Local foods, farming

[anouk_pantoufle]

Originally Posted by New Heritage Farmers

Thanks for the advice. We have actually interned and apprenticed at many farms, some in WA. We are currently working with a few land owners to try and grow what we can on some land. An apprenticeship is hard for us right now because we have a 14 month old son and a dog, and havent had much luck getting farms interested in taking our whole family on. We are actively involved in small scale farming, and are writing this into our business plan. We hope to get some projects going to show all we have learned and that we are ready for a farm of our own. Community is very important to us and working with people in the area is going to be very rewarding!

-Hollie

The fact that you already interned and apprenticed is terrific! I would also look into how successful CSA's are - and how the interest is growing. Pick-your-own veggies & fruits are good ideas, as are seasonal interests mentioned (hayrides, pumpkins, maple sugaring - and even Christmas trees are all possible ideas).

You might be able to get grants if you consider something like teaching at-risk teenagers. You may have already seen this:

The Food Project

They might share ideas on writing a successful proposal.

I would love to do something similar. I basically cooked and baked everything from scratch since my kids were born (now they are all in their twenties) - polished up my cooking skills that way, not to mention saved lots of money. Unfortunately, I couldn't take the physical aspect these days...

Sending oodles of success-vibes your way for you and your family!

Lynne

[DreamworksSKG]

Also a corn maze would be really cool and could turn into a tourist attraciton and would be good for the town you might need permission from the town select board or council

[heathflax]

...I'm somewhat of a grower/small farmer in suburban/rural Massachusetts, and just read your posts, and all the replies received, and feel what I could comment, even just initially, might be of interest...

1. The first, or at least most urgent, specific, practical matter which jumps out at me, is over the suggestion you received, which you seem receptive to, that you consider going "open to the public":
It would seem you will very likely need to be insured , maybe heavily, to do this! with people coming on your land for Your business reasons, you would stand to be very very liable...and about the only way around this might be to make sure to put your entire property into that "homestead protection" act protection(one time cost of something like 600 dollars) such that, whatever happens, they can't take your home...
My info on insurance cost "as of ten or fifteen years ago (the most recent info I have) is that even back then, it was well into four figures--something like five or six thousand a year--even back then, just to get started with basic protection.
It "is" true that there has recently been created in Massachusetts (and a buch of other states) laws to "try" to mostly protect one certain farming situation: Pick Your Own (PYO) farming ...the new laws seem to specify that only in cases of flagrant, serious or, especially, "willful" or "gross" neglect, will lawsuits even be accepted into court when attempted to be brought by persons who have encountered, or claim to have encountered, an "injury" situation when they have been on a PYO farmers land to pick produce. Is this==already only for the specific PYO situation--really enough considering this lawsuit-happy culture we're in? I can acknowledge that in some cases, including the case of a long time farmer near me who I think has a rather valuable property overall, to protect--that some farmers "do" think it's enough, though I think older , dyed in the wool farmers sometimes get to the point where, they're going to do farming, and farm marketing, and if something dire happens financially, well then it just happens, and as to worrying about what really really could happen financially, well they're simply too committed to farming too determined to continue carrying out their farming life and careers, to let such worries stop them...life is just too short after all and maybe you tend to just have to do what you have to do even it it means taking some big chances...
At best also, these laws would seem to help only the specific PYO situtation...with all the other reasons to have people come by--including

2. As to the Farmers Markets mentioned, kind of a split reality that would need to be reported here...yes they "can" and often do end up being, a significant part of the selling/income plan, but , probably best to not expect great or large returns and profits with this outlet, becaused:
a. there is usually a lot of competition for the more profitable items
b. the bigger operations, whether real ,legitimate farmers or whether partially abusing or wholly abusing and cheating "pretend farmers" (read, non-growing resellers, wholesaling outfits etc) often make greatly the lion's share of "profits" , with all the rest of the growers at a given market, left with more or less just the "crumbs", even though sometimes even income at only more or less the crumb level, relatively speaking, is still found relatively worthwhile by the smaller growers, partly for the small amount of profit involved and partly also maybe for just general reasons or "socializing" reasons=-yes farmers, at least real ones, do often like, or need, a chance to meet and get to know the customers of their otherwise, possibly somewhat isolated farming existence...bottom line overall here being a good metaphor for small farming in general (and maybe similar things and efforts in general?) If you want to do "good" things in life, and have an envisioned "good" nice lifestle and life, in general today, outside of happening to be very very special a person such as highly gifted or genius at some given thing, your basic prospects are either to lean towards integrity, humility, and honesty which will likely tend, financially, to lead FINANCIALLY to only rather limited, apt to be pretty modest level of lifestyle and income...or just resolve that the money side is by far your goal and priority, and you're going to focus with so determination on it and that side of it, that ethics, honesty and all those kind of decent qualities are going to--if necessary, and probably it will be necessary--to become of very little if any at all, concern in the maybe ruthless quest for the money.
Yes that is my more or less, if unfortunate, conclusion about "success in life" shall I say, prospects in both farming and life in general , concluded so far about American society after 57 years of participating in it...overall fairly "o.k." I guess, especially if you learn to take a lot of it all fairly "philosophically,"...but, IMPORTANT, especially when young and just starting out, to have some "understanding", and to lean towards being "realistic" and not too "naiive" and such.

