Finding the Niche:Case Studies of

Beginning Small-Scale Farmers

With Recommendations forPrograms for Beginning Farmers

Wisconsin Rural Development Center1406 Business Highway 18-151 East

Mount Horeb, WI 53572

Written and Illustrated by

Katherine Griffith

Copyright 1991Wisconsin Rural Development Center, Inc.

$ 5.00

Support for this study was provided bythe Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund of Milwaukee.

Contents

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Introduction

Ann Topham and Judy BoreeGoats and goat cheese

Dick and Gretchen RegneryCherries, sheep, an art gallery, and a Bed & Breakfast

Kathy and Jim FosterA small fiber farm

Jack and Debi MarkinSheep

Judy Baker and Roy MarsdenTrying to start an organic, subscription farming system

Mary BakerUp-scale specialty vegetables

Jim EllesonTrying to start an organic vegetable operation

Mary JacksonManaging a sheep farm

Stuart Smith and Roger EischensVegetables and small grains

Susan WatermanAngora goats, Shetland and long wool sheep

Conclusions -- Helping Beginning Farmers Get Started

Overview

Finding Land and Facilities

Financing

Production

Business Plamring

Marketing

3Introduction

A typical conversation at the Wisconsin Rural Development Center on the topic of beginning farmers usuallygoes something like this:

Gee, we ought to do something to help beginning farmers.

What? It seems like they all need something different. And how do we find them? Who are they? Whatdo they need? Is it something we could provide?

The present study started off as a modest attempt to answer those questions for ourselves.

It soon became obvious however, in the course of conducting interviews with beginning farmers, that this wasa study with a broader audience. The stories were too interesting, too inspiring -- and perhaps too sobering-_ to go no further than our next Board meeting. So we decided to share them. And we decided to broadenthe scope of the project a little to serve two different goals.

The first goal is to help organizations like ours -- dedicated to small and medium sized family farms,environmental protection, and rural communities -- get a sense of the realities that beginning, non-traditionalfarmers face. We wanted to focus on non-traditional farmers for several reasons. First, while we wont claimthat going into farming is easy for anyone, there are substantial resources devoted to the needs of beginningconventional producers. There is a great deal of information available on traditional enterprises, and thereare special credit and assistance programs that target this group. Farmers producing non-traditional itemsor conventional products in unconventional ways, on the other hand, face a dearth of helpful information andinstitutional support. We wanted to provide some analysis and suggestions on the most promising forms ofassistance, and help groups think through an appropriate helping strategy.

The second goal of the study is to help aspiring farmers learn about some of the right questions to ask, andthe experiences of others in a similar boat. For individuals just starting to think about going into farming,the present study may serve as set of cautionary tales, creative ideas, and some good, down-home advice.These are stories born of inspiration and nourished by perspiration. Lots of it.

* * *

Our contact with the group of farmers interviewed for this study has convinced us that the new generationof small farm entrepreneurs is a critical resource for rural communities, urban consumers, and the farmcommunity. We believe in their dynamism and creativity, and the value of the alternative vision of agriculturethat they are pioneering. This study shows them to be often poorly understood, under-served by existingfarm programs, and frequently written off as too small, too exotic and too far outside the mainstream tobe worthy of attention. But as we see it, its not always possible to tell the difference between marginal andcutting edge. The success of some of these farmers suggests that they are indeed cutting edge -- and thusmore, not less relevant to agriculture as a whole.

It has been said that good ideas are often born as heresies and die as platitudes. The farmers in this studyhave dared to try heretical ideas. They are inventing and keeping alive possibilities -- in production, inmarketing, in lifestyles, and in values -- which may some day be the basis for far-reaching positive changesin agriculture. We hope so.

These farmers possess some rare talents, an amazing level of energy, and a lot of guts. There is much to belearned from their stories. It is our hope that the present study can convey some of the richness of theirexperience to readers, and lay a foundation for better-focused assistance programs.

Ann Topham and Judy BorreeFantome FarmRt. 1 Box 194Ridgeway WI 53582(608) 924-1266

The Dream

Our first dream was to have a place in the countrythat people could come to -- a kind of retreat fromhigh stress jobs and lifestyles. Wherever we were,they seemed to come anyway. But neither of usreally felt comfortable making a living off of otherpeople that way -- we wanted to produce somethingand be independent.

As we were thinking about it, I went to visit myfather, who had moved onto a farm when he retired,and was raising purebred Angus cattle. I wanted tofind out what he was doing -- he wasnt realarticulate about it, and I was curious. After sixweeks of planting, calving, and learning aboutfarming, I realized I could never go back to myoffice. Eventually, Judy took a sabbatical fromwork, and we went and worked for my Dad for ayear and a half.

We loved working with the cows, but then heencouraged us to get a goat, and we & likedworking with the goat. It was smaller and more funto deal with. So our dream kept on evolving --eventually towards a small farm producing goatscheese.

The Operation

Ann and Judy have a SO acre farm in Ridgeway,about 45 minutes west of Madison. The farm is onethird pasture, one third alfalfa, and one thirdwooded. This year they are milking 21 goats. Itsbeen a struggle to stay small. We didnt want tospend our time just trimming hooves and cleaningthe barn and milking -- we wanted to have the timeto put into breeding and managing, making cheese,etc. But goats are prolific!

and stores in Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

They make a variety of soft cheeses, which they sellat the Madison Farmers Market, and to restaurants

~ - .

The hardest part about buying the land and gettingstarted was money. They wanted to avoid debt, butthe landowner demanded a high down payment($30,000). They ended up forming; a partnership

4

The farm is currently their only source of income,and they are in the black for the second year.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: We felt pressed to find aplace soon -- we wanted to get started. But webought land at the end of the period of high pricesand interest rates, back in 1982, so it wasnt cheap.Because farms were so expensive, Judy and Anndecided to buy non-farm land. They found a small,hilly tract of land with a house but no barn -- theyhad to build one.

After six weeks of planting,calving and learning aboutfarming, I realized I couldnever go back to my ~JjZce.

They wanted to have a wooden barn, because theyhad learned that goats dont stay healthy inconditions of excessive moisture or condensation.However, building a new wooden barn would havebeen very expensive. So they went back to Iowaand disassembled the 40 X 40 foot barn belongingto Anns father; the roof had blown off in atornado, and he was no longer using it. Theytrucked the 5000 pounds of siding lumber back toWisconsin themselves, and hired a local company toput up new poles and a roof. The barn has workedwell for them.

One problem with our land is that there isnt a flatplace on it. We have to fight with water all thetime, and bulldoze every place we put buildings.We didnt know about that when we bought it -- welearned the hard way. They also had to learnabout building their own facilities the hard way --there was no one to learn from. Judy does most ofthe building, and she does it book in hand, frompictures.

with friends and family to purchase the land (seebelow, under financing).

Technical Expertise: Ann and Judy both hadadvanced degrees -- but not in anything related toraising goats. Ann had a PhD in the history ofeducation, and Judy had one in social work. Themain benefit of their formal training was that theywerent afraid to do library research.

We read every book we could get -- even ones inFrench, since those were the only ones that talkedabout how to make cheese. When we started therewere only two people in the U.S. making goatcheese, so it was hard to get information. We alsofound a lot of resources on goats at the Vet School.Theyve been fantastic for us -- we have a goodworking relationship with a woman there who reallyknows goats and likes them. Judy and Ann alsotook the Short Course at the UW-Madison Collegeof Agriculture, after which they went to work onAnns fathers farm. This experience was crucial.We learned everything except how to plow and putup hay. We learned how to build fences and drivea tractor and work with animals. And being withmy Dad, we were part of a community, and we hada kind of credibility. People would talk to usbecause of my family, and we werent afraid to askquestions. We learned a lot by asking questions.

The experience in Iowa made it easier to rely onfriends and other farmers for hands-on informationand advice, although when they started there werevery few people with specialized experience theycould tap.

Financing: This was a real obstacle for Amt andJudy. They ultimately solved the land purchaseproblem by forming a partnership with friends andfamily who put up capital for land purchase. Itwasnt exactly a business proposition for them --they werent really getting anything out of it, but inthose days interest and depreciation were taxdeductible, so they werent losing either. Thisarrangement has worked well. Mortgage paymentsare lower than they would have been if the downpayment had been smaller, and their friends arentin a big hurry to be paid back. A bank wouldnever have given us a loan. There was no precedentfor what we were trying to do, and it was certainly

a risky proposition. But we were willing to take therisk. For the first couple of years, Judy keptteaching at the University to keep some incomecoming in; she also worked for Lutheran SocialServices for a time. They have also received some -- though not a great deal -- of help from Annsparents.

They have avoided taking on debt to purchasemachinery -- they buy what they need used, andavoid large investments in items they use onlyrarely. They are looking for ways to rent certainpieces of machinery, or share them with otherproducers. A major goal is not expanding theirherd beyond its present size, which is a pleasure tomanage. They point to the example of otherproducers who have made big investments and thenhad to increase the size of their operation to paythe loans back.

