Chicken Farming Sustainability

7. Diversify Financially.

An ecologically sustainable farming operation won’t do anybody much good,

if it can’t generate a profit and keep itself running.

Unless you or someone else is willing and able to sponsor the farm with an off-farm day job,

or another external source of income,

you’re going to have to crunch the numbers until you’re in the black.

• Take advantage of the options available to you as far as direct marketing is concerned. That includes: CSA/subscriptions, farmers markets, roadside stands, and even the Internet.
• Adding value to products is a smart way to differentiate this farm’s lettuce from that farm’s lettuce. When you take your lettuce and make it part of delicious burger made from healthy meat that was pasture-raised in your own fields and top it with a slice of tasty, red tomato that grew in your own soil, you stand to appeal to a wider audience and rake in more profits. In other words, don’t just grow a wider variety of stuff––do a wider variety of things with the stuff you grow, and consider selling it from an on-farm store or restaurant (as well as on the Internet).
  

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• Cater to every economic level and ethnic group in the community. People of varying wealth seek different things from a farm. Certain ethnic groups value farm products that the mainstream community has no interest in (for example, many Caribbean immigrants seek male, uncastrated goats for meat as well as amaranth, a widespread weed, which they use to make a dish called Callaloo).
• Publicize. Talk to everyone about what you’re doing at the farm. Provide educational tours and workshops. Keep your farm looking nice, because if it ever comes down to it, the local community may fight development proposals because they perceive your farm to be a haven of agricultural heritage.

Chicken Farming Sustainability

8. Find Good, Reliable Labour.

Find people who are committed to sustainable agriculture

(not just dabbling in it) and who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty,

as they apply their minds.

• A reduced dependence on fossil fuels means an increased dependence on human labor, and not just physical, manual labor––you’re going to need knowledgeable workers who understand the complexity of the system you’re running and can enhance it with every decision they make.

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Chicken Farming Sustainability

9. Enjoy your life.

Farming is hard work, but the most successful farmers know when to call it a day,

and circumvent burnout.

Remember why you’re farming and why, in particular,

you’re aiming for a sustainable operation.

For most people, it’s because they like knowing they’re leaving,

land in better shape than they found it.

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Chicken Farming Sustainability

Get the sustainability Tips

• The farmers who are most successful at applying the ideas discussed are those who can incrementally observe, experiment, observe, adapt, and repeat. In addition to this, keep detailed notes about what works best where, temperatures, rainfall and supplemental water used, and any other notes which may help you in future years. It’s these farms which overcome various challenges and, slowly but steadily, continue to grow in both complexity and stability.
  

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• Practicing sustainable agriculture on a large scale calls for a very different approach than on a smaller scale. Tailor your sustainability practices accordingly. Don’t try to produce 20 kinds of vegetables and raise seven kinds of livestock over a plot of 30 acres unless you have the labor, knowledge and experience to manage it sustainably. Many farmers and ranchers who operate more than 50 acres mimic natural grazing systems that build soil and animal health through carefully thought-out rotational systems.
• If you’ve found a great worker but you can’t afford to pay them enough for them to make a living, be flexible and creative. Consider profit-sharing and/or equity building.