On the other side of this story, JM, is me that has been trying to farm on my little one and a half acre for the last 4 years. I can't tell you how many times I have failed farming where an eighty foot bed doesn't grow anything but right next to it I have all kinds of growth. I have been overtaken by weeds since I was thinking I can weed next week and lose the entire season. This year I am putting up a 30x48 greenhouse since last year all my starts were leggy since I didn't lower my grow lamps close enough. This year I am building two portable chicken coops to house my girls on the plots to re-fertilize my ground. This year I am building a raised bed herb garden where the chicken yard was. Last year I harvested thousands of cucumbers and not a single tomato from eighty plants. But I am still trying. Mistakes make me a better farmer. It's hard word, sure, but I still love it, no matter how many failures I encounter, no matter how many friends tell me I am crazy, I still am having fun. I want to feed my community and that is what keeps me going.

@kevinbane3588

4 ай бұрын

Keep working and learning.

I have a small farm in Ukraine. Less than two acres total. We have been there since 2016 until my friends with the US State Dept suggested I go back to America in February 2022. We return to Ukraine in September.......just a few days from now. Our farm has sat for over a year and as much work as that means, we are excited. The point I wanted to make is that we basically put ourselves in the mindset that we had to make the farm work. We burned the other options. But we considered several times to leave farming. I throw no stones at anyone for getting out of farming. I have followed you for several years and have your book. We have some veggies for restaurants and deliveries to individual sales but our main revenue is from growing ingredients for Mexican food and we sell that to the Americans living here in Ukraine. Thank you for your help with what you have taught us.....we teach it to others. Peace

Hello everyone. Because I share part of JM's vision of creating more farmers I would like to finally weigh in on this conversation about burn out. Being prepared for me also means to be mentally and physically prepared for the season and for this training is important. Having self care practices will allow you to push through the intensity of everything and helps to keep the moral of your team high and raises the spirit to engage with this mountain of an opponent. Let's just put it this way: Starting a small organic vegetable farm and becoming financially successful, is like joining a boxing gym and becoming a world champion. Expect to get beaten up every day and train with an obsession on the same level as an Olympian athlete. Each time I fail I develop a new strategy. "I'm burnt out" is an excuse for not taking the time to address small issues and allowing them to pile onto of you over time. 1. I'm tired- Are you sleeping enough, eating properly, getting enough water, eating to much sugar and pounding coffee in the morning. Whats contributing to that because if you blame to work you failed. 2. I'm soar- have you been stretching before going to bed, getting proper rest between jobs, keeping proper posture when working bent over in the field, protecting yourself from the elements like the beating heat of the sun 3. I'm discouraged about not making enough money- This isn't about money until year 3 at which point keep investing everything and expect to until year 5 and if you plan on owning the farm don't expect to go on vacation until year 10 because regardless of how much you make its not yours, it belongs to the farm. I just bought something for myself at year 7 and still haven't traveled anywhere because everything I need is already here. 4. Having kids and farming I to hard- Having kids and raising them in he suburbs while sending them to free daycare without giving them the experience of living on the land with the ebb and flow of nature is depriving them of some essential life ingredients needed to overcome the addiction the comforts of the modern world. Put them in a jolly jumper, get a dog for them to play with, build a sand box, get a trampoline and contact some homeschooling parents about playdates on the farm. What ever you do don't imply that they need to be working or helping. This is your dream not theirs but your positive influence and light heartedness with influence them to love the farm if you do. 5.Theres too many weeds- turn yourself into a weeding machine, dedicate a full day every week to weeding and take back your territory. This is war. Buy the appropriate tools needed to fight this war on a weekly basis and clean your shit up! Also don't waste time trying to make things look like Connor Crickmores weed free farm, that for the KZread channels profits and btw why do you think he's got so many weeding tools? He's got jus as many weeds as you he just kills them all ruthlessly. 6.It's to much work farming and running a business- You can't do it yourself so don't even try. Get a business partner and if you have a partner make sure you divide up the roles properly. Who's reconciling the books!? Who's running the socials? Who's responsible for making the vegetables appear out of thin air? Who's responsible for making them disappear and turned into cash, then converting that cash to 1oz gold coins for you retirement cause your not getting a penny form the government because there's no such thing a retirement. 7.It's to complex growing so many crops with crop rotations and cover crops! It doesn't have to be perfect just make sure every crop has what it needs one by one before you start your season and make a plan that you follow like JM on instagram but more religiously because he's not you, in your shoes getting shit done. 8.I'm Numb- Smack yourself in the face and keep going, then in the quiet moments while your by yourself give thanks for your ass whooping and realize its made you stronger and that you are your communities most necessary and valued member even though the merchants have thwarted you by driving down your value in the for of economic warfare. Be strong silence those negative thoughts and give gratitude for all the gifts you have received. 9.No one cares about the farm but me- No one will ever care more than you, not your partner, interns, employees, customers or god will care more than you. You are the farm and the farm is a reflection of you, when you die it dies, when it thrives you thrive. Have love for yourself. Have love for the food and have love for the people you nourish regardless of who they are or how much they care. 10.I don't own the land so what the point in investing into infrastructure and the soil- You haven't proven yourself yet. What makes you think you need to own the land to give back to it and without the infrastructure you only have half a farm. Quit crying about being poor and realize your part of a resistance and with the right mindset you will be a temporary steward of thousands of hectares through your influence and conscious presence here on Earth. Now get up off your ass, you already know what to do!!!!

