We humans are a diverse lot and when it comes to beef, we definitely want it our way. But where does all that focused food come from? Thanks to the fact that more than 70 breeds of cattle have been introduced to the United States through the years, many of today’s beef producers are putting […]

Unlike large companies that can afford to replace equipment at regular intervals, homesteaders rely on disciplined maintenance to get the most from their investment. To make a small operation profitable, you’ve got to know how to protect heavy equipment. That means you need to know how to avoid damage and perform upkeep. Even a minor […]

Farming 101: Know Your Market Before Digging In You want to be a farmer. Where do you start? Before you buy land, plant crops, purchase livestock, or check out tractors, do one important thing: find your market, says Ellen Phillips of the University of Illinois Extension.  The farming business is just that—a business—and to be successful, […]

Social media is a great resource for any hustler who wants to increase their reach and bring more attention to their products and brand. However, just because social media is the place to go to connect with many of your customers doesn’t mean that they all connect in the same ways. According to Pew Research, […]

By the second week in October the reality of the arrival of fall is sobering. Especially for small-scale flower farmers. By small scale, I mean backyard flower farmers, like myself and other growers who are getting swept away in the beauty and romance of growing old-fashioned cut flowers like the ones they remember from grandma’s […]

Why Julia Chooses Quickbooks Excerpted from The Farmer’s Office by Julia Shanks QuickBooks (QB) is the industry-standard accounting software for small businesses, including farms. At a minimum, it’s a jacked-up checkbook register. At its best, it is a powerful business tool that provides the information you need to make important decisions about your business. If you have a basic […]

Setting Up Quickbooks Excerpted from The Farmer’s Office by Julia Shanks The Initial Setup When you first open up QuickBooks, you will want to Create a New Company and select Advanced Setup. QB will guide you through an interview process. Following are the questions QB asks, with my suggestions on how to answer (and set your preferences). You may […]

In Making Your Small Farm Profitable (Storey Publishing, 1999), Ron Macher shares proven methods for farming smarter and explores today’s new crops, new livestock, and new markets that translate into new ways to make money. He explains how to capitalize on lucrative niche markets that others overlook, plan for optimal farm efficiency, compare costs against profit for […]

When Chris Chmiel leaves his farm in southern Ohio for the weekly drive to the farmers’ market, he brings along blocks of his handmade goat cheese and jars of his pawpaw-spiceberry jam. In Michigan, Vicki Fuller, owner of Maple Island Pies, recruits family members to help sell her flaky treats at four different farmers’ markets. […]