Marketing: We figured with the Farmers Marketin Madison, and a lot of people who had traveledand eaten goat cheese in other countries, we wouldhave a market for our cheese. But as it turned out,for the first couple of years we had to bludgeonpeople into trying it. They built their markets upfrom scratch, educating themselves and consumersas they went along. They were certified to sell in1984, and now sell in Madison, Milwaukee andChicago. For a time they were selling to a customerin New York, but they found maintaining theconnection over that distance too difficult.

We thought...we would havea market for our cheese. Butas it turned out, for the first

couple of years we had tobludgeon people into trying

it.

They have displayed at the annual food fair on NavyPier in Chicago, and found this to be a valuablesource of contacts. This year our cheese was takenall the way to Hong Kong! They have also beenwritten up in several major publications, such as theNew Yorker. Currently, they get about one third of

6their income from the Madison Farmers Market, a lives, and tap into the most elemental things in thefluctuating lo-20% from Chicago, and the rest from world -- life and death. What other way is there tostores and restaurants in Madison and Milwaukee. clear your horizon and remember whats reallyThey are getting ready to expand their sales, which important? Its a real nurturing that goes on, andthey plan to do through a mail order system. I dont know how other people get by without it.

Ann says the biggest marketing constraint is time.Theyve had many excellent marketing opportunitiesthey simply havent had time to respond to. Mostdays, were going from S:OO am. to 8:30 or 9:00 pm.-- there just isnt enough time to pursue everything.It is noteworthy that the market they havedeveloped is promising enough that there is now alarger goat cheese operation getting underway inWisconsin, started by a French investor.

How It All Looks From Here

When I look back on it, Im amazed that we did it.There were so many obstacles, and so many thingswe didnt know how to do. But we make goodcheese! Its amazing!

One of the best things iswhat the animals give back.

. . . they let us be in their lives,and tap into the most

Lessons

Most of what Ann and Judy would have foundhelpful (or still would) falls under the networkingheading. They would like to have a way to findother farmers working at the cutting edge,experimenting with new techniques, etc. Tl=Ywould like to find other people with farmexperience willing to trade labor and join work days,as they currently do with some neighbors. They findthe group effort educational, fun, and labor-saving.They would also like to find people in their areawilling to do relief milking; it is difficult to findpeople with experience with goats.

They feel, like many other small and beginningfarmers, that the input distribution infrastructureserves them poorly. They need relatively smallquantities of somewhat unusual items, andpurchasing them individually implies higher costsand a greater effort in searching out sources. Theywould like to find a way to purchase inputs withothers to get better deals, and save on researchtime.

elemental things in the world-- life and death. What other

way is there to clear yourhorizon and remember whats

really important?

We know itll work now -- we can make a living atthis. We havent really known that for long, and itsvery satisfying. For a while we were afraid wedhave to get big to make it, but our cheese is goodenough that we can charge enough and stay small.The cost of this is the energy deficit. We cant keepup this pace forever. We need to find ways to savelabor.

Finally, they would like to find a way of renting orborrowing equipment for short periods of time. Forexample, they cannot afford to purchase a fenceauger, but would greatly benefit by occasional accessto one. This is an item which can be used for muchof the year (not just for a few peak days or weeks);it should thus be possible to develop some sucharrangement with other farmers who are also not ina position to purchase their own.

One of the lessons from Ann and Judys experienceis the importance of support from family andfriends. A network of people willing to commitmoney to the effort allowed them to get started, anda family contact in farming allowed them access tothe expertise of an established farm community -- aswell as experience with the mechanics of farming.For many beginning farmers, building orstrengthening such ties may be a good first steptoward getting started.

One of the best things is what the animals giveback. Its hard to convey... they let us be in their

Dick and Gretchen Regnery3831 Clark Lake Rd.Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235(414) 743-1560

The Dream

Dick and Gretchen wanted to live in a rural area --as they both had as children -- and they wanted adiversified operation that would provide anadequate income year round without off-farmemployment. They wanted to work with smalllivestock, and also felt that the lifestyle of runninga Bed & Breakfast would suit them. Finally, theyhad family in Door County, and hoped to locate inthat area.

The Operation

Dick and Gretchen have an 80 acre farm adjacentto a state park in Door County. They have anorchard of 3.50 cherry trees which started majorproduction this year, and a flock of 30 Corriedalesheep. They plan to increase their flock to SObreeding ewes. In addition, they have an art galleryin the farms old granary, and a Bed and Breakfastwhich opened for the first time this year. This isthe first year they are relying on no outside income,either to live on or to capitalize the farm.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: The couple looked for afarm for five years before finding a suitableproperty. Important criteria were: ease of access fortourists; proximity to other tourist attractions; scenicbeauty: a house large enough tobe converted into a B&B;adequate land for a livestockoperation.

They finally found an 80 acrefarm that met these criteria, aswell as offering opportunitiesthey had not considered. Thecherry trees had been newlyplanted by the previous owners,and the granary already housedan antique shop and art gallery.

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The farm is adjacent to a state park, which assuresa steady flow of visitors.

The granary had no heating. Rather than installingan expensive heating system, they decided to run thegallery seasonally.

The house was not in a condition to be used as aB&B -- Gretchen and Dick spent eight yearsremodeling and fixing it up. An unexpected setback occurred when the couple went to the zoningboard for permission to convert the house, and weretold that it was 10 feet too near the road and wouldhave to be moved back to be legal. This was a largeand unanticipated additional expense which delayedthe opening of the B&B.

Financing: They did not want to take on debt,although they would have had no difficulty inobtaining a loan. They both continued to work inMilwaukee during the week, and spent weekends onthe farm getting it into shape for the variousenterprises they planaed. They capitalized the farmwith earnings from their other jobs. Gretchenworked as a nursing and home care administrator,Dick for the Social Service Administration.

Technical Expertise: They had little knowledge oftheir enterprises when they started. The cherrytrees had been planted just before they bought thefarm -- this was an opportunity they had notoriginally considered, but decided to exploit. Theydecided to do a combination Pick-Your-Own andready picked operation in order to exploit twodifferent markets. They found ready sources ofinformation on growing cherries locally. TheCounty Extension agent, a plant pathologist,specialized in fruit crops, and sent out a newsletter

with spraying dates and otherinformation about cherries.Extension also held an annualcherry school which theyattended, and the University ofWisconsin also operates anexperimental station in thecounty, with emphasis on cherryand apple production. Theysubscribe to the Great LakesFruit Growers Newsletter, and aswith all their enterprises, theyhave done other research and

8reading in preparation.

Regarding the B&B, althoughthey had no experience running such an enterprise,they had enjoyed s taying a t o ther B&Bestablishments and felt they understood the market.They felt that with their good location, scenicattractions and functioning farm, they could providethe kind of experience tourists wanted.

We learned to set a realisticbudget, and then increase itby about 50%. Things arealways more expensive than

you think, and they takelonger, too. You have to

count on unforeseenproblems.

Finally, regarding livestock, Gretchen had an unclewith a dairy farm where she spent much time as achild. In preparation for the move into a livestockoperation, Dick spent a year working as a farmhandon a local dairy farm. This experience was aninvaluable source of information on animalhusbandry, forage management, and farmmanagement. In addition, it was an entrance intothe local farming community.

They had some but not enough knowledge of sheep;Dick had raised them for a 4-H project as a boy.His experience gave them a degree of confidencethat aided their decision to go into this activity.They did extensive research to determine the properbreed for their purposes. Given the very poormarket for ordinary wool, they looked into specialtywools. It turned out that Corriedale wool washighly prized by hand spinners, of which there wereseveral locally. This looked like a marketopportunity. In order to produce the highestpossible quality wool, they decided to put jacketson the sheep between shearings to protect the woolfrom dirt, seeds, and burrs. An additionalconsideration in breed selection was thatCorriedales have a body type which is attractive formeat purposes, so that there would be a fairly ready

market for slaughtered male lambs.

Their research on sheep took them to many tradeshows, the annual Wisconsin Sheep BreedersConference, the library, trade journals, and otherfarmers, whom they found to be generally helpfuland willing to share advice. They emphasize theimportance of extensive background research inselecting the proper breed and understanding boththe production and marketing ends of the business.

They plan in the future on milking their sheep.Their intention is to sell milk to specialty cheeseproducers. Brie, for example, is traditionallyproduced with sheeps milk (though in the States itis often made with cows milk). One importantadvantage of sheeps milk is that it may be frozenfor up to six months without suffering harm forcheese making. This means that they can save ontransportation costs by shipping it less frequently.This flexibility is especially important for a smallproducer. Another advantage of sheep is that theyneed to be milked 130 days of the year, and thenthey all dry off at the same time. There will beseveral months before lambing during whichGretchen and Dick can take a break from milking.

The situation has met ourexpectations. We did a lot ofresearch so our expectations

were realistic... and wereused to lots of hard work,which this has been. We

didnt expect to be wealthy,and were not.

