Making Your Small Farm Profitable: Apply 25 Guiding Principles/Develop New Crops and New Markets/Maximize Net Profits Per Acre FROM THE PUBLISHER
Small Farms Can Equal Big Pay! Choose the right products, process and market them effectively, and you too can join the ranks of top-earning farmers, some of whom gross nearly $100,000 per acre. Whether you're buying a new farm or jump-starting an old one, Ron Macher's down-to-earth advice on planning, farming, and marketing you'll soon make your farm profitable and find satisfaction doing it. 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. Making Your Small Farm Profitable explains how to: * Exploit lucrative niche markets that others overlook * Plan for optimal farm efficiency * Determine equipment requirements and estimate machinery costs * Compare costs against profit for common vegetables and livestock * Sell your products a dozen different ways
"...your road map for planning a successful journey into the vast and diverse landscapes of agriculture in the years ahead." (Howard W. "Bud" Kerr, Jr., Former Director, Office of Small-Scale Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture)
SYNOPSIS
This practical, step-by-step guide to operating a small farm in the new millennium examines 20 alternative farming enterprises. Readers will learn how to target niche markets and sustain a farm's biological and economic health.
Author Biography: Ron Macher is publisher and editor of Small Farm Today, a magazine read by 26,000 farmers in the 50 states and in 15 countries. He has also written the Storey title, Making Your Small Farm Profitable, a book filled with proven methods and reasonable planning, farming, and marketing advice. Ron has been a farmer for more than 30 years. His success has rewarded him many times, including being named one of the top 25 agricultural leaders in the United States by Farmer's Digest as well. He currently serves on the Missouri Governor's Advisory Council on Agriculture and on the USDA-SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) Executive Committee. Ron lives with his wife, Joanne, and has two children, Jean and Jeff.