Is starting a MICRO FARM in your future?First, what is a 'micro farm'? Well, the 'farm' part implies that micro-farming includes the raising of both livestock animals and plant crops to create a profit. Just released - get my new free report: How to raise chickens, pigs on pasture, and an organic market garden - on JUST ONE ACRE! Download my free One Acre Farm Plan Making a Living on Your Small Farm The good news is, it is possible to micro-farm successfully, on almost any scale. The size of the enterprise may change but the principles remain the same:
Crops and Livestock for your Micro FarmOn other pages I have talked about the limitations we faced when we started New Terra Farm. We didn't have a lot of start-up capital, to pay for equipment, or new buildings, or livestock.We needed to make start making money right away, or at least in the same season we started. This meant that an orchard and even small fruit like strawberries were not on the start-up plan. Since we needed an income pretty quick, we also couldn't afford a steep learning curve. We had to find enterprises that we could 'ramp up' pretty quickly. It's likely you face some of these challenges yourself. So, what enterprises did we decide to start with? We started a CSA market garden.We had some experience gardening, and we knew the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model could make the start-up cost very low. In fact, we actually got paid in advance from our market garden customers. This got us a cash flow right away, and let us start market gardening with only $300 out of our own pocket (and I put that on my credit card!) It also met the other criteria above: we could start small, by feeding ourselves and a few customers (we had 10 full shares the first year.) Then as our skills and confidence grew, we could expand. And we were organic from the start. To learn more about this enterprise, you can download our Free Market Gardening Start-up Guide We raised meat chickens on pasture. In many ways, chickens are a perfect micro farm livestock animal. They don't require a huge investment in equipment - our portable coop for 100 birds cost us about $150. They provided a quick turn-around on our investment. Our first batch of birds was finished in about 11 weeks, and we netted about a 67% profit. Here's something fun to think about: if you do three batches of birds a season like we do, and make 67% each time, that's a 200% return on your money! Is there a Wall Street stock that can match that? And meat birds were easy to sell, they were a very popular item. Many people have forgotten how good chicken can taste until they roast an organic, pasture-raised bird. We have customers coming back year after year for our chickens. You can read more about
how we raise chickens here
NEW: Micro-Farming For ProfitI've just created a new section of the site all about making an income on your small property. My plan is to model a one-acre micro-farm and explore ways to make it profitable. This section will also host a forum where you can ask questions about micro-farming for profit. My belief, borne out by my experience over the last 10 years at New Terra Farm, is that a one-acre micro-farm can produce over $40,000 of organic meats and vegetables using natural and sustainable methods. Check out Micro Farming for Profit for more information p.s. This is not a 'paper exercise'; my plan is to actually create and operate a one-acre micro-farm in the 2010 season. I plan to integrate my garden, greenhouse and livestock production on a one-acre plot, and prove just what can be accomplished on a very small piece of land. Stay tuned . . . Scott See also: Learn how to Farm How to Raise Meat Chickens How to raise pigs Grow a web-site for your Micro Farm Return to Home Page
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