12/03/2017
3 SIMPLE STEPS TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL FARMER
We meet several people who want to go into farming but seem stuck, not knowing where to begin.
1. Self-Assessment
The first step is to do an assessment of yourself, preferably with the help of an experienced farmer. A few questions will guide you on this:
Experience-Have you ever farmed before Y/N?? If Yes what did you farm, where did you farm, what acreage did you farm and what was your experience?
Interest-What are you interested in farming? What do you know about it?
Timeline-What would you like to know about this type of farming before you can start? How soon do you plan to start farming after training?
Once you have done a guided self-assessment, being clear on you scope of experience, area of interest and timelines, and you want to pursue farming as a career, the next step is to invest in educating yourself to better understand farming operations as a whole. Running a farm goes beyond growing processes, it also involves understanding the financial implications and market dynamics.
Talk to other farmers, attend workshops, seminars and trade shows. Seek out mentorship programs or work as an employee on a farm to gain practical experience.
2. Getting Land
Land could be inherited, bought or leased, whichever works for an individual. However something worth noting is knowing the actual size of your land.
We often get questions about the acreage of parcels of land; most people do not know how to calculate acreage for themselves. Knowing acreage is very important to a farmer as it lets him/her know whether he is getting optimal yields from his crop and also enables him/her to enter lease agreements without the risk of being duped.
Acreage can be easily calculated using two scales; square footage or square metres:
To find square footage, multiply the length of the land in feet by the width of the land in feet. Once the square footage is known, simply divide by 43,560 to find the size of the land in acres. (L X W)in feet/43560=acreage
To find square metres, multiply the length of the land in metres by the width of the land in metres. Once the square metres is known, simply divide by 4,047 to find the size of the land in acres. (L X W)in metres/4047=acreage
3. Soil Test
Soil testing plays an important role in crop production and nutrient management, for both crop growing and livestock farming. On farms that use commercial fertilizer as the main nutrient source, it is the best way to plan for profitable fertilizer applications.
Soil testing is a three-step process: the collection of a representative sample from each field or section, proper analysis of that sample to determine the levels of available nutrients, and use of the results to determine optimum fertilizer rates. These results usually indicate what could be grown on the soil as it is, and what is to be added in case a farmer has specific preferences.
On livestock farms, knowing how much nutrient is present in the soil to start with is critical. Only then can a nutrient management plan be developed to properly manage both the nutrients that have been generated on-farm and any nutrients that are being imported to the property as bio solids or commercial fertilizer.
Keeping records is an integral part of the soil-testing process; they will help determine if soil test levels are increasing, decreasing or being maintained over time. Investing in soil analysis to determine fertility will help any farmer in reducing costs of inputs during the farming process as he applies only what is needed, it also allows them to maximize on yields and build soil health to improve crop resistance to pests and diseases.
These are the three steps that will help you avoid losses and increase yields as a farmer.
