If you’re considering transitioning to organic farming, you are on a good track because it’s not only an emerging trend but also a sustainable way of farming. Even if you are a beginner farmer, you may want to venture into organic farming for its potential merits over non-organic farming.
Organic farming requires less resource allocation than conventional farming because you’ll not buy fertilizer. Additionally, the environment stays free of harsh chemicals, ultimately boosting biodiversity and keeping the soil naturally nutritious.
With so many benefits associated with organic farming, there are potential hindrances that may hold you back and cut short your farming journey. So, unless you get the right information on how to get started with this kind of farming, you may not realize your goals.
Fortunately, you’ve found this post that provides thought-led tips on how to start and own an organic farm without worries.
1. Study Your Local Market
True, you are most likely targeting the local and international markets at a go. However, it’s always good to start by studying the local market before focusing on the global market, so it’s critical to study what your local market is like. It would be messy to plant a crop, say Marijuana, and harvest it, then find out that there is no market for the product.
There are undeniable benefits of an expert-level and early harvest of crops like Marijuana to promote their potency and uniqueness. And for even better results, it’s practical to match when you harvest and the market availability and scope. Through that, you ultimately make more profit while avoiding investing efforts, money, and time for non-important reasons.
2. Get Certification
While you may not need a certification if you engage in subsistence organic farming, you may require one in comprehensive organic farming. That will protect you from noncompliance with your state’s laws around organic farming and farming in general. Moreover, because a certification follows thorough training, you’ll be better knowledgeable about organic farming best practices, increasing the probability of achieving even more.
You can get a certification from any training center accredited by the relevant authority.
Once certified, you can be eligible to even expert your produce globally because your product is ultimately of top quality and safe for international and domestic consumption. In simple terms, for your product to be accredited as 100% organic, you must be a certified organic farmer.
3. Understand the Basics of Organic Farming
There is so much to learn in organic farming to ultimately achieve your goal. However, you must always start with the basics that set the pace for the height you can reach and how much you can achieve in organic farming. Therefore, liaise yourself with the integral basics and terms that you are bound to encounter while in your daily practices.
A good way to learn the basics of organic farming is by interacting with people already in the space and knowing from them where they started and what you expect. In addition, you can attend training programs, farming meetups in your locality, and forums and learn from other customer experiences. Ideally, you’ll be subsequently better prepared for challenges that may arise, allowing a smooth organic farming process.
4. Determine What Your Land is Best At
Did you find the right location for your land? And also confirmed that the land can support organic farming. Well and good! However, you must determine the type of livestock or crop to farm in the land depending on the exclusive climatic conditions of the area and market nature.
While, at times, native crops would be best to farm because of cheap labor and good crop yield, it’s worth testing even non-native crops. With the superficial advancement in technology, you may be surprised that the non-native crops you thought would be challenging to farm turned out to be the best in that land.
One more thing: you may decide to farm single or multiple types of crops by employing container cropping, intercropping, vertical cropping, or any other form of organic farming applicable. But, of course, that will depend on the land size, market characteristics, target customers, climate, etc.
5. Choose the Right Location
One of the most important decisions you’ll make in organic farming concerns land and location. Because you’ll not be using chemicals to add nutrients to the land, the land you choose must be naturally fertile and with good drainage and access to sufficient water. You should typically have farmland free of fertilizers and synthetics for three years to ensure it’s organically suitable for farming.
Moreover, because you typically want to satisfy the growing demand of customers wanting organically produced farm products, it’s integral to consider their proximity. In 2022, the global market for organic farming was $170 billion and projected to grow at 10.41% CAGR, and there is no doubt, therefore, that you must get to where consumers are as an organic farmer.
Conclusion
Owning an organic farm isn’t a dream but a valid one awaiting ignition. With the right approach and knowledge, you can start one organic farm and see it come to fruition.
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In addition to the tips above, keep on learning, stay committed, and make informed decisions to ultimately enjoy the benefits of this sustainable agriculture while at the same time contributing to a healthier planet.