Tips For Starting Your Own Hobby Farm

Have you always dreamt of owning your own farm? Whether you love the thought of harvesting your own organic vegetables or spending your weekend herding cattle on an ATV, hobby farms can be a great lifestyle option. Without the right planning, this idyllic dream can quickly turn into a financial disaster. Don’t jump into farming without first checking our tips for starting your own hobby farm.

What Exactly Is A Hobby Farm?

Essentially, a hobby farm is a small farm that is run more for pleasure than profit. There are many different types of hobby farm owners. Some people may decide to run a self-sufficient farm living off the land, whereas others will use hobby farming as a supplementary income or even choose to run it at a loss as a lifestyle choice.

Make Sure You’re Committed

Regardless of the strategy behind your purchase, if your heart is not in it, then forget about it. New farms require serious time, dedication and financial commitment. From planning and purchasing infrastructure to performing everyday tasks and managing your production, setting up and maintaining a hobby farm is not a walk in the park.

Know Your Goals

If you’re looking to generate some kind of income out of your hobby farm, then you need to determine this early. Making a living from your land will require infrastructure investments, a marketing plan and relationships with suppliers. If you want a self-sufficient or lifestyle hobby farm, then there are a lot less considerations, however you still need sufficient planning to minimise expenses and the potential for debt.

Start Small

Anyone new to hobby farming should start out small. Perhaps you didn’t realise how much hard work was needed? Maybe extreme weather or fluctuating commodity prices have hindered your capacity to become self-sufficient? By starting out small, you are minimising your financial risks. If you loved every minute of your hobby farming adventure, then it’s easy to expand, or sell up and purchase a larger property. Getting in too deep before realising you no longer have the passion for farming can be a headache and cause significant financial hardships.

Match Your Farm To The Produce

The type of soil, climate and vegetation found on your hobby farm will have a significant impact on your overall output. For example, you wouldn’t start up a rice farm on a dry rural property! Determine what type of produce your farm will be harvesting and research what environment it needs to flourish. While the above example is a little extreme, any little subtleties in the land or surrounding environment will make a big difference to your farm’s productivity.

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