Greetings, I have a few acres and a 1939 Ford 9N tractor. Do you have any advice on farming? Is this the best forum to post farming questions?

Plant seeds.
Water.
Watch 'em grow.
Harvest.
Profit.
Retire.
Start advice column on TexAgs.

My dad farmed cotton for 20 years and did pretty well. What kind of crops are you looking to field?

Food, but I'm open to other ideas. A benefit of non-food crop is that it wouldn't go bad, but I don't know who would buy it.

How many acres are you going to plant?

It sounds like you need to consider what you plant based on what you have the ability and machinery to harvest.

With only a few acres it would have to be more of a hobby.

Do what you like doing because if you are asking for farming advice here, the only thing you'll get out of it is the enjoyment of doing it.

Farming cleanses the soul. And in some cases, the digestive tract.

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Food, but I'm open to other ideas. A benefit of non-food crop is that it wouldn't go bad, but I don't know who would buy it.

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Am I reading something wrong, but are you referencing growing a NON FOOD crop? How is that possible? You growing plastic?

weren't you in the College of Agriculture?

think stuff you smoke or wear as being non-food crops; ie weed and cotton.







[This message has been edited by AgDev01 (edited 3/18/2011 10:03a).]

I hear cotton can be pretty good eatin if ya cook it just right. And a good source of fiber.

Find things that you like to eat, and follow the directions for when to plant them, how much to water, etc.

Ask other people who garden / farm for advice. This was very helpful to me the second year I did my garden - the first year, I was kind of clueless. The second year, my garden was a lot more productive, which was more fun because I was able to give away more produce to my friends/family.

Every farmer I have known loves/loved it and found it to be the most enjoyable work ever. Not so much now with all the subsidies and whatnot.

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Is this the best forum to post farming questions?

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and I totally see what you did there. racist.

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How many acres are you going to plant?

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1 to 6 acres just for crops. Right now, I only have a tractor/shredder. I'll most likely need to get a plow and some other implements depending on the crop I plant.

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Am I reading something wrong, but are you referencing growing a NON FOOD crop? How is that possible? You growing plastic?

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As others have mentioned, a non-food crop refers to a cotton crop or even some of that biofuel weed stuff. I don't know anything about farming cotton, but I'm assuming one of the benefits is that I could store it indefinitely without it going bad.

I'd check out your local feed store. Maybe you can find a farmer that's growing something that you're interested in and trade some labor for mentoring.

Ask yourself what your time is worth and then figure out how long you are going to have to ride that 9N to make a living. At some point, you will probably figure out why most people doing it for a living have larger acreages and don't use 9N's anymore. Not that there is anything wrong with the 9N.

Suggested by another poster but no way to make a living on 6 acres unless you are growing grapes for wine making

6 acres is a decent lot in The dominion.

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Do what you like doing because if you are asking for farming advice here, the only thing you'll get out of it is the enjoyment of doing it.

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I'll have to disagree. As you can see from previous posts Trampstamp has a natural propensity for being plowed, with 20 years history in farming while both Matsui and i have degrees from the college of agriculture.

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With only a few acres it would have to be more of a hobby.

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that or a tax write off.

The cotton farms that I know about have defoliant sprayed from airplanes (three times I think?) to prepare for harvest.

I don't know how they did it in the old days before defoliant, but I guess they waited until it died in the fall/winter. A small cotton crop would be a pain in the butt to harvest. You would very likely not be able to hire a contract picker for your one acre unless you are located right next to another cotton field. And if you have ever talked to someone who picked cotton by hand, you do not want to do that.

Keeping an eye on this one.

I'd grow corn. Right now a bushel of corn is 683.50 and is only going to go higher. We have done this in the past but the last 3 years have not planted corn just soybeans. We only do a 30 ac. tract of land and the rest of our ranch which is 310 ac. is seeded with Annual lespedeza and Sudan Grass. The ranch has always had good Coastal and Bermuda grass with some Klein grass as well. Our cattle get fat on these mixtures of grass and I also take some of the soybean harvest and have a summer mix of feed made out of the soybeans and put the mix in 5 ton self feeders.

Not to discourage you, but like several others have said this will hardly be anything that makes you money.

A few thoughts:

-It's possible you could grow crops and sell them at a farmer's market...city people are into that right now. You might be able to do well there assuming you have a good product that people like.

-If you haven't yet, you might look into what is required and whether or not you qualify for an Agricultural Exemption...depending on what you grow or use the land for.

-6 acres is probably too small to lease, but some retired ranchers/farmers retain their land and lease it out for hay or livestock. You still get the Ag Exemption this way.

-If you're just using it to grow food for your family, I say that's awesome. Certainly more effort/patience than going to HEB, but also more rewarding.

I second the Farmer's Market idea. I only had a very small garden, and was able to sell my organic produce at the Farmer's Market. People are REALLY big into organic produce, esp. in a large area such as San Antonio (my sister and her family in S.A. only purchase organic produce).

There are actually some plant combinations which work well to discourage nuisance insects and encourage beneficial insects. I've learned alot about this through trial and error, reading books, and asking farmers what they do. This is just another thought; I'd eventually like to teach during the school year and have acreage to farm, sell produce, and sell plants in the Spring and Summer when I have more free time (and because I enjoy it).

On a tract that small it doesn't make sense to cultivate anything that is subject to market pricing. If it were me I would plant pumpkins and then have a "pick your own pumpkin patch" in the fall and charge by the pound.

That's the most profitable farming I can think of for that amount of land unless you're not looking to profit from it and plant a really big garden for personal use.

Will it be irrigated or not? You may just have to grow grass.

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Will it be irrigated or not? You may just have to grow grass.

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I will most likely keep the area watered. I like the idea of growing corn (roasted corn, popcorn). Thanks for some very good ideas.

dont mess with it

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dont mess with it

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Um. Ok, then. End of thread.

what area is the land at? most of the soil around the new braunfels area is very rocky. when it comes down to crop rotation and leaving land fallow a "few" acres is not much to work with. also are you EPA certified to spray herbicides and pesticides? paying someone to come out and spray that little area isnt going to be cheap.

there is a reason the land in that area is used for raising cattle.

if you want to give it a shot go for it. i was an ag major and farming sucks.

Um...clear springs is right against NB and is a huge farming community.

So if you most likely will keep it watered, it is not set up for irrigation? Do you have a well?

Trying to "farm" 6 acres won't be worth your time. Grow grass for hay and have a garden.

If you have 6 acres for hay, it probably won't be worth it for you to own your own cutter, rake, and baler (a notoriously temperamental and expensive piece of equipment to operate). And if you pay someone to come bale it for you, you probably won't make much money (a few dollars per round bale).

I've planted a pomegranite tree and look forward to planting a few more. After some discussions with friends, I've also been asked what is grown in my area (Hondo area). Neighbors grow corn, hay, even something that looks like olives or grapes.

Based on some friendly feedback, I'm going with a garden variety (few acres) to see what grows best (corn, tomatoes, okra, you name it). I'm hoping that the pomegranites and corn will do well.

why don't you try a few olive trees. i hear they grow well in this area

http://www.texasoliveoilcouncil.org/

[This message has been edited by BoozerRed78 (edited 3/29/2011 8:56a).]