I think most all social media likes to glorify farming, without getting into all the negative variables such as pest, disease, weather, ect. I feel it would be helpful if these negative variables would be discussed more. So, that people would have a more realistic idea of what it takes to grow food.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

Yep.

Most people see online the best gardens and theirs are not so they quit. Especially when they say how it sooooo easy . Until they know for themselves work is work, they give up...

Young farmers need to gain experience working at other farmers and understand basics business concepts. Most are set up to fail form the get go. No savings, no experience, no plan. Just optimistic. It’s really hard. I’m in year two and doing okay. Summer has been brutal. Next year we will take August to mid Sept off. We have 20+ member CSA, solid farmers market, and room to expand. The best thing I did was work at another farm! I learned so much! This year I’ve learned that if crops are failing, don’t babysit them. Crop them out and move on. Be honest with CSA members and the community and they will understand when things go good and when things don’t work out. If they don’t, they aren’t the people you want as customers.

I'm the neighbor at the farmer's market that wasn't there this year. Reassessing, redesigning and moving towards retreats & workshops w/ farm grown food. I've been growing for 10 years. It's hard, especially in August! Farmers markets are a total burnout situation too. Memberships where the members come and harvest their veggies is a good idea! A few people can't do all the work for many...kind of concept.

I have the small backyard plot, I've spent sooo much money, time, resources and have not made much money and have achy body and get so weary and tired and depressed 3 years in. I have been juggling mushroom/worm/green tunnel space 34m2 (yeah backyard is a modernish version of The Good Life). (New Zealand) Normally I would go into autumn and flip over to greens but I just thought not this year I'm so muddled,deflated. Body feels like that meme of the 'Terminators' limbs are falling off. What am I doing? Took the time in autumn to give to me and my family. That time out to evaluate me, my processes. What I am doing I believe in so much and know its good. So I'm back for another season and feel more confident in myself, planning. I have limitations, tools/ automation are good things. Thank you JM, this does need to be address. Peace and love

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

Abandon this entire method of farming, it is all BS. Get a tractor with attachments, use 10-10-10, use black plastic mulch, and monocrop an acre of something hard like broccoli. That's how you make money.

I'm burned out. Always get this way around this time each year. But it's a hobby for me, so my heart goes out to market Gardener's like the couple you mentioned.

Farming is much more complicated than just growing food. Unless you have a ton of money to burn, everyone interested in starting a small farm needs to have at least basic skills and tools to be effective at trades such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, mechanics, and my personal favorite, barter. Having at least a basic understanding of these skills will allow you to quickly get out of tough spots that could easily sink someone who must rely on the schedule of others. You'll be able to repair old and used or rig up makeshift equipment until you are able to justify purchasing new. Being able to design and build a working irrigation system on the fly is a huge advantage. KZread is an incredible resource.

Hi JM, I was about to post on this subject on market gardener Facebook page... I wanted to be positive so I decided to cancel the post. The last few days I didn't have motivation to do anything on the farm. Yes, we ALL get the feeling to quit; but, one way or another, you just need to go through the barrier of wanting to quit. So took off few hours, went to my favorite coffeehouse, got my favorite drink (spicy chai) extra large, indulged in chocolate croissant. Burn out happens to everyone at some point. The trick is to find a way for you to work through it. I'm stressing out because we are transitioning to fall and winter crop. Harvest potato, hundreds of lettuce head every week, yellow onion, peppers ... Seeding hundreds of lettuce and start seeding winter cabbage, hundreds of Brussels sprouts, new kale chard... Season isn't over yet!! Need to rip out first round of zukes and cucumber because of pm and mites. Talk about getting punched in the gut. We always have second planting of cucumber and zukes but still... So yes its always emotionally and mentally really tough in August. And JM, its okay to be saddened and emotionally hurt by the sad news. Take care and wish the young couple to find happiness in their new venture. You are a good man!

Farming is never-ending hard work. Finding reliable help is difficult. It's a tough way to make a living.

The balance between idealism and reality is a thin line I think every young and inspired farmer has to walk. We want the lifestyle, we want the meaning, we want to have an impact... but no matter what we also need to make enough income to live. And particularly for the farmers in their twenties, they may be willing to push through some years of little income, but there's a lot of years left to live after 30, after 40, after 50, after 60... and at some point the farm simply needs to be a business that works. And if it doesn't, that inspiration will eventually run out. Thanks for all the advice and commiseration JM! I think this kind of discussion is really needed in the small-scale farming world. We all want small farms to thrive and to continue multiplying, and that can only happen when more farms are set up for success! Knowing what can go wrong is an important part of knowing how to make it all go right. Good luck to everyone out there struggling, I hope you can get through it and have a better time going forward! 💚

Man, do I feel understood all of a sudden. I started my journey last year with your book and everything that can go wrong goes wrong. I prepared so many beds to then find out that I only get a few hundred liters of water from my well during summer, had to watch a lot of plants die. This year I have ants everywhere, it doesnt rain, my car has been in the shop for probably 2 months all together, I'm still renovating the house and barns. I work at times for other people to survive financially and I failed with so many things and was struggling to get out of bed last week because I didnt know why anymore. Then I look at my cats and dogs and goats and know why I'm here and why I started. It is painful and beautiful at the same time and my commitment gets challenged a lot but looking at the world I dont see an alternative as I'm afraid we'll have food shortages in Europe in the coming years. Stay strong and kind ❤

@chuckmaxfield7787

11 ай бұрын

Hi jst1973, I understand much of what you've said. I have been farming only part time veg, chicken, etc., and I have trouble with the leap to full time and profitable. For me, the leap is 40,000usd in New york state. Steel and plastic and other material prices are up, sometimes doubled--going down now I hope. But I see it this way: maybe I can't farm full time now, but I can still enjoy making money working a transferable skill while slowly learning and generating infrastructure at home.

