Where Can I Get The Education?

[progressive hunter]

Nope...
Because you keep talking and apparently know nothing because you have yet to listen to anything.
I got the canning and bottling under control...to me, that part is easy. I just need to ignore everything you say on that subject. You would definitely get me in ten tons of trouble and should get me buried under the prison for all the people who died from such abhorrent practices.

The farming aspect is where I don't know what I am doing. I've never farmed before for profit. Grown a garden? Yes.
But farming for profit and production is different. It's not the same as anything I've done before.
And a lot of money can be wasted in a hurry doing it... buying the wrong pesticides, fertilizers, tractors, even land. Wrong trees or seedlings. Or too many....or not enough... maybe I plant them too close or too far apart...all has to be done efficiently and effectively.

the only difference between gardening and farming is scale,,

just curious,, whats your goals for first yr of production??

 

[Rigby5]

The trailer concept? That would get me incarcerated...I don't care what a small butcher in Europe does...here in the US we have the USDA that is extremely particular about food processing. Those in defiance get to be poor very quickly.

Wrong.
The only concern is if are doing meat products, and even then the trailer is EXACTLY what most ranchers I know do.
You are completely, way, wrong.

 

[Rigby5]

you forgot to show me the law to back that up,,

and I think youre confusing a trailer for living in with a production trailer,,

what you want to do people have been doing in their garage and barns for decades,, not seeing how a trailer specially built to USDA standards would be any different,,

Obviously a trailer is about a tenth the cost of a permanent building, and there are no USDA standards for trailers or building design.
People use whatever they want. It just has to be kept clean, by steam cleaning or something similar, on a regular basis.

 

[Rigby5]

And most farms are going broke because it isn't field to table like the big boys do...which is how they are surviving. They control all aspects. They rent the farms by contracting for the fruit then they own the initial processing...
Then that product is shipped to where it is processed more into jars. And they usually own a significant portion of the glass manufacturer.

Conagra and Monsanto are notorious for doing this in many aspects of food production from seed to fertilizer to the meat with a local brand label on it...but those two are the major portion of food in America.

Yes, that is the problem.
At some point, unless you sell at flea markets, you run into the agribiz monopoly that will try to steal your profits.
But a small business can survive by flea markets, advertising in "Mother Earth News", and other natural foods magazines.

 

[JohnDB]

YES, a jeep, quad bike or almost ANYTHING is better than a tractor for spraying or fertilizing, and pruning is totally done by hand, walking.
Tractors are big, and you want something as small as possible.

Boom trucks are way too expensive.
You use ladders.
Most fruit need to be hand picked.
They not only are fragile, but have to be evaluated before picking, for ripeness. Its not like veggies that all are ripe at the same time.

And no, none of the planting is tractor work.
Nor is planting something you do often.
Once in a lifetime, for something like apples.

Well the peach farms in the neighborhood seem to have four wheel gizmos that look an awful lot like tractors...no ladders. Then there was the tank sprayers hooked up to to their own Wells but using a tank trailer from a tractor trailer rig to mix...(tires dry rotted).

I don't know how he is doing all he is doing...but I seen that just from a drive by. His peaches get picked green and ripen on the trip to wherever they are going...(from what my farming relatives say)

 

[ClaireH]

I realize this is a basic add-on to this discussion, but growing zones help determine crop selection. Region designations help many a gardener and start up farmers rule out or consider crops not originally considered.

As an amateur landscaper it’s been a good guide for trees, bushes, and native flowers when buying seeds or bulbs online. I haven’t looked but would imagine there are region specifications designated for every single crop known to grow in the US.

 

[progressive hunter]

Obviously a trailer is about a tenth the cost of a permanent building, and there are no USDA standards for trailers or building design.
People use whatever they want. It just has to be kept clean, by steam cleaning or something similar, on a regular basis.

it has to be capable of being washed down and sanitized with a floor drain just like any other space in a building, and the electrical has to be hazardous duty compliant,, other than that there are no other requirements,,

the main benefit of a trailer is it doesnt have to have any handicap facilities such as bathrooms or doors because its not a building..

 

[Likkmee]

Hire a Mezkin. He'll show you how to grow anything imaginable

 

[JohnDB]

Yes, that is the problem.
At some point, unless you sell at flea markets, you run into the agribiz monopoly that will try to steal your profits.
But a small business can survive by flea markets, advertising in "Mother Earth News", and other natural foods magazines.

Not going to use that business model...it's a loser. Too much work that I simply don't want any part of. There are better ways. But most people simply don't know or care to know how. There are buyers but they have conditions...I know how to meet those conditions. And I'm not looking to replace Smuckers... however if they wished to buy my label one day I would listen to what they have to say.

 

[Rigby5]

An out building is different than a trailer by the standards of the NFPA... different codes apply. And there are ways to pump a lot of electricity into an outbuilding vs a mobile trailer that produces something. Those wheels and potential wheels are the thing.

Not to mention the water usage and sewage. Again more issues with the local health department.

Wrong.
A single wide on blocks is much less restrictive compared to an out building according to all the codes I have ever seen.
The fact trailers normally have limited electrical panels to start with, is irrelevant.
You can add an additional panel to anything.
It is not hard, and you can do it yourself.
And trailers ignore local building codes, so are MUCH easier to deal with.

Again, rural is not city water, so have NO regulations at all over well and septic.

There are no local health department issues at all.
All they are concerned with is that you do not use porous surfaces that can retain bacteria.
You have to be able to disinfect.
They prefer metal counters and waterproof wall covering so it can be steamed.

