What Is The Most Profitable Farm Enterprise?
December 17, 2010 by admin
Filed under Natures Choice News
I get asked all the time: What part of farming is the most profitable?
Folks in Virginia ask if pastured poultry or free range chickens or the two combined are the most profitable enterprise in farming today? They ask why we don’t do grass fed beef or pigs or if we are going to some time in the future?
If you have to ask that question you miss the point of farming. Everything in life is not about the money. Sure, we grow things and we have to put a price on them that will allow us to make a living, otherwise we would be no more than slaves.
What they don’t realize is what we currently do doesn’t have anything to do with profits.
Just because we raise pastured chickens for meat and free range chickens for egg production doesn’t make this the most profitable venture in farming. It is because we found we have to have chickens to clean the parisites off the land and put some wonderful natural fertilizers on the land before we begin with other operations.
If you measure profitability on a farm using commonly accepted accounting practices you will drive yourself nuts and never find the answer.
A person who loves being in the city would not walk through manure of any kind or do the heavy lifting we do on a farm for any amount of money no matter what the book keeper says at the end of the year.
I have aunts who teach school who would not farm no matter how much money they make. I have a cousin in Chicago who loves to visit us for a week but Bill would not want to move and feed chickens or cows or pigs everyday.
So, How Do You Measure Profitability?
Most folks who ask these questions are motivated only by money. They are looking at farming as possibly a way to make some money. What makes the most amount of money in the shortest period of time. I know a lot of folks like this. And for the most part they will remain unhappy in what they are doing.
Farming requires a passion that burns deep in the pit of your stomach. The fire better be hot or you will move on to other things. We live in Southern Virginia and raise pastured poultry and free range chickens because we have a passion for what we do.
You can’t raise pastured poultry or free range chickens in an industrial chicken house using automated equipment. We use methods on our Virginia farm far beyond organic standards established for raising chickens.
We love all aspects of farming that will allow us to work in concert with nature and that provide good nutrition for our family. We love our chickens. When things are going right you can just feel it… right down to your toes. And you get this warm and fuzzy feeling that money or accountants can’t replace.
Our profit is also measured in our life style. We get to stay on the farm in the morning and don’t have to commute to a job or a business. At times we don’t leave the farm for days. We go out in the morning and do some chores. Around 9:30 we come in for some breakfast. YUMMMMM!
To us another form of profit is measured in being able to be with our grandsons every day. You wonder if at a young age they are paying attention. Then we watch them give tours to others… adults and children alike. They have lots of confidence in what they are doing and what they are talking about.
The children from our daughters daycare came over for a visit one beautiful summer day. Landon our grandson was three at the time. He was out ahead of everyone. He called our free range laying hens…. here chick chick chick.. The chickens surround him as they normally do twice a day at feeding time.
He walked the chickens up over the hill to the egg mobile. He stepped on the poultry netting and stayed there allowing the other children to cross. Then he got the egg bucket and helped the others check eggs. He explained how to handle the eggs gently so they didn’t break. By five we figure he will be ready to go on road teaching about farming.
You can’t buy this experience with money.
We know farming is not for everyone. That is a good thing and what makes the world go around. And if you are looking for profits only I would not recommend farming. Everyone must find their passion then learn to make a profit from what they love to do.
Another profit center we consider is the members of our Partners Club. We currently have drops in Richmond and in Tappahannock. The wonderful comments we get from our partners keeps us going. Raising Virginia pastured poultry and free range eggs that are good for you and having people tell us how good they are… well we have to admit our pride swells up a bit.
We gladly do the heavy lifting and the leg work so that you and your family can have healthy, nutritious locally grown the way nature intended. Then we worry about such things as profits.
