Wisdom in the Land

Participants in Wisdom in the Land made many significant changes as a result of the learning and development provided by the program. While some changes were unique to one or a very few individuals, other self-reported changes not only document individual changes but additionally suggest topics that would likely be of high interest to other beginning farmers.

There are five changes reported by many participants that resulted from the learning and development experienced through Wisdom in the Land.

1. Beginning farmers learned why and how to interact with other farmers, including mentors.

They met and learned to how to interact with, and establish new relationships with, farmers who are highly committed to sustainable agriculture and who are like-minded about production practices and commitment to agriculture. They met highly experienced farmers and engaged in structured, mentoring relationships. They met other beginning farmers. They found role models, new friends, and inspiration. Sometimes they were meeting farmers located a significant distance from them and other times they were getting to know close neighbors. Often beginning farmers who are committed to sustainable agriculture start farming in the middle of conventional agriculture, surrounded by farmers some of whom are helpful, others curious, and yet others hostile.

2. Beginning farmers learned how to test and improve soil.

The soils on their farms were seldom healthy. Soil-related challenges which beginning farmers learned to manage included depleted soils or those with less-than-desired nutrients, minerals, or organic matter. They faced drainage problems. They learned how to build and maintain soil fertility using organic and natural practices.

3. Beginning farmers learned how to do direct marketing of their products.

They learned how to define their market and techniques to gain an understanding of customer expectations. They learned how to brand their products, represent and promote their farms through trade names, signage, business cards, thank you notes, websites, fliers, T-shirts, and media exposure. They learned about signature products and value-added products. They learned how to successfully market to restaurants, grocers, distributors, and at farmers’ markets.

4. Beginning farmers learned the value of business planning and about resources available to help them do it.

They learned how to do whole farm planning, holistic farm management, long-range planning and annual planning. They came to understand that planning is required to achieve desired transitions such as moving from full-time to part-time off-farm employment. They came to appreciate that being a business person requires a particular mindset and that planning is a task performed by farm managers.

5. Beginning farmers learned about season extension practices and structures.

Those farmers who seek higher income, improved profitability, or select customers understand that season extension is an essential tool. They learned about both early and late season extension practices, the investments that are required, the challenges that must be met, the risks that are taken, and the rewards that can be experienced.

There are other changes reported by some Wisdom in the Land participants that reflect what they learned and represent topics that could be of high interest to some beginning farmers.

1. How to buy farmland
2. How to start or expand rotational grazing
3. Fencing for pasture management and for predator control
4. Weed prevention and control
5. The value of participation and memberships in statewide agricultural organization, such as those associated with a particular product line or others associated with sustainable agricultural methods
6. Chicken production, not only for meat or eggs but also for natural fertilizer
7. Cover crops and the particular benefits of alfalfa, rye, and buckwheat
8. How to buy and use farm equipment and the importance of having the right equipment, the skill proficiency to use it, and the practice of planning to create time to find good deals
9. Selling at farmers’ markets
10. Manure management, composting and use
11. Rain catchment systems
12. Raised beds
13. On-farm composting
14. Financing farm purchases, start-ups, improvements, and growth
15. Irrigation systems
16. Organic and natural production methods (relevant for beginning farmers without foundational knowledge)
17. Outbuildings, such as chicken coops, plant propagation sheds, and portable shelters
18. Value-add processing

Finally, a few beginning farmers participating in Wisdom in the Land report changes that result from new learning and also suggest possible development interests of a few beginning farmers.

1. Awareness of and access to annual conferences and specialized courses or programs by organizations dedicated to organic or sustainable agriculture or to particular product lines
2. Engaging in partnerships for purposes of production, marketing, or natural resource protection
3. Alternative energy, especially on-farm solar and wind power
4. Beneficial insects
5. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations
6. Insect control
7. Record keeping

Economic Analysis

Participant 1 decided to change the circumstances in which she farmed. Rather than farm commercially and be profit-driven, she now farms for a school where the requirement is more about food productivity and education and less about business profitability. Obviously, food productivity is intended to have an economic benefit for the school, which the participant delivers by growing diverse vegetable crops.

