# Advice needed for farming in TN



## dbfd588 (Aug 2, 2008)

Im 18 and fortunate to have some great parents and they have help me with my hunger to farm. My dad HAD to farm when he was a kid and he has bad memories of it and so we've never farmed. But Ive had the desire to so finally he bought some equipment. We have: JD 2755 tractor, hay stuff, 3 bottom plow etc. Anyways, I have some fields that I can plant in. Im wanting to plant wheat or corn or beans maybe. But we dont have a way to pick corn and beans, who can I sell it to that will come oout and pick it? Pa said co-op would buy the corn but maybe I should invest and a 2 row corn picker. Also thought of baling wheat straw. Any advice and opinion welcome. Thanks


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I am by no means a farmer but I can tell you that currently corn and bean prices are not great. I woud suggest hay farming. You already have the equipment for processing it. Do you have a barn or other building to store it where it will stay dry? 

In my opinion the best hay to go with would be a non-fescue, high protein hay such as bermuda or alfalfa. These two are popular with horse owners as well as cattle farmers. They will bring you the highest price per bale but require a bit more cost and effort to grow. Other species might be orchard grass. 

You will have to do some spraying to kill whatever vegetative cover is on your fields now and prepare a good seed or sprig bed. 

I am sure Morgan can give you the best advice on field preparations. 

Unless you can grow corn, soybeans or other similar crops on a massive scale, it is just not practical. 

How many acres are you working with?


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## MFreund (May 2, 2008)

One thing that can make $ on a small scale is hay. The first year around here is oats interseeded with alfalfa. They get a cutting of hay after the oats are harvested the first year and then get 3-4 cuttings for up to 5 years after that. Go to your local county extension office and ask for help. They have much more specific info for your local area. They will point you in the right direction.


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## dbfd588 (Aug 2, 2008)

yea I definetly plan to do some hay. Currently have about 18 acres or so that I planned to get hay off of. One field is about 8 and I been getting hay off it. Our field id decent. Its been over grown but its in decent shape. I could stand a good lime and fertilizing and wouldnt hurt to re-seed it. Do have a barn so Im good there. I actually pretty much already have my next cutting sold. I sell mine to relatives and one has already said they'll be calling me. And Im confident the others will also. I like rolls but actually seems to be more money in the square bales. I may do squares on our field and rolls on the other. Also my aunt and uncle have around 15 acres that they offered me to use that I thought of planting something on. I thought maybe corn. I would prefer to do some really good hay or corn over at her land though. Im not sure what I want to do. I may check and see if I cant rent a seed drill and plant some hay. I dont have the use or cash to drop $3000 on a seed drill no more than I would be using it. I can get a corn picker from a neightbor for about $200 so I dont know. I have alot of opportunity and most of the equipment. I just need some help on decided what to do.


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## MFreund (May 2, 2008)

There is better $ in small squares because it is easier for your customers to move and handle. Down side for you is you will need a tractor driver. Stop by and see other farmers in the area. Not only does it make good neighbors but you may be able to trade labor for the use of their equipment. Two brother near me got their start using borrowed equipment on off hours, I would see them doing field work on their fields all night. Now they purchased new tractors and do custom planting in the spring. Custom work is a good way to "spread" out the costs for equipment. It takes lots of acres to buy a $125,000 tractor. A co-workers son bought a new Deere combine and does that to make the payments b-4 his own fields.

Remember you need to treat people as your customers, provide the best product that you can at a fair price and they will come back!


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## dbfd588 (Aug 2, 2008)

Thats some great advice. Thanks everyone for the input. Keep all the comments coming.


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## alleyyooper (Oct 23, 2004)

You can buy some very good used equipment like drills at farm auctions for a good price.
google Ten. farm auctions to find some near you.

 Al


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

1st question I want to know is how many acres total do you have in hay and how many acres do you have left for row crop. Answer me these and we will go from there. Also what is your market that is another thing you might want to look at. You might want to plant like a pea patch or something like strawberries and let people come out and pick there own. I have been on those type farms and they are profitable for the small guy. Like I said it depends on whether we are talking about 50 or 60 acres or are we talking about 400 or 500 acres. Another thing you might want to look at is tomatos, people go crazy over home grown tomatos. Pumkin patchs, water melon patchs I could go on and on. None of these is going to cost you thousands of dollars for a Combine or Cotton Picker. You harvest these by hand, or better yet you let your customer harvest these for a discount. Sometimes thinking outside the box is very profitable.


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## Johnny5812 (Mar 8, 2011)

dbfd588 said:


> Im 18 and fortunate to have some great parents and they have help me with my hunger to farm. My dad HAD to farm when he was a kid and he has bad memories of it and so we've never farmed. But Ive had the desire to so finally he bought some equipment. We have: JD 2755 tractor, hay stuff, 3 bottom plow etc. Anyways, I have some fields that I can plant in. Im wanting to plant wheat or corn or beans maybe. But we dont have a way to pick corn and beans, who can I sell it to that will come oout and pick it? Pa said co-op would buy the corn but maybe I should invest and a 2 row corn picker. Also thought of baling wheat straw. Any advice and opinion welcome. Thanks



You are asking good questions. Seems to me that you should ask the other farmers around you and ask your county agent.

What works well here probably won't work well there.