​Hey JM! Love what your doing! I find every year I have struggles in one crop or another. In northern AB organic is almost non existent but being put in a position of survival I pour everything into it!

Hard work and low pay are a tough way to go, and whatever lies you're told, a farmer's life will never be different. My Father explained it this way; "there will never be any money to be made in farming, because as soon as there is, everyone wants to do it." I got through my 20's, 30's and early 40's living off my own reserves for sheer physical abuse, and at 57 am sorry I did so.

JM, thanks for this important message and the inspiration and hope you give. Im now in my 8th season as a market gardener and have faced burn out many times before. Fortunately, i have revised our operation each year to improve and to avoid the burnout and am looking forward to many more years of success. But it is hard as every year i see small farms give up and it is heartbreaking everytime. Perhaps some videos in the future and how to restructure for success could help others avoid burnout. In the meantime, keep up the good work and ill keep fighting the good find here in Oklahoma.

Hearing the story at the beginning reminds me exactly of where we are at. You, and other market gardeners, inspired us to give our life to growing food. 6 years later we are broke, buried in weeds, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel... I Totally 100% agree with needing to be well prepared. We leased raw and began our off grid market garden bootstrap style. And if we had been more prepared and realistic, we may be in a better situation. Thanks for the continued inspiration to no give up and stick with it!!!!

This is my 3rd year farming. It's been incredibly lackluster this year because of grief. Lost lots of crops due to neglect. I hope next year my motivation is reignited. Wasn't prepared for the loss. Hiring a gardener to keep the weeds back and the soil healthy. I really hope.my passion has not been extinguished and next season I can return to full production

@user-tm1ec2on6w

11 ай бұрын

If you’re open to advice, you must control the weeds, not they you. I start my day at 5:00 by weeding for an hour, and usually finish the last hour of the day doing the same. I’m very thorough, not leaving a single weed, and taking the bed from chaos to order is very psychologically reinforcing. It also doesn’t hurt that I actually love weeding. There’s also some kind of affirming connection that’s made with the earth, sky and my crops. I’m not trying to be “woo-woo” here, but there is some sort of energy that flows through those channels, and weeding makes the connection for me. I wish you all the best. Like midwifery, farming is a sacred calling. Without both, we’re gone as a species.

@outerspaceguts

11 ай бұрын

@@user-tm1ec2on6w yeah, that's a good system. I only mention hiring a gardener because my depression is so difficult. I lost my entire immediate family so theres that. When I am on top of things a zone really only needs an hour a week. I appreciate that you're able to derive joy with weeding. The grief has really inhibited my passion, and that is something that scares me. It's not that the weeds are controlling me per se, the weeds are just a byproduct of the grief and depression.

@user-tm1ec2on6w

11 ай бұрын

@@outerspaceguts Grief is life altering to put it mildly. Our youngest died when she was three and it set my soul on fire and ruptured my heart. Long year after long year all I could do was burn and watch myself bleed out. The turning point came when I told God that if He didn’t repair me, i simply wouldn’t make it. And I’m not talking about suicide but all my life force bleeding out. He effected a slow, arduous rescue and repair, but a restoration all the same. Farming is one of the channels of recovery; perhaps something that I’ll need all my life. We are primarily created to love, and when the one whom we love with all of our being is torn out of our life and ruptured heart, where do we go; what do we do? We must find His will; the purpose for which we were created. Without that compass, depression and mordant despondency like lead curtains hanging over our minds are inevitable. But there is a way out. I hope that you find and secure yours.

Well said J.M. my dad farmed all his life on 40 acres. He usually had 3 acres of veg crops and rotated with grain crops. He had no buisiness plan. It was tough to see him dump produce that didn't sell, he passed in May he was 83.

Thank you so much for touching video. Yep 👋 burn out as we speak. A lot also because of such a heavy clay soil with problems that I didn’t see coming…. i was just naive about my soil quality. I am giving raspberry plants to another farmer in exchange for some of his produce. I do my best but I’m gonna have to end two years of work and relocate to better growing conditions. That is so important.

Bonjour Jean Martin, ça a du être difficile comme moments effectivement, et, ça n'est pas évident de parler de ce qui ne va pas. C'est toujours plus sympa de parler de tout le positif. Mais, oui, il ne faut pas ignorer les difficultés que chacun d'entre-nous peuvent rencontrer. Nous ne vivons pas dans un monde de bisounours et il est très important de le dire et le rappeler comme tu l'as déjà fait et tu le dis suffisamment dans tes cours, tes vidéos et je trouve ça génial ! C'est un sujet épineux qu'il faut traiter avec beaucoup de compassion et humilité. Merci de partager ces moments là aussi avec nous. Courage à tous. Ana

I've been doing it for almost 50 years, in the end it's about too much work and too little money, plus people forget that growing is easy, selling is the hard part. If you're lucky enough to live near a market that will pay top dollar it's possible to do ok, but there's only so many customers willing to pay high prices for high quality produce, most people are just looking for affordable food for their family. In the last few years farming and flower farming has gotten "hip" and lots of idealogues jumping in with lots of enthusiasm and no experience. Like all other fields of business, time will sort out the survivors and most will find something else to do. The market gardeners who have been really successful have done it by selling videos, seminars, etc., not by selling carrots.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

Yes, Curtis the conman Stone comes to mind, but there are many "market gardeners" out there. I happen to live in South Carolina, where farming is hard in general, so I have managed to take over selling hard to go crops here, i.e., carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and pumpkins. I don't even grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, lettuce, etc. because they are too easy to grow. You really need to laser focus on some product that is not being grown and exploit that market to your full ability if you want to be successful. There was not a single vendor at the two markets I frequent growing cherry tomatoes, so next year I will flood the market with a rainbow colored selection of cherry tomatoes.