Marketing: All of the Regnetys operations weredeveloped with markets in mind. Market researchwas an integral part of the decision-making process.In addition, Gretchen and Dick had life experiencesthat gave them a good understanding of the marketsthey were trying to reach. They had grown up inrural areas but had also lived as adults in urbanareas. They knew what was attractive to citydwellers, and had a good feel for the aesthetic and

9other preferences of B&B clientele, hand spinnersand gallery-goers. This is their first year of runninga Pick-Your-Own operation, and they are pleasedwith their clientele so far. They feel that the natureof their operation has attracted pickers who aregenerally careful not to damage the trees. Theawareness and understanding of their markets hasbeen critical to the success of their enterprises.

How It All Looks From Here

The situation has met our expectations, saysGretchen. We did a lot of research, so ourexpectations were realistic... and were used to lotsof hard work, which this has been. We didntexpect to be wealthy, and were not.

They enjoy the considerable amount of time theyspend dealing with people in the course of runningthe Bed & Breakfast, the gallery, and the Pick-Your-Own cherry operation. Their gallery is one ofthe largest in Door County, and they areparticularly pleased at the early success of the B&B.They feel that it will be a major, year-round sourceof income.

Lessons

A major lesson from Dick and Gretchen is that aslong as a beginning farmers are aware of what they

dont know, and are accustomed to doing researchto find out, the technical obstacles are notinsurmountable. The Regnerys selected enterprisesin which they possessed some advantages, they didtheir homework, and they allowed themselves agenerous time frame for learning. Their selection ofenterprises was based on a careful assessment oftheir resources and strengths, as well as a realisticevaluation of the market opportunities. They werealso careful to take only limited financial risks,preferring to go slowly, avoid debt, and do the workof building up the farm and B&B themselves. AsGretchen put it, We learned to set a realisticbudget, and then increase it by about 50%. Thingsare always more expensive than you think, and theytake longer, too. You have to count on unforseenproblems.

The main thing that Dick and Gretchen would haveliked along the way was a clearinghouse of peoplethey could go to for advice and technical assistance.This would certainly not have made the differencebetween success and failure, but would have madetheir research easier.

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Kathy and Jim FosterFiberbits FarmS104 W38751 Hwy. NNEagle, WI 53119(414) 594-2980

offices the first twenty or so banks I went to, shesays. Since then, she hasnt pushed hard for alivestock loan, preferring instead to maintain acordial relationship with the bankers so that she caneventually apply for a real estate loan. In themeantime, she has purchased a few animals on acredit card or with cash.

The Dream

Kathy always dreamed of having a small farm andliving in the country. She was also a spinner andweaver, and wanted to raise animals that producedexotic fibers. I thought having a small fiber farmwould be fresh air and fun, she says. It is, but itsbeen a real learning experience, too.

As she puts it, shes had to beg, borrow, steal, andwork part time to get started. Her part time job,as an interpreter at Old World Wisconsin, does notpay enough to generate substantial savings, but doespay vet and feed bills and permits the slowacquisition of animals.

The Operationwhen I started, I didnt evenknow what hay was! I needed

Kathy and Jim are renting a five-acre farm (threeacres are in pasture) with a small barn southwest ofMilwaukee, near Whitewater. They have a fewangora rabbits and llamas, are getting into sheep,and are considering angora goats. The enterprise isprimarily Kathys: Jim lifts anything heavy -- I dothe rest.

Constraints and Opportunities

Lund and Facilities: The Fosters have a smallfarm in Eau Claire, but for various reasons decidednot to develop their operation there. Currently,they are trying to sell that property, and are rentingthe current small farm on a yearly lease. It tookthem a year to find a property appropriate andaffordable as a small livestock operation. They arestarting small both because they dont have themoney to make a major investment, and becausethey are learning as they go along and need time togain experience before plunging in with a full-scaleoperation.

City People.

One problem is that wool prices are currently

a course in Farming 101 For

extremely low, so investing in ordinary sheep isdifficult to justify economically. Some specialtyfibers are still attractive, but the animals a&expensive. Female llamas currently sell for $8-10thousand dollars apiece. Angora goats would be agood compromise in some respects, but they requireelaborate fencing, which also implies a largeinvestment. The only solution for the Fosters at thispoint is to start small and grow slowly, gettingcapital from outside income.

Financing: This has been a major constraint forKathy. When she started, she was unaware thatcommercial banks typically did not makeagricultural loans, or that there were specializedfarm credit services. With her lack of experience,and the fact that she wanted to go into an activity(raising llamas) of which bankers had littleknowledge, the reception she received ranged fromcool to derisive. They laughed me out of their

Technical Expertise: As Kathy puts it, When Istarted, I didnt even know what hay was! I neededa course in Farming 101 For City People. PerhapsKathys worst problem was not knowing what shedidnt know. She looks back on several costlymistakes they made. One was building permanentfencing in rocky ground without knowing the fencingrequirements of different animals. Movable electricfencing would have been much easier and cheaper,and would have worked for the animals they nowhave. Another was in not knowing enough at thebeginning how to select the appropriate animals forher needs and finances. She feels that despite lowwool prices, she should have started with sheep,since they are cheaper, and better known to

bankers, vets, and others who could have helped herget started and learn about raising livestock.Finally, she knew, she admits, almost nothing aboutbloodlines, animal husbandry, culling, pastures,feeding, housing requirements, livestock handling,selecting a vet, and normal animal behavior. Shealso didnt know how the banking system worked,what services were available for farmers, what therequirements were, or how to present her plans toa loan officer.

What Kathy knows now she has learned fromexperience, from Susie Watermans (see pflge 29)seminar on Angora goats, from attending countyand state fairs, and from talking to others andreading.

Marketing: Kathy has a rudimentary knowledge ofthe markets for different kinds of animal fibers.Most of her energy, however, has gone into learningthe agronomic and husbandry aspects of producinganimal fiber. She has experience as a desktoppublisher, and is confident that this will help her inrunning effective advertisements in magazines. Shemade her first sale this year through a word-of-mouth contact, and is helping to organize a fibershow next September. She is, she admits, justgetting started in marketing -- this is the first yearshe has had anything to sell.

How It All Looks From Here

Ill give it about five years, she says. My husbandstill laughs when I say that someday Ill supporthim. And the banks still laugh, and none of myneighbors take me seriously -- theyre all establisheddairy farmers. But I think I can make this work.Its harder than I thought -- theres so much I dontknow. But I want to keep trying.

Lessons

What Kathy wishes she had was more on-farmexperience, but this was difficult to obtain. I knewId be a real liability at the beginning, she admits.

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Id have to be taught everything. (She looked inthe farm want ads periodically, but always felt theywere looking for someone with experience. She wasnot aware of any internship opportunities.) She alsowishes there were a way to meet other beginningfarmers in the same boat, and experienced farmersshe could talk to and learn from. Finally, she thinksthat a course like Farming 101 for City Peoplecould be helpful.

Lots of people want to befarmers. It would be nice ifsomeone would just take us

little people seriously.

One of the lessons from Kathys experience is thatfor complete beginners with no farm experience,getting an initial toehold is very difficult. She saysthat few people have taken her seriously, and thisoften gets in the way of obtaining information.Susie Watermans Angora goat seminar stands outas the single most helpful source of criticalinformation -- and one of the only times Kathy wasnot dismissed as hopelessly unrealistic. Susie, as arelative newcomer to farming, is probably unusuallywell-positioned to offer advice to beginning farmerswho lack prior experience, knowing what kinds ofinformation they are likely to ne,ed, and taking littlefor granted. Such seminars on other topics, gearedfor people who are just starting out, might beuseful.

For people like Kathy, it seems that one of thesingle most useful things would be a directory ofother successful beginning farmers who couldprovide nuts and bolts advice and expertise -- aswell as moral support. As Kathy says, one of thethings she has most needed sometimes is simply tobe taken seriously. Lots of people want to befarmers. It would be nice if someone would justtake us little people seriously.

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Jack and Debi Markin1380 Highway 78 SouthMount Horeb, WI 53572(608) 437-3289

The Dream

I wanted to be a farmer ever since I was in collegein the ~OS, says Jack. I dreamed of having myown place and making it work. I love making thingsgrow, I love working outdoors, I love working withanimals. I didnt know exactly what I wanted togrow, but I wanted to farm.

The Operation

Jack and Debi have a 265 acre farm in MountHoreb, on which they have a herd of sheep(currently about 300), and about 20 acres each ofcorn, oats and wheat. They sell the wheat, and feedthe corn and oats to the sheep. They briefly trieda market garden this year, but found that it wasntattractive economically. They sell wool, though thisaccounts for relatively little of their income even ina good year for wool. Their primary product islamb, for which they are working to developalternative marketing channels. This is their fourthsummer on the farm.

