We need more information. What are your potential markets? How much time can you give to growing? What kind of equipment do you have? Are there local farmers markets? How much growing experience do you have? with what crops?

If you want to plant large acreage like 30 acres, then you need a tractor to plant and harvest. Thus corn comes up big time.

A friend with a market garden that grows pretty much everything says the corn give him almost all his profits. Tomatoes second. He grows strawberries. they can be good.

If you are going to be successful then it is best that you love your work. Farming simply to make a profit is not going to work out. There are better businesses to make a profit.

He has his own farm stand on the road in front of his house and farm. He sells direct to people. He feels if you wholesale to other people then you dont make any money.

I believe it is hard to make a profit in farmning. Hard work long hours and low pay.

korevk, your last three lines ar4e4 very correct, it is all in the marketing, which is so very hard for so many.

Hi Bob, I'm getting started myself. I personally think that, first off, going organic is a good way to start. Many commercial and even market growers do not do this, because in large-scale farming it's not practical: pesticides, etc. are necessary on big operations. But organic produce commands a higher price point, and it is a way you can distinguish your produce from the crowd.

If you're thinking of farming the whole 25 acres, this maybe isn't practical. But if you're just thinking about an acre or less, to start, on your own, that's maybe a good option. Do a google search for your local extension agent to get more info.

I'd prowl the local farmer's markets and see what stuff is selling well. Selling direct to people instead of wholesalers is more hassle but more money in your pocket.

I'd also invest as little money as possible the first year or two. Learning curve will be less steep when you start laying out serious capital money. And you'll see if you like the life before you start buying tractors, etc. Good luck! J

Another thought, on at least part of the acreage, is a U-Pick farm of some kind. It is work, and SOMEONE has to be there when you are open for picking to take money and answer questions, etc., but it may be less hard work than growing and picking to sell yourself. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and almost any other veggie that is reasonably sturdy and desirable would work. Although, you might need it to be one with successive plantings, so as the public finishes with one section, you can plow it under and send them to the next - most peoplpe have no clue as to how to safely pick things so the plant survives and is healthy for more crops. You would need to be close to a market, either a year-round one or a summer, vacation one, but it's a possibility. Cut-flowers can also be done on a u-pick basis - charge so much per stem, and give clear directions on how to pick, or go with them and cut the flowers yourself at their direction.

Again, if you are near a market, a corn-maze is a good money-maker - or it has been for farmers. (Google for mazes, or for corn maze.) Coupled with a farm stand, and a fall pumpkin patch, etc., it might work very well.

However, if it is just you, by yourself, doing the work, with no possibility of extra help or hiring help, then an operation where you do all the work of picking and selling might work out better - you can work whatever hours, and as hard as you need to, to get it all done, but don't have to cater to the public as much. Either a farm stand, if your road has enough traffic, or you can offer enough to get people to come to you, or a farmer's market, or two, (which is harder work and longer hours) should work out for you. You might also sell directly to restaurants, but you HAVE to deliver what you said you would, and they will par wholesale, not retail.

It sounds like you are new to this, so I'd suggest you start very small, especially if you don't have equipment. Small to me means a half acre or at most a full acre, with a mixed variety of vegetable crops.
Get to know more about growing, go to meetings, join groups (PASA, Coop. Ext, local grower groups) and read as much as you can.
It doesn't come easy. You must be persistent, constantly learning, aware of what's around you (in the field and in the market) and willing to try new things. Enroll in a master gardener program to get some basics of soil, pests (even if you want to go organically, you still need to identify pests and know their life cycles) growing conditions, varieties, cold crops vs. warm crops, etc. There is so much to know that starting from scratch you MAY be at a disadvantage, so by starting small you won't break the bank if you have a disaster or if Mother Nature gets crabby again this year!
Ann

read both of elliot colemans books and develope a plan and a process.

perhaps a local farmer could get the land into hay for you then you could cut the hay and rake it into windrows like 4x the normal and go for a mulch method of beds. and a hoop house or two in the future
gota get them early vegetables to market for the best prices

I'd grow good produce marketed as local before going organic. We were certified organic before the USDA came in. At least out here organic food is mainstream Wal Mart, Fred Meyer and Costco. But their stuff ins't local and we found that was the big marketing advantage.

As much as I loved growing produce for market it was always the animal enterprises that made the big profit. Tractored chickens had the biggest profit, then "pastured" pigs and goats last. We could never raise enough of any of them to meet our market demand. You have enough land to have both produce and animal enterprises. Coleman's book is good on how to grow what. Haakenson's The Small Commercial Garden is great on the planning and business parts of market gardening. Joel Salatin is great on poultry and other animals. Susan Moser has a great video/book on Growing Salad Greens. If you want to slog through great detail then Metro Farm may be for you too.

If local producers are growing corn and strawberries I'd suggest starting with something they don't grow. I'll always suggest developing a business plan before you start. That's especially true here where you need the income to help with the mortgage and taxes. This year's project may be more investigation and planning than growing. Good Luck, Tom

see PENN STATE UNIV WEBSITE
get into the aguriculture page and you wiil find the most comprehensive resourecs around.
search: www.psu.edu :
food entrepreneurs
incubator kitchens
Ag incubators
OTHER AG SCHOOLS ALSO HAVE INFO
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ucdavis.edu
see: plant sciences and post harvest technology, food processing dept
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ohio state
kansas state
new mexico state univ ( nmsu.edu )
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heirloomketchup@aol.com

Something you could grow is what cut-flower growers call woodies - perennial shrubs like hydrangea, viburnum, red-twig dogwood, curly willow, holly, lilac, forsythias for forcing, etc. You might include peonies, too.

Check out Star Valley Flowers for ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Star Valley

I only have a 3/4 of an acre, but I'm in a rural area living on an interstate highway access road just right off a major exit. I want to have a stand in front of my house by the road and sell agricultural products for profit. I have 2 large pear trees and could sell the pears when they ripen. I also have an abundance of Redbud, Rose of Sharon, Wisteria and Mimosa trees and sprouts that I can dig and pot for sale. I also have an abundance of a couple dozen different varieties of perennials and house plants that can easily be divided and make root cutting of to pot and sell. I can make seed packets from all of them and sell the seeds. For the most part, the only expense's I'd have in that would be soil, pots, and seed packets. I've also written and developed the most awesome Garden Journal that I can sell, along with eggs from my chickens and ducks, baby chicks and ducklings, home made dog treats, cat toys, gourds, candles, soaps, lotions, and other things of the sort. I have a 74'x34' garden spot that I could sell my produce from as well. I feel like I really need a green house, but with no more space then I have and money being very scarce that would be difficult to do. I think I could accommodate a 8'x12' but am worried that I would out grow it too soon and regret not getting a larger size. I can't put one up on my own, so would have to hire it put up. No other resources. Then I'm concerned about doing sales tax, and reporting tax's, and permits, and licenses... I'm trying to research all this and would appreciate any feed back on my little dream I want to come true. :) Remember - if your knees aren�t green by the end of the day, you really need to seriously re-examine your life!