Dairying is one of the most dependable types of farming. A satisfactory setup for a family farm is fifteen to twenty cows and a minimum of 80 to acres of good land for the production of pasture, hay, and other feed for the stock. Stock farming not grazing is found most extensively in parts of the Middle West. The typical farm of this kind in the years —42 had acres, sold 56 cattle and 77 hogs each year, and kept about laying hens. Of the acres, 70 were in pasture, 34 in corn, 29 in small grain, 22 in hay, 5 in soybeans, and 10 in rotation pasture and miscellaneous crops.
Such a farm had 5 milch cows. About 80 per cent of its gross income came from the sale of livestock and livestock products. This kind of enterprise means a considerable investment in land, stock, and equipment.
Operating expenses are also comparatively high. Cotton farming usually offers less income and requires less capital. A typical upland cotton farm for family operation has, as a minimum, from 80 to acres. Of these 15 to 20 are in cotton; 20 to 25 in corn to feed mules, cows, hogs, and chickens ; 8 to 10 in soybeans, cowpeas, or lespedeza for hay; and the rest in pasture and woodland.
Since the price of cotton, unless pegged, moves up and down rapidly, it is desirable to grow other cash crops, such as peanuts, for additional income, besides producing on the farm as much as possible of the feed for animals and food for the family. Wheat farming takes a good deal of land. Many of the wheat farms of Kansas, the Dakotas, and eastern Montana run to acres or more.
Diversified farming usually involves a mixture of cash crops and livestock. Its chief advantages are: 1 the risk is reduced by not banking mainly on one money crop and 2 it spreads the working time of the family. There are many possible combinations in this type of farming, such as growing cotton, peanuts, tobacco, and other crops in the South or dairying, hog raising, and poultry farming in the North. The main consideration is to plant crops which the operator can take care of and sell.
The required investment in diversified farming varies with the region and the size of the business. Part-time farming. Many men who are not interested in full-time farming may wish to engage in subsistence or part-time farming. Of the 6 million farmers in the United States in , about , were part-timers, spending a hundred days or more a year in other occupations. Such farmers may have only a garden or they may cultivate several acres, keep a few hogs, a cow or two, and several score chickens.
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Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Author Info Last Updated: May 6, Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Decide why you're interested in farming. Any kind of farming involves a lot of hard work, it takes huge amount of responsibility, and is not the kind of venture that you will get rich quick on, if at all. Farming is a way of life, and also a business that gives you less of a financial "reward" for all the hard work you have to do throughout the year.
But, the emotional and spiritual reward you get can be accounted for more than the paycheck you get at the end of the year. The industry is, for the most part, steeped in tradition.
If you've never farmed in your life nor have any agricultural experience to bring to the table, and yet you still want to become a farmer, you may run into some individuals who are more skeptical of your future endeavor than you wish.
But, do not let this bring you down, as there are many people who will embrace your goals and want to help out as much as possible. You will be surprised at how helpful a lot of farm people can be with the new farmers that want to learn as much as possible!
Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question. Those farmers that have been in the business for decades have been-there and done-that, and will give you as much advice as you ask for, and even a few stories here and there.
Be open to possibilities, listen well, and don't try to argue on something that they have known to work for them for the last umpteen years. Especially, talk to various farmers to get a better understanding of what to expect with what you are doing and the locale you intend to start a farm in. Choose what farm enterprise[s] you would like to get into. Organic, sustainable and even regenerative farming is another sector of agriculture which covers all crop and livestock production, but pertains to non-conventional means of producing such products.
Most, if not all farms regardless of economical classification i. For instance, a dairy farm cannot be profitable without also having silage, hay and grain enterprises to feed its cow herd.
It is generally considered that the larger the farm, the more specified the enterprise. However, this is not always the case, as shown above.
You should not have to worry about this, though it's best to dabble in only a couple enterprises at first before you start weighing the options of diversification. This is so that you don't spread yourself out too thin when you first start up, because it's so easy to spend a lot of money on a lot of things and then realize that you may have wasted a lot of money on something[s] that turned out to be wrong for you.
Visit with some experienced farmers. It is highly recommended that you find those who are farming in a similar manner to what you intend to do. It's also recommended to ask them to give you a tour of their operation. Run a web search to find out about some upcoming local agricultural events happening, and attend as many of them as you can.
