Start Your Farm

The Authoritative Guide to Becoming a Sustainable 21st-Century Farmer

Ellen Polishuk, Forrest Pritchard

• Publisher: The Experiment
• Year: 2018
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9781615195138
• Subtopic: Agribusiness
• Index: Business

A totally modern, all-purpose handbook for today's agricultural dreamers—covering the challenges and triumphs of launching any successful farm—from two leading lights in sustainable farming

Do you dream of starting your own farm but wonder where to begin? Or do you already have a farm but wish to become more sustainable to compete in today's market? Start Your Farm, the first comprehensive business guide of its kind, covers these essential questions and more:

• Why be a farmer in the 21st century? Do you have what it takes?
• What does sustainable really mean, and how can a small (as little as one acre) to midsize farm survive alongside commodity-scale agriculture?
• How do you access education, land, and other needs with limited capital?
• How can you reap an actual profit, including a return on land investment?
• How do you build connections with employees, colleagues, and customers?
• At the end of the day, how do you measure success? (Hint: Cash your lifestyle paycheck.)

More than a practical guide, Start Your Farm is a hopeful call to action for anyone who aspires to grow wholesome, environmentally sustainable food for a living. Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk: Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach—and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun!

Table of contents

• Copyright
• Advance Praise for Start Your Farm
• Also by Forrest Pritchard
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Why Be a Farmer?
• 2. Do You Have What It Takes?
• 3. Harvesting Sunlight
• 4. Your $0 Student Loan Education
• 5. To Buy or Not to Buy—Getting Your Hands on Land
• 6. Exploring the Wonderful World of Soil
• 7. To Market, To Market! Part One
• 8. To Market, To Market! Part Two
• 9. Tai Chi Economics
• 10. Make a Real Profit, Secure Your Future
• 11. The Three Golden Rules of Farming
• 12. Love, Work, and Harmony
• 13. The Beautiful Paradox of Failure
• 14. Cashing Your Lifestyle Paycheck
• Conclusion: Go!
• Acknowledgments
• Resources and Recommended Reading
• Index
• About the Authors