 

[JohnDB]

Hire a Mezkin. He'll show you how to grow anything imaginable

They don't grow them in South Georgia...all we got is Asians around here...

 

[Ringel05]

The point is schools tend to be for certification instead of practical.
Better to just hire on a real farm to learn the ropes.

Nothing wrong with that either.

 

[JohnDB]

Wrong.
A single wide on blocks is much less restrictive compared to an out building according to all the codes I have ever seen.
The fact trailers normally have limited electrical panels to start with, is irrelevant.
You can add an additional panel to anything.
It is not hard, and you can do it yourself.
And trailers ignore local building codes, so are MUCH easier to deal with.

Again, rural is not city water, so have NO regulations at all over well and septic.

There are no local health department issues at all.
All they are concerned with is that you do not use porous surfaces that can retain bacteria.
You have to be able to disinfect.
They prefer metal counters and waterproof wall covering so it can be steamed.

Totally against USDA rules.
If I'm that rural that I can't have city sewer and water then I have to have a well capable of supplying the water and a water treatment plant and then a sewage treatment plant for returning the water to the environment better than what it was when I pumped it... totally ignorant to do and pay for...

Much much cheaper to locate within zoning.
Then the EPA regulations aren't so involved.

 

[JohnDB]

Wrong.
The only concern is if are doing meat products, and even then the trailer is EXACTLY what most ranchers I know do.
You are completely, way, wrong.

I'm not doing meat.

 

[Rigby5]

Nope...
Because you keep talking and apparently know nothing because you have yet to listen to anything.
I got the canning and bottling under control...to me, that part is easy. I just need to ignore everything you say on that subject. You would definitely get me in ten tons of trouble and should get me buried under the prison for all the people who died from such abhorrent practices.

The farming aspect is where I don't know what I am doing. I've never farmed before for profit. Grown a garden? Yes.
But farming for profit and production is different. It's not the same as anything I've done before.
And a lot of money can be wasted in a hurry doing it... buying the wrong pesticides, fertilizers, tractors, even land. Wrong trees or seedlings. Or too many....or not enough... maybe I plant them too close or too far apart...all has to be done efficiently and effectively.

That is silly.
You have it totally backwards.
The farming part is trivially easy, and the people selling the seedlings, etc., can tell you everything you need to know, which is very little.
The only difficult part is the processing and bottling, which is where all the inspections and regulations come in.
The farmer does not do any of that, because it is the processor who does.

 

[Rigby5]

Not going to use that business model...it's a loser. Too much work that I simply don't want any part of. There are better ways. But most people simply don't know or care to know how. There are buyers but they have conditions...I know how to meet those conditions. And I'm not looking to replace Smuckers... however if they wished to buy my label one day I would listen to what they have to say.

You make no sense.
There are no better ways than selling through natural foods connections.
The only alternative is standard agribiz food chain, which will rip you off.

 

[progressive hunter]

You make no sense.
There are no better ways than selling through natural foods connections.
The only alternative is standard agribiz food chain, which will rip you off.

the more he talks the more I think hes full of shit,,

 

[Rigby5]

Totally against USDA rules.
If I'm that rural that I can't have city sewer and water then I have to have a well capable of supplying the water and a water treatment plant and then a sewage treatment plant for returning the water to the environment better than what it was when I pumped it... totally ignorant to do and pay for...

Much much cheaper to locate within zoning.
Then the EPA regulations aren't so involved.

Wrong.
In fact, the stupidest thing I ever saw anyone ever write.
Most of the country does well and septic.
I do well and septic.
It costs a tiny fraction of city water and city sewer.
No farm could possibly afford city water and sewer.

And NO ONE has their own "sewage treatment plant".
Its called a "septic tank".
The sewage goes in, gets digested, and only water comes out to the drain tile field.

You obviously never even lived in the country, and this is all WAY over your head.

 

[JohnDB]

That is silly.
You have it totally backwards.
The farming part is trivially easy, and the people selling the seedlings, etc., can tell you everything you need to know, which is very little.
The only difficult part is the processing and bottling, which is where all the inspections and regulations come in.
The farmer does not do any of that, because it is the processor who does.

No...
The farming part is not trivial or easy...and because of the costs it can go really over expensive in a hurry. Costing hundreds of thousands in a season or several seasons consecutively.

And asking a salesman about what to purchase?
Sure, walk into any used car lot and ask what kind of vehicle to buy and tell me how well that would work out...

I already know the conclusion to that story.
Salesman sell what makes them a commission...not what is in my best interests.

 

[JohnDB]

Wrong.
In fact, the stupidest thing I ever saw anyone ever write.
Most of the country does well and septic.
I do well and septic.
It costs a tiny fraction of city water and city sewer.
No farm could possibly afford city water and sewer.

And NO ONE has their own "sewage treatment plant".
Its called a "septic tank".
The sewage goes in, gets digested, and only water comes out to the drain tile field.

You obviously never even lived in the country, and this is all WAY over your head.

Quit subject shifting...
The canning and jars are done under USDA rules and that's what the water and sewage subject was concerning...

Farms only need water and it doesn't have to be that clean. Don't even need septic...just some Lil blue/tan houses every so often. (Porta-potty).

A farm is a farm...but again I just need a source to go to to help edumacate me on how to make a working productive farm.

The rest I can handle. If I can get the fruit into baskets for a reasonable cost the rest is very easy...I have been involved with the rest of the canning and bottling for decades...I'm extremely comfortable with how that part gets done.

But the costs of farming are really high and expensive and scary... gotta be a way to get help. The land only runs around $4K/acre...of which some has to be reserved for a tractor barn.