Starting a farm in the US Midwest means paying for land, by purchase or rent, and for inputs before the first crop is sold. The non-profit Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) tries to ease that with its annual Savings Incentive Program (SIP), AgNavigator reports.
Running since 2010, the 24-month programme offers mentoring, business support and education. On completion, a farmer receives a dollar-for-dollar match on money saved, up to $4,000, for capital investment in the farm, said Amber Mohr, PFI's business development manager, herself a 2017 graduate of the programme. Participants must be PFI members living in Iowa or a neighbouring state.
"You're going to be in a cohort of your peers," Mohr said. "When you're still farming 30 years down the road, you're still going to be checking in on each other." Catherine Schut, who runs the beekeeping and flower farm Hive & Petal in Prairie City, Iowa, said in a press release that the programme helped her treat her farm as a business, choosing the right scope, investing carefully and running lean, and connected her with other beginners and mentors.
New farmers also need resilient business models with several sources of income, Mohr said, pointing to the pumpkin patches and farm tours many Midwest farms open in autumn. "Diversity is sometimes your only crop insurance," she said.
Land is the biggest barrier, because beginners compete with larger operations and land is sold quickly. PFI helps through a land access navigator and land transition services. "You got to get your name in there early because that land is getting snatched up very quickly," Mohr said. The report is by Ryan Daily of AgNavigator.
Photo: Nyttend / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: AgNavigator
Comments
(0)