Abstract
©2006
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This publication is written for those looking for a way out of
the high risk, long hours, low pay, poor prices, and dim future
associated with conventional cash crop production. There are viable
alternatives to continuing in the cash crop business for those who
can adjust their thinking. Finding alternatives to commodity crop
production is the focus of this publication. Certain principles
provide insights into ways to move forward.
Table of Contents
Principles of Success
It's safe to say that if you keep doing what you've been doing,
you're going to keep getting what you've been getting. If you are
searching for an enterprise that is easy, profitable, and proven,
you will find that many other people are already doing it. To build
wealth, do what others cannot or will not do — produce a product
that is different and difficult to produce. (1)
Using these two criteria keeps competition to a minimum.
Taking small initial steps is one approach. Adding an alternative,
more profitable crop to a corn-soybean rotation or a wheat-barley
rotation is a step toward disconnecting from the cash-grain system,
just as farm families who cooperatively market their products directly
to consumers as foods, rather than as commodities, are disconnecting
from the system. Farmers can also benefit by growing multi-purpose
specialty crops that will give them lots of flexibility in both
production and marketing, thereby reducing their risk. For example,
you can use dry peas for feed grain, hay, green manure, or seed;
lentils for food, forage, or green manure. If there's a drought
or the field is too weedy, graze it or turn the crop to green manure.
If it's a wet year and a clean field, harvest the grain crop.
Here are a few more principles of success:
- Produce products that sell at your price, rather than commodities
that someone else sets the price for.
- Buy wholesale and sell retail (just the opposite of cash cropping).
- Stack enterprises together that complement one another to reduce
overhead costs.
- Pool resources with partners through collaborative ventures.
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Examples of Successful Transitions
from Cash Cropping
Below are several examples of people who have made the transition
out of conventional cash grain farming and into alternative enterprises.
These people utilized some of the principles mentioned above to
increase their profitability. Please realize that not all of these
enterprises are ones that everyone can do. That fact alone makes
them more profitable. Consider what unique talents you have that
can be converted into a profitable enterprise. All new enterprises
need to be thoroughly evaluated before proceeding. Contact ATTRA
for our publication Evaluating
a Rural Enterprise.
From Battling Grass to Grazing
For several generations the Moore family in Navasota, Texas, raised
corn, milo, and cotton. (2) After finally having
enough of rising production costs, persistent drought, and low commodity
prices, they decided to break the family tradition and switch from
row crops to cattle.
After receiving training in Holistic Management™ (3)
, Robert Moore and his son Taylor took a path to a brighter future
with less personal stress and lower overhead cost than when they
were row croppers. For years they had battled Johnson grass, bermuda
grass, and crab grass in their cotton fields. Now these grasses—and
others such as Dallis grass and bluestem—are their allies.
Moore says that they are working with nature by letting the grasses
that want to be here return. Their cattle love these forage grasses.
With a wide variety of grasses available, they can graze from mid-February
to mid-November. After giving up cropping, they increased their
cow herd from 200 animals to 600. Their 2,000 acres are divided
into 50-acre paddocks, with about 200 head in each paddock at various
times. With their cropping enterprise they had 20 employees working
full time. Now the father and son work together with one full-time
employee. Before cattle, they worried about crop success and prices
and were often relieved just to break even. Now they can live off
what they make. Taylor says, "We're definitely happier now
and have less stress." ATTRA can provide more than a dozen
farmer-ready publications that go into detail about grass-farming
enterprises and alternative marketing of animal products.
From Tobacco to Shrimp
Bill Rich switched from burley tobacco to freshwater shrimp. (4)
He dug 1-acre ponds at a cost of $5,000 to $6,500 and harvests about
1,000 pounds of shrimp each season. The shrimp are stocked June
1 and harvested September 28. Freedom Freshwater Shrimp Company
of Byrdstown, Tennessee, provides the juvenile shrimp. Bill and other
growers have the option to sell their shrimp back to the company
or market them on their own. Since shrimp are in high demand anyway,
you don't have to build a market, says Doug Elder, the owner of
Freedom Freshwater Shrimp. Profitability on an acre of shrimp should
be in the $1,200 to $2,500 range. Depending on prices of both, an
acre of shrimp should replace the profit from an acre of burley
tobacco. Of course, as with any new enterprise, additional labor
and other costs need to be evaluated before proceeding. For more
information, request the ATTRA publication Evaluating
an Aquaculture Enterprise.