About the CSA approach in general: interesting but would seem apt to need carefull checking out in advance for specifically the exact location which would be involved...and also wouldn't hurt to do some researching, such as to, Are CSA s expected to "continue" to be a successfull approach, in the middle and distant future as well as just "right now"?How are they doing in the current Recession/moderate Depression we're now in? what are their market prospect, in the future?

speaking of the future and the future market, that 's apt to be a good reminder of how relevant it might be, to keep in mind, or look into as well and consider in advance, the question of, How is a given (business/marketing plan or strategy) fare in the Future, as well as "Right Now"?..because obviously, farms and farming, often are a long term venture (including, in sojme instances, financially speaking more or less "only" or at least largely so, in such aspects as types of farming wherein the farm itself largely needs to be, over a period of some years, "created" or even just much improved or restored...with cases in point such as, stock or herds, and fields to support them, need to be brought along and built up over years and years first...or, ditto for orchards, some of which, especially larger-tree type apple or other orchards, and even some berry plantations like blueberries--may take a whole bunch of years to reach large levels of production.

speaking blueberries, I could illustrate some of the preceding (and also, to be candid, also "conceivably" put out a small pitch for a long term venture I'm considering--"if" I can line two non-money things for it: 1. couple acres of suitable, watered land near me, N central Massachusetts area , and 2. probably, 2. partnership long term, especially as to helping nurture, maintain and run the eventual plantation) by describing a rather small little venture I'm at least "looking into" and strongly considering, right now: just an acre or two of cultivated blueberries aimed, unusually enough, for not necessarily the retail, but rather, the wholesale, market. Because, to my considerable surprise, a distinct certain wholesale possibility with cultivated blueberries,, has , seemingly at least, come to my attention as a blueberry grower(for about twenty years) already, in that basically some normally privileged "inside" info recently reached me, which, combined with my blueberry grower experience (knowledge and experience to some reasonable extent as to marketing, and to, I think, a considerably greater extent as to growing), has become enough to "appear" to put the idea "over the top" into quite a good looking, intriguing current opportunity ...while, in undeniable truth, there still could remain as very important to look into, the question, How reliably viable would the special marketing plan envisioned for this prospective Blueberry plantation, stand to be n the future and the long term?
Because, Ha, despite having a small plantation of blueberries already, a new plantation--logical due to need for some changes impossible to make on my existing small plantation--en if I "can" find suitable land and working if not sponsoring partners since I;m ready to myself pick up the tab on the purchase of all the plants--will have a reality that outside of possibly temporarily doubling up with some additional simultaneous project such as quick-maturing berries of some other sort filling in temporarily between the rows while the young blueberries for five years or so are underutilizing the space overall, as well as hardly , relatively speaking, producing all that much. So, the marketing marketing-plan realities that are the most important for checking, are equally or more those of/for somewhat the future, than of the immediate present...although overall it's likely I think, that this will all look okay, from what can be told.
One good thing about farming--"besides" the old (true) line about, "with farming, you can always "eat" your losses"--is that, in farming's more basic lines and aspects, the prospects and opportunities , including as to the so-important marketing--stability is more the norm than not the norm. Change is still usually rather gradual I think, all the new technology and techniques nothwithstanding. So maybe in my case, "all my ducks", minus just the land and working partner I 'd need, really still "all lined up" just as they seem, which helps me keep believing, small farming and its prospects may be, if not looking as "great" as once upon a time, still "o.k" if expectations are kept realistic. -heathflax, Winchendon, Massachusetts.

[charolastra00]

Another thing to look into is supplying local college dining halls and/or students. I go to Brandeis University and we have a few local fruits and veggies in the dining halls, as well as a new farmer's market on campus. I foresee local foods in dining halls as being a big draw in the future. Students are concerned about what they eat and also where the food they eat comes from. Not to mention that local food generally tastes so much BETTER.

In particular, things like cut up fruit salad or even premade meals made of your veggies that can be refrigerated or frozen could be popular to be sold. I'm living on an on-campus apartment with a kitchen next year and am hoping to find a CSA that is both affordable and will deliver to a dorm. Several of my friends at other local colleges are tossing around the idea as well. We can't be the only ones! Partnering with college environmental clubs and departments could make marketing easy.

Good luck!