You probably come across a meme with a farmer dressed in the blue denim overalls and checkered cotton shirt topped with a straw hat captioned. It isn’t much, but it’s honest work. That sums up the widespread perception about farming as a way of life.
Unfortunately, that amount to a great misconception as farmers play a crucial role in the world’s economy. With a range of modern livestock equipment, you can break from this school of thoughts and turn your farm into a thriving business.
People will need at least three meals a day for the foreseeable future. There’ no reason for you not to cash in on filling this need.
1. Break away from traditional farming
The first step to making a killing in the agricultural sector starts with a mind shift. You need to find ways to differentiate your farm and produce from the thousands of other farmers in your locality. That helps to reduce the amount of competition that you will be up against when marketing your produce.
Instead of letting the farming tradition in your region dictate your choice of the produce, spend a little more time learning the market. After all, these are the people who hold all the money you stand to make.
You need to know what they can’t get enough of, and what they are willing to pay premium prices to have on their plate. Simply put, you need to approach farming as a business if you’re to thrive and succeed in the competitive sector.
If you have the same product as everyone else, in the locality, it leaves you at a disadvantage. You will be playing in a buyer’s market, giving you little or no control over the prices.
2. Consider value addition
Most agricultural products are perishable, and this often leaves farmers at the mercies of the market and customer. Hold on to the produce for too long, and you’ll undoubtedly have a disaster on your hands after it perishes. However, this doesn’t have to be the case, not if you embrace value addition.
Value addition entails transforming your raw agricultural produce into a more refined product to increase its value as well as shelf life. For instance, a strawberry farmer can turn a portion of their harvest into strawberry jam.
Doing so increases not only the value of the product but also eliminates the imminent danger of produce perishing. Taking such measures gives you greater control over your farming operations while broadening your choices.
It gives you the chance to escape a glut in the local market that often result in lower prices. Thanks to online marketing and improved transportation systems, you can ship your produce over vast distances to a more lucrative market.
Agriculture plays an important role at both the local and international markets, making it one of the most lucrative sectors in the world. It’s only fair that you should get a bigger slice of this multi-billion-dollar market.
To do so, you’d need to move past the traditional approach to farming and agriculture. You need to approach it as a commercial entity and implement the best business practices.
