Farm as a Business
/Today’s Episode will discuss the one rule that governs every decision made on a farm, and will also point you to other material which will help you start your farm business.
Good. Fast. Cheap.
Starting your farm will involve an immense number of decisions. A common trait of successful farmers is their ability to repeatedly make decisions with confidence.
There is risk and reward tied up in everything we do. What gives farmers confidence is the knowledge that, whether their idea succeeds or fails, a decision has to be made. You are not always going to succeed; you can only hope to have a good batting average.
Weighing the pros and cons of any situation is one of the bases of economics. “Economics” may be a scary word – hey, it has to do with money! – but you used economics when your alarm rang this morning, and you had to decide whether to get up, or to sleep in. There are pros and cons to both paths, and they may or may not have to do with money. The more you embrace the fact that economics can be found everywhere, the more you will notice certain principles that will help you improve your average.
One of those principles is a modern take on the balance between the following classic factors: good, fast, and cheap. The idea is that you can have a project that is good and fast – but not cheap. Or, your project can be cheap and good – but not fast. You get the point; you can only pick two of those three things when planning a project. Trying to create something that is good, fast, and cheap is all but impossible.
The combination you choose will vary from project to project. Let’s look at this in practice, as seen when it comes time to start your pastured poultry farm.
The Economics Of Building Your First Chicken Tractor
You have decided that you want to become a livestock farmer, so that you can help save the world. That’s awesome! Now – where do you start? Well, we know that chickens are the gateway animal for pastured livestock. If you want to raise any animal, chickens are a good place to start.
In order to capitalize on the benefits of a grass-based farming system, you’ve decided it is time to build your first chicken tractor. You go online, start doing research, and realize there are multiple options to choose from. You can:
design and then build your own chicken tractor
build your own chicken tractor, based on purchased designs
purchase a kit or hire someone to build a chicken tractor for you
FAST & CHEAP
CHEAP & GOOD
GOOD & FAST
Fast + Cheap = Not Good
If you build your own chicken tractor, you have the option of using whatever materials you have on hand. Couple of spare pallets, a little bit of extra lumber, a tarp, and BAM – you’ve got yourself a chicken tractor. It was cheap, it was fast, but honestly – it’s not very good. It’s not built to last; it is designed to accommodate the materials, not the animals; and it turns out that it doesn’t move very well.
Cheap + Good = Not Fast
So, you purchase Suscovich Chicken Tractor Plans. In that $14 book you will find step-by-step instructions for building your own chicken tractor. The plans were designed carefully, with both chickens and farmers in mind; they have been tested on farms all over the world, and have been used to raise many thousands of chickens each year. So, the plans are solid. However, there is a problem: you still have to build the chicken tractor yourself. There are material costs, but they’re not huge. Our “bought plans” design is good, and it’s relatively cheap, but because we build it ourselves, it’s not necessarily fast.
Good + Fast = Not Cheap
If you do not want to go the DIY route, and you are considering purchasing a kit for a pre-built chicken tractor, then you run into our third balance scenario. Your pre-built kit will be good (we hope), as it is specifically designed for chickens. Your kit chicken tractor will be fast, because you do not have to design, measure, or cut any of the pieces. But the balance point in this three-legged stool is the price. Someone else designed and built the technology that you are going to be using, and for that expertise and investment, you are going to pay a price. It will be good, fast – but, most likely, expensive.
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You will run into this balance of good, fast, and cheap when you want to expand your freezer space, when you buy a farm truck, when you build a farm store, and when you want to scale-up any operation. This is not the only principle you will have to learn, in order to become a leader, project manager, or farmer. Once you go into business for yourself as a farmer, you will be subject to those principles – as is a baker, a lawyer, a psychotherapist, a dog trainer, or a person with a hot dog cart.
More Resources
There is a lot involved in starting your own farm business; that is why we have been publishing content about it for years. Below are more resources to help you along your journey toward food security, entrepreneurial freedom, and a world with a more stable climate.
YouTube Playlist For This Episode
Growing Farms Podcast
Other Podcasts, Farming & Not
Planet Money Summer School - A crash course in economics, through podcasts
How I Built This with Guy Raz - Stories from successful entrepreneurs
Books For Starting A Farm Business
Pastured Poultry Packet #1: The Economics of Broiler Chickens
This workbook will help you determine the cost of raising a chicken for meat. If you need to sell the idea of raising chickens – to the bank, or your spouse – this is the book you have been looking for.
Holistic Management
A must-have for any aspiring grass farmer. This resource helps you build the framework that will affect every decision you make on farm. Think of it this way: this is the map that gets you through the next twenty years of your life.