Some of you have read previous posts of mine about my plan to start a ag business and I wanted to throw out some updated ideas and open up some discussion.
We currently raise Old English Baby Doll Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf goats, Fainting goats, Miniature donkeys, heritage breed turkeys, chickens, and ducks. I have been selling some garden products, chicks, and broilers.
Plan for Spring 2010 Opening.
Market Garden- 1.5 acres dedicated to vegetable garden, mostly raised beds
Salsa, jam (pepper, strawberry, rasberry, cherry)
Pumpkin Patch 2 acres and another 1 acre spot for small varieties.
Thanksgiving Turkeys pasture raised. Pies and baked goods.
Christmas tree farm/craft barn (2011) 3 to 5 acres first 1000 trees will be planted this fall. We will purchase already cut trees for four years or until ours are ready. Fall and christmas crafts sold in craft barn as well as wreathes and stands.
Petting zoo
Pony and donkey rides
Birthday parties on site
school and church groups (many already committed)
We will have a commercial kitchen on site. (2 local school cooks will do most of the food prep and cooking and canning)
Hatchery ( I have several large incubators and hatch many birds each year for sale and farm use)
We are currently remodeling an old bunk house that has kitchen area, and room that could be used to host small groups (15-20) for meetings and gatherings. I have talked to several businesses, community groups, and organizations that said they would be interested in "dinner meetings". Plan on using pastured pork and chicken raised right on farm as well as other farm fresh products.
Local community college interested in providing interns from their ag programs.
Local FFA chapter will help provide workers for large events in return for use of barns and animals for kids that do not have resources to raise own animals.
We have three school districts with in 10 miles of our farm and we are in process of setting up programs with them for both farm visits and in school visits and programs. All three schools are very interested in purchasing produce from us for their lunch programs thanks to some incentives from the state to use locally grown products.
We have been already doing many of things slowly building up for a "Grand Opening", and it looks like May 2010 will officially kick things off with about 25 different school groups coming to check out "Spring Babies on the Farm" and "Seed Planting" Projects".
Future ideas:
Sweet corn (10 -15) acres
Winery
Honey Bees