Constraints and Opportunities

Lund and Facilities: Primarily for lifestylereasons, the Markins wanted to be within thirtymiles of a university town. They wanted to haveeasy access to a city with its cultural attractions, andthey wanted to raise their three children on a farm.They looked into a number of areas in Michigan,Wisconsin and Minnesota, and finally found thesetting they were looking for in Mount Horeb, asmall town about 20 miles from Madison. Tl=Ywere relatively flexible regarding the kind of farmthey purchased, since they had not decidedbeforehand exactly what they wanted to do on it.

Financing: Money is the big obstacle, says Jack.I just dont know how most people get started. Wewere lucky -- we both had high paying jobs inChicago that we worked at for five years with thisgoal in mind. Jack was a real estate developer, and

Debi was a systems analyst.

They did buy the farm from Farm Credit Services,but were uncomfortable both with debt in generaland with ag lenders in particular. I understandtheir position. Of course wed like cheap moneyand wed like to think that theyre looking out forthe interests of farmers. But theyre also supposedto look out for the money; they have conflictinggoals. Are they going to loan to farmers like us, orUncle Sam? Uncle Sam has a printing press, wedont.

The Markins have concluded that in general a heavydebt load is unwise. With low profit margins, debtwould be unsustainable. As a rule of thumb, Jacksuggests that the maximum debt should be about20% of equity, and that obtaining a fixed interestrate is critical. Although the current interest rate(7-8%) is sustainable, the 6% increase allowableover the life of a variable rate loan could sink afarmer.

. . . Wed like to think that [aglenders] are looking out forthe interests of farmers. Buttheyre also supposed to lookout for the money... Are theygoing to loan to farmers like

us, or Uncle Sam? UncleSam has a printing press, we

dont.

While Jack and Debi have avoided debt, they arecontemplating taking out a $10,000 loan for fencingfor their rotational grazing system. A permanentfencing system will allow them to expand their herdto the point where they can begin to achieve theireconomic goals: supporting their family and saving$5,000 a year.

Thus, while money was and is the primary obstacle,they dont regard credit as necessarily the solution.Jack and Debi have decided to work on the profitmargin end of the problem rather than the creditend. They are working to reduce production costs,

13

add value, and sell directly to customers as much aspossible. They have also contented themselves withstarting small, and building their herd up each year.They started with only 80 ewes, the second year theyhad 180, this year they have 300, and next year theyexpect to have about 350.

The markets not working.The farmers getting less andthe packer3 getting more.

Technical Expertise: The Markins did not startout by doing a lot of research, and they admit thatthey made some mistakes as a result. However,they found that between the books they read andthe farmers they bought sheep from, they were ableto learn enough to master the technical aspects ofraising sheep. Jack also had an M.S. in aquaculture,and had worked on a fish farm in Alabama forthree years. Though in most respects fish farmingbears little resemblance to sheep farming, it taughthim about many of the important questions to ask,and gave him a degree of confidence about workingon a farm.

One thorny production issue has been organiccertification. The Markins will be certified asorganic next year, but have found that although theycan grow crops organically and do not use anyantibiotics or hormones, the organic wormingmedicine (diatomaceous earth) does not work.They anticipate having a conflict with the certifiersover this, and having to work out a pasture rotationsystem that reduces the problem of worms. Theyalso note that there do not really exist any state orfederal regulations for organic meats, or well-developed markets for them.

Another difficult issue has been fencing. Wethought we could do permanent fencing on theperimeter of the pasture and use movable fencingfor the enclosures, but its too difficult to managewith the size flock we need to have to make money.Weve had four years to figure out our systemthough, and were pretty confident about putting uppermanent fencing now.

Marketing: This has been an obstacle for Jack andDebi. About 80% of the market in lamb iscontrolled by three packers, and they have littleinterest in doing slaughtering and packing for small,independent farmers. Although retail prices forlamb are very high compared to other meats, on-the-hoof prices to producers were at a forty yearlow last year. Jack claims that 6-8 years ago,farmers were getting $.9Oflb. on the hoof, and todaythey are getting $SO-.60/lb. At the same time, retailprices are 15% higher today than they were whenproducers were getting paid a lot more. Themarkets not working, he says. The farmersgetting less and the packers getting more.

The Markins conclude that adding value on thefarm is critical. They are working on developingnew distribution networks and finding a smallerindependent packer. In particular, they favor sellingdirectly to customers, though they produce far morelambs than they can currently sell this way. Even ifthey sells a lamb for less then $2/Ib to consumers,they still get about $25 more a head than theywould if they sold it through a normal packerchannel.

I love what Im doing --being outdoors, working withthe animals... ItP 80 hours aweek on a farm and you dontget rich at it, but I expected

that.

Currently, they sell most of their lambs to theEquity Livestock Cooperative. In the near term,they hope to find a nearby federally inspected plant(there are currently only two in Wisconsin); thiswould allow them to sell their meat in other states.They may also try selling to a plant in Chicago,though they note that it is more difficult to developa good working relationship over such a distance.

How It All Looks From Here

I love what Im doing -- being outdoors, workingwith the animals, living in Mount Horeb. Its a

14

good place to raise a family. Its 80 hours a weekon a farm, and you dont get rich at it, but Iexpected that. Still, you have to be able to supportyour family and save some, and were not quitethere yet.

Lessons

They regard their off-farm earning potential as theonly thing that allowed them to get started. As Jackpoints out, By the time the banks regard you ascredit worthy, you dont really need credit anymore. Although Jack agrees that many loanofficers are ignorant of sustainable agriculture, non-traditional enterprises, and the needs and potentials

By the time the banks regardyou as credit-worthy, you

dont really need credit anymore.

of beginning farmers, he doesnt think thateducating them will be a large part of the solution.

He doubts the wisdom of taking on debt in the firstplace, and thinks it would have strangled hisenterprise.

Regarding technical expertise, he doubts that theresa great deal any single organization could do to helpmost beginning farmers. His most usefulinformation came from other sheep farmers. Mostlikely, easier access to such farmers would havebeen helpful. A clearinghouse of information onestablished farmers in different enterprises couldwell be useful.

The marketing help that Debi and Jack need is bothspecialized and daunting. Finding a way to bypassthe highly unfavorable relations with the large,established packers and developing the lamb marketwould both be appropriate responses. (Jack pointsout that Americans eat an average of 200 pounds ofmeat per year, and only about one pound of that islamb.) Both responses would also require a majororganizational commitment, and the participation ofa number of smaller sheep producers. Developingcreative marketing ideas (such as selling not justlambs, but lamb roasts for parties) could be anadditional approach.

15

Judy Baker and Roy Marsden1109 Vernon St.Stoughton WI 53589(608) 873-443 1

The Dream

I want to farm in a way that our lives and work areintegrated as a whole and centered on the land. Idont want to have such a large operation that Iwind up just managing people or machines. I wantto be in touch with what is happening with theplants and soil in order to create a dynamic balancein the farm system. I also want to provide a decentmiddle income lifestyle from the farm and feel thatfarm work in general and sustainable farming inparticular is undervalued in our society.

Judy and Roys goal is to run a small subscriptionfarm, close to Madison and a pool of potentialcustomers to facilitate contact with urbanconsumers. In addition to providing wholesomefood produced in an environmentally sound manner,an important part of their vision is helping urbanresidents gain a better understanding of the foodsystem and strengthen their ties with the land andthe farming community.

Trying to Get Started -- Constraints andOpportunities

Judith and Roy are still looking for land, savingmoney, and learning all they can about communitysupported agriculture and organic production. Theyhave been actively looking for a farm for two and ahalf years.

Land and Facilities: A small farm close toMadison is hard to come by, particularly at a pricethey can afford. They want to beclose enough to the urbanconsumers that their customerswill truly feel a link to the farm.Staying within 15 miles ofMadison means that they mustcontend with high land priceswhich are based on thedevelopment, not agricultural,potential of the land. We canafford a $110,000 to $120,000

property based on my present income. A 20-40 acrefarm near Madison is generally priced at $140,000and up (way up). Housing quality is a major factorin the pricing since these are generally consideredhobby farms and are sold to commuters with jobs inMadison.

Technical Expertise: Roy has a degree inagriculture and experience in small grain and cattleproduction, but has never produced vegetablescommercially. Judy has a strong interest in herbsand flowers, and both Judy and Roy are experiencedgardeners. They are interested in researching bettervarieties and growing systems.

They find that there is a lot of information onbiodynamic and organic agriculture -- there aremany good sources of help on the technical aspectsof production. Their main difficulty has been infinding help with the intricacies of financial andbusiness planning, dealing with lending agencies,and setting up a subscription farming system (inwhich customers pay in advance for a weeklybasket of produce).

They find that the University personnel haveexpertise mainly in conventional practices and crops,and that bankers have little or no knowledge ofdirect marketing techniques or communitysupported agriculture (CSA). They have also foundthat while there are many sources of information onSSA, the uniqueness of every farm makes it difficultto apply the numbers and data of one operation toanother. Finally, there are few people in the areawho they can bounce ideas off of -- few individualshave sufficient experience to help them evaluatetheir plans and assess the viability of what they wantto do.

