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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: "Jeff Snyder" <snyderjs AT pathwaynet.com>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Helpful replies
  • Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 19:06:12 -0400

Thanks for all of your experience, wisdom and insights concerning
getting
started. Paul, your website is a tremendous resource. And Christina's
Exchange Club sounds like an extremely profitable, not just financially, way
to go. I appreciate all of your interest and help.
I have checked with our local community college and they have a
number of
two-week long summer programs including small business management and grant
writing. The small business course includes writing business plans. Don't
know how close your local comm. college is, but it's worthwhile to look into
it. Most of these courses are available on line, to be completed on your own
schedule.
On the issue of small farm equipment, I have an Allis Chalmers 170
gasoline
model with 3-point hitch, live PTO and hydraulics and a construction grade
loader. Also a Farmall M with a mid-mount cultivator, but no 3-point or live
hydraulics. You can purchase one of these older, very capable machines for
under $2000, if you can find one (doesn't have to be brand specific). Older
tractors can be a goldmine if you can maintain and repair them, or have a
nearby source of knowledgeable help (our neighbor is the son of the dealer
from which we bought this tractor - he's a genius at reasonably priced
repairs). The biggest problem is the price and availability of replacement
parts for these older machines. I'm a junkyard scrounge, and have saved
hundreds over the years at ag. equipment graveyards (parts yards). If you
haven't the time, experience, or inclination to do it yourself or a ready
source of qualified service, newer is better. The initial higher cost is
negligible compared to lost time from inopportune breakdowns. This equipment
may not be best for small plots, less than one acre, and they tend to be
heavy (read soil compaction), but this can be remedied with a chisel plowing
every couple of years, and more effectively with deep rooted cover and
rotational crops. When I use the six-foot rototiller attachment I just
return with one wheel on the previous wheel track, leaving the tire
impressions as paths. The compacted areas naturally inhibit weed growth,
requiring less weed control. While sustainable, mulch and cover tactics are
preferable to fossil-fueled methods, I thank God for hydraulics every time
I'm alone with a heavier-than-me load. And that big tiller does a quick job
of pre-plant preparation. I also have a 4-row planter that makes sweet corn
much easier. It limits me to 30" rows, but I have the land to spare, and
they give more room for the pumpkins and squash. It will also plant beans. I
still hand plant most everything else...it's not really farming without dirt
under the fingernails.
I'm being postponed by torrential rains and flooding this week - over
5" in
two days. North of us some main roads have washed out (heavy-duty truck
route roads) and we're awaiting the fate of a dam on the White River. The
forecast predicts more storms over the next three days. No matter what kind
of equipment you have, the only farming done in this kind of weather is
aquaculture or rice.

Waiting for the sun.

Jeff
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  • [Market-farming] Helpful replies, Jeff Snyder, 05/09/2004

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