From Green Dreams To Market Realities

In my work as a Farm Consultant, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend over the past few years of people doing short courses in Permaculture or Syntropic Agriculture and then putting themselves out as Farm Consultants, or trying to start Market Farms without learning the skill, or having any experience of commercial farming. 

Permaculture and Syntropic Farming offer wonderful tools and perspectives, and can be integrated into many market farms, but they do not give their students farming or business skills or commercial experience, which is the basis for starting a profitable Market Farm.

The difference between farming and gardening, large or small scale, is that farming operates inside a financial context, as a business. 

Which means it must be profitable to be sustainable into the future … this is the art and skill of farming. 

Farmers are generalists - we need to wear many different hats often simultaneously in our farm businesses.

50% of your job as a Market Farmer is the business, marketing and sales of produce, sometimes more ...

Just because you want to start a Market Garden based upon Syntropic Agriculture, Biodynamics, Permaculture, or any other Organic and Regenerative approach or philosophy, does not mean that you don’t have to do what every other business needs to in order to set themselves up for the best success:

1. Do Market Research

2. Have a solid business strategy and plan

3. Have a marketing and sales plan

4. Hire the right consultants to help you set up the business, (check they are experienced, and that they have had profitable projects in the past - if you don’t have experience as a farmer project)

5. Know how much money you have to invest to set up the farm

6. Know how much time you have to invest

7. Know how much income you need to make from the farm to be sustainable for you and your family.

The same due diligence you would give to any other business opportunity, you need to apply to Market Farming.

Farming is a Skilled Trade, and like most trades it takes a minimum of 5 years to learn - or longer (as Growers we have to work at Mother Nature’s pace, so 5 years, is still only 5 Springs, 5 Summers, 5 Autumn, 5 Winters, and then we add the complexities of floods, droughts, fires, frosts, strong winds, hail and cyclones). 

The longer you practice farming, the better you become at achieving good outcomes, whilst managing the environmental risks at scale, maintaining quality, and creating the best opportunities to sell your produce for the highest price, and best quality for your customers and community.

The statistical outcomes for starting small scale farms is that 95% of all farms fail in the first 5 years :(

For anyone looking to hire Regen Ag or Farm consultants, my advice is to ask them how much commercial experience they have? and if they have had success on any other projects? and were their farms profitable? (therefore sustainable into the future).

And if you are wanting a profitable, high quality, high yielding food production make sure you hire the appropriate person.

Hiring a Permaculture Consultant, or a Syntropic Agroforester to start a Market Garden is not the wisest choice, UNLESS they also have commercial farming experience.

Permaculture is a design tool, and focuses on how everything works together holistically, but does not give you the skills or experience you need to start a profitable Market Farm. 

Syntropic Agroforestry is a wonderful insight, and a plant management based system which must be learned and practiced.

Syntropic systems, and any other successional regenerative system, start up slowly, and increase, and gain over time exponentially.

If you are choosing this system to grow then you need to be able to work with this aspect financially until your farm is productive …  and not try and force the farm to speed up - which ironically results in poor growth, successional gaps and other problems. 

It is a wiser decision to choose an organic production system that suits your outcome, and circumstances, rather than trying to force your outcome on the production system/ philosophy.

With syntropic farming it is definitely the case of needing to go slowly at first, to grow faster and be more productive for longer.

Farm consultants who have commercial experience with creating profitable Market Gardens are a better choice, and many good farm consultants also have experience in Permaculture, Syntropic Agriculture and Holistic Management, as well as a solid grounding and experience in commercial farming.

Farming is all about context, so being very clear about the outcome you are wanting, and then choose the best approach to suit your goals, will give you the best chance for success.