Financing: Roy is currently a professional potter.He has found that banks arewilling to give him a real estateloan based on his income frompottery, but not on incomeprojections from farming. Heviews bankers as both ignorant ofthe type of enterprise he wouldlike to have, and justifiablycautious about an inherently riskyproposition.

They will probably take out a loan based on Roysincome as a potter, and will continue to rely onoutside income for a time. Since we feel that theorganic production system as well as the marketingwill need to evolve over time to their maximumpotential, I plan to keep my job for 3-S years andcut back gradually as the farm operations expand.

Marketing: Roy and Judy feel strongly that CSA isboth appropriate and feasible. However, they havefound no local experts that can help them work outthe details for what they would like to do.

We want to provide the socialfabric to link urban and rural

communities. City peopleneed for a farm to become

part of their lives.

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They have recently been working with the AmericanFarmland Trust to find an avenue for selling landdevelopment rights to an agricultural trust, orobtaining a conservation easement in order to lowerthe cost of land to its agricultural value. They arealso hopeful that the evolving Dane CountyGreenspace Plan may ultimately help them acquireaffordable farmland.

Roy and Judy see several gaps in the servicesavailable to beginning farmers. While there isconsiderable technical information available, theyneed help in translating the experiences of otheroperations to their own situation, and producing abusiness plan acceptable to a banker.

Lessons

They feel the single most useful thing for people intheir position would be a directory of interestedagricultural economists, financial consultants andbusiness planners who could help them put togethera sound plan, analyze cash flow and production, andprepare them to deal with bankers. They see theneed for greater diversity of experience among theexperts, too few of whom can offer sound adviceabout non-traditional crops, direct marketing, oralternative agriculture in its various forms.

The feel that it is a mistake to deny the importanceof a variety of small operations in rural communitiesand in the farming sector. They are convinced thatoperations such as the one they would like to havecan be a valuable asset to the rural economy, asource of new ideas and dynamism, and a neededlink with the urban population.

How It All Looks From Here

Its hard to get started. Land within 1.S miles ofMadison may simply be unattainable at a price theycan afford. Land further away from Madison wouldprevent them, as they see it, from developing theties with urban consumers that they would like tofoster. As Roy puts it, We want to provide thesocial fabric to link urban and rural communities.City people need for a farm to become part of theirlives. If were too far away, well lose the intimacy.

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Mary BakerTapawingo FarmN2698 Ullom Rd.Monroe WI 53566(608) 325-9174

The Dream

I wanted to have a small, manageable, sustainablefarm. And I wanted to provide for as many of myneeds as possible, and reduce my cash expenses andrely on the outside as little as I could. After fouryears, Im not sure how practical it is, but its stillmy dream.

The Operation

Mary has a 7S-acre farm in Monroe. She currentlycultivates about three acres -- the only tillable landon the property. Specialty lettuces, edible flowers,and a few other vegetables and some herbs are hermain items. Her biggest seller this year has beenbagged salad -- a prepared mix of lettuces andgreens that she sells for $13/lb. to restaurants inChicago. This year she hired three employees forthe growing season. This is her third year of seriouscommercial production, and her fourth year with thefarm.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: Mary purchased a hilly,rundown farm that was unpromising for mosttraditional enterprises, but which had adequatespace for her market garden. The barn and housewere in poor condition when she bought it -- andstill are. This has been a financial drain. However,given the size of the operation, equipment needs areminimal. A 1940s vintage tractor and a rototillerare the main pieces of equipment. The irrigationsystem and cold frames for extending the seasonare, she says, primitive. On the whole, findingadequate land and facilities has not been a problemfor Mary, partly because she expects to make doand improvise.

Technical Expertise: Mary had considerableexperience as a home gardener, which she loved anddid with unusual success. And Im a magazinejunkie, she says. Ill read anything I can send away

for -- Im swamped with trade magazines. She hasfound traditional sources of agricultural informationto be generally useless. Most of them have told herthat she cant do what she wants to do (organicproduction of specialty items for a niche market),and are unable to offer useful advice, contacts orinformation. Only recently has Mary discoveredalternative sources ofinformation other thanmagazines, and thee x i s t e n c e o f o t h e rproducers with similargoals. There was nobodyto talk to when I started --no source of advice orencouragement. Recentlyshe attended her firstsustainable agricultureevent, a conference organized by CROPP (theCoulee Region Organic Produce Pool). She foundit very helpful and interesting, partly for the hands-on information on crop production, and partly forthe opportunity to meet like-minded people.

Mary says that one of her biggest technicaldifficulties has been organizing a managementsystem. Her previous business experience didntprovide much of a guide for an agriculturalenterprise. I need organization, computer records,a billing system. No more of these little slips ofpaper everywhere!

Another challenge has beenlearning the ropes on inputsuppliers and whos who andwho does what in agriculture.As a city person, my mainsource of information aboutgardening supplies was the

Smith & Hawkin catalogue. Thats actually whereI got my first tools -- I didnt know any better. SoI had very cute watering cans!

Financing: Prior to farming, Mary was a realestate developer in Chicago, earning $70-90thousand a year. With savings from this job, shepurchased the farm and made basic improvements.This is the first year she applied for a loan -- sheneeded it to meet payroll obligations, which beganbefore any crops were harvested. With herbackground and her husbands steady income, she

18

had no difficulty obtaining the loan, and doesntexpect to have difficulties in repaying it. However,she is wary of taking on much debt. I see a lot ofpeople who jump in too fast and spend too much,before theyve really figured out their system orknow what theyre doing. Ive seen several go outof business fast, or be unable to pay back loans. Myhay-bale-and-storm-window cold frames may beprimitive, but they work and they didnt cost meanything. Were not equipment-crazed here.

I see a lot of people whojump in too fast and spend

too much, before theyve reallyfigured out their system orknow what theyre doing.

She feels that capitalizing a new farm with outsideincome is the best way to go. If I could do itagain, maybe I would have stayed at my job acouple more years -- then thered be no financialpressure on me now, and we would have gotten thephysical plant in better shape. I also wouldnt berelying on my husband for some living expenses, andhe would have more freedom to make the changesin his life that he wants to make.

Regarding income from the farm, Mary is pleasedabout the progress she has made, but is not satisfiedyet. If I cant be in the black by next year I cantjustify this. She is also disappointed that foreconomic reasons she has had to reduce the numberof different crops she grows. She has cut hernumber of crops by about one third in the last year,though she still raises dozens of different lettuces,herbs, flowers and vegetables.

Marketing: Marketing was probably Marysstrongest point. When she started the farm, shealready had a number of contacts with chefs atupscale Chicago restaurants, and the confidence toapproach them. She is able to supply them with awide variety of greens, vegetables and herbs thatthey would ordinarily have difficulty obtaining --with the added attraction that hers are organic andvery fresh.

An important source of contacts, in addition topersonal acquaintance, has been the AmericanInstitute for Food and Wine. Once a year they hosta show at Navy Pier in Chicago, attended by about10,000 people. Marys displays there have led toother shows and a number of customers -- includingthe Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, which isinterested in buying from her. She also reads trademagazines, and has a good understanding of themarket she is producing for.

She faces several marketing difficulties, however.One is that the current recession has had aconsiderable impact on expensive restaurants. Sheis selling smaller quantities to more establishmentsthis year to keep earnings up. She feels the need toget into a more recession-proof market, and isconsidering shipping lettuce to New York during thewinter. She can compete favorably with Californiagrowers in the specialty market, and already hasinterested buyers, such as the Four SeasonsRestaurant.

Another difficulty is that while she is a creative andsuccessful marketer, she dislikes doing it. Thatswhy I left my other job. I was burned out oncontact with the outside world, with selling. I domarketing only when Im backed into a corner --you have to beat me to get me to do it, and thenIm relieved when people dont answer the phone.Marketing is like performing, and Im always soexhausted afterwards.

Sometimes I feel like Imworking so hard to maintainmy so-called idyllic lifestylethat I have no time to enjoy

it.

As she sees it now, shell probably have to capitalizeon her strength in marketing to make a go of thefarm, and discipline herself to maintain a balancebetween the production and marketing aspects ofher work. She is considering doing marketing forother producers as well, both to boost her income,and to provide a service to growers who are lessadept at selling what they produce. She thinks shecould spend just a few hours a week marketing (not

counting delivery), and then be free to do the workshe likes better.

How It All Looks From Here

Sometimes I feel like Im working so hard tomaintain my so-called idyllic lifestyle that I have notime to enjoy it. When I realize I havent ridden myhorses in two weeks, I think to myself, But thatswhat I came here for! I wanted to get out of thecash economy as much as possible, but the fact is,cash is still the issue. This business has got to atleast break even, and Im not quite there yet.