Pumpkins, Hay Rides, and School Tours
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When dairy farms in Tennessee were suffering from low milk prices,
Albert and Celeste Blackburn made some adjustments to their Jefferson
City, Tennessee, dairy operation. Located near a large city on an
interstate highway, the Blackburns saw an opportunity to entertain
school kids during the week and adults on weekends. They turned
their old gristmill into a gift shop and grew pumpkins for the school
kids. In the first year they attracted 1,100 students, each paying
$6 to milk a cow, ride a hay wagon, and pick out a pumpkin. (5)
ATTRA has a publication called Entertainment
Farming and Agri-Tourism available by request.
A Farm Shop Enterprise
Terry Joe Payne of Owensboro, Kentucky, uses his farm shop
and tools to build large, heavy-duty barbecue pits. He makes
several models, some on legs and others on wheels to be pulled
behind a vehicle. Prices range from $1,800 to $6,000. Payne's
barbecue pit enterprise evolved from his catering business.
Metal for the pits is formed from 12-gauge steel, and the
rest of the fabrication and assembly work is done in his shop.
Most of his sales have been local and all his advertising
word-of-mouth or from people reading his nameplate attached
to one of the units. So far, he's not needed to pay to advertise.
(6) |
Birds, Birdfeed, and Bio-fuel
Dave Pollard of Mantua, Ohio, grows wild bird feed grains (sunflower,
milo, and millet) and markets them all directly from his farm at
20¢ per pound. In 1998 he started raising free-range chickens.
By 2000 his annual production was 650 birds, with standing orders
for 800 more for the next year. Currently he is trying "sundiesel"
made from sunflower oil he produces on his farm. Using a simple
process, he extracts 100 gallons of oil (valued for fuel at $1.50
per gallon) from each acre of sunflowers. From that extraction he
also ends up with 1,250 pounds of 28% protein meal that he feeds
to his free-range chickens. With his chickens consuming 3 pounds
of feed per pound of marketable poultry, and selling for $2.00 per
pound, Pollard estimates an income of $950 from one acre of sunflowers.
That works out to 400 pounds of chickens that eat the 1,250 pounds
of meal, plus $150 from the oil sales. (7) Request
the two ATTRA publications Alternative
Agronomic Crops and Sustainable
Poultry: Production Overview for more information. The Thomas
Jefferson Agriculture Institute listed in the References section
of this publication also has information on alternative crops. For
more information on biodiesel, call ATTRA.
Pecans, Buffalo, and Gamagrass Seed
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Dan Shepherd and his father Jerrell changed their farming focus
from commodity grains to pecans, buffalo, and gamagrass seed when
they realized they had no control over wholesale grain prices. (8)
After switching, the Chiftonhill, Missouri, father-and-son team
captured niche markets they formerly never had access to when selling
only commodity grains.
The family started farming corn, beans, and wheat on 1,900 acres
in the 1960s. Dan's late father came to realize that they would
never get ahead economically doing what others were doing, but they
could increase their income by doing what others wouldn't do. The
gamagrass seed operation consumes about 80% of Dan's time, with
the other two new enterprises — pecans and buffalo —
taking up the remainder.
Dan is a firm believer that to succeed in alternative agriculture
you've got to communicate with your customers. Farmers who are focused
on production must become comfortable with marketing. The Shepherds
market their buffalo products — including breeding stock,
meat, hides, and horns—through their on-farm store, where
they also sell pecans, sweet corn, pumpkins, peaches, jellies, and
other products, including nuts they buy from out of state. Dan's
wife, Jan, runs the store and manages the books. Dan oversees the
farm operation and does all the buying.
Related ATTRA
Publications
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The focal point of the Shepherds' operation is gamagrass. They
discovered gamagrass while looking for a forage for their buffalo
herd. With help from USDA researchers, they learned to grow and
harvest seed from the grass, thus creating another marketable product.
Seed production is particularly tricky because the seed does not
mature evenly and drops off the stalk when mature. The seed must
also go through a cool-down period before it will germinate. Harvesting
is very tricky, and the harvested seed is stored wet at just above
freezing for six to eight weeks to meet the chilling requirements
for germination.
Once their pecan orchard was established, the Shepherds continued
to grow commodity crops in the alleys between the young trees. As
the trees matured and began producing nuts, the row crops were crowded
out. After that, the orchard floor was seeded with bluegrass. Though
the bluegrass does not produce a high tonnage of forage, what it
does produce is readily consumed by their buffalo herd. They started
their herd in 1969 and rotate it through the gamagrass pastures
using management-intensive grazing. During the summer, the herd
is moved about every four days.
Their gamagrass seed operation nets about $700 per acre on 400
acres. In 2000 they netted around $300 per acre from the pecan operation,
but they expect that production to at least triple in the coming
years. Through their store they sold 70,000 ears of sweet corn at
10¢ each, but even at that price they net about $1,000 on 15
acres. While not being a big moneymaker, the sweet corn does attract
lots of customers who buy other products as well.
