HomesteadEditor

Excerpted from Bioshelter Market Garden by Darrell Frey Market Surveys Once we had agreed upon a business structure, we began market research. As we completed our bioshelter and began to establish gardens, we distributed samples of our crops. Our initial focus on specialty crops, such as salad mix, herbs and arugula, was met with indifference by […]

 Get your homestead hero the perfect gift with this helpful gift guide! Great Reads: Epic Eggs: The Poultry Enthusiast’s Complete and Essential Guide to the Most Perfect Food – By Jennifer Sartell Retails for $16.89 Creating Your Off-Grid Homestead eBook – By Teri Page Are you ready to go off-grid? Creating Your Off-Grid Homestead is […]

Gut Check Aaron from High Spirit Farm had been pounding the pavement, talking with chefs and grocers about buying his produce. It was early March when we sat down, and he was pretty sure that he had five commitments for purchasing throughout the season; he felt confident he could sell $45,000 worth of produce.   […]

Selling Produce at Local Farmers’ Markets Tips and tricks to make finding your niche at local farmers’ markets easy. Your local farmers’ markets can be festive cultural outings for you and your family. It is a place where friends and neighbors connect, children are welcome, and people reunite with foods from their past. Our farmers’ markets […]

A young couple with a strong work ethic, a dream, a sensible business plan and a desire to get back to their agricultural roots recently produced a new dairy farm licensed to begin raw milk dairy products, and sell raw milk in New England. Even with an often-saturated milk market, Mavis and Chris Newton have discovered a […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]