Farm Financial Project

Farm Financial Project

Rick Worthington
Rick Worthington
Farm Financial Project

Danelle Myer is a farmer, and admits she was both a bit headstrong and starry-eyed when she started farming, and that's why she's eager to share lessons learned from her seven-year undertaking.

Myer is participating in the Whole Farm Financial Project that evaluates profitability and helps with sustainability of the local food movement.

Myer grew up on a farm, but didn't take up farming until 2011 when she was 40...

"And since the beginning, I've had kind of this stubborn, idealistic goal of making a living off of a farm, and so I thought this study would help me look at my numbers," she relates.

She says -- like many new farmers, she originally stretched herself too thin. Looking at her financials over several years, she has simplified operations, eliminating online orders and pop-up farm stands.

"So, what I'm trying to do now is get better at what we do, get more efficient at what we do," she states. "And instead of it being about more, more, more, it's like, let's just do a better job of growing less food and sell every single thing that we grow."

One agriculture expert says a good, stable vegetable farm takes about 3 to 5 years to become profitable, and 8 to 10 years to become stable and self-functioning.

Myer says being part of the Practical Farmers study has improved her perspective on her accomplishments.

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