The whole category in one page.
FIND THE MARKET BEFORE YOU START PRODUCING
Producing something with no buyer is the commonest agricultural failure. Establish who buys it, at what price, in what quantity and to what quality — then produce.
CALCULATE COST PER UNIT FOR EACH ENTERPRISE SEPARATELY, INCLUDING YOUR OWN LABOUR
Farms routinely carry a losing enterprise funded by a profitable one without knowing. Excluding your own labour makes unprofitable production look profitable.
POST-HARVEST LOSS IS CHEAPER TO PREVENT THAN TO REPLACE BY GROWING MORE
Timing, careful handling, proper drying and protected storage recover output you have already paid to produce. Inadequate drying makes produce unsafe as well as unsaleable.
SELLING AT HARVEST MEANS SELLING AT THE LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR
Working capital is what allows you to wait. Consider selling in portions across the season rather than holding everything for a peak that may not come.
COUNTERFEIT INPUTS COST A WHOLE SEASON, NOT THE PRICE OF THE INPUT
Buy from registered dealers, keep receipts and packaging, and treat unusually cheap offers as a warning.
MAINTAIN RESERVES SUFFICIENT TO PLANT AGAIN AFTER A FAILURE
The inability to fund the next cycle is what actually ends farms, not the failure itself.
NEVER INVEST SUBSTANTIALLY IN LAND YOU HAVE NOT VERIFIED, AND NEVER ON AN INFORMAL ARRANGEMENT
RECORD EVERY CHEMICAL APPLICATION AND OBSERVE THE INTERVAL BEFORE HARVEST, BECAUSE RESIDUES EXCLUDE PRODUCE FROM FORMAL MARKETS ENTIRELY
AND KEEP RECORDS FROM THE FIRST DAY, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES NEXT SEASON BETTER THAN THIS ONE