Salut JM. Writing from northern alberta. Love your videos and thank you for sharing. I think we all experience struggles, and my struggle as a 58 yr old woman who is basically doing it all on my own cuz i cant afford to hire help, i have to keep the organic gardening small and slowly build up over time. As much as i admire your methods, ive had to buy the tractor and attachments just so that it makes my job a lot easier and less aggravating on my lower back, and ive had to really think, plan and come up with different ways of doing the work as a single owner operator. Ive been told im crazy for doing what i do but i love it! Its my passion. So thank you for your words of advice in the videos you make. They inspire me to keep going. 😊👩🏻‍🌾

You’re missing the biggest item on the list of why it’s exhausting and not rewarding: governments worldwide are selectively subsidizing the worst kinds of food, and that makes good quality food financially inaccessible for most people. If we weren’t competing against wheat and corn and beef that’s being sold at a tenth the cost of raising it, we would have no problem selling our food at a good price. I recognize that there’s not a lot we can do about that, but we have to acknowledge how much that affects our business.

@ginabean9434

11 ай бұрын

_"governments worldwide are selectively subsidizing the worst kinds of food"_ but thus, almost eradicated starvation worldwide, which in turn translates into peace. And the quality of basic food is SO much better today than it used to be (nutritionally and sanitary speaking). _"makes good quality food financially inaccessible for most people"_ the part of food in family budget has decrease from 40% in 1900s to 12% in the 2000s. People are spending less and less on food, that's the truth. Netflix and the new smartphone are more important 😕Nothing to do with beef.

@wildrangeringreen

11 ай бұрын

That is part of the issue, but you can also make decent money even at common retail prices. The issue is that people jump in, buying all the equipment "you need", all the land/infrastructure "you need", all the inputs "you need"... and can't make the cashflow work. Look, I have 13, 100' rows of cherry tomatoes, spaced 2' apart, and I pick 5 gallons a week from them (for around 12 weeks). The retail price for a pint of cherry tomatoes is $5-6, and I pick 40 or more pints a week (that's $200 a week just in cherry tomatoes). Lettuce heads are running around $2 in stores, so you grow and sell 200 a week for $400 a week. Without tunnels, you can have lettuce May-Nov in Ohio (so 27 weeks +/-). I move about 100, 1lbs bunches of carrots every week I have them (21 weeks +/-), for $2. Just from those three crops, you're looking at $17,400. That pays my land payment (I sit on 11 acres (only growing veg on .66 acres) with a house, large pole barn, ect), my property taxes, my utilities for the season, my crop-seed bill, and my cover crop seed cost. Everything else I grow is just money in my pocket at that point. Every year, I have 8x 220' rows of peas, which yield me 50 lbs of pods every week from early June through Aug, and at $5 a lbs, that's around $1,750, and then I get a fall crop from Sept through Nov for an additional $1,750 +/-. My sweetcorn, which is interplanted with everything else, usually brings in around $4,000. Green beans usually get me around $3,800. Melons (honeydew, muskmelons, and watermelons) get me $5,600 +/-. I grow over 30 different foodstuffs, so I could go on. If the first three crops pay for your house, your utilities for over half the year, your property taxes, and the inputs, plus you're growing almost everything you eat (I do have a small plot (.25 acres) of grain in the back); the question becomes how much do you really need to live on? Is 10k enough, if most of your bills are paid? 15k? 20K? That's just in Veg, I'm also expanding small fruit (a mixed acre of raspberries and blackberries can get you around $36,000 annually, and all you have to do after the first year is prune and pick them), nuts, and tree fruit areas as well. In 10 years, I'll be generating over 300k (20 tons per acre (after culls), on 2.5 acres, at $2/lb retail for apples alone is almost that) just in tree fruit alone (no pesticides, no fungicides, just basic nutritional sprays (hence the lower marketable yield than conventional HD orchards)(which cost waaay less than common inputs)). Did I mention that I refuse to be certified "organic" (lol)? At that point, I'll be buying more land, getting livestock (I grew up with cattle, and hate not having them around), ect. As my dad & brother have found, direct marketing animals to consumers is waaayyy more profitable than selling commodity beef (so you don't have to have as many head, which allows you to better manage your land, which makes you more profitable). As I mentioned, I grow around .25 acres of grain (wheat, barley, rye, and flint corn), winter squash, and pulses (dry peas, lentils, and Ayocote Morado beans) in the back, and that both supplies my family with food, and gives me some to sell to individual customers (including malt to hobby brewers). I plant luffa, birdhouse and other gourds at the edge of my covered-fallow block (I rotate veg between two .66 acre blocks) and sell that. The biggest thing I advise new growers is to NOT buy fertilizers (including compost) or amendments and not to be certified "organic" (unless the market in your area is paying substantially more for it, which hasn't been the case in most areas over the last 10 years (I don't call a $0.25/ unit premium to be "substantial")). They are a recurring expense that only marginally benefits your cropping/marketing potential. Spend $100-$250 (depends on acreage) in a high performing mix of cover crop seed every year (I use three different mixes), and you can develop a self-regulating system that builds on itself every year, rather than being utterly dependent on products purchased from corporations out of a bag. THAT is what is draining your pockets, along with an obsession with hybrid seeds that don't yield all that much different than OP varieties in field conditions (lettuce is still only going to yield one head, same for cauliflower, carrots, radishes, beets, ect). Seed companies like selling F1's, because the margins are higher, not necessarily because they're substantially better across the board (my first off farm job as a kid was working at a seed company producing hybrids and OP varieties). You can make money selling retail, and some local wholesale (only to customers that value what you're doing); you just can't approach it from the conventional ag methodology (which has developed over the last 150 years to transfer wealth from the population to corporations). White-knuckling natural systems doesn't generate success.