Participant 2 offers evidence of the results of applied new learning. In June 2007 after earning only $179 after two trips to the farmers market, a considerable distance from her farm, she felt desperate. One year later in June 2008, she earned $1,121 and was selling at four farmers markets. By the first Saturday in August 2008, she surpassed her 2007 income from farmers markets, and as the heirloom tomatoes are just starting, she will far exceed this 2007 benchmark. This participant now has a new mental model for herself and credits Wisdom in the Land with helping her become a business woman. In the past she strove to be a better farmer by which she meant producer and now she also strives to be a better business person, by which she means to have a business mindset when making decisions and taking action. She purchased a transplanter specifically to accomplish her business goal, allowing her to expand production and increase income. In order to have more income during June, she planted much more lettuce and is going to market earlier and with more produce. She now keeps better financial and marketing records, weighing both what she takes to market and doesn’t sell. When she decides to add equipment, she refuses to immediately buy but rather searches for the best deal. Expanded production and greater product diversity requires earlier and more marketing. She now sells at three farmers markets, up from 1.5 in the previous year. Another participant of Wisdom in the Land who lives near her and who wanted experience with farmers markets is now a marketing partner, selling produce at a market to which this participant is returning after several years and at which the other participant hopes to bring their meat and eggs in the following year. Conventional farms surround this participant’s farm, and she plans to continue taking her products to the nearest metropolitan area. As acreage in produce expands and becomes more visible to her neighbors, she has begun selling to some neighbors and is beginning to develop this local market. She plans to put up a sign to market fall pumpkins and may try a self-serve stand for her produce. She looks for opportunities of mutual benefit. She bartered a first-ever CSA share in exchange for a logo design by a graphic artist. She sold baskets she no longer needed to another produce marketer. She initiated a conversation with another grower to explore a co-operative approach to marketing, which will likely begin with a specialty product focus in the following year, opening up a wholesale market for her.

Participant 3 participates in The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) a joint Federal-State land retirement conservation program that targets significant environmental effects related to agriculture. It is a voluntary program that uses financial incentives to encourage conservation practices such as grass filter strips, tree plantings, wetland restoration and wildlife practices. She is intimately involved in what happens on land she leases to conventional farmers and takes control of what happens on that land through lease provisions. She finds that most of her tenants are very open to her preferred production practices. Others are enticed by rising commodity prices and call to discuss growing corn on corn, an opportunity she declines.

Participant 4 purchased product liability insurance in 2008 and investigated marketing to grocers, produce distributors, and at a farmers market. However, her work schedule, in addition to production problems, precluded these endeavors during 2008.

Participant 5 firmly believes that he can improve his livelihood by incorporating both early and late season extension into his small farm organic vegetable production practices. His motivation to move in this direction grew when another farmer talked about the income he generated on less land than this participant has in production.

Participant 6 is researching and learning about cheese making in order to establish a new value-added product line. She continues to evaluate the relative costs of processing cheese on-farm or at an off site location, and the financial impact of this decision. As she prepares to expand her product lines she is also re-evaluating her past practice of growing products based upon customer request. Responding to information gained from highly experienced farmers, she is beginning to assess which of her product lines is most profitable so that she can use this information to decide what she might stop producing or processing.

Participant 7 experiences are that he can sell everything they grow, so his profitability plan includes increasing productivity, which is why improving soil fertility is a central goal. When he started to farm, he grew whatever interested him. With the help of a mentor, he began to see the wisdom of a holistic farm plan through which he would define how to use the land to make money not just for self-enjoyment. To reduce debt and the stress it creates, the family is selling a 20-acre parcel and may sell an additional 10-12 acres to people who want to farm sustainably. The farm serves 35 families through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation; the participant goes to two farmers markets, and also drives 90 miles to sell to seven restaurants. He was one of several farmers who sold for one day at a farmers market set up at the Ohio State Fair. A Columbus-area country club asked if he would do a one-day market on their site for their members. He is exploring the interest of two area farmers to do cooperative marketing to reach major markets. The market for organic produce and fruit is limited in the county in which they farm.

Participant 8 significantly improved his farm record keeping practices, now using Quicken software to track expenses. Effectively hiring custom harvest operators for the hay and grains produced on the farm requires a level of knowledge that he needed to gain. He is now considering different operators informed by the results of the 2008 Ohio Farm Custom Rates survey published by The Ohio State University Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.

Participant 9 thinks the upcoming sale of her farm is not only necessary but also wise. She is much smarter now about purchasing farmland and the current farm created a debt burden that would make it hard to ever farm profitably.