The Shepherds feel that everything fits together, with the various
enterprises spreading out the workload evenly. The family helps
sponsor "Buffalo Day," when many area residents gather
to eat buffalo burgers donated by the family. The family has time
to participate in their local Rotary Club and have hosted young
people from Russia, Thailand, Belgium, and France.
Dan offers some tips for making the transition from commodity crops.
First, don't look to alternative agriculture as a bailout; think
of getting in or making the change to the system in good times,
not bad. (8) Keep in mind:
- The products of alternative agriculture require different markets.
- The average learning curve for anything new is up to eight years.
- Given all the risk, it's a lot easier to sit back and say it
won't work. Making change is not easy; if it were, everybody would
be doing it.
Raising Traditional Crops Organically
Carmen Fernholz of Madison, Minnesota, made the switch to organic
farming when faced with limited choices for staying profitable in
his commodity crop operation. He now grows organic barley, oats,
wheat, flax, corn, soybeans, and alfalfa and raises 800 to 1,200
finished hogs each year. After more than 20 years of experimenting
and learning about organic farming, he got his farm certified in
1994. He markets his own crops and animals in order to keep his
relatively small operation competitive with larger farms. He also
ensures payment for his organic crops through a unique trust account
with his co-op. His wife Sally works a full-time job off the farm.
Fernholz spreads his workload through the season by dividing the
farm into quarters, each with a different crop in the rotation.
He hires some labor each year to pick stones and do hand weeding,
but he still manages to do most of the farm work himself. His primary
labor expense is custom harvesting the alfalfa. He, his brother,
and nephew work together on the feeder-to-finish hogs. (His brother
owns and manages the breeding and farrowing operation.) The hogs
are sold on the conventional market through a buying station that
he operates near his home. Between 1997 and 2000, the station served
as many as 50 farmers in Fernholz's area. (9)
He works with a National Farmers Organization office in Ames, Iowa
to find buyers.
For information
on raising hogs, see the following ATTRA publications:
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Fernholz's organic soybeans bring around $16.50 per bushel. (See
the ATTRA publication Organic
Soybean Production for more information.) He has not found a
consistent market for the other grain crops. To avoid loss or nonpayment
from smaller organic buyers who may renege on contracts, his farmer-marketing
cooperative features a special grower-supported trust fund used
to pay farmers for breach of contract. His flax crop, raised for
human consumption, currently sells for $1 per pound ($50 to $60
per bushel).
Fernholz tells others considering the transition to organic to
go into it not for the market but for the philosophy of benefiting
the environment and cutting costs. He says every year is different,
and what worked one year may not work the next. He has less capital
outlay and fewer economic risks as a result of switching to organic
farming. However, he also suffered some temporary yield reductions
as he progressed up the learning curve.
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Conclusion
Starting a new enterprise boils down to asking a series of good
questions. Among these questions are:
- Do I have the resources to do this?
- Do I really want to do this?
- Do I have the experience and information to do this?
- How much profit can I make?
- How will I market the products?
Most of the available enterprise planning guides ask entrepreneurs
to first assess their personal and family objectives. They stress
the importance of having some sort of business plan, financial plan,
and marketing plan before proceeding. Determining the profit potential
for the enterprise is essential before spending more time or money
developing the means of production. Details of planning a new rural
enterprise are available from ATTRA in our publication entitled
Evaluating a Rural
Enterprise.
In all the case studies presented here, you can find examples in
action of the following principles:
- Do what others cannot or will not do
- Choose alternative enterprises
- Sell directly to end users to reduce the number of intermediaries
and to keep more dollars in your own pocket
- Stack enterprises
- Differentiate your product as in some way special —this
adds value
- Find market niches
- Cultivate good relationships with buyers
- Be consistent in quality and delivery
- Consider cooperative marketing or processing
- Analyze your operation for ways to reduce costs
Once you have embraced these principles, opportunities to employ
your current resources in different ways become more apparent. From
there, the path toward a transition will begin to take shape. Even
though change is never easy, it can be done. Take a fresh look at
your people, land, and other resources for market potential. If
possible, visit other families who have made significant changes
for the better in their operations. For additional ideas, see the
following resource list.
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Other ATTRA Publications of Interest
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References
- Nation, Allan. 2001. Allan's Observations.
Stockman Grassfarmer. February. p. 16-17, 20.
- Leake, Linda. 2001. Flower Children.
Hay and Forage Grower, January, p. 19-20.
- Allan Savory Center for Holistic
Management
1010 Tijeras, NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-842-5252
www.holisticmanagement.org.
- Anon. 2000. Jumbo shrimp. Progressive
Farmer. December. p. 34.
- Anon. 2000. Welcome to the pumpkin
patch. Progressive Farmer. December. p. 34.