@twestgard2

11 ай бұрын

@@wildrangeringreen that’s a lot of information, thanks for putting out all the effort. I would just clarify that what we see as “normal consumer prices” are artificially depressed by the landslide of subsidized food. The McDonald’s menu is an easy example because it’s completely made of subsidized foods. If McDonalds didn’t exist, or if they had to buy at non-subsidized prices, all those customers and all those food purchases would happen on an even playing field where my eggs and your tomatoes are competitive with the big food retailers. We struggle to make money specifically because 99% of the market is handed over to a handful of giant conglomerates.

@evafredriksson-lidsle4909

11 ай бұрын

​@@wildrangeringreen wow, that was awesome information!! Thank you! ❤

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

@@wildrangeringreenWhen you go out of business I'll put an offer on your farm.

Wisdom worth listening to thanks. We considered throwing in the towel a few years ago because our marriage is most important over the farm. Then Heather said it's to important! We pushed on and I'm thankful we did . Since then we've made so many friendships and had a positive effect on the community the blessings do come push on if it's correct for you . There will always be struggles but they can generally be growing pains.

Everybody has a different personality, strengths and weaknesses. Some people will be good growers but have no business acumen, others the determination to keep on going year after year, whilst others lack the motivation coupled with the stamina needed. You have to love what you are doing, and you obviously do and that is why you are successful. Businesses fail for a host of reasons and to make a go of it you have to get a lot of things right. Getting one thing wrong is enough to cause failure. As a couple you would need a rock solid relationship.

Without context, it's impossible to speculate ... but generally, I think, market gardening is really being hit hard because consumers who have less money to spend on food, and the cost of everything is up: land, tools, materials, interest rates on mortgage and land, fuel, raising kids. Everything everywhere, all at once. I made a video a month or so ago talking about farm stand sales were down for me bigtime. It has since picked up, but I have also had to drop my prices to bring people in who are looking for bargains. It depends on your market, but generally if we continue in this direction, I think the only way forward is to be competitive on price. Keep overhead low, start small, save seeds, make your own compost, don't buy fancy tractors and greenhouses.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

Greenhouses are overrated.

Well said, JM. Thanks again for sharing your heart. It is hard, but so important.

In UK you can raise cabbage seedling in 9cm pot and sell it for more than a fully grown cabbage.

Thanks JM ! Im needing encouragement big time right now as well, started my farm HallaluYah Acres 4 years ago here in north Idaho, 1st year in covid shut us down and ended up moving the farm, a couple years later now and have the new farm going , hitting the markets but sales are very low, everyone says the produce is awesome but still not making enough to pay the bills and facing the very real possibility of have to shut it down and sell the farm .... very discouraged as ive invested so much and it seems like there is oppertunitiy here but just cant seem to find it ....

Great video really explains the love and hate on farming anything.

Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability. Great topic, so appropriate for the season. I appreciate the encouragement! Thank you for helping us!

In our sixth year. Going strong. We very much appreciate you.

Excellent video and excellent information. You have done so well and have helped so many folks. Understand how hard it is for farmers to get to that point, big or small, its a tough thing to face. Do a small market garden, sell only root crops. The market for beets seems to grow each year. It is all done from the home. Each year about this time, I start getting tired out. Also have an acre of yard to keep up. Am totally thankful I can still do it all. Will be 82 next month. Keeping the weeds in control is the hardest part. Cannot stand to have them in the garden. Keep the great videos coming. Always look forward to what you are up to. Blessings to you and your family. Coming to you from south central Washington state.

Your the man J M

One thing that new farmer's often don't realize is that only about 5% of new small businesses survive.. And, statistically speaking it takes five years for a new small business to become profitable. These numbers are from the Small Business Administration, which doesn't serve farmers so doesn't include the field of agriculture. My guess is that the survival rates for new small farms is even lower.

Thanks for making this video and creating the space to connect with others over this topic. This year has been really brutal. So dry in the spring and so wet all summer. We’ve lost over half of what we planted and what’s left is struggling. At this point in the season we are just so burnt out and have no willpower to make yet another push to replant everything, again, to finish up the season. We will do what we have to do to fulfill our CSA obligations, but I will also be taking a job this fall to make ends meet. This will be our last year farming. We had a good run but we have found that it’s just not a sustainable way to have reliable income, as in we end up working so hard just to barely make ends meet. Wishing others success and joy. We’ll have a garden forever, we love it, but it’s just not working for us to support the livelihood that we need to make.

