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Marysville/Sunbury, Ohio | Hey there Lance,
You've recieved a lot of good advice already, but thought I would still throw in my 2 cents. I'm younger like yourself and always wanted to farm, but was one generation removed. I cut my teeth on a small piece of family land raising hay, and eventually, through customers and neighbors, opportunities have started to come my way. In the next few years (with college behind me) I'd like to continue expanding and tweaking to the point of farming full time, but know that I'll be working elsewhere during the "off" season for a while.
"Learning" to farm is a lifelong process for anyone involved...discovery and application. Thats what these boards allow for, efficient transfer of real world information. The technical aspect of raising a crop or operating this or that piece of equipment is the easy part. The running of a successful business is what takes skill and decision making ability. Anybody can "farm" and lose money hand over fist in the process, and if you intend to just do this as a hobby, I suppose thats fine.
If you truly want to farm, don't limit yourself. There are a lot of people who will try to tell you how stupid you are (My HS guidance counselor spoke to the college bound seniors in my class and told them that no one in our school should ever want to become "some poor dirt farmer", this with me in the crowd after having one of those "what are your life plans" talks with her.) Remember that there are all kinds of farms out there. A person can make a living off of a relatively small amount of land if they have the right enterprises in mind and a solid business plan in place. It all takes work and determination though. Find out "why" you want to farm, and follow your own path from there.
Sorry to be long winded,
Alex | |
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Getting Started - Young & Beginner
