Getting Closer

Its the beginning of June and the farms are a buzz with activity. Most farms a busy growing corn and soy, cutting and bailing hay and managing their livestock. As of right now I am trying to get our Rhubarb, blackberries, basil and flowers to grow on our tiny residential lot in town. While trying to grow a few plants I have been spending time reading and preparing for our farming future. I am trying to get a grasp on pigs, cattle and chickens through the only source currently available, books. I am currently reading "Everything I want to do is Illegal" and "Grass fed Cattle". Both books are informative and give me a heads up of what I need to be looking out for and some basic principals for pasture based farming.

Every step brings us closer to our goal of farming. About a week ago I laid out a 10 year plan broken down into two year groups expounding on different enterprises, costs, timelines and projected profit analysis. I set up a farming system with the overarching goal of starting and growing debt free. This means owning land may be a few years down the road. However, in the mean time I will start looking for a land owner who is willing to lease us land at a reasonable rate.

Our goal for beginning a land lease is March 2013.

If you happen to know someone who lives within about 15 minutes of Forest Lake, MN willing to lease land to a grass farmer, let me know.

Minnesota

After living in Minnesota for a year, we have had a lot of things happen. Among them is buying a house in Forest Lake. We are still trying to plan a farm in the near future (about 5 years). But, before we venture into farming we want to make sure our finances are in order. We are not wanting to fail before we set out. Anyhow, this gives us some time to figure out what our farm ventures are going to include and devising ways to make a profit. I have found many books on the subject of marketing and running a business that will be a great help. Some I have read and some are on my list to read. There are additionally a lot of farm books that I have found, some I have read and there some I have on my shelf to read later. Farming is not simply farming but it is a business. Something I am keeping in mind is purchasing at a discount and selling retail. There are endless stories of farmers selling at wholesale and buying retail. Most of those farmers are now former farmers, or they work a town job.
I have spent 5 years working in management for a company called Chick-fil-A, learning the principals of leading a great business. This has given me some awesome insight into how to communicate with customers and guests. Although the business' are completely different, some of the principals are the same. How to treat and talk to people, have a quality product and market your business well.


Some books I need to read or have read:
Good to Great
Guerilla Marketing
Making Your Small Farm Profitable
Salad Bar Beef
You Can Farm
Pastured Poultry Profits
Quitter
QBQ
Raising Beef Cattle
Grass Fed Cattle
Entreleadreship
Small-Scale Livestock Farming
Comeback Farms
Family Friendly Farming
Getting Started With Beef and Dairy Cattle


Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said that “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.”


I have spent the first 24 years of my life hating reading, but recently I have found that anything I want to know can be found in a book. There is a list of books about Jesus and theology that I can't put down. I now know my savior in a deeper, more personal way because of the Bible and books written by people who have dedicated their lives to the study of the Bible.