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Richard Brzozowski: Hi. I'm Richard Brzozowski with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension,
and today we're going to talk about the considerations for starting a farm business.
Whether you're a beginner farmer or an experienced farmer, you want to think about the things
you're going to do before you do them. And I have an analogy for you. We're going to
use camping as an analogy. If you're going to go camping or hiking, you've got to have
a plan. You've got to know where you're going, what you want to accomplish -- are you going
to go fishing? Are you going to reach the mountaintop? Are you going to just reach a
point and camp overnight? Is it for relaxation or for some other purpose? So, camping you've
got to be equipped for the job.
In farming, you've got to have all your plan together, too. And what I'd like to talk about
is everyone starts from a starting point. You are where you're at, and so you'll start
from that point and work to where you want to get to. So you got to have a purpose. What
do you want to accomplish with this business? Is it for part-time work? Is it for partial
income for your family to generate an income? Or is it for full-time work? Do you want to
make a living farming?
Everybody that's farming wants to make money at it, but you want to know what your real
purpose is behind it. And in order to do that, you need to have a plan. A plan should be
written down. You can make a lot of mistakes, and the best way to make mistakes is on paper,
not with cash from your wallet or someone else's investment. You want to make those
mistakes on paper if you make any mistakes at all. Planning is important. So, as you're
thinking about a farm enterprise, think about what you want to accomplish and how you're
going to get there.
A lot of people oftentimes miss this piece here about self-inventory. You're going to
need to think about what do I know how to do? What do I like to do? What are my interests?
What do I -- what skills do I have? Not only me but maybe other members of my family that
are going to be working with me on this enterprise, because farming is more than just a one person
job.
You also want to inventory the resources that you have. What land do I have? What water?
What buildings? What animals? What am I starting with? What equipment? So you want to resource
those types of things, too.
And then from that point, you want to develop a good plan. Probably the most part of the
whole thing is the market, because you really want to make sure you identify that market
before you do any kind of investment of real money, because marketing is the key to success.
You got to know your customer and identify those people or is it friends and family?
Is it neighbors? Is it a bed and breakfast? A nursing home? You've got to identify all
the people that are going to buy your product.
So, in short, in developing a farm business, you got to know where you're going and know
how you're going to get there. That market's the most important part of the whole thing.
Thank you.
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