My advice to other people like me is: act out yourdream as much as you can with a weekend farm,and save as much money as you possibly can fromanother job. Youll need it to get started. I wishId been able to hang on a little longer in my otherjob.

This is more labor intensive than I realized, and Idont have the stamina to do everything Id like todo. Still, its exciting, and weve come a long, longway.

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Lessons

The single most useful thing for Mary when she wasgetting started would have been a ready source ofalternative farmer contacts, hands-on advice, andbasic information about the mechanics of scaling upto a commercial operation. Her neighbors havebeen wonderful, she says, but for a long time shewas unaware of other farmers producing organically,and she had to learn a lot by trial and error. Shewould also have liked the support and camaraderiethat would have come from closer contact withother farmers.

She also sees potential in some sort of internshipprogram. She had an excellent experience with herthree employees this year; she and they learned agreat deal from each other. Id be happy to hireinterns. They have a great attitude, they work hard,and theyre fun to work with. And its a good wayfor them to get started. The couple that worked forme this year is getting started on a vegetableoperation at Kamms bakery now. They found outabout the Kamms from the Wisconsin RuralDevelopment Center newsletter. We need sourcesof information like that, and ways to hook up witheach other.

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Jim Elleson4671 Highway JJBlack Earth, WI 53515(608) 767-2466

The Dream

I grew up in the city -- in Milwaukee. I had someuncles and cousins who farmed though, and I spenttime with them as a kid and really liked it. Iwanted to follow up on that experience, and decidedafter engineering school Id try farming. My ideawas to grow organic vegetables.

The Operation

Jim owns a 110 acre farm in Black Earth. About 24acres are in the Conservation Reserve Program,about 20 acres are tillable, 40 acres woodland, andthe rest is pasture and wetland. Jim works full timeas an engineer and is unable to devote much time tothe farm. It is currently largely unused, except forthe 10 acres he rents out. He grew potatoes lastyear; however, he anticipates spending another yearor two in his present job before getting into farmingseriously. The operation is largely his. My wifehas different ambitions. She may help outsomewhat, but its really a one-person deal.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: Jim had no difficulty infinding or buying land. He was living in BlackEarth, and the farm across the highway went up forsale. He and a friend decided to purchase ittogether, dividing it so that each of them wouldhave one of the two houses on the property. Jimshalf ended up without any buildings other than thehouse, so he is building a workshop, and anticipatesbuilding a machine shed.

Technical Expertise: My biggest problem is whatI didnt learn growing up on a farm, sitting on myDads lap on the tractor. Theres a lot of basic stuffI dont know. I read a lot to make up for my lackof experience -- New Farm magazine, Agriview, acouple of newsletters... I also talk to my neighbors.I guess information-wise, I kvow more at this pointabout alternative agriculture than conventional. ButIm still short on practical experience. So far, it

seems that theres a lot of information out there,but if I have a really specific question its often hardto find the answer.

Jim finds that his formal engineering training wasntpractical in the sense that it gave him hands-onexperience with equipment or farming operations.However, he has a good understanding of howthings work generally, and is certainly notintimidated by the prospect of fixing up oldmachinery. This has been a help.

My biggest problem is what Ididnt learn growing up on a

farm, sitting on my Dads lapon the tractor. Theres a lotof basic stuff I dont know. Iread a lot to make up for my

lack of experience... I alsotalk to my neighbors.

Talking to other farmers would be a big help, butits hard to initiate contact and ask for advice as arank beginner. Though Ive lived here for six yearsand had the farm for three, Im still an outsider inthe community. Im really not comfortable going tothe coop and asking for advice. Sometimes I wishthere was someone to hold my hand and introduceme. One of Jims goals is to spend more time inthe community, getting to know people.

Financing: Jim works as an mechanical engineer --a heating and air conditioning specialist. He reliedon the income from this work to obtain a loan topurchase the farm. He plans to continue workingas an engineer in some capacity, to diversify hisearnings and reduce the pressure to make a lot ofmoney farming. The financial thing isnt a problemfor me; Im well enough paid. I dont know howother people manage though. I knew I couldnt payoff loans with the income from a farm, so I figuredId have to pay for it and develop it with outsideincome. Ill be paying off the farm for another fiveor ten years. I wont wait that long to start farmingthough. My goal is to start farming in the next

21

couple of years, and continue doing engineering 011 to Stuart Smith and Roger Eischens about theirthe side, independently. Itll allow me to earn less marketing system (see case study), and feels it mayfrom the farm. well work for him.

Jim has made a point of purchasing usedequipment, some of it quite old. While this hassaved a lot of money, he has found that he spends

How It All Looks From Here

Sometimes I have thoughts about whether Id beas much time repairing equipment as hedoes using it. This has been a source ofsome frustration.

Jims biggest problem has been themoney/time trade-off he faces. If heworks full time, he has money to putinto the farm but no time. If he cutsback on his hours, he has time but notenough money to pay the mortgage offin a reasonable amount of time andmake needed investments. Furthermore,he has found it difficult to work parttime. It isnt that kind of job.

ibfarketing: Jim has not yet invested agreat deal in this issue. He feels that he is not yetready to embark on formal marketing arrangements,as he cant guarantee delivery of food -- hisproduction is not up to that point yet. He isinterested in the approach taken by CROPP (theCoulee Region Organic Produce Pool), and thinksit is a particularly good model for small andbeginning farmers. He is optimistic about ultimatelysetting up his own subscription farming system.Last year he bartered potatoes, and this yearreceived a number of requests to do it again(though he did not grow any). He has also talked

farmers.

bet ter off making my money atsomething else and growing vegetables asa hobby. Still, there are a lot of things Iwant to do that I havent tried yet. Imworking to build up the farm and thecapital base, and I want to give this atry.

Lessons

Jim, like other interviewees, feels that aclearinghouse of information on otherfarmers would be very helpful. It isimportant, however, that the contactpeople listed in the database bespecifically willing to talk with beginningI got a couple of names from the

Wisconsin Rural Development Center when I wasjust starting out, and I called one or two of them.But I just didnt feel comfortable contacting peoplethat I wasnt sure would be willing to talk to me. Ididnt want to waste their time.

He also thinks that financing would be a bigproblem for people who dont have the option ofhighly paid off-farm employment. His feeling is thatfor most people, farm income would be insufficientto pay off a mortgage, and other arrangementswould have to be made.

22

Mary JacksonPO Box 405New Glarus, WI 53574(608) 527-5659

The Dream

Ive always wanted to farm. It suits mycombination of interests and talents, and I like tobe challenged with something new every day. I alsolike the rural setting, and Ive always wanted toraise my kids on a farm. My goal is to be a sheepfarmer and have that as my sole source of income.Now Im not so sure thats realistic -- getting startedon my own will be really hard.

I decided on sheep because livestock are essentialto a low-chemical style of farming, and sheep aresome of the most manageable animals. I like thembetter than goats. Also, I believe in pasture-basedsystems both practically and philosophically.

I didnt want to do exotics -- I wanted to producesomething that ordinary people used every day,something basic. I didnt want to cater to some

I decided on sheep becauselivestock are essential to a

low-chemical styl& of farming,and sheep are some of the

most manageable animals...Also, I believe in pasture-

based systems both practicallyand philosophically.

picky specialty group; I figured I could effect morechange in agriculture if I did something the averagefarmer could relate to.

And I guess I just love to work long hours for nomoney.

The Operation

Mary manages a 280 acre farm, of which 160 aremore or less tillable. Most of the land in use is inpasture or is being renovated or developed aspasture. In addition, there is some land in smallgrains and hay. The flock of sheep currentlyconsists of 235 ewes (about half are very young) and

I didnt want to do exotics --I wanted to produce

something that ordinarypeople used every day... I

didnt want to cater to somepicky specials group.

130 market lambs. The goal is a flock of 400breeding ewes, lambing at 250% (in other words,producing on average 2.5 lambs each), to allowmarketing of 1000 lambs per year. We use no agchemicals on the land, and we are working onorganic certification and marketing of a naturallyraised product.

The operation belongs to a Chicago area couplethat comes up on weekends. Their goal is todevelop a sustainable, working sheep farm that theycan enjoy spending time on and eventually get someearnings from, though they dont expect to get richoff it. They hope that the farm can become atraining ground for beginning farmers, and a modelfor other absentee landowners who want to supportsustainable agriculture.

Mary is paid a salary of $18,000, including benefits,to manage all aspects of budgeting, accounting, fieldand sheep work, and developing long range plans.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: The farm used to be a dairyoperation. The cement and iron barn was relativelyeasy to convert for sheep. Wood for remodelinghas come off the farm; a neighbor milled it for$.30/hoard foot. The wood has been used primarilyto build feeders and panels that are used for gates

23

and pens, held in place with bailing twine. The keyto early remodelling has been flexibility. Moststructures are temporary and portable.

