Ag 101
Beginning A Successful
Small Farm
Terry E. Poole
Extension Agent
Frederick County
Small Farm
Operator Objectives
1- How to simplify production techniques.
2- How to locate the most efficient
equipment and tools.
3- How to reduce costs, increase
profitability.
4- How to efficiently market what the
farm produces.
Frederick County Agriculture
Livestock
 Beef
cows: 411 farms; 9,130 head
 Dairy cows: 256 farms; 28,197 head
 Hogs:
73 farms; 5,117 head
 Sheep:
92 farms; 3,297 head
 Layers:
76 farms
 Broilers:
4 farms
*1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture
Frederick County Agriculture
Crops
Field Corn (grain/silage)
 Soybeans
 Wheat
 Barley
 Oats
 Hay
 Vegetables
*2001 MDA Ag Statistics

48,000 acres
26,500 acres
13,500 acres
6,700 acres
1,400 acres
44,000 acres
612 acres
Frederick County Farm Size
1304 Farms: Avg. 166 Acres
1
to 9
acres
96
 10 to 49
acres
372
 50 to 179
acres
463
 180 to 499
acres
300
 500 to 999
acres
50
 1,000 plus
acres
23
* 1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture
Frederick County Farm Income
 Less
than $2,500
356
 $2,500 to $4,999
161
 $5,000 to $9,999
173
 $10,000 to $24,999
189
 $25,000 to $49,999
89 Small
Farms
 $50,000 to $99,999
91
Big 245
 $100,000 plus
*1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture
What is a farm?
According to the U.S. Census
1850-1869
1870-1899
1900-1909
1910-1924
1925-1949
1950-1958
1959-1974
1975-present
$100 in sales
$500 in sales, or 3 acres
1 full-time person
$250, or 3 acres,or 1 person
$250 in sales, or 3 acres
$150 & 3 acres, or $250
$50 & 10 acres, or $250
$1,000 in sales
Can small farms have a role?
Typical problems and needs
 Limited
resources
- land, equipment, finances
 Limited ag and business education and
experience
 Limited purchasing power
 Limited market potential for products
 A silent segment of the ag community
 Citizens want more diversity from ag
 Currently contribute little to ag economy
A cooperative effort is the
answer. Benefits Include:
 Group
purchasing will lower costs
 Group marketing will bring higher prices
and more opportunities
 Market strategies can be developed for
niche markets, diversity of goods
 Members can be networked
 Focus groups can be developed
 Members can share resources and
experiences
J. S’s 10 Commandments of
Succeeding on the Farm
#1 Stay at Home
- your farm is your life and work
#2 Be honest about luxuries
- separate business and pleasure
#3 Build relationships with the neighbors
- don’t be stuck-up, a know-it-all, or a
complainer
#4 Invest in money making things
- a livable house is all you need
More Commandments
#5 Be committed
- get up when you fall down
#6 Do something
- it’s in the doing (right or wrong)
that is how you learn
#7 Write down a plan
- boil down your approach to a single
goal
Final Commandments
#8 Fully utilize your resources
- inventory the farm, more ideas will
come with experience
#9 Surround yourself with competent
counsel
- look for people who are doing
successfully what you want to do
#10 Be consistent
- don’t start and stop endeavors
Selecting The Land
 Air
Drainage
- growing plants need fresh air
- low areas restrict air movement
 Water
- excess water is a flood and not
enough water is a drought
- be sure to research the history of the
farm
- check on the water holding capacity
of the soil
More on The Land
 Geographic
Location
- concerns proximity to markets
 Access
- if necessary, can customers easily get
to your farm; can they find you?
 Security
- most farmers fail to recognize this
- theft and vandalism are problems
- evaluate fencing, nearby dwellings,
developments, and field visibility
More on The Land
Wildlife
- some species are very destructive
- adjacent woodland and nearby
bodies of water should serve as clues
 Acreage
- the ultimate availability of land
- evaluate the potential for all of your
land; some may not be suitable for
growing crops

J.S.’s Land Slide
 Man
is financially successful
 He saves his money
 Dreams of being gentleman farmer
 Begins looking at real estate ads
 Looks at some land
 Makes sizeable down-payment
 Sells house, puts equity in farm, and
borrows the rest
More of J.S.’s Land Slide
 Needs
job to pay debt
 Too tired from off-farm job to do
anything with the farm
 Weeds grow
 Honeymoon is over, feels frustrated
 Trapped with big debt, thinks farming
doesn’t pay
 Dream vanishes
 Puts farm on the market
What do I produce?
 What
ag interests do I have?
 What resources are available?
 Can I afford to do what I want?
 Will the farm support what I select?
 How will I establish, manage, harvest,
store, or feed my selection?
 Is there a market for my product?
 Is there a knowledge, or support base?
 Will there ultimately be a profit?
Selecting an Enterprise
The Do List
 Be
original, select enterprises that are
not being done by the larger farms
- the easy stuff is already being done
 Diversify - spreads out your risk
 Experiment - that is how you learn
 Locate, develop new market niches
- the early bird gets the worm
Selecting an Enterprise
The Don’t List
 Market
to middlemen
- you want to sell directly to customer
 Hire outside labor
- increased costs and unreliability
 Get too far in debt
- remember nobody went into small
farming to get rich
 Overwork yourself on the farm
- remember why you got into farming
Small Farm Enterprise Options
Objective: High Value / Acre
Rent your land
 Organic animals, dairy, produce
 Landscape plants
 Meat goats
 Free range chickens
 Rabbits
 Fee hunting
 Wine grapes
 Cut flowers, herbs
 Small fruits
 Greenhouse