With no prior experience in direct marketing the wife of husband/wife Participant Team 10 is taking the lead to prepare to sell at several farmers markets in 2009 by working for the organic produce farmer from whom they lease and crop-share land, a woman who has sold at such markets for many years. Key to their future marketing success is their meat processor, which this husband/wife team plan to change in order to secure the needed license to sell at farmers markets. The problem was their current processor did not have the capacity to meet their inspection requirements on cured meat. They selected another processor about 50 miles from the farm whose lower rates make the service affordable. They will purchase storage from their local processor. They still want to buy their own farm; however now they are looking for land half to a fourth the size they once thought was required. Two hundred acres seems adequate for livestock that will be direct marketed, and it will be require less work than 500 – 1000 acres leaving more time for family.

Husband/wife Participant Team 11 decided to invest more of their limited time in 2008 in their garden motivated primarily by the expected benefits to their own health. This husband/wife team did also start a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, selling four shares this first season. The decision to calculate their earned farm wage is a planning tool through which they will develop their ability to make discretionary decisions about what is financially successful and contributes to their goal of the husband’s transition from full-time to part-time off-farm employment.

Participant 12 had a business plan but he now sees its shortcomings and, with the information and materials recently made available to him, and will upgrade this plan during winter 2009. In 2008, his farm attracted an extraordinary number of U-Pickers. In part his customer base is growing because people increasingly want local and organic fruits and vegetables. However, he put fliers in locations where he perceived people seeking U-Pick sites go, such as a college campus near his farm. He started a database of his personal network and customers, sending a broadcast e-mail. He promoted his U-Pick operation on Local Harvest, reputedly America's #1 organic and local food website that maintains a definitive and reliable living public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources and also on his nearest Craigslist, an online community that features local classifieds and forums for more than 500 cities in over 50 countries worldwide - community moderated, and largely free. Without paid advertising, the huge blueberry crop of 2008 quickly sold out. This participant also experienced how a casual conversation with just one person about his work on the farm can have a joyous rippling effect. The conversationalist was associated with a Cleveland church that operated a program to feed the hungry. The program twice purchased 100 lbs. of blueberries, serving the first 50 lbs. to people in need and selling the second 50 lbs. as a fundraiser for the program.

Anticipating future opportunities to go to farmers markets, husband/wife Participant Team 13 go to markets every weekend to see what people are selling and how they manage their market site. As both have very demanding off-farm summer work commitments and are also first-time new parents, they plan to continue to sell to one area restaurant and to do on-farm sales rather than go to a farmers market.

The business strategy Participant 14 defined for the family farm is to start slow, limit risk, and do what’s right, right from the beginning.

While Participant 15 intended to use organic production methods, she had not intended to become certified organic. However, after conducting her consumer research she concludes that certification does have an economic impact and would positively affect the sustainability of her farm. Originally, she intended to establish a Community-Supported Agriculture operation but now thinks she may need to go to one farmers market and may do on-farm retail sales. She will continue to lease out most of her land to pay for taxes and insurance and to finance upgrades to the buildings, fencing, and other infrastructure.

The business goal of Participant 16 is to optimize the production of a small acreage farm in ways that maximize both income and profitability. To accomplish this one aspect of their big dream, this participant and his wife are in the process of developing a long-range farm plan. He looks for opportunities to promote and advertise the restaurant so that the farm gets greater visibility. For example, he is hosting fund raising events for non-profit farm service organizations at the restaurant; he interacts with restaurant customers and talks about the farm. In the future he will showcase the farm through on-farm events easily accessible in this metropolitan area. People will be able to ride a bike on the new park trails.

Participant 17 manages the farm to achieve profitability and to provide opportunities through which her production partner can make good money.

Participant 18 started to keep better records, with the intensity and detail required of a farmer intending organic certification. She strives to reverse her source of supplemental income from on-farm to off-farm. To that end, she knows that anything which improves the farm and its profitability, improves the quality of her life both now and in the future.

