So you want to be a farmer? Here’s a basic manual

NAIROBI: You want to become a farmer, but you’ve never grown a crop or raised livestock? Not to worry.

Can a new farmer be successful? Of course! But a new farmer has to work extra hard to make it. Farming is hard work, takes a lot of responsibility, and is certainly not an easy money-making venture either.

The industry is, for the most part, steeped in tradition. If you’ve never farmed in your life or had any agricultural experience to bring to the table and yet want to become a farmer, you will have to expect a lot of raised eyebrows from farmers and non-farmers alike. Be ready to answer the question “Why do you want to farm?” with confidence.

The starting point is choosing what kind of farming you’d like to do. In most cases, there are two types of farming to choose from: crops and livestock. Organic farming is another sector of agriculture which covers all crop and livestock production, but pertains to the non-conventional means of producing such products.

As a beginner, plan first before spending money; don’t try to keep up with neighbours’ spending; grow for market; learn from others; seek out those who encourage and challenge you; and use wisely your time, energy and creativity.

Farming is like many businesses: Success depends on preparation and a hint of luck. And luck favours the prepared. Design and plan for success. A business plan is the template for identifying opportunities, obstacles, and solutions.

A ‘finished’ plan may not play much of a role in daily operations, but the exercise of thinking through your business is invaluable.

In particular, develop a financial projection that identifies a profit, and understand the elements that influence that profit. That is essential preparation. If you can’t project a profit on paper — where there are no surprises — you’re dependent on luck to make it happen for real. You need to know which expenses fit your operation and what level is reasonable for your location or specific approach.

Experience is also essential in the production part of your business. You aren’t likely to learn enough on your own to get where you want, when you want. Farming is being recognised as one of the professions best learned through apprenticeship under an experienced guide.

Seek out advisers, information resources, and experiences. If you have little experience, it would be of great benefit to have a ‘mentor’ farmer — someone who can advise you on many aspects of your farm, and who cares about your success.

Look around and ask someone you respect to help with this aspect of your farming startup.

Most people are flattered to be asked. A benefit of relationships with experienced mentors is that you don’t need to own all the experience. A mentor can supplement your judgment and knowledge. Even peers — fellow new farmers — are sources of information. Group learning is more fun, provides emotional support for a largely solitary job, and allows members to make fewer individual mistakes.

Seek out successful and optimistic advisors and companions; a positive attitude fuels persistence, which is a requirement for overcoming the endless challenges in farming.

Speak with some experienced farmers. Consider finding farms that are more towards the type of farm you want to run. Ask around and see if there are any in your area that you could visit.

Find out about upcoming local county or agricultural fairs/exhibitions and visit them. There you will find serious and active producers that you can talk to about farming.

Ask them whether you can visit their farm. Farmers are generally friendly, humble, and welcoming people, though some are more guarded than others. A ‘business’ approach in farming often entails identifying the market first. Most farmers farm because they want to grow things while selling is an afterthought.

But ‘growing for market’ means just that: producing what you can sell. That’s not such a novel thought, but the ability to identify what you can sell at a profit is the key to farming business. For farmers, that means being able to grow crops or livestock at costs that are less than the selling price. Farm profits are infamously at the mercy of markets and weather. But controlling costs, accessing high value or stable markets, or building in weather resilience are under a farmer’s control.

Become an apprentice by offering your services as a labourer or a farm hand.

This is the most critical step in becoming a farmer because you are working in exchange for an opportunity to learn, or gaining more and necessary experience as you work as a hired farm hand. Since you’re just starting out, you’ll be entering at the bottom of the totem pole.

High margins or profits can come from reducing costs, replacing purchases with labour, and selling high value products.

Several options for these fit with beginners. Cutting costs works best combined with the other approaches. Reducing purchased inputs or using natural systems can cut the need for cash. Farming systems like ‘organic’ both reduce purchases of synthetic inputs and use natural and preventive fertility/pest/weed control systems to grow acceptable crops.

Using grass and forages for livestock feed instead of harvested/purchased feeds can greatly reduce equipment and facilities costs. Avoiding debt also reduces interest costs.

Beginners can use management and labour to replace purchases. Management-intensive grazing uses knowledge and labour to increase productivity of forage and livestock, resulting in more forage per acre, better use of existing forage, and more meat/milk/fiber per acre.

Management skills and labour can replace expensive facilities. Hogs raised in deep-bedded hoop houses yield the same profit as hogs in controlled-environment houses; hoops cost 2/3 less, but labor makes up the difference. That labour is the farmer paying himself.

So to conclude I ask, Can a new farmer be successful? Of course! But I insist that a new farmer has to work hard with both hands and head to create success.

The writer is a consultant/advisor in Sustainable Agricultural Innovations.