The fencing investment, on the other hand, hasbeen large, both in terms of labor and cash outlays.The perimeter fence was originally designed with

Technical Expertise: Mary grew up on a farmwith fruit trees and vineyards. Although raisingsheep is quite different, previous farm experiencegave her a measure of confidence, and realisticexpectations about the hard work and low incomegenerally associated with farming.

Mary says that she got connected toother farmers through the WisconsinRural Development Center. Shelearned about sheep and goats fromnearby farmers Peter and HilaryWood and Susie Waterman (see page29), for whom she farm-sat for aperiod of time. Before that, sheworked on an Amish farm, andreceived an M.S. in environmentalstudies, with an emphasis onsustainable agriculture. All of these

wooden posts -- aesthetically preferredby the owners, but considerably morework to erect. After Mary was seriouslyinjured on the tractor-driven post-driver,they have altered the plan to use fewerwood posts and more steel. Themovable fences are mostly high tensileelectric or polywire on movable reels.

Fencing has been one of the mostcomplicated and costly aspects of startingup the sheep operation. When yourethinking about fencing, you dont think about whatits like to put posts in the ground and put the wireup. And you dont think about carrying the wirearound to move the fence, either. Its hard to knowahead of time all the implications of the system youchoose.

Weve had to compromise on the original designand will have to rely on an all-electrified fence.This makes our livestock guard dogs even moreessential. Two Great Pyrenees run with the sheepto protect them from predators.

... neighbors are essential.Id go out of my mind without

my neighbors.

Finding appropriate land for sheep is notparticularly difficult, and except for the fencing,facilities are not complicated. You just have to becreative in how you use the facilities that are there.However, cost is a problem. Mary would ultimatelylike to have her own farm, preferably in California,where she grew up and her family still lives. Sheadmits that finding affordable, good land willprobably be her biggest obstacle.

experiences taught her how to talk to farmers, andkept her in touch with the realities of farming.

My best sources of information have been oihersheep producers, the local vet, and trial and error.Extension is sometimes helpful -- RandyGottfredson, the sheep specialist, is pretty good.

Mary reads a lot, and is no stranger to academicresearch. However, she says Better vet bookswould help a lot. The books there are veryexpensive, and either too general or so detailed Icant find what I need. And no treatment is eversuggested -- nothing about doses or anything. Andin all the books Ive read, I have never found onethat even said what was a normal temperature for asheep and what was a fever!

So much of what Ive learned is from stories fromother producers. Were on the phone a lot to eachother -- we always share what weve learned andwhat works. And neighbors are essential. Id goout of my mind without my neighbors. Theyvesaved the farm a lot of money, too, through advice,help buying used equipment, and lending a handwith projects.

Financing: The operation Mary manages has beenbankrolled by a couple with other sources ofincome. Their investment has been substantial,partly because they hire all the labor. Mary feelsthat purchasing and capitalizing a farm for her will

24

be very difficult -- shes not sure its possible. If sheis unable to acquire her own farm, she may returnto school for veterinary training, since much of whatshe loves about farming is working with farmanimals.

I havent dealt with FmHA. Its a big, scary thingfor me. I have no idea what itll be like to go intoan office and ask for money. I know itll help thatI have this experience managing a farm, and that Iknow what Im doing. This job has been veryimportant that way.

lm really not into being asalesperson,.. Im into raising

sheep, and Id rather notthink about what happens

next...

The arrangement Mary would like is to work forsomeone and build up equity in a farm, eventuallybecoming a partner or owner. Her presentarrangement has some advantages, but will notaccomplish this goal. The situation I have now is,I work for urban absentee landlords who are excitedabout sustainable agriculture and are willing toinvest a lot in the place, but they dont know muchabout farming, or why things happen the way theydo, or what Im doing most of the time.Communication can be difficult. One of the hardestthings is that everything takes so much longer thanany of us expect.

I was excited about this kind of arrangementbefore, but now Id kind of hesitate to recommendit. Ive benefitted from them footing the bill for meto gain experience, but it can be a hassle in otherways. It would help if they had experience inagriculture, or if they could take over running theplace for a week or a month so I could get awayand have a break now and then. But Im not surehow much longer this arrangement will work for anyof us.

As an aspiring farmer, I need to know that myefforts now will result in something more tangible --some equipment and/or a starter flock of sheep, for

instance.

Marketing: Mary anticipates this will besomething of a problem. I dont know what thehell Ill do about it, she says. Im really not intobeing a salesperson or doing direct marketing -- Ihave no interest or expertise in it. Im into raisingsheep, and Id rather not think about what happensnext. Its also hard to find the time to set up amore advanced marketing system.

The market for lamb is highly concentrated. Thereis currently a congressional investigation intopossible violations of anti-trust laws; one firm(Conagra) reputedly controls 40% of the market.Furthermore, the system is structured so that lambsfrom Wisconsin go to Colorado, then to New York,and then back to Chicago before being marketed atthe wholesale level. This adds greatly to the finalcost to consumers, and helps to make lamb one ofthe most expensive and least-consumed meats in thecountry.

Circumventing this processing and marketing systemis a major goal of many small lamb producers.Mary has had some success with limited directmarketing -- this year she expects to sell about 20lambs this way. The model she looks to, however,is the Yankee Shepherd Cooperative in New

I.. .farming has definitely metmy expectations. Its exciting,interesting, challenging, and

Im learning new skills all thetime. I love it?

England, which has its own processing plant,trucking system, and retail distribution network.The cooperative has successfully bypassed the bigprocessors. One of the bases of their success is thefreshness of their product, which they guarantee tobe no more than a week old. There are someefforts afoot to develop such an alternative structurein Wisconsin; Randy Gottfredson of CooperativeExtension recently received a grant to look intoindependent marketing options.

2s

Until such a system exists, producers will probablycontinue to receive extremely low prices for lamb.

Mary has also been working on selling some woollocally. A local wool processor, Ann Bosch (MountHoreb), buys small quantities from local producersat $0.65- l.OO/pound, well over the market price of$0.10 - O.lS/pound. She is committed to workingwith local farmers, paying them what their wool isworth, and advising them on how to improve theirquality.

How It All Looks From Here

Sheep farming has definitely met my expectations.Its exciting, interesting, challenging, and Imlearning new skills all the time. I love it. Its reallyrewarding to look out and see a flock of healthysheep, a barn full of hay, and the birdsfoot trefoilgrowing in the fields.

It... farming alone is hard. Ibelieve farms are meant to be

worked by families...forreasons that are practical,

financial, emotionullspirituul.. ..a second human being isinvaluable when it comes tohanging on to the patience

and positive attitude soessential to farming.

Everything has taken about five times as long as Iexpected though -- and I expected things would takea long time. Its also way more dangerous thananyone thinks. People dont talk about that, butthey should. Practicing farm safety isnt enough --Ive had two bad accidents, both of them just fromslipping in the mud when I was working withequipment. And the whole insurance issue is soimportant -- having disability coverage as well ashealth care -- but its very expensive.

Its encouraging to see that after about six years,this place will be economically viable. The good

news is that a family could make about $36,000from 400 ewes after land payments and taxes. Ifyou can find a way to get started, you can make aliving from it.

Lessons

The major lesson Ive learned from this experienceis that it is extremely difficult to set up and run afarm as an individual. Even with the outsidefinancing, farming alone is hard. I believe thatfarms are meant to be worked by families orpartners, for reasons that are practical, financial,and emotional/spiritual. Many jobs take one-fourthas much time with two people as with one, and asecond human being is invaluable when it comes tohanging on to the patience and positive attitude soessential to farming.

Probably Marys biggest obstacle is/will be gettingoff the ground financially. Ideas for innovative landtransfer, land purchase or sweat equi tyarrangements would be very helpful. Mary feelsthat another useful project would be to organizework parties to bring together beginning farmersand others to work on particularly labor-intensiveprojects. This would help. ease labor bottlenecksand provide a valuable learning and socialexperience. Mary had a positive experience withone such work party that she organized.

She feels that adequate health and disabilitycoverage is an issue that requires political advocacyas well as education of beginning farmers. She alsoemphasizes that beginning farmers need to beeducated about the physical risks of farming, andthe necessity and value of getting to know neighborseven if at first its weird or intimidating or scary.

She also suggests that a mentoring program wouldbe helpful. A list of people willing to hire someonewith no experience would be good -- although shenotes that in many areas, farm help is scarce enoughthat farm owners have no choice but to hireinexperienced people and train them. Finally, shesuggests in particular that a university studentinternship program could be valuable. She citesNew Zealands college/farm network, WillingWorkers On Organic Farms(WWOOF) as a particularlygood example.

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Stuart Smith and Roger EischensCress Springs Farm3830 Forshaug Rd.Mt Horeb, WI 53572(608) 437-4149

The Dream

I wanted a farm which would operate withinecological principles, and which would workeconomically -- which would provide me with anincome that met my lifestyle expectations. I wantedto avoid monoculture, and produce a variety ofcrops, both to provide a complete diet and to farmmore sustainably.

