2 ms·

That’s fair, but two posits (1) you can’t really get high quality food outside a lot of sourcing and effort. As an example, I grow purple green beans that tast

That’s fair, but two posits (1) you can’t really get high quality food outside a lot of sourcing and effort. As an example, I grow purple green beans that taste better than any green bean I’ve every bought. You may be able to get that particular green bean from a specialty shop, but I’m doing this with 30 different plants on 1-2 acres. I can harvest and eat the plants the same day as well (which has far more nutrition). (2) I shouldn’t have said no profit, I do have a plan to make it profitable. But that’s not the primary goal, nor would it be my primary job. I’m a software engineer by trade and can work remote easily. Further, I can later sell the farm and equipment. It’s likely I’ll make a profit there as well.

dakna 6y ago
I'm in a fairly similar situation, albeit on a smaller scale (6 acres) and I do this for reasons you already mentioned (nutrition, inflation hedge) plus climate change. I have years of experience growing veggies in my backyard and I agree, it takes a lot of money to get the same quality food elsewhere, and some specialties are out of reach. It's also a lot of fun. I'm also planning for retirement in the 2030s and I'm trying to funnel my software engineering money into a small productive farm/market garden that produces enough to make a small profit and hire some help when needed. I haven't found a good way to offset my initial investment costs as a beginning farmer against my regular income from my main job, but I just started to learn more about Schedule F Profit/Loss from farming. Any pointers on what to read or CPA recommendations are highly appreciated. Greetings from Hardiness Zone 6, which I assume will turn into Zone 7 within my lifetime.
- lettergram 6y ago
  Frankly, while I've bailed hay, grown my own food, etc. I'm also unfamiliar with this scale - just decided to go for it. I already have someone willing to harvest for me and split the profits 50/50. I'm offering them a 30(me)/70(them) split on the condition they teach me to run their equipment, explain what they know, etc. There's not really a guide on starting a farm, you need to find someone who knows and work with them. I also have family members in the cattle industry, construction and one family member specializing in maintaining prairie land. Speaking with them I am working to figure out the best way to maintain and improve the farm. For instance, I have a cabin on the property from the civil war period; we're going to repair it and put a new roof on etc.
rootusrootus 6y ago
> you can’t really get high quality food outside a lot of sourcing and effort To be fair, this is very dependent upon the region you live in. I live in a suburban area bordering on farmland, and so I can get piles of really good quality foods at my local farmer's market every weekend. There's farms naturally raising grass fed beef, as well. And a couple people that go out to the Pacific and catch fish and then sell it at the same farmer's market. I imagine that's a bit of a luxury in some places, for sure, but I'd bet it's not that uncommon, either.

dakna 6y ago

I'm in a fairly similar situation, albeit on a smaller scale (6 acres) and I do this for reasons you already mentioned (nutrition, inflation hedge) plus climate change. I have years of experience growing veggies in my backyard and I agree, it takes a lot of money to get the same quality food elsewhere, and some specialties are out of reach. It's also a lot of fun. I'm also planning for retirement in the 2030s and I'm trying to funnel my software engineering money into a small productive farm/market garden that produces enough to make a small profit and hire some help when needed. I haven't found a good way to offset my initial investment costs as a beginning farmer against my regular income from my main job, but I just started to learn more about Schedule F Profit/Loss from farming. Any pointers on what to read or CPA recommendations are highly appreciated. Greetings from Hardiness Zone 6, which I assume will turn into Zone 7 within my lifetime.

lettergram 6y ago
Frankly, while I've bailed hay, grown my own food, etc. I'm also unfamiliar with this scale - just decided to go for it. I already have someone willing to harvest for me and split the profits 50/50. I'm offering them a 30(me)/70(them) split on the condition they teach me to run their equipment, explain what they know, etc. There's not really a guide on starting a farm, you need to find someone who knows and work with them. I also have family members in the cattle industry, construction and one family member specializing in maintaining prairie land. Speaking with them I am working to figure out the best way to maintain and improve the farm. For instance, I have a cabin on the property from the civil war period; we're going to repair it and put a new roof on etc.

rootusrootus 6y ago

> you can’t really get high quality food outside a lot of sourcing and effort To be fair, this is very dependent upon the region you live in. I live in a suburban area bordering on farmland, and so I can get piles of really good quality foods at my local farmer's market every weekend. There's farms naturally raising grass fed beef, as well. And a couple people that go out to the Pacific and catch fish and then sell it at the same farmer's market. I imagine that's a bit of a luxury in some places, for sure, but I'd bet it's not that uncommon, either.