Husband/wife Participant Team 19 embraced a whole farm planning approach, by placing high priority on improving the quality of their family relationships as they met their lifestyle and economic goals. The farm was profitable in the first and ensuing years, which made them confident that this could be possible for years to come and thus, the dream and goal expanded to entail the possibility of becoming a full time operation and primary source of revenue. They revamped their spending practices and now work the farm solely on a cash basis, making development investments on set-aside profits, always thinking ahead so they have time to find good deals. With most of the major investment made in the first year of operation, the key financial goal is now to control expenses in order to increase profits. They hired an accountant experienced with farm accounting and express their annual plan in a farm budget. The wife is still amazed at how many people call and inquire about the U-pick operation. For the first 2 years, the primary outlet for revenue and marketing has been to showcase fresh picked raspberries and raspberry jam at local farmers markets. In the last 2 years, there has been a significant draw to the U-pick operation, particularly from the Columbus market. The increased awareness of their raspberry farm is, in part, the result of media exposure which promoted a beginning farmers program in which they were participating. Their farm was in local print media, statewide farm publications, Ohio State Extension news outlets, and newsletters of the sponsoring non-profit of the beginning farmers program. At the invitation of that organization, the wife volunteered to plan a program for central Ohio women farmers and also agreed to host an on-farm tour for the 2008 season. Both opportunities included widespread distribution of information about her and their farm operation. Serving as a public spokesperson also increases her self-confidence as a farmer. Additionally they added more directional signs on area roads to help people find the farm. They began using signage on their vehicles and developed and distributed flyers showcasing weekly specials, specialty crops, and hours of operation. They printed branded T-shirts that they both wear and sell. Their son developed a beta version of their web site. During the 2007 season, she rushed to make 1,000 jars of raspberry jam due to the combination of a lower-quality harvest and an increasingly high demand for fresh and locally made jam. New and innovative products such as chocolate raspberry jam and seedless jam provide an opportunity to increase sales from customers who often want more than just fresh berries. During this challenging year, their mentor, who also grows brambles, provided a referral and helped secure raspberry orders for local restaurants. In 2008, the wife reports a new restaurant account interested in acquiring fresh berries. This restaurant proposed to feature the farm as part of an effort to promote locally grown produce and local farmers. The wife helped start a farmers market in her hometown, which has provided an opportunity to share marketing opportunities among other local and small farm owners.

After defining their market, Participant 20 began to brand their farm’s products and begin a marketing campaign. They created a trade name to accentuate the local identity of their farm, while maintaining the name of their farm business. There are new business cards and thank you notes and a website is in development. All lamb sold in their production season. The plan is to have a visitor-friendly farm. Currently, the area Convention and Visitors Bureau has their farm as a destination and mini-tours are conducted twice a month during the summer. Efficiency is as much a priority as is a high quality product. The intent to simplify farm operations is driven by a new business mindset and she is now better able to plan for their needs. While they weed more often right now, they also planted annual rye grass paths in their personal garden. Their chicks were moved from small containers to a barn stall where other chores were performed. The layout of the farm is changing as are farming practices. Fences are put up with consideration of efficient action when caring for livestock. Lambing was done more naturally in 2008 with less human involvement.

Participant 21 started working full-time off the farm in August 2007 to help pay for her land. She plans continuous, affordable investments to develop the farm’s capacity to become self-supporting and to provide supplemental retirement income.

Participant 22 knows that to make a profit from part-time farming he must select and use the best time-saving methods. He not only needs to grow high quality produce. He must also identify which best-selling vegetables can successfully be grown within his limited time and budget. To increase his profitability he intends to invest in a greenhouse and other season extension devices and methods. To help with cash flow as well as profitability, he plans a small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation. Investments will be made to develop a brand name, signature products, and an attractive stand. He intends to develop value added products as soon as possible.

Participant 23 has a mantra that guides her emerging business model, based upon the experiences of real and successful farmers that are her role models: Have a business plan, keep meticulous records, start and stay small, know if there is a market for what you want to grow, and rely on your own time and not that of family members.

Farmer Adoption

Advice to Beginning Farmers from Full-time Beginning Farmers

Talk to as many farmers who are doing what you want to do and also those who are doing other things. Follow up with visits to their farms. Go work a few hours or days at different places. See lots of examples of successful farm operations. You will see practices that fit your farm and your situation.

If you are committed to farming, know that you can become profitable but that this will not happen by accident. Profitability takes a huge amount of work both in and out of the fields. You must plan profitability and constantly evaluate where your actions are taking you and if that is the right direction. Profitable farming takes a 24/7 commitment.

The time requirements and physical demands of starting to farm are enormous and difficult to anticipate. There is scant room for being an ideologue. Put your life in order to meet the challenge of this all-consuming work. The demands of starting something new are tremendous, as are the satisfactions. It will be the thing that consumes you. Expect it to significantly alter your relationships, your family, and your leisure time. Keep people in your life who help you step back and gain perspective about what you are trying to accomplish. Never forget to exercise belly laughter!

Decide what you want your operation to be known for and then establish and develop your brand. Start small and use the time to become known and to build a reputation for your farm.

Look for role models. Identify resources you can tap, including farmers who are successfully doing what you imagine doing. Understand that there is only so much time in a day. Manage your time as well as you can. Avoid over-committing the limited time you have. Look to the Lord before making any business decisions.

