SO YOU WANT TO BE A FARMER.

It is not uncommon (or unwelcome) for Hannah and me to receive a note from some young couple or individual looking to start a small farm like ours, or looking to homestead. They like what we're doing and are wondering if we have any advice for how to get started. We usually take our time in responding to these notes because we love helping people get back to the land, because each and every situation is different, and because just telling people to "go for it" is irresponsible. Some people have kids, some already have land, some have debt––everyone's story is unique. However, there are some common themes in our answers that are consistent throughout, and we thought we'd share a few.First things first, you should ask yourself why in the world do you want to be a farmer?If you're looking at farming as a way to make a lot of money, be careful. Not that there's not a lot of money to be made in farming, but it takes time and work and a great deal of cash flow (hopefully spread out over several years) to get to the point in which you can call farming lucrative. Famed farmer Joel Salatin*, for example, who has been farming his whole life, definitely makes a lot of money. But he also owns his land. He owns his tools, his tractors, his fencing, livestock, and a lifetime of farming knowhow. In other words, although he no doubt pulls in a good income, he is not starting from scratch like most of the people who contact us. He worked up to it. If you want to farm because you enjoy nature, because you want to do something satisfying and meaningful, and because you want to live simply and make a living doing so, that's not a bad place to start. Farms have infinite potential, it just usually takes a few years to dig it out. As our mentor Eric says, and as I will unabashedly quote many times in my life: "Anything worthwhile takes time and work." If you're looking to make money, be prepared to have to spend a lot of time and money first.Are you in debt?Hannah and I were blessed to come out of our early twenties relatively debt free. Obviously not everyone who wants to be a farmer is so lucky. Although you could probably start a farm with a significant debt––no doubt, it has been done––farms take a while to get going and internships are usually not paid (which we'll discuss presently). At very least, you'll want to save as much money as possible so that while you don't have much of an income, you can still pay your bills. Or, if you can work two jobs for a year and get entirely out of debt, as much as that may not sound exciting, you would be starting out at a much greater advantage than you would with debt. Maybe make that second job in carpentry or landscaping––two skills that would suit you well on the farm.Can you work hard?This is not meant as a pejorative. Literally, are you physically capable of working hard? Are you willing to work hard––maybe harder than you've ever worked, all day long, so long as the sun is up, and sometimes when it's down? Yes, farming is about feeding people and taking care of the land, etc. etc. etc., but in practice, farming is lifting heavy objects and moving them around. I don't wish to discourage anyone here––farming was extremely hard on me at first while I built the muscle––but one must understand that most forms of farming are physically relentless. Old or young, can you handle ten to twelve hour days in the hot sun pulling, pushing, lifting and moving stuff around sometimes seven days a week? Of course, you don't have to be in shape yet, just willing and able to get in shape, which leads us to the next question:Are you willing to intern?We cannot say enough about our internships at Bugtussle. We have several farming friends who started out without an internship, and most are fine. But like any career, it's good to have a mentor and to have experience before you strike out on your own. There is a lot to know about farming––from the financial side to the simple tools required––and an internship, although typically unpaid, is a great place to get that information. If you've never farmed before, like we hadn't, it's like learning a new language. And the best way to learn any new language is immersion. Plus, an internship will definitely get you in shape to farm. Although we don't yet offer an internship on our farm, there are plenty of truly amazing farms that do. Also, consider locking into one farm, at least for your first year interning. Visiting a bunch of farms for your education may sound like, and be a lot of, fun, but you're going to get the best education by finding a farm doing something similar to what you want to do, and staying put for six, eight, or twelve months. Or a couple years. Before you go buy land, go study your craft. Too many young farmers find themselves overwhelmed and out of business due to lack of experience. You can learn farming through books––and like I said, some of my favorite farmer friends have––but muscle memory is the best memory. Not to belabor the point, but most educations cost tens of thousands of dollars whereas an internship is generally free, if not paid. At least consider an internship, or "apprenticeship" if you prefer the word, before considering a career in farming. Hannah and I now live on the land where we interned, if that tells you how big of an impact it had on our lives and career.Do you have land already?And is it going anywhere? If the land is in your family and it's yours whenever you want it, great! Again, do an internship if you've never farmed before, and wait until you're ready to take over the land. If you don't own land, perhaps wait until you feel confident in your farming skills to buy land. You may start out thinking you'd like to farm vegetables, say, but might discover through your internship or through visiting some farms you are more fond of growing mushrooms in the woods, or raising dairy goats, beef cattle, or turkeys. Or maybe you'll save yourself a lot of time and money and find farming is not for you. Every type of farming requires a different type of land. Having a mentor and an idea of what you want to focus on will help you find your farm. Obviously, people buy land whimsically and survive just fine. But not everyone, and I doubt many of those who did would necessarily recommend going about it this way. Also, if you do not have a lot of money, consider renting the land first. But also make sure to protect yourself through some sort of personal, written and signed contract with the landowner. Trust us on that one.If you're considering a life in farming, hopefully that helps answer some of your questions or helps you ask a few new ones of yourself. And fellow farmers, please feel free to tell your personal story of how you got into farming, or add to our advice in the comments section.-Jesse*Joel's newest book, Fields of Farmers, is an excellent read for anyone considering interning/apprenticing or for any farmer thinking of taking on interns. Since reading it, we have recommended it to pretty much everyone we know, and we truly wish we had read it before heading out on our crazy first year of failed farming attempts.