Small Farmers Face Challenges & Seek Advice
13 posts across 6 communities in the last 90 days; 46% from r/homestead.
“Recently moved onto a small farm with a vineyard, and this is basically the road I use to get out there. Right now it’s fine. Mostly dirt, gravel, and a few ruts. My concern is winter. Once we start getting regular rain, I’m pretty sure a couple sections are going to turn soft…”
“Looking for someone to help design 2 acre farm in ColumbiaStation, Ohio. We have a blank canvas for the most part. We have 20 chickens and bees currently. Looking to add goats, game birds, large garden, fruit tress and bushes, and eventual horses”
“Good afternoon yall Was wondering if anybody had any recommendations for what type of livestock I should look for. I’ve always worked with cattle at home but recently moved and have a little more than 1 good acre of flat land that I’d like to put something on, mainly so I just…”
Multiple posts highlight the difficulties faced by small-scale farmers, including bird damage, fire incidents, fertilizer costs, and land access. The community actively seeks advice, solutions, and support regarding these operational and financial hurdles.
SOURCES (28)
“Recently moved onto a small farm with a vineyard, and this is basically the road I use to get out there. Right now it’s fine. Mostly dirt, gravel, and a few ruts. My concern is winter. Once we start getting regular rain, I’m pretty sure…”
Hi! We’re currently working on a project focused on crop loss, and we’re conducting a survey to better understand the challenges, data, and areas we should focus on. Your input would be…
“Looking for someone to help design 2 acre farm in ColumbiaStation, Ohio. We have a blank canvas for the most part. We have 20 chickens and bees currently. Looking to add goats, game birds, large garden, fruit tress and bushes, and eventual horses submitted by /u/Downtown_Painter1593 [link] [comments]”
“Good afternoon yall Was wondering if anybody had any recommendations for what type of livestock I should look for. I’ve always worked with cattle at home but recently moved and have a little more than 1 good acre of flat land that I’d like to put something on, mainly so I just don’t have to mow it lol. I’d loved to have a dairy cow but realize that Proably wouldn’t be feasible on such a small lot so have been looking towards goats or sheep If anyone could recommend some articles or readings it w”
“I'm looking for references to lease or somehow host farming activities on non ALR land. Any insight from personal experience is welcome. submitted by /u/WestCoastAcres [link] [comments]”
“New to farming. Was looking to grow blueberries on an acre of farmland, and wanted feedback. The farmland is pretty flat, so swales aren't going to do much. Located in central NJ. Prevailing winds during the growing season come from the Southwest, hence the pine trees on the western edge (planning on growing fruit trees on the acre to the south). Used a sun calculator and in my area, even the western most blueberries should get 7.5 hours of sun in the earliest part of the growing season. Gro”
“We have 1.6 acres in northern Indiana, USA. This includes our small house, a large workshop building, and our high tunnel. The plan is to acquire a few more acres, maybe 5-10, close by to expand our growing operation. Possibly even to move the market garden off our personal property and focus it on this 2nd parcel. The landowner directly adjacent to me is not interested in selling/leasing. My community is very rural, but most of the large parcels are owned by big farm companies/families. We'”
“Hello , just another farmer here. I’m completely overwhelmed and running into a wall. I run a registered micro-farm (vegetables, poultry, livestock) as a one-man show. I have strict operational discipline: I separate my funds, maintain a 6-month buffer, pay myself a fixed minimum wage, and plan every single hour of my physical labor. I use a power tiller with a trailer for transport, handle direct market sales, and do all the farm work alone. Despite working my hands to the bone and keeping tigh”
“Hi everyone, I run a small registered agricultural business (mixed farming: vegetables, poultry, and some livestock). Currently, I’m handling most of the field transport and light soil prep with a walking tractor (power tiller with a trailer), and paying external contractors for heavy work like deep plowing, rotary tilling, and baling. I’m managing my cash flow tightly (keeping an emergency buffer, separating operational funds, etc.), but I'm looking at the next step: buying my first actual”
“Anyone got any good ways of recording what is happening on a daily/ weekly/ monthly basis? Initially just want it as a record I can refer back to but being able to share it with people who buy produce would be amazing. Basically want a way to tell the story of the growing. I guess instagram is an option but it's not built with farming in mind and you're then competing with everything else on the platform. submitted by /u/CourgetteCorvette [link] [comments]”
“Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice from people who have actually gone through the process of starting a small farm. Maybe this is the wrong place to inquire, but I will start here. I’m located in Ohio and I’m in the early planning stages of starting a small pepper farm focused around pepper breeding, seed saving, and eventually selling unique pepper varieties. My goal isn’t to jump straight into large scale production, but to start small, build up quality, and grow it into a legitimate sm”
“Sent you a PM. I have a lot of exposure to hobby farms and have suggestions on several of your questions, just prefer to keep the details in chat.”