Nice video. Thank you so much. Heartwarming. Most videos tell us of the romantic part of farming. Which may be true. But it's not alway the case. Farmers also need to develop mental toughness to go with farming.

Excellent video on a topic that needs regular attention. I’ve been there many times too. Supporting each other is key. Community is also a foundation. Also important for the customers to be there and support the very hard work and passion of growers. I don’t go to market anymore because of mistakes made by our city that ruined one of our markets. I still have private clients which helps a lot. Resources Ike the market grower help a lot, it may mean the difference between success and failure. Keep growing if you can even if it’s just to support your food pantry.

There are lows in everything we do. I think people need to remember that the first 3-5 years of building a business are HARD and it takes a while to iron everything out Even more so with farming/gardening because sometimes we have things hit us that just aren't things you can prepare for.. or that are totally unexpected Our family moved to East texas a few years ago and this is the time of year we remind ourselves that we choose and chose to live here 🥴😅 There are always lows but I think you are right, done evaluate your choices in the middle of the low If you are arguing with your spouse about something, you don't question your entire marriage while you discuss and figure it out 😂

Merci pour ce message tellement important que je viens de partager avec ma jeune équipe !!! Il est vrai qu il est facile d'idéaliser le métier en regardant la masterclass. La masterclass est porteuse d'énergie positive mais à chacun par la suite d'y ajouter sa propre dose d'organisation, maitre-mot de toute réussite dans n importe quel métier. Peut-être qu il n est pas donné à tout le monde de realiser que c est le résultat d'un dur labeur et d une organisation sans faille que tu as fourni pour en arriver là, même si cela a ete pour toi un metier de passion !

This is incredibly valuable as a video. I am in year 3 flower farming, and finally learning some of these things which are not obvious. everyone in our position needs to know this stuff, know we are not alone. In august.

It's a hard life. I remember the hard work growing up on a cattle and grain farm. It was really enjoyable and seemed worthwhile. However, as a kid, I didn't realize the financial strain on my parents. Farming got to a point where you either got big or got out. My parents just couldn't compete against giant economies of scale. It was a sad day when the farm was sold. There might be a niche market here and there, but competing against someone who can replicate your work at scale is near impossible. Most consumers are going to navigate to the lowest cost producer. My advise, now as a CPA, is make the money elsewhere and enjoy the gardening or hobby farm as just that, a hobby. That's what I do now with my handful of acres. It's less work, less stress, and you might find time to actually enjoy the place.

@lambsquartersfarm

11 ай бұрын

I agree, good advice.

They quit because they don’t fuel their vision with stamina, and they lack the character-based fortitude to persevere. I’m 68 and work 8-10 hour days, often until I can barely hobble up to bed. But farming is a sacred mission, and as such, QUITTING ISN’T AN OPTION. Having ranted like that, I live for those moments when I survey the fruits of my labors (lush, verdant beds, pin neat without a weed) and my soul drinks in all that visual power, and I reaffirm, that for me, there is no other pathway leading all the way to my eventual death.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

Amen.

Yup, not everyone is built to farm or have their own business. I’ve learnt I need time off in July or risk burnout. Fruit growing allows it.

Burn out is common these days primarily due to unreasonable pressures that one puts on themselves. First several JM's sentences summed up most reasons . It is one thing to hear good advice but another to understand it and apply it. Listen to JM! He has plenty of experience. .... The average age group that is entering into homesteading and market gardening is predisposed to certain ideas and performance expectations. Nature has it's own rhythm and a farmer must adapt to it as well as unpredictability of a very complicated system that thrives on diversity. Idealistic visions of farming are certain to fail and if one is not psychologically strong and prepared for failure then farm failure is inevitable. Again, JM has said this in this video but it is important to really hear and understand what he is saying. .... Putting up with the rat race but knowing that the cheque is in the mail makes days bearable. Working all Winter and Spring while consuming resources while not knowing the certain outcome takes balls, tenacity, endurance, bravery and so many other qualities that one can do without while working in the corporate world. 🤮. You can't call your growing bed an asshole and unleash a personal attack campaign that turns into a popularity contest. Screaming at a wall does not produce favourable growing conditions, but it can indicate the state of ones mental health. Jm's closing remarks are of this theme. Are you are still reading this? Great! ..... Take a greenhouse for example. The skills that are needed to manage a greenhouse are more of engineering nature than botanical or biological. Yes you need all of those skills or pay for them. Just one bad spore colony can wipe out your crop. .... How many people are skilled enough to undertake farming? The ones still farming, is the answer. Farming is not a lifestyle one can take on as a fashion. It can be lonely and discouraging, but when all goes well and you learned something that you can apply and the bumper crop is in and all customers are thankful and when all bills are paid AHHHHHH, that is the moment when I look back and say: LIFE IS GREAT AND I WOULD NOT BE HAPPY DOING ANYTHING ELSE! . . I often wonder, how many unhappy wives and children are suffering because dad wanted to be a self dependent survivalist. All need to be on board for a farm to succeed. Make friends that understand. ........ Happy growing!

Yes I do, what more can I say. But I have those skills you mentioned. And only thing I can see now is to push trough. We have small microgreens, edibleflower, baby saladgreens operation. After 2 years I can see where Im making mistakes. Im going to have it figured out by the 5th year. Thats all, I just have to keep working and counting everyting. Thanks for love, farmer one side enterpreneur the other, like with artists or maybe like ... with everyrhing. Much love from Slovakia to all smallscale growers ❤

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

You won't make it. You aren't growing anything that takes skill to grow. Find something in your area no one sells, something in demand and hard to grow. Otherwise hang it up. Microgreens are the dumbest meme I've ever heard of.

