What should I plant to in a a 20 acre Field of farmland.?

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Sit down and write out a business plan, it may seem daunting at first, but it really is helpful. Seek out help from a local college or a business associate that you know. What are your goals (aside from the specific crops), with this 20 acres you want to do what...? Focus on the big picture. As farmers, we are great at producing things, yet we need viable markets to sell our products: ie. roadside stand, farmers market, word of mouth, local grocer who will accept farm fresh foods, local restaurants, marketing coops. Determine and realize who your market is and then grow foods to meet this demand. Create a survey and with a stamped envelope for return mail to you asking what types of foods they would buy from you, drop off at the restaurants or speak to the manager and fill it out with them. Talk to your local extension office (supported by your state university) for suggestions and advice. Homework, homework & .... I see many fledgling business' start up with a great idea and no where to go with it and in 6 months they are out of money, in debt and wish they had never started. Work on your financials depending on if you need this income for your daily needs or if this is a side venue for your regular income. Twenty acres is a large area without equipment, what machinery do you have available to rent or will you buy used equipment? Many questions here, do your business plan and then jump into various crops, their productive potentials and then decide what crops will provide the best return for your objective goals. Take into consideration your soil types, pH, fertility, slope for the crops that you are consdering. You have a great opportunity ahead of you, good luck. Many people look forward to the opportunity to buy local, fresh foods. Let them know what you are up to....Show more

You can't have a sustainable farm with twenty acres by growing corn, cotton, or hay. The profit margin of any of these crops is simply not enough to make it on twenty acres. Vegetables are good for part of your farm. You need to think of speciality agriculture far the remainder of the land. Something that will bring more money per acre than the conventional crops. Christmas trees are good. They bring in about twenty thousand per acre without a whole lot of expense, except that it takes around seven years to start bringing in the money. You could plant one or two acres a year and have a good steady income after you start to harvest. Also starting a few acres of orchard is a good idea. They also will take around seven years to start paying off. In the meantime you can grow something between the trees to make some income. Think about raising some organic free range chickens for eggs. They should have a good market and could feed around your trees as well.
I'm just throwing around some ideas here. Good luck with whatever you decide to do....Show more

My farm accross lake Erie has a typical yield between 180-220 bu acre. although we don't use those units here. The 20 acres that is often used for corn is far too little to consider owning machinery to plant spray and harvest corn or any low value crop. One might make a profit on 20 acres growing a very high margin crop like walnut, or hemp (mostly for seed but also fo linen). In saying that I realize the likely period of profitability is short. There is high demand and limited supply for both, but that will correct quickly. Low value commodities like corn can be profitable if you are among the most efficient 5% of corn growers, big scale....Show more

For you and your family, you need to list what you have the greatest need for within your ability to produce if your desire runs to subsistence/ assistance farming. Add to that a supplementary list of items that you could count on for revenue (yes, barter is alive and well). Then add to that list plant species that are needed to assist in main crop production (inter planting/ companion planting, biologicals, etc). Include your animals and their needs. If you know you can do a product well you can always sell it but with huge agro assets you may not command the high price for what you labor at. Orchard production is a big project and requires a great deal of planning. Dwarf varieties fill in and produce faster while the full size varieties mature and begin and inter-planting of them can work well. There are great planting maps for that kind of orchard. Strawberries are big here, with early profits and family oriented strategy like "Pic-your-own picnic". Another idea is to design your farm concept to attract families instead of just consumers or customers. And finally, look for that special "niche crop" that no one else is doing and has a great following. Ribes which are the currents and gooseberries are now mostly legal and are still under produced as they were illegal for so long due to them being an alternate host to pine diseases. And then you have grapes and vineyard fruits. You can see that some of my favorite studies were in fruit production, and I found them to be well received products in the local economy anywhere you go. In the end, all depends on where you are, zone, micro-climate, and resources....Show more

If you intend to be truly sustainable then you need a multi year plan.
Corn is very difficult to use in a sustainable farming system due to its huge requirement for nutrients and moisture.
Legumes are essential for their Nitrogen fixing ability if you don't want to be infested with weeds then a row crop of veggies which are inter row cultivated will be needed
every few years. The Norfolk four course rotation might give some clues. Alpha-alpha/grass hay will be needed to feed your horses or oxen as one cannot be sustainable using modern equipment. I don't think you will have to much time to worry about subsidies as you will be to busy howing weeds.
Good Luck
PS don't worry to much about grasshoppers, blight and those little details as they are probably not going to attack your crops...Show more