“I am moving my family from california to north carolina for a new job and my wife is looking to get into hobby farming since she won't need to work anymore. She wants to start with a few chickens to see if she like it. Her "dream" is to have about 20 chickens 10 ducks 6 goats 2 cows and a pig. Maybe have a small salsa and herbs garden but this is not suppose to be overly self sufficient. So with all that in mind just asking about how many acres would we need to live on to eventuall”
“Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice/guidance here. I want to know if there’s any way to own/co-own an animal at a nearby farm. I’m interested in learning more about the husbandry and care of livestock, and while I have some experience, I don’t know if i have enough to confidently buy my own animal. I have 1 more year left in college before I’ll be moving out of state. I guess i’m looking for something like a 4H for adults. I do have a little money saved up so maybe I could buy an animal, sp”
“To anyone who commented on my last post here, thanks for the tips on predator protection. Electric wire was a bit out of budget, so I improvised with some tips in mind. Hoping the rubber flaps and a couple box traps will keep these safe from predators 🤞 submitted by /u/PicksburghStillers [link] [comments]”
“Drew up some plans for a chicken tractor while laying in bed this morning. Followed the initial plans 95% but had to make a couple changes due to unforeseen details. All that is left to do is to put on the metal roof portion, and to attach ropes for ease of movement. I am concerned that predators may be able to wiggle/dig under the sides if it isn’t sitting on a perfectly flat spot. Does anyone have any good tips to stop predators from being able to go under the sides? submitted by /”
“Hard to see, but looks like a lot are drones. During a dearth/weather, they may kick them out, could be it. Could be forergers getting into pesticide. Could be mite/virus load.”
“My chickens are messy and splatter their feed everywhere. I see the crows getting their snacks from the coop. I’ve also seen crows chase hawks away from my yard. They don’t want something messing with their snacks.”
“And if so, what are you doing to be sustainable? We use cover crops and reduced tillage. Waiting for electric tractors to be realistic options for us and our operation..”
“This was a point I was going to make about this particular grant. (Especially compared to something simpler like SARE). I just recently dealt with a couple of small farms looking at the VAPG, and I certainly had to call Rural Development to understand what was involved. I think someone who has a good idea for a value added product could benefit from this grant. But they pretty much have to start with the planning grant. For the larger grant, grant reviewers are expecting that the applicant has a”
“I’m a software engineer learning about drones! I’m looking on building my own drone to help farmers analyze their fields, not spray pesticides. I have no clue where to even start with getting in contact with farmers in NC and learning how I can help them. Could any farmers tell me what drone field analysis services would be useful for a small independent farm in the US? submitted by”
“I'm close friends with a local farmer who does strawberry farming on a small scale (like only sells at his little stand) and he's always had a problem with birds eating the seeds off of the strawberries he has. He runs a Upick and sells his own strawberries and he used to hire a guy to scare off birds but labor is super expensive now so like he just let the birds do their thing. But now it's a huge issue, and I'm pretty into engineering and thought it would be c”
“I asked this in the homesteading group but thought this group might be more helpful— How did you find and pay for your land if you are lower income ? We are trying to find 5-10 acres to build a home and start our farm back up and money is a huge obstacle for us, hoping to hear some advice and creative solutions.”
“I'm a robotics student in the US and I'm looking to partner with an organic farmer to build a weeding robot. Is this something organic farmers would be interested in? If you let me test it on your farm (I can come to you) you can keep it. submitted by /u/young-money4L [link] [comments]”
“r/farming wont let me post the question because i dont have "karma", or what have you, in that community. I'm looking for a crop farm in the south eastern states thats, at most, by a small town. Google is useless as far as i can figure, and i dont have the resources just yet, to head down from Pa just to scout it out. Desperately want to live in the south again, out of the rust belt, away from any cities, but not so far away from Pa that”
“Hi, I’m Russell and I have a small farm. I’m seriously questioning, Why on earth I decided to have a farm. I incubated a bunch of eggs this year and can’t sell a single chick. I bought a ton of goat milk at a really good price and I can’t turn it over. I’m a software engineer who got fed up with farm tools built by people who’ve never touched a goat. So I built my own while raising Nigerian Dwarfs, hatching chicks, and selling eggs from a farm stand. It’s called Mind the Farm. Still early but it”