At times it can feel like the to do list gets longer before it gets shorter, that at times the world is out to get you, or things aren’t going your way. It is ok to want to quit, but what defines us as people is how we react to being in these situations. Work toward a better life, hang in there, and tomorrow will be brighter.

Think of the reason you do what you do. Whether you are farming or thinking about starting a farm, why are you doing this? The key to keeping a business going, and creating a lasting lifestyle is to find what drives you, and let it keep driving you forward.

I would love to publish the podcast episode or YouTube video where I have the magic bullet to making farms financially viable and “successful” but I do not think a magic bullet exists. It takes a stupid amount of hard work and determination.

When the going gets tough you are going to have to define and hang onto your single motivating purpose. Your kids, the earth, millions of dollars, fame, posterity, free beer, whatever… Find it, take a picture, keep it in your wallet, and look at it every day.

They told us it can’t be done. They told us you cannot make money farming. They told us you can’t raise sheep without a heavy parasite load. They said you can’t have 0% mortality in the brooder. They said that you have to farm this way or that.

Today Troy and I discuss what makes an expert. They’re not always right, and they’re not always wrong. They are merely presenting facts based on their research that you as the professional farmer have to take and adapt to your goals, your farm, and your systems.

There is a lot to farming that will keep you awake at night. Is the brooder closed, are all the birds in, are the predators out, is the greenhouse warm enough, did you remember to check this or that?

Then there’s all the life stuff that keeps you up at night. On today’s episode of the Growing Farms Podcast Troy and I cover three areas of concern that are universal to most people.

With all that advice and information floating around how do you tell what is good and what is not? With a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, what’s the best advice? That is what Troy and I tried to capture with today’s farm podcast episode. The best piece of advice we have ever gotten.

It’s a cliche as this point that “farming is hard”. Yeah, we know. Anyone that has tried to work the land knows full well how ruthless Mother Nature can be and how unforgiving the farm can seem at times.

What gives me hope for the future is that the current generation of farmers getting into agriculture are bringing with them tools of all kinds. Drones, software, new planting innovations, and the knowledge sharing tool that is the internet. We now have the opportunity to farm in ways that have never been done before.

The most common question we get here at Farm Marketing Solutions is “how do I start a farm?”. That question comes from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. Seriously, we’re data nerds and our analytics say we get visitors from over 97 different countries.

Because there are 7 billion people in the world inevitably all of our stories and circumstances are going to be different. That is one of the inherent difficulties in agriculture. There is a lot of good information out there on “how to grow stuff” but the real art of farming and being a farmer is adapting that growing information to your specific situation.

In today’s episode we tackle the topic of getting into agriculture as a hobby or profession. What draws people back to the land? Once they are there what keeps them working when things get difficult?