Newbie Farmers starting out to in South Africa often make expensive mistakes. Plan your strategy and get to know your neighbours. This post will help you avoid some of these mistakes – Farming in South Africa 5 Tips to help you get started
• You need Plenty of Water. If there is no natural water or a borehole you can stop thinking to start a profitable farming business.
• Farming with Live Stock or Grains you will need Space and Plenty of it.
• Determine your market and plan your selling strategy.
• Make sure you have a Business plan
• Get to know your Neighbours. This might sound awkward at first, but getting to know your neighbours can save you a lot of time and money.
5 Things you need to know before you start Farming
You Need Plenty of Water
It is nearly impossible to farm with government supplied water. If you do not have a borehole, river or dam on your property farming will be very hard and expensive. You can also be fined for using to much government supplied water and they can limit your water usage.
Farming with Live Stock
The general rule when farming with sheep in South Africa is about 5 sheep per hectare, depending on your area. Too many livestock on dense areas will convert free feed into buying feed. Feed for animals is very expensive and can lead to failure of your new farming business.
Determine your market and plan your selling strategy
If you are going to farm with live stock, vegetables or grains, it is very important to know exactly when and where you are going to sell your products. Selling products to the markets at the wrong time of the year can have dramatic effects on your farming business and lead to large profit loss.
You can visit online farming market prices and study the history of products you want to farm with. That way you will have a good indication of what time of the year your products should be sold.
Make sure you have a business Plan
Plan ahead and work on long term plan. Farming takes time but the reward can be very satisfying. The biggest mistakes new farmers make is that they do not include nominal expenses in their business plan. Fuel, ware and tare on vehicles, overtime wages are examples of nominal expenses.
Test the market for the first couple of years and do not overspend on equipment and gadgets as your strategy might change and you need to change the direction of your farming business.
Get to know your neighbours.
This might sound awkward at first, but getting to know your neighbours can save you a lot of time and money. Farming is not cheap and most mistakes are made at the beginning of your farming career.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advise, most farming communities are there to help each other and you can learn much from experienced farmers.
Make sure your neighbours know exactly what you are going to farm with and talk to them about how they feel about your farming plan. If you are going to farm with pigs you need to consider wind direction and the noise pigs make.
Talking to neighbors before you start your farming operation will clear most issues and could avoid costly law suits.
Also see: How to Make a Homemade Chicken Feeder – Easy DIY
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Farming in South Africa 5 Tips to help you get started