Posted on Feb 6, 2023
A new barrier to life on the farm: Student debt
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Liz Graznak runs an organic farm in Jamestown, Missouri, which she calls Happy Hollow Farm. She sells her vegetables to local restaurants, in CSA boxes and at the farmer’s market. But eight years ago, after falling in love with the idea of growing her own local produce, the farm she runs today looked like a near-impossible dream.
While on track to earn a PhD in plant breeding, Graznak bought her first box of produce from a nearby farmer. Soon after, she decided then that instead of studying plants, she wanted to grow them. Easier said than done, though.
“The mortgage aside, it costs a hell of a lot of money to start a farm, and to build the infrastructure, and to buy drip tape and row cover and hoops…I mean just everything you could imagine,” she says.
First steps for entrepreneurs: go to a bank, take out a loan and buy some property. Not for Graznak, though, who at that point was making just a small amount as a working graduate student.
While on track to earn a PhD in plant breeding, Graznak bought her first box of produce from a nearby farmer. Soon after, she decided then that instead of studying plants, she wanted to grow them. Easier said than done, though.
“The mortgage aside, it costs a hell of a lot of money to start a farm, and to build the infrastructure, and to buy drip tape and row cover and hoops…I mean just everything you could imagine,” she says.
First steps for entrepreneurs: go to a bank, take out a loan and buy some property. Not for Graznak, though, who at that point was making just a small amount as a working graduate student.
A new barrier to life on the farm: Student debt
Posted from hppr.orgPosted in these groups: 
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Agriculture
Farming Agriculture
Posted 2 y ago
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Student Debt? Never incurred any student debt with our farm, nor did my parents when they started their little family farm back in '79, after my dad retired from the Navy.
Nobody ever said farming is cheap. Time is the most valuable thing we possess, and a farmer could never be compensated for his "time". I told my family before we bought our small family farm, don't expect to make a profit, small farms just don't, you do it because you enjoy it and want the satisfaction of providing for your own peeps. I will say, our pigs have made a profit, but only if we count the cost of feed compared to the income we've received when selling them. This comparison doesn't take into affect the many hours of doing chores to feed them twice a day, spending 8 to 10 hours with a sow to make sure she doesn't have any difficulties while farrowing. Our farm is definitely a tax break for my son-in-law and daughter, since they claim all things associated with our farm.
Nobody ever said farming is cheap. Time is the most valuable thing we possess, and a farmer could never be compensated for his "time". I told my family before we bought our small family farm, don't expect to make a profit, small farms just don't, you do it because you enjoy it and want the satisfaction of providing for your own peeps. I will say, our pigs have made a profit, but only if we count the cost of feed compared to the income we've received when selling them. This comparison doesn't take into affect the many hours of doing chores to feed them twice a day, spending 8 to 10 hours with a sow to make sure she doesn't have any difficulties while farrowing. Our farm is definitely a tax break for my son-in-law and daughter, since they claim all things associated with our farm.
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