How To Make A Profit On A Small Scale Farm – 5 Things To Consider

Farming is dream shared by many people around the world. However, the idea of farming on a small scale may seem like a low profit enterprise. I’m here to tell you that small scale farming absolutely can be a very profitable enterprise with some very basic considerations.

Video Chapters:
0:00 Small Scale Farming Is Profitable
1:50 Keep Costs Low
5:17 Start Small
8:06 Do What Works For Your Situation
11:14 Adapt To Your Market
14:13 Have A Plan

[publicdomain]

I can take care of an acre of tomatoes all by my self, about 400 hours total. I get about 20, 000 lbs off my acre and charge 50c lb, it takes about 40 hrs in the right spot to sell the tomatoes so. Profit? 8000 for my acre and its super easy work. Once ive moved into greenhouses ill be producing year round. I dont need millions just thousands. And for a part time job, im ok with 8000, and a pile of mulch. Scale up.

[malissiajones]

We only have 1 1/2 acres, but I wanted to be a farmer. All we had to start with was a ramshackle barn with what could be considered a chicken coop on the side. So there is where I started in 2020. I don't make money, don't really try to for now. But I've blundered into an egg selling business which started when folks were having trouble buying eggs during covid. I'm up to about 90 birds and I'll need to expand this spring. Folks are glad to get fresh eggs and I can call myself a farmer. Win win.

[jakehvazdamusic]

Im pretty close to an Amish hub in south central PA. No competing w them when you only have a 3000 SQ ft garden. So I've developed a product line of fermented foods, dehydrated veggies, dry tea blends, pre made beverages like teas and kombucha, cayenne tincture, fresh ginger, turmeric and leafy greens!! I also sell sourdough starter pre orders and microgreen subscriptions. Mostly out of one farmers market and some through an online delivery platform that services my area. Kinda have to go the extra step when youre so small and "process" products bc selling raw veggies against Amish (and anyone with more space and experience under their belt) is a tough road. It also works out that fermenting and dehydrating are allowed with a limited food establishment license to turn your kitchen legal. At least here in PA. Gotta think smart, it's all about the product and your efficiency

[mightyminifarm]

We’re only on 3 1/2 acres but the main thing we do is sell blueberries direct to consumer and it’s been profitable for us. The smaller you are, the smarter you have to be in terms of using your space and choosing products to take to market that are sure winners.

[rickross]

Great content. This is really the hardest part of small farming as well as all small businesses. Anyone can do manual labor and raise live stock. Getting people to buy your products not so much. That's the hard part.

[williamcurry]

That was the most respectful request for a like and subscribe that I’ve ever heard. I got you bub.

[CowgirlHope]

This was a great video!!! Thanks!! I am going to start my own cattle business after I graduate high School.

[WorryFreeGardening]

Good video! Adapting to your market rather than following what's trendy is very important. It's easy to find the trendy and think you have to go that route.

[guyh.]

OK, seriously now. When you were talking about #3 & talked about doing something that someone else is doing, couldn't be more true. When I was advising small acreage farmers & helping them plan what they were going to do, one of the biggest things that they needed to do was market research. You did it very well with your open range chicken biz but you did it as a long term experiment. If someone wanted to grow blueberries, they need to research that too. In my planning for my hopeful farm, I thought about doing them. I talked to a friend of mine who grows them & we both decided that they would not be a wise choice. Instead we decided that raspberries & or blackberries would be a far smarter choice to fill the need. Another idea & option is greens like salad greens and micro greens. Usually a very large need, especially when you directly market them to restaurants. Planning is especially necessay when you are wanting to get into the livestock industry. Cows take a long time to raise. Developing a market for them or joining into a market takes even longer. You may have to, like your experiment, do Poultry in the interim so you can build up your finances so you can afford to do that.

All of your questions at the end are the exact questions & actions I asked my clients and have them do to make their complete plan. More critically, the farmer needs to be sure that at end of season, to review their plan & sub-plans to determine if they are on track, what worked, what didn’t, needed updating, etc. Those plans are guidelines to get you going & help you operate. And more importantly, they are designed & meant to be modified to meet your needs.

Very good information you presented! 😊😊😊

[nonzenzeleifeanyichukura]

You can find your market anywhere, there's a market for everyone you accommodate especially if you are making money. Local money don't necessarily means profit money but I see what you mean on everything else.

[TheFeralFarmgirl]

Black water pipe on top of the ground? Not in the desert. I know a pig farmer that did that once, and the water got so hot that the pigs died from dehydration because they wouldn't drink the boiling water that was in that pipe in the summer.

[SIMPLELIFEINTHEFARM]

what a nice sharing, I am starting my own small farm and watched this video

[fowlplayoutdoors]

Know your customer. Pretty simple but overlooked by so many.

[dustinabc]

0:04 1973, eh? I follow "WTF Happened In 1971", and there was a lot of crazy stuff that really started happening right around that era. (When the u.s. gov't went off the gold standard).

[b.hepworth]

We are just about to get into cows and chicken soon!! And im very excited for more videos love your approach and knowledge!!

[workgather]

Liked your personal experiences in the steps you shared about starting a farming business. :-) It makes me more convinced I have to find a way to write out what I want to build. The main detail was knowing how you will sell your product/s. I would have assumed you could just sell things anywhere. Thanks for sharing.

[nonyadamnbusiness]

Good advice. Here's some more: Do not produce commodities. Produce something that is unique to you that you can market, preferably things you can ship nationwide. Or things you can package and sell direct to consumer. I operate a market garden delivery. Twenty-five weeks of the year I deliver a basket of vegetables, that I grow, to 40 customers per week, plus bread and eggs from a neighbor.

[roadtripgreg]

SUPER timely video. There's been alot recent attention on this exact topic - profit margin - on various small farm / homestead youtube channels of late. And I understand why. Prices are impacting all of us, producers and consumers.

We have raised chickens off and on, primarily for eggs over the past 20+ years. I'm curious if Plain View Farm (and any others) have you ever done a back of the envelope calculation on what $$$ you have invested - JUST IN FEED ALONE - in maintaining a smallish flock of laying chickens?

We have ~25 layers of various ages, who get 1/2 layer pellets 1/2 cracked corn. My wife and I ballparked $1.25 per dozen - in feed cost alone - being built into our "break even" number. (We estimate) We sell only to family and friends in a strictly mom and pop setup - not trying to derive a big portion of our income or maximize profit.

Would like to do a sanity check & compare this with others, running feed chicken feed costs. Anyone care to discuss / share numbers ?

[outdoorstudios]

Thanks for sharing, thank you Ron, from rural life with Ron for bringing me here.

[motoman]

Trust me its not cheaper to rent! I just dont buy new. Most things with a little bit of elbow grease and no more than 10 hrs of work you are in business. I buy scap price which is usaully about what you would pay for a week of renting. And it dont take me long.