If you want to start a small farm business,
you may be wondering what step to take first.
You might not even have land yet, but you are
still thinking and planning for the time when
you will make your move. And finding
farmland is one important step in farming -
one that you'll want to take after considering
some other factors.
Learn About Farming
You can't go wrong starting with this step. If
you're new to farming, learn everything you
can about it within the time you have. But be
reasonable, too. You can't know everything!!!!
there is to know. Some learning will have to
be on the job, and trial and error is messy,
!time-consuming and sometimes costly. Yet
it's inevitable with farming, so embrace the
process. But learn some, too. Balance.
!If you can find a mentor - someone you can
learn from directly, perhaps in your
q!!!community now or where yoqu hope to farm - it
can be extremely helpful. If you haven't
already, work on a farm. Volunteer. Gain
experience before you begin.
Design and Plan Your Farm
An important part of starting your farm
business is defining what it will be. Do you
want to have a micro-scale vegetable farm?
Do you plan to grow acres of hay for other
farmers? Maybe you want to have a
diversified farm - a small-scale operation that
grows a variety of animals and crops. You
might even be wondering how to start an
ecotourism farm, where people will come to
stay to see the workings of your farm and
perhaps even participate in farm chores.
Write a Business Plan
You may wonder if you need a business plan.
The short answer: if you want to start a
business, you will need a business plan. In the
writing of the business plan, you will consider
markets, supply and demand, as well as
anything and everything that pertains to your
farm-operations, management structure,
financial analysis, products and price points.
You may cycle between this step and the
previous one, designing and planning, because
they are interconnected. But a business plan
is a significant enough part of starting a
business to take up an entire step. It's where
you take your dreams and brainstorms and
make them reality.
Find Grants and Loans
You might not have all the capital you need to
start farming on the scale that you'd like. You
can start small, dip a toe in the water and see
how you enjoy farming on a micro scale, using
whatever you can glean from your monthly
household budget to invest in the farm. But it
might take a long time to get anywhere using
this method, as you may not be able to invest
a significant amount, enough to bring product
to market. Grants and loans aimed at young
and beginning farmers are out there! Help is
available for established farmers, too.
Programs offer subsidized equipment like high
tunnels, assistance in certifying organic, and
more.
Set Up Finances
You will also need to decide on your business
structure. Will this be a sole proprietorship, an
LLC or something else? Contact an
accountant to get information specific to your
situation. Financial planning should be in your
business plan. It's very important to set up a
system for bookkeeping and accounting from
the start of your small farm business.

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