Organization
The farm - tentatively called Demeter Farm - will be organized as a for-profit entity with one or several of the community members as the worker-owners (in other words, the community does not own the farm). The farm business will lease land from the community. As a community member you are not required to be a worker-owner of the farm. Worker-owners of the farm do not necessarily need to put down capital as loans will be available. We will hire other workers if needed for a fair wage.
If you would like to be an owner of the farm, let us know. Members who are not owners of Demeter Farm are also free to have gardens and livestock and agricultural businesses of their own. We're pretty sure that most everyone who is going to join the community will grow some of their food, but Demeter Farm and other enterprises will make up part of the difference (i.e. selling to members and eating co-ops, as well as the outside world). All said, our goal is to produce over 50% of the food we need.
The cofounders and worker-owners will need to agree upon and write a plan for the farm. We will also need to map out the relationship between the farm and the community; the farm will lease land and utilities from the community, as many businesses do in established communities. During the Planning Phase our group of committed community-goers will write up our plans.
Ideas
In a nutshell, we will grow/produce enough vegetables, fruit, dairy, eggs and meat for the community's needs, but to sell on the market scale we may need to choose a focus for production.
The farm, being an ecological, diversified mixed farm, will pursue several goals: growing a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit; growing legumes and grains, both for ourselves and the animals; raising 100% grass-fed cows, pastured poultry (who will receive supplemental feed that we grow and process ourselves), bees, and goats and sheep for dairy and fibers. I am inspired by the quote "Healthy Soil = Healthy Grass = Healthy Animals = Healthy Meat and Milk = Healthy People" which is why I think it is important to be as vertically integrated as possible and nourish our soil health first and foremost. Rotations of crops and animals are therefore vital; the vegetables will stay on one plot and we will work our a rotation schedule that replenishes nutrients, cows will move from pasture to pasture and the chickens will follow (with a moveable hen house), goats and sheep will clean up tough forage, and so forth. We will produce over 50% of our food - including beef, chicken, dairy, eggs, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and fruit - and have plenty to sell. We want to aim to reduce inputs coming from off the farm, save seeds, and operate as sustainably and ecologically as possible. Irrigation will come from ponds which are fed by underground sources and rainwater, stored in ponds and then pumped to cisterns. Aquaculture (fish, ducks and water plants) is also a possibility. These are a lot of goals; we will have to narrow it down to some extent.
The farm will utilize ecological (as opposed to industial) agriculture and animal husbandry, crop and animal rotations, composting, vermiculture, aquaculture, natural pest and weed management, biodiversity, heirlooms, permaculture and polyculture. Our crops will include feed for the animals, green manure and cover crops to feed and protect the soil. Our animals will be traditional breeds that are suited for pasture-based small-scale farming, not industrial commodity farming. For instance, unlike Holstein cows, Jerseys can live on 100% grass or hay without supplemental grain feed and produce milk with a higher fat content. Traditional breeds may not gain weight as quickly or produce as many eggs, gallons of milk or pounds of meat, but they are better suited for living life on pasture, are more resistant to disease, produce higher quality products and provide many tangible benefts to the farm "ecosystem." Likewise, traditional and heirloom cultivars of vegetables are better suited for organic small-scale farming. Growing heirloom cultivars organically actually produces a higher yield per acre than industrial farming does, and the produce also has more vitamins and minerals and no pesticide residues. Organic farming improves the soil's ability to continue growing food year after year and has a beneficial impact on the environment.
We could sell fresh produce, herbs, fruit and nuts, honey, wool, pastured meat, milk and eggs as well as value-added products like butter and cheese, stone-ground grains, breads, jam, wine, beer and cider, olive oil, timber, hay... anything our land and hands can produce. We wish to have diversity on our farm but it may be necessary to specialize in certain things. Farmer's markets, co-ops and grocers, local restaurants, schools and CSA would be our market.
Speaking of making artisan farm products, it would be particularly neat to start up a cottage business making value-added products that are WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) and Nourishing Traditions friendly, such as lacto-fermented vegetables, cultured dairy, naturally risen breads, properly prepared grains and legumes, crispy nuts, bone broths, etc.
Next: Finances