Gardening for profit(and fun)?

DigitalCowboy · Feb 2, 2014

Thought I'd run this by this forum since I imagine I have the right crowd.

I live in west-central WI, a little over an hour from St Paul. I am on a 40 acre property but most of that is split between a wooded area, a field that is rented out, and a horse pasture. Still, there are lots of little unused spots in different corners and some less than desirable sections of woods that I could clear if so inclined. I've been doing a decent sized garden for the past few years with my most successful crops being sweet corn, potatoes, broccoli, pumpkins, and hot peppers. I usually end up with more than we can use/preserve as is but I get better and more productive each year and want to expand just for the heck of it. Maybe find one or two crops to try to sell.

My biggest issue growing wise is that we have very sandy soil that doesn't hold water well and a fairly dry summer. I deal with this now by using sprinklers but if I scale up that won't be practical, I was thinking at least for things like pumpkins I could rig up a water tank with a drip irrigation system... potatoes might even work without much water and with my tractor+potato plow I can probably easily grow a truckload of those if not more without a lot of effort in planting/harvesting but potatoes don't sell for much. I was thinking maybe pumpkins or watermelon or both as an experiment.... enough to sell but not sink so much time and money into that I'm really out anything.

I have at my disposal a tractor, plow, disc, potato plow, and a small 20" garden tiller. Also have a pair of horses, 18 chickens, and all the fertilizer they produce. I don't expect to make a lot of money but it's something neat to do and a little extra spending cash would be nice. I can probably just put up a sign by the road and put a craigslist ad up. There's also a big farmers market in town although I'm not sure what you have to do to sell at it yet.

Anyone have any suggestions, ideas, experiences to share?

Reyer Farms · Feb 2, 2014

Go for it. It's very rewarding work.
Growing is the easy part, selling is the hard part.
Work with your soil, drip irrigation is great. We truck crop here and I weld and do odd jobs to make ends meet.
Know your market before you plant. Have fun.

smstonypoint · Feb 2, 2014

Just a few thoughts from an economic perspective.

1. There is a potential conflict between doing something for profit and doing something for fun.

Earning a profit isn't easy; if it was, every farmer would be rolling in money.
2. I think you will find that earning a profit on a small-scale will involve producing specialty products that are labor- and management-intensive. You would also require access to suitable markets and marketing skills in order to succeed.
3. If you want to make a profit, you should be thinking about what customers want rather than what you want to grow. If you can identify customer "wants" that aren't being met, you can make a profit if you can meet those wants at a price that the customers are willing to pay and that price more than covers your costs (operating and ownership).
4. Speaking of costs, you need to get an idea on what those costs may be. The University of Wisconsin provides prototype budgets for vegetable crops here: Center for Dairy Profitability - Crop Enterprise Budgets & Economics. Your local Cooperative Extension Service office should be able to assist you in this regard.
5. Speaking of marketing, what are local farmers now providing to your potential customers? What are farmers selling at the farmers' market, at roadside stands, through Community Supported Agriculture programs, etc.? What prices are they receiving for their products? How will you "compete" against other farmers?
6. How much time are you willing and able to spend producing and marketing your crops? How do value your time?

Many of these issues will be irrelevant if you want to produce and market your crops for fun.

Steve

DigitalCowboy · Feb 2, 2014

Well the fun part comes in as... if it wasn't fun to do it would never be worth my time.

I do have a fair idea of my input costs, but I'm gonna start this up on a small scale. Maybe just get one pickup load for the first year and see what happens...

I don't know everything about the market, but I do know from late summer through fall every year I see pickup trucks full of sweet corn for sale in at least one parking lot every time I drive through town. I also know there's a pumpkin patch about 2 miles from me... so on one hand I know people are probably buying that stuff but I also know there's already a pretty good supply.

One thing I don't remember seeing a lot of is watermelons, you'd think there would be some.

Reyer Farms · Feb 2, 2014

If you can't have watermelons by the 4th don't bother planting to sell. My 2 cents.
I don't know what your time is like, but farmers markets can be tough if you are selling to customers. If you are selling to the market than a truck load is great, but customers may not warm up to you at one visit. Just something to think about. One very established farmer told us no one would really buy from a new farmer their first season. We grew different stuff and really sold us.

7879fordman · Feb 3, 2014

I diss agree watermelons sell any time of the year . I sell them up in to November as long as I can keep my grower from tell'n them up . He Usually keeps one field for me as long as they will produce . I sell 500-1000 melons a week after the 4 th of July they sell tell they quit grown .

Sent from my iPhone 5 using TractorByNet

newbury · Feb 3, 2014

Not trying to make this a politics thread BUT
THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE ALL RULES

The big ag companies have messed up enough that all the "mom & pop" farms are coming under extensive and expensive rules.

Yes - you know what you are producing is safe but the rules are there. And many of them require a lot of paperwork. They are often designed for a large corporation that can assign an accountant and lawyer to ensure compliance.

Pumpkins might be easier because they can be sold for Halloween.

Good luck.

adimice · Feb 3, 2014

My wife and I have grown and sold our own produce from 3 stands as well as from our back yard. Sandy is a pain, mulch, drip irrigate, fertilize thru the drip with water soluble fert. If you build it they come, sell from your home. If you can stomach the drama and politics of farmers markets, they're not hard to join. Tomatoes have always been our biggest draw.

2LaneCruzer · Feb 3, 2014

There is a farm in our area, "Nowakowski Sweet Corn Farms" that sells to the public right out of the field (They're on Facebook). We drive down every year, about 25 miles, and buy a couple bushel and freeze it the same day. Last time I waited in line for over two hours (I hate waiting in line; even 50 years ago I wouldn't have waited in line 2 hours for a date with Marilyn Monroe). Although they harvest by machine, it is labor intensive, in that they cull the corn when it comes in and sack it up in half bushel sacks. They hire lots of high school kids to do this; plus they need help to cart the stuff to the customer's vehicle...especially for large orders or for the elderly.

The point being, they have a great product, folks come from many miles around and stand in line for hours just to get it right out of the field. Corn loses its flavor if it sits around any length of time; it seems that the enzymes begin turning the sugar to starch...so it must be frozen the same day to retain the flavor. You can't get corn this fresh any other way. There is about a narrow window for harvest, around the 4th of July, so harvest is over and done with in about a week.

They have a huge operation, so they operate on a large scale. I have no idea how it would go over in your neck of the woods on a small scale (maybe you could let them pick their own?), and I know that getting your corn right out of the field and freezing it the same day is a rural/cultural sort of thing. By and large city folks don't know or don't care, but I'm sure you know your area and could take that into consideration.

Good Luck.
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