JM, thanks for meaningful messages Notably, a prominent factor is the burden of high expectations and pressure. Young farmer often face considerable expectations from both themselves and society, leading them to pursue rapid success and excel relentlessly in their careers or pursuits. This relentless drive for achievement can ultimately lead to burnout.

The dream of farming, is very far from the actual reality of farming. Most are unable to deal with the physical labor required to operate a farm.

Mid season is tough! I think about quitting every year. I'm also getting old (66) so I'm also considering going to all long season crops to slow that mid season burnout.

@user-tm1ec2on6w

11 ай бұрын

68 here, so I can relate to your concerns. What we’re doing is converting our vegetable-production beds to raspberries and blackberries for a pick-your-own operation which eliminates harvesting. It’s also a premium product. I’ll always grow the vegetable needs of our extended family but for a cash-crop berries are our future.

My garden is my vacation 😇

Yes, it is hard work but we learn to work smarter, not harder. Thank you

The prices make it worthless in certain areas. In our area we can not sell our honey even for cost price of the jars. We are in a very wealthy area bentleys astin martin etc common place. pubs with helicopter landing pads.. find the right market with the right price and quality its ok.

I struggle with this. My issue though is 20 year of service in the US Air Force caused many disabilities. The biggest one is I have had multiple traumatic brain injuries and struggle with memory issues. This is season 3 for us and our issue is not growing but sales. Family is coming on board to help and we will not stop. I once passed a 6 month long military course with a 70% wash out rate, I lean on that to motivate me. Just worry about today and tomorrow just get started. If you do this everyday pretty soon the season will be over. I was also inspired by you and continue to be inspired by you.

JM, I really appreciate what you have been doing and what you do. There is however something I would like to ask. Recently I saw a video about the farm La Ferme du Perche and it's impressive how they approach things. They are mentioning turnover, number of employees, and you can observe the infrastructure. I really wonder how this can be a profitable business (I did my thorough calculations). Maybe I'm missing something but it's not very comforting to see an beautiful approach on the very limit of staying afloat. I started my farm not too long ago and luckily the farm has multiple income stream and I still have other income streams but the marketgarden is defenitely on the losing site (still in the organic conversion time) The organic sales in France have, according to some sayings, dropped close to 40% since the inflation of the last years. Therefore there are steep price drops in the organic products as there is too much offer. This is causing people to drop out completely, change back to conventional or trying to find other income while reducing the production. I really hope we can turn this around but it will take some special magic I think.

I have found that compromising on ideology can have some unforeseen consequences. I have spent the last 8 years of farming as an employee and business owner and I certainly started with a lot of ideas that have since flewn out the window. However, those ideas and grandiose ponderings were the initial fuel and inspiration. Now that fuel and inspiration is mainly practicality and business sense, which for me, is a bit more hollow and, at times, quite a bit less motivating. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that, for me, it's exciting to make money but it's not the same excitement as ecological interdependence and world shattering hero farming. Simple, streamlined, practical production is a subtler inspiration. Kind of like how an initial hot, spicy love affair can turn into a long term, stable, abiding love. Sometimes it's just that first step of romance and then you go your seperate ways. Lots of ways to be!

Blind idealism and bad business, not unlike every other industry. Though its worse in farming due to the romantisation of it all coupled with the (completely necessary, but still detrimental in this respect) intense environmentalism of our generation.

It's definitely not for everyone. It takes something special to succeed in market gardening. I think this is very undercommunicated, successful market gardeners are a rare breed of people. It's really really hard work for relatively little pay. Enthusiasm is a requisite, but it's not enough if you lack in other important areas.

This has happened in my rural community, too. Property reassessments in Ontario are hitting everyone hard, including those in agriculture. My small community is facing a nearly 26% tax hike. The relentless pests, climate extremes, inflation, mental health, physical health, etc. It's very disheartening to hear that small scale food producers are barely making ends meet.

All of the new farmers (JM, Stone, Neversink) have hammered home this 6 figure nonsense to vulnerable newbs, all the while copying ONE style of growing. This sets people up for failure in a big way if they don't follow this formula. Farming is based on knowledge, experience, and acquired skills, not formulas. Now, overlay that with a lack of transparency on the actual realities, like farming with a billionaires money, and vulnerable people fail. But hey, how about selling them a course on how not to fail? Isn't that the next step?

@florencejessup2432

11 ай бұрын

I think the numbers are possible, but it takes a decade to get there, assuming the economy is stable. It will be at least five years before you can pay yourself anything at all. That means new farms have to be very well capitalized either by inheriting an existing farm and farming business or with a deep pocketed financial backer.

@oldman1111

11 ай бұрын

JM straight up talked about using someone else's money for one of his latest/largest projects. He's also talked heavily about needing some sort of money to get started. I think Stone did a bootstrap video estimating 5k (others suggest at least 20k and list out rough prices). I've never seen what's his face at Neversink mention money, but I don't watch his content as much. Every single one of the top market farmers on KZread talk about how this business requires you to think of your farm like a business, suggests preparing (and some list out exactly what they did), and suggest starting out working on someone else's farm.