Name of the Game:
Niche Marketing
 Identify
markets
 Determine special needs
 Position yourself to serve those markets
 Find out what the larger producers can’t
supply: What is too small for them?
 Look for ways to differentiate your
product, not only from what you grow,
but how you grow it, what you do with it,
or how you package it, or market it.
Some Examples of Current
Niche Market Trends
 Fresh,
in-season local produce
 Color, (white eggplants, blue potatoes)
 Nostalgia, (traditional American comfort
foods, i.e. corn-on-cob, corn bread,
vegetable varieties from several years
ago)
 Organic foods, people believe it is safer
 Edible and cut flowers
Where to buy things
 Auctions
 Classifieds
 Trader
Bulletins
 Catalogues
 Hardware stores
 Farm stores
 Web
Be Resourceful
 Need
to be innovative, use what’s around
 Use less expensive buildings, covers
 Buy used equipment
 Equipment should have multiple uses
 Don’t buy more than is needed
 It may be cheaper to hire out the work
 It may be cheaper to buy a product than
produce it
 Develop enterprises that can fit together
The Big Red Barn Syndrome
 Many
small farms fail due to high
overhead
 High overhead items such as new
tractors, board fence, and the big red
barn are tough to cover the costs on
within a limited resource operation.
 Remember, agriculture is a business. If
the farm business can’t support it, don’t
buy it.
Operators should be:
Business Smart
 Operate
within the established objectives
of the farm
 Always ask: “Can the farm afford to buy
it in the context of the business?”
 The same thought process is applied to
crop and livestock production. If you
can’t cover your variable costs, don’t
grow it!
J.S.’s Lessons for All Farmers
 Rats
can carry off 50 chicks in 2 hours
 Unseasonably wet, or dry is normal
 Normal weather is exceptional
 Weeds grow faster when you’re not
looking
 Best place for a fence is where the rocks
come to the surface of the ground
 The tractor never breaks unless you’re
using it
More
J.S.’s Lessons for All Farmers
 Little
apple trees have radar that attracts
deer and rabbits
 Raccoons have a special affinity for
chickens
 No matter how good your grass is, the
cows can’t wait to get to the neighbor’s
 When away from the farm, the spark
goes out of the electric fence
 Things roam around at night
More
J.S.’s Lessons for All Farmers
 When
the truck is stuck in the mud, you
don’t get out by floating the valves
 Goats think car hoods are special lounges
 To find old rusty fence wire, send out
sheep
 Every minutes of winter consumption
requires 30 minutes of canning
 Horses eat twice as much as cows
 Deer are not beautiful animals
More
J.S.’s Lessons for All Farmers
 Houses
require a lot of maintenance
 Only in the wild, or as a hobby do rabbits
proliferate easily
 Frost damage is real and deadly
 Tools really do walk away from the shop
bench; they have a life of their own.
Farm Service Agencies
 Maryland
Cooperative Extension
 Natural Resource Conservation Service
 Soil Conservation District
 Farm Service Agency
 MD Department of Natural Resources
 MD Department of the Environment
 Maryland Department of Agriculture
 County Weed Control
Sources of Ag Information
 Ag
magazines
 Ag newspapers
 Ag books
 Extension, NRCS, FSA, DNR, MDA
publications
 Other producers
 Ag associations and organizations
 World Wide Web
J.S.’s Being a Good Neighbor
1. Don’t give advice
- unsolicited advice is unappreciated
2. Watch your appearance
nose rings make farmers uneasy
3. Offer assistance
- average age of farmer is nearly 60
4. Don’t blab your dreams
- most farmers don’t have big dreams
More
J.S.’s Being a Good Neighbor
5. Anything you borrow, bring it back
better than you found it
- be careful about borrowing things
6. Respect your neighbor’s property
- keep your animals home
7. Join appropriate local ag organizations
- these are educational and social
More
J.S.’s Being a Good Neighbor
8. Invite neighbors over for a meal
- holidays are a good time for this
9. Do business in the community
- patronize neighbors and other
farmers as much as possible
10. Talk
- farmers love to lean on a truck and
talk
Right to Farm
 You
have a “Right to Farm”
 The State of Maryland allows counties to
adopt “Right to Farm” ordinances
 Frederick,Carroll, and Howard counties
have adopted ordinances.
 This prevents some lawsuits since it
requires complainants to first go through
the Right to Farm Board before court.
 Farms must be following appropriate
agricultural practices.
Right to Farm
 Communication
is the key to avoiding most
problems with neighbors.
 J.S.’s guidelines on being as good neighbor
should be seriously considered.
 While you have a right to farm, be
considerate of your neighbors. Think about
the impact on your neighbors before doing
something on the farm. Spreading hog
manure on the 4th of July weekend really
upsets people.
GOOD LUCK