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## MBTRAC (May 28, 2012)

dbfd588 - Great to hear you’re interest in the land/farming - And the JD2755 is a nice machine to kick off with 

We farm commercially (our own broadacre dryland, irrigated row crops/hay/silage & paddock cattle/feedlot operations & contract farm), in Australia so bear in mind that it's overseas advice & may not be all be applicable in your area:
- As others have said talk you local farmers, make use of the local agriculture gov't dept ( you may find some extra advice, assistance or even strike it lucky with a gov't grant $$$ encouraging young farmers), also join the local farmers co-op/society (if there's one) & enter local/county ag show s/competitions with all premium produce you grow (it helps to make a good "name" & a few blue ribbons/awards to back it up/help getting those premium prices) 
- As to what grow when you starting out or cash poor, you want low investment/high margins & you can turn over quickly (anything sitting in the shed unsold is costing money unless there is seasonal value in storing....cash can always earn interest a shed full of produce rarely does) ...
- Get a few cattle as if managed well they can seasonally graze most hay crops without damage & will make use of the byproducts of any faming operation ( they'll munch through vege "debris" like pumpkin vines once they're picked & if pumpkin prices are low feed it to the cattle & run more cattle if it make more $'s sense). And cattle can always be readily traded if extra $'s are needed in the quieter times
- I'd suggest oats for grain &/or hay/grazing, Lucerne hay (or Alfalfa as you guys call it l) & maybe clover for hay/grazing. Apart from cob corn, if you have good soil/secure water supply or rainfall, pumpkins are easy, melons a little harder, tomatoes are also relatively easy but labour intensive/cash hungry to establish & 1st yr for seedlings/stakes/sprays etc. & need a quick sale when ripe 
- Think how to add value where ever commercially practical, just like square instead of round bales, generally these more money in high quality square bales than equivalent rounds particularly if you're closer to the smaller hobby farms &/or horses - if you have the storage you can even offer to store "paid" bales, or offer bulk discount for say 25 bales & free 3month storage all helps the cash flow......there are many ways to add value...
- Maybe sharecrop your land with other farms, & there may be some opportunities too if you can offer them your casual labour at peak times on their farms to maybe sharecrop on their farms with their gear 
- Maybe exhange your labour on farms for free use of their gear on your farm
- If there are small hobby farms around, work out in subsequent years you can grow sharefarming on their land (IMO a % shared yield or % of slae value works out better than cash/rent up front as you lower the initial investment & share the risk) crops & livestock can work well under formal agreements 
- Producing is one aspect, finding markets is the other. How & to whom are you planning to sell? The "relo's" might be convenient now but can they take more? Will you get the most $ for your effort? Can you market by signage if you're own a busy road? Is there potential for a single 50% hay sale to one customer ( e.g a produce store, large farm)? For vege’s are there local weekend produce markets to sell at or consign to a stall holder? 


In my experience the key's to successful farming are:
- Don’t get in over your head, plan to produce only what you can manage (with available land, $investment, labour & equipment/resources) 
- Plan to produce quality not quantity...it's all about getting the maximum margins, there's no use getting big $'s if when you sell it's cost you the same, or worse more to produce. 
- Plan, yes more planning, what you are seeking to produce seasonally this year & next, & also have a broad plan of where/what you want your enterprise to be heading & how you are going to get there- be it a commercial, a casual/afterhours , a lifestyle choice or subsistence farm 
- Don't get sentimental about any farming operation, for example you may like/want or have grown corn regularly, simply if there are alternatives to make bigger margins & it is commercial sense stop growing corn - & what's today may not work tomorrow.
- Always be honest with yourself when things are not working out & be prepared to think out of the box how best to turn a negative into a positive - If a corn crop is failing how do you make the most $'s ? Do you leave it & hope for extra rain that might help fill the cobs, plan to plough it in & plant something else at the first rain fall, maybe let your cattle graze it, or think hey there's a cattle stud/dairy up the road that I can sell this to as forage at good $ in this drought...
- Avoid equipment envy & acquisitions beyond what is needed, those will the newest & biggest gear also have the biggest overheads !!!

And keep asking questions, & determine how to best use the learning’s, failures & success of others in your operation – Good Luck


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## ben70b (Aug 29, 2012)

corn is around $8.50 and beans around 14.50 last i saw today. those are good prices, i dont care what anyone says, but i dont know what you can grow down there. think about supply and demand a little, we do very well with row crops here in illinois. not many around here fool with produce cause there is a lot less work in row crops and they do very well here. the few that bust their asses in produce as well as market it well make a killing here cause of supply and demand. not many are in produce here and everyone likes locally grown food these days. i thought about growing some popcorn next year and selling it, i dont know of anyone else in the area doing it and i know it would grow well in my region. think outside the box a little but make sure its something you can reasonably grow well where you are. as far as not having a combine, go to the co-op and ask what the rates are for another farmer to costom combine your crops, then start asking local farmers if they wanna costom combine for you. maybe so many dollars an acre or so many bushels an acre or you may be able to work for them to pay the dept. the sky is the limit. you are lucky your folks are willing to help you. i am 30 and still waiting for grandpa to hand over the reigns. he will when we both are ready i guess.


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## Mike77 (Jan 7, 2013)

You ever think of growing pumpkins? They bring in good profit before Halloween and are easy to manage. I have around thirteen acres and while I grow corn and onions I find pumpkins to turn a good profit with local markets.


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