How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

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JL13
Posts: 645
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 7:47 am

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by JL13 »

Agreed, definitely sensational title. A different person was responsible for that though.

pukingRainbows
Posts: 131
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:56 pm

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by pukingRainbows »

Great video!
I have a hold at the library for the book. I think it will be just the inspiration/information I need to start a garden this Spring.
I don't really mind about the numbers as truth or marketing to be honest. It just makes me think that I should be able to provide some veggies for my family and save some money on groceries.

Papers of Indenture
Posts: 197
Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:40 am
Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by Papers of Indenture »

I've listened to him on a bunch of Podcasts. A huge part of his success is marketing and knowing chefs. He sells to high end farm to table restaraunts. There are a lot of them in his area and he seemed to have access to executive chefs before starting. As with almost anything...it comes down to relationships.

He started out with the SPIN farming program. Link below.

http://www.spinfarming.com/buy/

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by cmonkey »

I forgot I posted this and just saw it again. A bit of skepticism here! Just so everyone knows, he is not the only one pulling 6 figures doing this. Singing Frogs Farms is doing it as well. Granted they are in California, not Canada.

Some of the key things have already been mentioned but a lot of has to do with -

1. Growing exactly what sells, charging a premium for it and nothing more. Zero waste.
2. High turnover/quickly growing/intense gardening. Pulling over half a dozen different crops from each plot, each year. Conventional growers are lucky to get 2 per plot.
3. No till, which greatly enhances soil life. Tilling soil essentially sets back soil life/soil structure by 4+ months. Heavy mulching is required for this. This is really the key to being able to pull so much out of each bed each year.

I haven't done the math on what I produced last year but it is somewhere north of 2-3K worth of produce just out of my two veg plots and orchard, working perhaps an hour a day on average. Doing this full time when you have a passion for I would never doubt I could pull in 6 figures if I really wanted to. I have been having pangings lately of 'what the hell why don't I just quit this stupid office job and do this!' Of course, I am horrible at the relationships part of it which is the keystone piece I think. :oops:
JL13 wrote:he actually got the idea from our own ERE forum member
Wow really? That is awesome.

BlueNote
Posts: 501
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:26 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by BlueNote »

I read the book and watched some of his video's. He's got a great idea and he's trying to replicate it in other areas through education. He's very passionate about the concept of re-allocating urban 'grassland' to agriculture. In terms of his business model a back of the envelope Dupont ROE analysis would seem to indicate that he's scored a hat trick, at least for now. When someone scores a high ROE with low debt that will attract competition in a relatively free market.

I do think that only a small fraction of people , in the world, have the passion, temperament and resources to pull something like this off. He's an entrepreneur with a lot of vision, hustle and innovation. He also took some risks to get where he is. It would only take a few more extra competitive urban farmers in his geo to cause his margins to collapse though. Someone simply following his system might get lucky and avoid competitive forces or might be forced to face them. If competition came along maybe you could branch into another line of business, maybe chickens or something like that. You could also vertically integrate by starting you're own restaurant and supplying it. But that would require a lot of entrepreneurial skill and the title "How to make $100k farming 1/2 acres you don't own" doesn't really imply the level of work , skill, luck and risk needed to succeed.

sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by sky »

Chris Stone works hard and is very good at marketing and finding which crops produce the most profit. He is competing with farmers that grow in the desert and ship cross country, so the transportation cost and decay during transport create a competitive advantage for the local farmer.

I may give microgreens and cherry tomatoes a try next season.

Riggerjack
Posts: 3182
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 am

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by Riggerjack »

I'm not into hydroponics, but it looks like you just spent $2k for $200 worth of parts. A shelf, an ABS barrel ($15 on Craigslist all day, every day), some trays, a fluorescent light, and a pump.

If this is something you are into, why didn't you just build it? There are all kinds of hydroponics sites out there with DIY info. Plus, by making it yourself, you can customize to your space and needs, and if something goes wrong, you would know your system inside out.

Riggerjack
Posts: 3182
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 am

Re: How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don't Own

Post by Riggerjack »

Good reasons. Gotta love tax policy.

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