@user-tm1ec2on6w

11 ай бұрын

Curtis Stone and Connor at Neversink are straight up full of shit. I really despise them. But JM has been honest from day one. What perhaps needs to be thrown in is the maxim that without sufficient infrastructure you aren’t going to make it in any business; especially farming.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

LOL! My favorite post yet. JM, Stone, Neversink, Dowding, etc. are all conmen selling a pipe dream that doesn't exist to desperate, city dwelling, cubicle working urbanites looking for an easy escape. You ain't going to make money selling rabbit food, i.e. microgreens and arugula. None of these people are being honest about their finances or what they were making or how they got started. Charlatans, the entire lot of them.

What's csa

Le métier de maraîcher est très difficile physiquement et mentalement, ce n'est pas fait pour tous le monde, hélas ... Créer sa ferme à partir de zéro est encore + dur car on a la pression d'un petit patron ... Si on a des employés, il faut les "économiser" physiquement pour qu'ils ne claquent pas (burn out) et il faut bien les payer pour qu'ils trouvent des gratifications certaines dans leur emploi ...

I can tell by your body language and speech that this upset you. Don't be upset, your guidance has helped far more people than you know. Wirh age comes learning and wisdom. Maybe they'll rethink their position later on.

@floydblandston108

11 ай бұрын

Disagree- I think all these cheerleaders whose real income is from books, sponsorships, teaching, or etc. do a grave disservice to their patrons.

@damanifesto

11 ай бұрын

@floydblandston108 Can't disagree with you, but most farmers have secondary incomes. Huckstering a book or a paid sponsorship is just part of the secondary income plan. As long as one understands this, is it really a disservice?

@floydblandston108

11 ай бұрын

@@damanifesto - 'most'?!! How many *actual* farmers do you know? NONE that I know have the time or inclination to be "KZread Farmers" or to represent their career choice or life as anything other than it is; painful, cash poor, and tenuous. You sound like the French restaranteur/author/educator and 'farmer' in question....another phony salesman preying on the idealism of others.

I've never worked a damn day on our farm!

Salut JM, pourrais tu faire les mêmes vidéos en français ? Je les trouve super intéressant et je pense que ça intéresserait pas mal de français, merci 😉

@edissab.9991

11 ай бұрын

Vous savez que vous pouvez avoir les sous-titres en français... Très utile. :-)

It’s sad and shocking to see the reactions of some people towards other people who, even after diligence and patience and careful daily planning and care for years, eventually realize and decide that it’s time move on from farming and leaving the countryside to a different state or country, some even do go back to the city and are happier there. Factually, there is no shame for doing so, and there shouldn’t be! I’m so sick of these false Christian, religious, and atheist rural hypocrites who look for any excuse as to why someone simply decides farming doesn’t work for them. That’s okay if it doesn’t work for you! I personally hate anything rural and to do with farming or gardening, animal husbandry, etc. They don’t make me a better person and God doesn’t say I have to do them to lead a Godly life and help others. It all boils down to - your family do what ethically works best for your family. We don’t all like the same things or live in the same places, etc. A country person and a city person who are Godly, ethical, civil, courteous, even if they are both self sufficient and hard working, who try to live in peace with those around them are always welcome at my table, as they say. If people want to demean and falsely accuse or censor city or country people, we’ll that speaks volumes of how wrong that person is and they have serious problems that they need to work out with God. Bottom line - if you decide farming or gardening doesn’t work for you, then I say to those people that’s great and I still support them and they’re welcome to visit at our home in the city!

L'affaire c'est que pour beaucoup c'est l'idée du retour a la terre, recréer le jardin d'Eden, toute ca, et c'est encouragé par plein de belles images sur YT et instagram genre "regardez: ca pousse tout seul" (et la, j'en veux un peu a ceux qui les font ces belles images, sans jamais montrer tous les problèmes qui sont derrière, genre les cultures qui ratent, qui poussent pas, qui donnent pas, les ravageurs, tout ca...). En vrai, c'est pas la meme. Et personne est a l'abri apres un bout, de baisser les bras ou de se brûler hein, on le sait. Moi, j'avais commencé et je me suis cassé le bras en milieu de saison. Heureusement qu'on avait splitté ca en une sorte de coopérative avec toute une gang: ca s'est pas ressenti sur le résultat. Mais apres 3 ans de travail non stop, ca m'a donne un recul forcé et cette année je récupère mon bras et je fais un break: je me donne le temps de prendre du recul, savoir si c'est vraiment ça que j'ai envie de faire. Faut pas avoir peur de le dire: physiquement c'est épuisant, c'est probablement pas tout le monde qui est capable de tenir sur le long run. Si c'est pas possible, c'est pas la fin du monde: toujours possible de donner un coup de main, de venir aider pour desherber, d'aider de pleins de façons (site web, compta, vente, juste en parler autour de soi, etc.), de rester en contact avec la terre, avec les cultures, avec son alimentation, avec la vie. Merci d'en parler avec tant de compassion JM: prendre soin de la terre, des plantes, tout ca, c'est important, mais l'humain avant tout! 😘

how the hell do you run a farm with kids? That's my question. Seems impossible to me.

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

He has billionares financing him. He's a conman.

Because the economy is a poor substitute for community.

The new generation of little baby's... 1 an 2 kid per family are dreaming. They thing that what your doing is cool and are saying... let do that, we will save the planet kind of thinking... I'm a bricklayer by trade an every year there more them 10 in each class an your lucky if 1 or 2 makes it. Same thing will happen in farming. You still the best model for the new that will do what your doing...SO keep on trucking...an leave the baby's at home with mammie...😉😇🥰

@AnenLaylle7023

10 ай бұрын

His model sucks. His book sucks. He's a conman.