Accept the challenge of a new farm. It will be intimidating to start farming but give it a try. Especially if it is your passion, I encourage you to take the leap into agriculture.

Start out with little debt and keep your debt low. Select decent land with decent soil that is affordable to you. Expect to sacrifice for the first three to five years and anticipate that years 6 – 10 will be more comfortable. We need healthy food. We need many more small farms. There are deeply satisfying rewards that result from starting a family farm enterprise.

To be successful in farming when you were not born into it, you will need to be an expert farmer and to find someone with a farm operation who needs a professional farmer. Work with management to plan for incremental development of the farm. Plans can be ambitious but they also must be realistic.

Utilize the farm service organizations and the resources they make available to network and meet people who are doing what you want to do. Don’t be afraid to ask people if they know anyone else who is doing what you want to do.

It is important to set goals. Without goals you cannot measure progress. We initially had no goal, no plan, and no real vision of our future. We were floating around. Not now. Keep records . . . . keep records . . . . keep records. It helps you re-evaluate your goals based on the progress you are or are not making. Your own records help you benefit from information that is readily available on the Internet, comparing your facts with other baseline data of both conventional and sustainable enterprises.

Advice to Beginning Farmers from Part-time Beginning Farmers

It is important to network and to get to know as many different farmers as you can. Take your questions. They are eager to share what they know and this will be very helpful. You will likely be hesitant to do this as you may not feel like a real farmer and you may feel like you don’t know what you want to ask. Search out non-profit organizations that serve farmers and programs for beginning farmers.

Get to know all the farmers you can who are trying to do what you are trying to do. Keep your eye out for the ideal mentor - a farmer who grows what you grow using production methods you prefer.

Network! The more people you know the more you will know as you can draw on their experiences. Go to conventions and programs and you are likely to develop new relationships. Go and work with other farmers and help them do what you want to learn. Your network will provide referrals to other people you need to accomplish your goals. Be seen and get associated in other people’s mind with both what you are doing and what you plan to do. You need to know many people. It is the only way your farm will survive. You will need the wisdom of a lot of people with knowledge about many things.

Be open-minded and not afraid to try something new. Take every program and workshop you can and make new contacts so you can talk to others and learn how they do it.

Take any opportunity you have to talk to experienced farmers who are at various stages of doing what you want to do. Interact with diverse types of farmers so you can gain a broader picture of sustainable agriculture than just what you know you want to do. This will open your mind up to possibilities you never imagined.

Not only does it make you feel better when you meet others who have a passion for farming – both people who want to improve their ability to farm and farmers who are successful - it also helps you see your own vision more clearly. If you want to farm, remember that perseverance is an occupational requirement.

Don’t put too much value on the experiences reported in publications that cater to small farms. Not everything others do is wise or consistent with your values. Economic survival as the highest or only objective can lead one to the use of chemicals, to animal cruelty, and to practices that support unnatural production rates.

There is a lot to learn. Ask questions. Get opinions. Read. Visit farms. Gather all the information you can, but ultimately a farm requires individual decision-making. It is up to you to decide what is best for you and your land. Nobody knows your land like you do.

There are no magic approaches or methods that will quickly help solve all challenges. Trial-and-error and continued improvement of farming practices will help meet unique challenges, which seem to change every growing season. Consequently, start small and be flexible in your approach. While there is much information available, discussions with other people often provides the best guidance to help avoid costly mistakes.

Get out and look at farms. Take advantage of programs where experienced farmers welcome others to their operations. Farmers, unlike some other professionals, really do want to help each other. Visit farms even if they are not doing what you want to. As you survey how successful farmers handle things, you will come to understand they use different methods, have different philosophies, farm on different scales, and yet all are good farmers and doing well. This will help you develop your own philosophy and practice.

Visit as many farms as you can of like-minded individuals and learn from their experiences and be planning to work hard to make your farm sustainable. Never give up the farm dream that is in your heart.

Advice to Aspiring Beginning Farmers from Aspiring Beginning Farmers

Link with farmers who encourage you and who are willing to have a dialogue about farming. Farming is not a panacea. Getting back to nature will not necessarily resolve life issues. There are many risks and obstacles associated with farming. Farm because you love the work. That seems to me to be the best reason for engaging in this line of work.

Take time to obtain opportunities to meet real Ohio farmers and listen to the journeys of these experienced farmers. I also suggest reading books that share stories of farm start ups. I highly recommend Small Farm in Maine by Terry Silber.