You will find many active producers you may want to visit with at such events. There you can ask questions and get a better understanding of their own farming experiences. Introduce yourself as well and tell them, albeit briefly, about what you want to do. Usually that will open them up more than someone suddenly inundating them with questions without giving them a sense of who you are and why you are so interested in what they do. Then you can follow up by asking if they wouldn't mind you asking about their own operation: What they do, how they do it, what's changed and what hasn't, and if they have any advice for you.
You could also bring up the idea of coming out to their farm to see what the do for yourself. Farmers markets are also a great place to meet producers. Not only do you have an opportunity to purchase their product to try out at home, but to also talk with them about their own farming operations. They may appear to specialize in one particular thing i. They may even allow you to come out to their farm to talk with them more and get a personal tour.
Research as much as you can. Utilize as many resources as possible: Books, the Internet, agricultural newspapers and magazines, podcasts, videos, etc.
Read books that discuss the kind of farming you want to get involved in. The library is a great place to start, and ideally a library of a post-secondary institution will give you more resources than one at a local elementary, secondary school.
On-line book sites are also good to look through. Search the Internet for various articles that cover the many topics of the particular enterprise you want to get started in. In the United States, the Center of Rural Affairs also offers online PDF documents that contains lots of information for beginning farmers and ranchers.
A PDF link gives some advice for those wanting to get into agriculture. There is also a beginner farmers website called Beginning Farmers that contains a lot of information for beginner farmers. Quite frankly, if you search Google with the search term "beginner farmer" you will find a large number of links to look at that caters to those wanting to get started in farming. Look for and read some online discussion forums that contain various topics on agriculture, from cattle to goats to crops and machinery.
Online forums are great places to discuss a number of topics in farming and ranching with other producers and agricultural experts. In your research, find out every aspect of farming that you need to know about, from skills needed to accomplish various jobs basic mechanical aptitude, how to operate machinery, knowing animal behavior, growth stages of crops, etc.
Attend informational or continuing-education sessions or classes on the sector of your interest. You can either choose to attend college or university, or just attend various information sessions held by various agricultural organizations, agricultural schools, or government extension services.
Attending university or college to study agriculture is not required, but recommended if you want to learn more than what you need for running a farm. Depending on the institution, you may want to get into animal sciences, agri-business, agricultural management and production, crop sciences, animal health or pre-veterinary medicine, horticulture, agricultural mechanical engineering, and many others. You have the choice of getting a diploma, a certificate, or a degree if you decide to go into college or university.
However, choose wisely and if you can, incorporate classes on business, economics and financial management to your education so that you are not going to be caught unprepared for the amount of financial and economic decisions that you will ultimately need to make for the betterment of your operation. Typically a college diploma or certificate would be recommended, if not a university degree, however learning to farm does not really require formal education because there are many aspects to it that cannot be covered in the classroom.
As mentioned, you do not need to attend college or university in order to qualify to start farming, even though the studies will help immensely in the long-run. Attend some informational sessions held in your area or within your state or province or, if necessary, in a different province or state in your country, or even in a neighboring country. They will give you the information you need to run your farm.
Such sessions may be on farm economics and finances or how to grow and harvest a certain crop. They may be even on the advancing technologies of your sector of interest, or even on improving management on your farm to be more sustainable and environmentally-conscious.. Some sessions are free, others may require an entrance fee or admission to attend.
Consider having to move. Without a doubt you will not be able to achieve your dream of becoming a farmer if you do not move out of your urban residence, if that is where you are currently situated. However, with regards to starting a farming operation you will need to consider the right location where you can start farming.
Some regions of the country are more conducive to farming than others. Some areas are more conducive to different sectors of agriculture than others. Note that environmental conditions were mentioned above based on soil, climate, topography and vegetation. The reasons these were included was because all of these determine what kind of farm you can have and what kind of operation you should not even bother considering.
For example, an area that has rocky soil is ideal for raising livestock and some hay, but not growing crops. I try to have my student produce the name of the animal or a verbal approximation and the animal sound. I have some of my students complete the final page to see if they can remember where are the animals are on the farm.
After the student matches all the locations with the correct animal we read the final page together pointing to every box. This is a challenging activity for some of the students but it is a great review of the vocabulary we just learned.
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