary expenses until you figure it out.
- How Much Do You Need? - Finally, you should calculate how much money you really need to make. And, while your first thought as you contemplate becoming a farmer may be "how will I make money" remember this: Saving Money = Making Money! By lowering your expenses now (see "What Do You Really Need" above) and producing much of what you'll consume when you farm, you'll find that you don't need to make NEARLY as much as you think you do. After all, how much of your current paycheck goes to food that you'll produce on your own? How much goes to nice clothes, dining out, fuel and simple luxuries that you'll want to do without?
So there you have it, a few things to get you thinking before you put the shovel in the ground and start digging the farm garden. As we move on to part two in this series, you'll need to honestly address and figure out how much income you really need, as that is the key question when navigating the choices that confront you. We'll begin considering those choices in the next section where I'll introduce you to ways you can generate income with your land. Until that time, I look forward to hearing your comments.