Just got another offer...
$2500-3500 per acre per year to lease my land for solar farms.
Agricultural production can't compete with that kind of revenue.
Given our situation with industrial chicken barns likely being built next door the option is getting tempting. Sell out or lease out and move on to the next adventure.
I’ve wondered if solar negatively impacts the soil. It takes the sunlight that would otherwise be absorbed in the soil - so at the least it looks like it could be “stealing nutrients”
Yeah I'm pretty confident there are studies that show an increase in heavy metals around solar projects. Hence the do it and leave this place idea. The township is already likely going to approve the chicken barns which will add toxic groundwater to the community.
Why do you say that? We gross about $250k/ per acre on our small scale farm. I have always heard $100k/acre is the number to shoot for which is more than easily doable with the right techniques and market.
I'd be curious what you are producing.
There's a labor component to this as well. The higher revenue you speak of demands considerably higher labor inputs.
And of course land and soil type. Basically none of our land would be classified as tillable.
Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. Do you want to work your butt off (and I mean 18-hour days non stop!) or sit back and collect $2500/acre indefinitely. Plus if you have lots of empty unusable land it’s a far easier calculation. Work what you can and also gain extra income from the rest.
We do mixed vegetable production and poultry (layers) plus smaller quantities honey and maple syrup. Lots of specialty items and good wholesome business to upscale restaurants.
Our land is not ‘tillable’ either- we are on class 3 ‘poor’ soil that is low lying (wet) and almost pure clay. By using permanent no-till beds we have completely changed the makeup and productivity in just 4 seasons. We are heading into our 5th season now.
I had a feeling you'd be saying vegetables 😉
Local market is also a big factor I didn't mention and we're saturated. Many farmers are selling at a loss and don't even realize it I guess. Too many farmers don't value their time.
We've also tried all the other stuff you mentioned as well and with a young family decided to intentional shrink down to a few enterprises and focus on our Bitcoin customers. We've slowly started adding back but focusing more on homestead scale operations.
Those high figures only scale as labor scales and that starts eating into net profit. There are two larger scale vegetable operations in our area. They create lots of jobs. I've tried doing that work and it's just not for me, I don't have the passion for plants. My wife has managed a vegetable CSA and it's a lot of work and stress for the net result, our market still isn't anywhere near those figures. I like managing animals. I like eating meat. But a resource base can only support so much. We're running 5 cow calf pairs plus yearlings on about 20 acres and I'd be hesitant to go higher so as to not destroy our land. We occasionally run pigs, but the land shouldn't be subjected to that every year.
Excellent discussion and lots of good points in there!
You are right to focus on what you are good at / what you are passionate about! Too many farms think they have to do it all- perhaps consider teaming up with another vegetable market garden and combine their offerings with your meat. A combined CSA is a great way to add value to both enterprises, you both get to focus on your specialties and provide customers with a more well-rounded selection.
Also highly agree that so many people make the mistake of undervaluing their item and labor and sell at a loss without even realizing it. Only to add yet another enterprise on top to try and make things work. Slippery slope!
If you decide to lease, make sure to add a remediation clause to the contract, requiring the operator to return the land to its natural state when they leave. Make sure this clause requires the operator to have either insurance or a bond in place in case they go out of business.
It’s good to have choices 🦅
This is how the merchant class destroys the Landed class
