3 Biggest Challenges of Starting a Farm and Their Solutions

By Hurdle Land & Realty

Being a farmer isn’t easy in today’s day and age. In fact, it was never really easy to begin with, and we don’t give our local farmers enough credit. With the agriculture industry dominating our food sources today, we need small farmers more than ever to provide us with fresh, quality produce.

New farmers have a lot of obstacles in front of them, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Here are the three biggest challenges of starting a farm and some solutions.

Environmental Factors

Mother Nature is not always kind to new farmers. Sometimes the land you purchase has rocky soil, or you pick a spot in a drought zone. Maybe it even gets too much rain. You may have plenty of water but need the right equipment to access it. Sometimes your farm will experience a freeze, and your crops will suffer.

While there’s not always much you can do about poor weather and farming conditions, you can stay on top of the latest farming tips and tricks to protect your crops. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other farmers for their wisdom. Many farmers have been doing this for a while, and they usually love to help a fellow farmer out. Reach out to your community!

Everything’s Too Expensive

Just like everything these days, starting a farm can be extremely expensive. There are a million different costs to building a farm from the ground up, whether it’s land, equipment, or labor. In a study conducted by the National Young Farmers Coalition, 78% of farmers say that “lack of capital” is their biggest challenge in starting a farm.

The good news is, there’s nothing wrong with starting small. If you only have a small amount of land, minimal equipment, and limited time, you can still start a simple garden and sell what you have at the Farmer’s Market or elsewhere. From there, you can slowly build your farm as you grow in knowledge, experience, and savings.

Hard to Get Loans

Land is still costly and student debt follows a lot of farmers starting out, making it almost impossible to save or get loans for farming land. Even loans from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency are hard to come by without excellent credit. So what’s a new farmer to do?

Luckily for you, Hurdle Land & Realty can offer you a loan for owner-financed land with no credit checks necessary. Reach out to us today to see how we can help you start your farm hassle-free.