The Operation

Stuart and his partner, Roger, operate a small farmin Mount Horeb with about 20 tillable acres.Currently, two acres are in vegetables and four inred clover. They use the clover as mulch, and tobarter with a neighboring farmer. They raise about30 different vegetables for the Saturday farmersmarket in Madison, and for 35 customers organizedinto four buying clubs who purchase vegetablesmidweek. This is Stuart and Rogers second year ofreal commercial operation, and their third on thefarm; the first year they ran a trial garden. Theyplan to plant about 2 acres in winter rye and a covercrop next year.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: Roger owns the farm, whichhe purchased several years ago. He leases part of itto Stuart, whom he invited to become a partner ina subscription farming operation that he hoped toset up. Stuart perceives that affordable land closeto Madison is difficult to come by for most people;however, this was not adifficulty for him.

B e c a u s e t h e y a r efocusing on raisingvegetables, the limitedtillable acreage isadequate. They startedout with no tools ormachinery however, and

have found it difficult to find equipment suited toan operation their size. One essential facility is thewalk-in cooler, which has allowed for more flexiblemarketing and a longer life for harvested vegetables.

Technical Expertise: Roger grew up on a farm.Stuart has a degree in horticulture, as well as threeyears of experience in a nursery working with wildflowers, and one year in landscaping. He has foundit somewhat difficult to come by information usefulfor a small commercial vegetable farm, and it has

There are a lot of goodsources of information outthere, but it doesnt alwayscome in a form I can use.

The lunger Im in this though,the more resources I find.

taken a while to meet other people who could help.There are a lot of good sources of information outthere, but it doesnt always come in a form that Ican use. The longer Im in this though, the moreresources I find.

Stuart claims hes made a lot of mistakes andlearned some things the hard way. In particular, itsbeen difficult to balance the need for crop diversitywith the need for an operation thatsadministratively manageable.

Financing: Both Roger and Stuart have outsideincomes. Roger is part owner of a shoe store(Moving Shoes in Madison) and teaches yoga parttime. He also holds yoga retreats at the farm forstudents from Madison and Chicago. Stuart sellsChristmas trees during the winter. Theyexperienced little difficulty obtaining a mortgage forthe land; however, between loan payments andnecessary investments in the farm to make itproductive, they are still operating in the red.Stuart estimates that without loan payments, theywould be nearly breaking even now.

Stuart is hopeful that they can obtain a grant fromthe Department of Agriculture, Trade, and

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Consumer Protection (DATCP) SustainableAgriculture Program for some experimental workthat would also help capitalize the farm. If werenot in the black in two years, weve got to questionourselves. Weve learned a lot and made a lot ofchanges, and were still investing, but at some pointweve got to start making an income off this.

Each customer makes one order a week. Theorders are compiled by one person in each buyingclub and called in to the farm. This greatlysimplifies distribution and billing for Stuart andRoger. It does not provide the farm with operatingcapital up front, and probably reduces the quantityof vegetables sold. It also requires more work from

the buying clubs. On the other hand,Labor is an important financialconsideration for the farm. Theprimary way Cress Springs reduces theneed for hourly wage labor is by takingon interns who work in exchange forroom, board, and a small stipend.

it gives customers more flexibility,and operating capital has not beentoo much of a problem.

In addition to the buying clubs, theysell produce at the Madison Farmers

They also benefit from occasional freelabor contributions from friends andacquaintances. Given the seasonallabor bottlenecks in agriculture, even relativelylimited amounts of help at critical times can makea significant difference to the operation.

Marketing: Roger started out with the idea ofdeveloping alternative marketing channels. Inparticular, he wanted to try a subscription farmingsystem. He is particularly well-positioned todevelop such a system because of his extensiveconnections with potential consumers: yoga studentsand customers at his athletic shoe store. Roger and

[Our customers] really like it-- its a connection beyond

just buying our vegetables.The hard part is working out

a good transportation andbilling network.

Stuart feel that their system would have gotten offthe ground even without these contacts, but that itwas considerably easier with them. There are otherways of doing it, but we had a natural core group ofpeople.

The system they use now is a variant of the morecommon system whereby subscribers pay up frontfor a set weekly basket of produce. They haveorganized 35 customers into four buying clubs.

Market. However, they prefer theirsubscription farming system toattending a mid-week market. One

of the positive aspects of their marketing system isthe close contact they have with their customers.Many come out to the farm periodically. Theyreally like it -- its a comrection beyond just buyingour vegetables. The hard part is working out agood transportation, distribution and billingnetwork. Last year we were making out 35 separatebills, and it just took too long. Now its just fourbills and four drop-off points.

How It All Looks From Here

Well, Ive learned a lot and made a lot of changes.I feel positive about it -- things are going prettywell. But money is still the hard part. Im relyingon this eventually to be a real source of income.Were still losing money; Ill give it another coupleof years and see how it looks.

As a partnership, things have worked well. Theinformal division of labor which has evolved seemsto suit both Roger and Stuart well; Roger takes careof most of the overall organization, the finances,and the buying clubs. Stuart coordinates most ofthe field work. They have been careful to keeplines of communication open. Its critical to the

partnership to meet once aweek to talk and plan, even ifyou work together all the time.Sometimes were tempted toblow off the meetings becausewere so tired or busy, butthings dont go well when westop having meetings.

Lessons

Stuart suggests three basic categories of help thatwould be useful: information; financing and grantwriting; and obtaining machinery and productioninputs. Regarding information, he feels that thereis a great need for more networking among farmers,

Tlteres no infrastructure outthere for people like us. We

need a network so we can buyinputs in bulk and find took

and machinery that areappropriate to small farms.

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and between farmers and consumers. Hed like tosee a local organization or network of farmers doingorganic and community supported agriculture, and

a newsletter with information about similar farms,marketing, sources of inputs, and productionpractices. We need to develop local connectionsand help each other out. Other farmers are usuallythe best source of useful information.

Regarding financing, he thinks help in writing grantproposals would be very useful. He has not foundobtaining credit to be a serious barrier, althoughgenerating enough farm income to pay it off isdifficult.

Finally, he points to the services that the CouleeRegion Organic Produce Pool (CROPP) provides itsmembers, purchasing inputs in bulk and passing thesavings on to producers. Theres no infrastructureout there for people like us. I have to go intoMadison to get the kinds of seed I need, and I haveno idea where to get some kinds of equipment. Weneed a network so we can buy inputs in bulk andfind tools and machinery that are appropriate tosmall farms. One of the hardest things sometimesis just getting the supplies we need.

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c

Susan WatermanOdyssey FarmW. 1554 Mortenson Rd.Brooklyn WI 53521(608) 455-2901

cThe Dream

I knew I wanted to leave my University job and livein the country and be a farmer -- whatever in theworld that meant. I was interested in naturalcolored sheep and Angora goats and a pasture-based system, and I wanted the farm to be self-supporting.

The Operation

Susie has an 85-acre farm in Brooklyn, about halfan hour south of Madison. About 14 acres are inpermanently fenced pasture, 14 acres in hay, 30 inthe Conservation Reserve Program, and the restwoods or unfenced pasture. She has a flock of 17long wool sheep (Corriedale/Border Lester crosses),160 Angora goats, and 14 recently purchasedShetland sheep.

Susie does most of the farm work herself, thoughher husband, Clark, helps out. She also hires anexperienced, part-time helper about 8 hours perweek -- more during peak periods. Susie has beenfull time on the farm for two and a half years.

Constraints and Opportunities

Land and Facilities: We had multipleconsiderations when we were buying land. I neededto be within a half hour drive from the Madisoncampus, since I wasnt sure how long I would needto continue working there, and I didnt want a longcommute. We also needed to be reasonably nearChicago and Clarks clients [Clark is a stained glassartist]. We wanted the farm to be pretty, and wewanted a house that didnt need a lot of work.

Susie and Clark eventually settled on a small pieceof land -- just 10 acres -- with a house in goodcondition, and enough barn and shed space to getstarted with a small herd of animals. They plannedto acquire available neighboring land for pastureand hay as they needed it. They fenced the land

themselves, and ultimately built a 4000 square footbarn designed for goats.

Im glad we didnt wind up with a lot of oldbuildings and a house we would have needed torework. Maybe this way was more expensive, butredoing things isnt cheap either, and this way wegot what we wanted. And trying to fix up a housewould have been a real drain on our energy andresources.

Technical Expertise: While Susie had nobackground in farming, she did not find information-- or the lack of it -- to be an obstacle. Theres alot of good information out there. I met a lot ofsheep producers, I took the MATC (Madison AreaTechnical College) sheep course for two semesters,I talked to people at the university... Ive also gottena lot out of talking with vets and other farmers.

Theres no room for carelessness or sloppiness; you

have to look at it like abusiness. Im a tight

manager, and my sciencetraining is partly why.

Susies academic background was in plant physiologyand biochemistry, in which she holds a PhD.Looking back on it, she thinks this was morerelevant than it first appears. She feels that becau