If you're thinking about, or just getting started in direct market farming, welcome to the business. It's a great way to make a livelihood.
Being a farmer means working outdoors, being your own boss, meeting challenges and surmounting them, caring for a piece of land and, most of all, doing the important work of feeding people.
Fall is a great time to plan your entry into farming. There are multiple things that need to happen before you put the first plant into the ground.
All over the United States and Canada, families are making a decent income from direct marketing of food, herbs, fresh eggs and flowers. Their businesses range from the one-acre market garden that provides extra income for retirement or college, to the 100-acre vegetable farm that supports several generations.
Market farmers come from all walks of life − from conventional farms, of course, but also from urban occupations with no farming experience. Even a small, backyard cutting garden can yield income within a season.
According to Tim Woods, an agriculture economist at the University of Kentucky, Kentucky’s produce sector will likely exceed $33 million in sales this year with producers planting around 13,000 acres. A recent survey found that in the past decade, produce sales in Kentucky have steadily increased. So the market is there and fresh, locally grown produce is popular within communities.Market farming is also unique in that it doesn't take a lot to get started − a few acres, some basic equipment, a love of growing things, an intellectual curiosity and a genuine enjoyment of hard work.
Of course, any endeavor has its risks that must be considered and planned for.
One way to minimize some of the economic risks associated is diversification. Among successful market farms, there is a trend toward diversification and away from specialization. As growers gain experience, they tend to add new crops and markets and extend their seasons.
They find ways to maximize income from everything they grow and put all their land to good use. Many create entirely different but related businesses such as mushroom production or cheese making.
Diversification is nothing new, of course.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" is one of the oldest proverbs in the English language. It has always been a plain-spoken way of expressing the fact that spreading risk across multiple endeavors provides greater security. The proverb that originated in farming applies more than ever to market farming.
It's especially pertinent on a market farm, where diversification may be the key to survival. If one variety of your most important crop fails, another might succeed. If you lose a crop to a late frost or local wildlife, you could have a succession planting coming along right behind to save the day.