General Steps to Successful Farming

I recently read a comprehensive report on steps to success in small- scale farming. I got the report from nebeginningfarmers.org, which is one of the many websites that offers great resources to farmers specifically in the North East. I have been looking at these websites to learn how to write a resource guide, because there are many exemplary ones for farmers in other areas. The goal of this report is to “leave readers contemplating possible benefits of adopting these recommendations against their likely costs in particularly social and ecological contexts”. The steps for success that this report synthesized apply to all farmers, and I found them to be very concise and accurate. I will note that I combined a few of the points into one.

Key Social Conditions for Success Failure

1.       Access to materials

2.       Accessible farm input suppliers, info providers, service providers

3.       Good markets with room for specialty niche

4.       Must have supportive family, community, and neighbors willing to help

5.       Surrounding land that is compatible with enterprise

6.       Taxation and other costs must be reasonable relative to income

7.       Suitable policies with farming and marketing

8.       Access to adequate health care

Personal Characteristics of a Farmer Necessary for Success

1.       Willingness for physicality

2.       Appropriate managerial knowledge technical skills for producing, harvesting, storing,   delivering, and marketing

3.       Flexibility and innovativeness

4.       Fast learning through trial and error

5.       In tune with business world

6.       Able to avoid too rapid growth

7.       Take outside opinions, especially with marketing/ susceptible to cultural knowledge

8.       Creative in marketing the farm portfolio

9.       Above all, persistence and perseverance

Farm Business Characteristics Necessary for Success

1.       Adequate resources and cash flow

2.       Sounds farm vision and contingency plans

3.       Balance diversification and specialization, rationally setting rates of expansion or contraction

4.       Must match concentration of production scale, production technology, and available resources

Another point from this report that I found very interesting was the definition the writers used for success and failure of farmers. They prefer to use the term “continuation” for success and “exit” for failure. I appreciate these new terms because I think that it is an interesting way to describe the success and failure of farmers. Since farming is such a unique occupation, it makes since to me that there should be unique terms for farmer success and failure.