Small Farms Cultivate Way of Life, and Profit

NY Times article on profits being made by small part time farmers. A trend that appears to be developing in the suburban landscape. People are trying to farm even on small 3+/- acres and many are successful at turning a profit, but is it really farming? This is yet to be discovered trend that should be investigated further. It does however demonstrate that profit can be found even in this small scale, and that can be applied to a larger more diversified farming operation.

Farm Concept Development Program rev1

I am still working on the farm. As of right now I am still researching land and markets around the Rochester, NY area. I currently am living in Penfield, NY a suburb of Rochester, NY. I am looking for some property to build a farm on. Other details I am still trying work out is what will the farm be. Certainly more than the average farm. It will be based on sustainability, that is certain. I am looking at the potential of local marketability as I strongly believe that is the direction of survival for agricultural and society in general for the future.

Specifically, if the farm can not find sufficient market locally to support its own survival, it is therefore not sustainable, and therefore not viable.

I am focussed on dairy as the basis of the market of the farm, as this is the primary function of the farm, but not the exclusive product of the farm. Also in this is that I do not consider dairy to be only the basic dairy cows common to dairy production. I am looking into other breeds of cattle (especially endangered and rare breeds), goats, sheep, lama, and perhaps other breeds of animals. The concept is diversity to some degree insures against potential loss due to variations in the market and the climate as well. However the basis also considers that the basic income of the farm is due to daily revenue generated through direct marketing of products produced on the farm to the local community.

My basis is that the well managed and organized sustainable farm can provide not only a few basic products, but most of the products needed by the community, and that if such a farm were to make connections to other local agricultural operations the entire needs of the community can be met by the agricultural operations, including the basis for employment.

My concept includes processing of finished goods on the farm (or in near vicinity) to provide many processed goods usually purchased in stores sourced most often from foreign sources. That is not to say that all needs can be satisfied by the farm (or farms), but that most could be. Also the farm manager can source many other materials that would be used in processing through trade links, thereby suppling a greater diversity to the offerings they provide.

One key service that the farm should provide is personal service. My concept includes a delivery service, that takes the burden off consumers and customers of the farm products. Each customer in the community will be able to receive products produced by the farm (some will be provided daily) delivered to their homes. I am currently working out the details of how this program would work, and how it can be facilitated in a profitable manor. Included in this research is a method that this can be facilitated in a sustainable manor. Some considerations that I am considering is a bio-diesel powered delivery service, and other forms of alternative energy transportation.

Important to this research is location. I am looking for a location that is convenient to water, specifically a lake, which would provide a larger seasonal population providing a spike in demand during the peak season of the farm.

Eat Fresh

This article on salon goes along ways towards my idea of eating. More later

Go ask Alice
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/10/26/alice_waters/

James

Hey, yea I said there was going to be more, so here's the update...

Yea so I didn't read the book she was promoting. Do people read anymore, I mean short of blogs and such. Yea, well I did "read" the article, and she's talking about eating because that's what is important. We all live this life in high gear, 'cause that will get us ahead, or quicker into the grave, whatever. We work our entire lives to get to that point where we can slow down a little and enjoy retirement. Who the hell can retire anymore, who wants to?

But what do I care, you can do what you will, and if you die from some industrial disease hell it ain't my problem. Yea, that is the attitude you have to have to survive in this dog eat dog (I've seen that, it ain't pretty) world. A long time ago, or so it seems I was on the treadmill, shooting for fame and fortune, and ran with all the trappings of the rising star lifestyle. I did more drugs, drank more, and pissed on whoever I felt like, 'cause I was destined for something big. Then I broke down, and somewhere in there I broke. I had friends then, not anymore, I had money then, not anymore. I live in a shit hole trailer in a trailer park in a suburb of Rochester, NY. I may not even be here for long, as I can't even find a job to pay my bills, and I am not sure when they will cut my power, but I am sure it will be soon. Shit I live in this shit hole, and yet, here I am trying to buy local and eat well, and have dropped all or most all the bad habits, and nothing good has come from it, right.

Sorry I had to light up a cig for a second there, yea I still have a few bad habits, so what.

So here's the deal, I first grabbed up this story because I am a big fan of Jefferson Airplane (or Airplane as some of us call them), or more specifically Grace Slick, but that's just a teen memory thing, see. So Then I read the headline and see that this Alice woman is talking about eating local and farmers markets, and all that other stuff I try to preach about, with much less success than her. She is getting somewhere, because she is published, probably has a degree too, well whatever. Yea I could have had a degree, or two, but I was a dumb ass about that when I was shooting shit into my brain. But you should take this slick chic's advice and start with something. Start with just something, because it is the doing that matters.

Well kids that's all I got for you today, it's late for me, and I got to get these old bones to bed now 'cause I got more stuff to do tomorrow. Maybe I will get that job tomorrow and then I can stay here a while, or maybe they will shoot me down one more peg, who cares, not anyone but me.

Peace
James

More notes on Agriculture Project 2008

Well now I am looking at animals.

In previous post I might have talked about animals, but today I am going to just look at how many animals we are going to need in the first three years to make the Farm profitable, while maintaining sustainability. Usually I talk a lot about the why and all that, but for now this is just a list, more will come later.

Animal	Min	Max
Draft Horse	2	4
Med. Draft Horse	4	6
Dairy Cattle	20	110
Beef Cattle	10	80
Alpaca	10	40
Swine	10	40
Sheep	10	80
Goat	10	60
Emu	8	20
Chicken	30	100+
Duck	10	40
Other Foul	10	20

I missed a few and I didn't include cats, rabbits, dogs, or other various animals because they are not specifically part of the breeding stocks, even if they may be breeding. One important animal to note is the Border Collies. We will start with four, three bitches and a sire, but we will add as the herds get larger. We may start with slightly smaller herds and not all the animals presented, but this should be the minimums we are striving for after three years. The objective is to provide sufficient stock for our own needs, surplus for the community, and enough offspring to trade with other communities to keep the stock fresh. We should also look to conservation of the breeds, and helping others get into farming by providing breeding stocks of heirloom animals at reasonable cost. We should also consider work exchange for equity in stocks, but this is going into to much at this point, these concepts will be covered later. For now, this list will be used to determine the base cost of stocking our Farm, and what stocks we need to build over the first three years to realize a profitable return on investment.

More to Come...

James