- Anon. 2000. Barbeque Pits—A
farm shop enterprise. Progressive Farmer. December. p. 34.
- Pollard, Dave. 2001. Sundiesel
and chickens. The Stockman Grassfarmer, letters to the editor.
March. p. 3.
- SARE. 2001. The New American Farmer:
Dan and Jan Shepherd. Farmer profile.
www.newfarm.org/archive/1000_stories/sare_stories/shepherd.shtml.
- SARE. 2001. The New American Farmer:
Carmen Fernholz. Farmer profile.
www.sare.org/publications/explore/profile1.htm.
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Resources
Thomas Jefferson Agricultural
Institute
601 West Nifong Blvd. Suite 1D
Columbia, MO 65203
573-449-3518
info@jeffersoninstitute.org
The Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute is a non-profit
agricultural education and research center working in support of
family farmers. With a focus on crop diversification, the Jefferson
Institute provides farmers with information on how to grow and market
alternative crops. Among the crops they are working with are: canola,
buckwheat, amaranth, flax, sesame, sunflowers, millet, and alternative
legumes. They have a number of publications on growing and marketing
alternative crops, several multi-state projects evaluating alternative
crops, and an e-mail bulletin on upcoming events and developments
in new crops.
Sustainable Agriculture Network
(SAN)
National Agricultural Library, Room 304
10301 Baltimore
Beltsville, MD 20705
301-504-6425
san@nal.usda.gov
The SAN website contains a wealth of information on marketing
strategies, how to conduct on-farm research, alternative crops,
and much more. Numerous bulletins and reports are available on-line.
They sponsor a lot of on-farm research.
Kansas Rural Center,
Inc.
304 Pratt Street, PO Box 133
Whiting, KS 66552
785-873-3431
Kansas Rural Center is a private nonprofit organization that
promotes the long-term health of the land and its people through
education, research, and advocacy. The Rural Center cultivates grassroots
support for public policies that encourage family farming and stewardship
of soil and water, and is committed to economically viable, environmentally
sound, and socially sustainable rural culture. Numerous publications
and a newsletter are available.
Practical Farmers of
Iowa (PFI)
2035 190th Street
Boone, IA 50036-7423
515-294-8512
dnexner@iastate.edu
PFI sponsors statewide field days, publishes the newsletter
The Practical Farmer, is involved with numerous on-farm research
projects, has a lending library, provides bulletins and videos,
and sponsors workshops and seminars. PFI currently has 30 research
cooperators. The PFI website is quite comprehensive and has numerous
useful resources.
Land Stewardship
Project
2200 4th Street
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-653-0618
or
180 E. Main St., P.O. Box 130
Lewiston, MN 55952
507-523-3366
or
103 W. Nichols
Montevideo, MN 56265
320-269-2105
The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is a private nonprofit organization
whose primary mission is to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland,
to promote sustainable agriculture, and to develop sustainable communities.
Their membership consists of farmers as well as rural and urban
residents working to secure a healthful food supply; preserve soil,
water, and wildlife; support diversified, profitable, family-sized
farms; organize communities for positive change; hold corporations
and governments accountable; and create a sustainable vision for
our food and agriculture system. They have four offices in Minnesota.
Membership includes a subscription to the Land Stewardship Letter,
workshops, and opportunities to connect with others who share these
values.
Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture
Society
9824 79th Street SE
Fullerton, ND 58441-9725
701-883-4304
tpnpsas@drservices.com
The Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society promotes
ecologically and socially sound food production and distribution
systems in the Northern Plains. They sponsor publications and farmer
events, including a summer symposium and farm tour and a two-day
annual winter conference.
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture
Society
P.O. Box 736
Hartington, NE 68739
402-254-2289
jillw@hartel.net
The Society promotes an agriculture that builds healthy land,
people, communities, and quality of life, for present and future
generations. They sponsor annual meetings, farm tours, field days,
and workshops. They have a speakers' bureau and a team of mentors
who provide one-on-one assistance with the transition to sustainable
farming practices. They produce a quarterly newsletter of agriculture
practices and philosophy.
AERO
Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO)
432 North Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT 59601
406-443-7272
aero@aeromt.org
AERO fosters the development of sustainable communities in
rural states of the Rocky Mountain West and Northern Plains. They
promote the use of renewable energy, conservation, sustainable agriculture,
and community self-reliance. Their sustainable agriculture efforts
help farmers and ranchers find ways to sustain the productive capacity
of their farms while maintaining their rural communities. They offer
sustainable farming information, financial and technical assistance,
farm tours, and educational events.
Moving Beyond Conventional Cash Cropping
By Preston Sullivan
NCAT Agriculture Specialist
Cole Loeffler, HTML Production
IP 201
Slot 203
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