Organic Certification

I have been reading a lot lately about how organic certification is having problems because of a lack of oversight by the government certifying agencies.  I am very disappointed.  Big business has made it necessary for this type of certification to be required so that the public can feel confident that they are not being lied to. And yet they still are.

What about those of us who want to be organic because it is the right thing to do.  What about me, who wants to save her own little piece of Planet Earth by treating it with respect and making the right choices about growing our food.  If I wouldn’t eat it, I wouldn’t sell it (of course with flowers I wouldn’t necessarily eat them but the same thing goes.)

I don’t have children so I cannot say that I want to do this for my kids.  I’m doing it for my brothers kid and my best friends kids and all the other deserving kids out there. I want it to mean something when I say that Big Head Farm is ‘Simply Organic.’  It means that I care.

I care enough about our earth to want to participate in the natural processes, to not interfere in those processes but rather to manage them and assist when necessary. So today I am working on the farm plan. I am taking a look at all the record keeping required to become certified organic. I am also facing the costs associated with certification through a qualified agency such as Oregon Tilth.  I know that it will all be worth it.

One of the challenges I see is that you must find certified organic inputs for your farm, from soil additions such as compost to the seeds that I will sow.  There are many places that have the right certification but how do I know if it is legitimate? I suppose I can ask all the same questions that the certifying agencies do. I can also look for recommendations from other organic growers who have had good service and experience.

Well, it’s time to get back to work on the farm plan. I’ll keep you updated on the progress!

The Vision:

To create a family farm destination built on the principles of sustainable, organic, local, wholesome and highest quality. To promote the local commerce and culture and to provide value added products to our customers. To treat the earth and all its species with dignity and respect while supporting our Big Head Farm family through sales of our farm products.

Plans keep coming along!

Starting a new farm, especially an organic one, is not an easy process!  There are so many things to research and pieces of the business plan that need to come together.  I still need to get my growing season plan started.  Figure out what I want to grow, when I want to grow it, when to harvest it and where to rotate things throughout the season.  I can’t wait to see what comes up in the spring.

I’m really hoping there will be some edible wild berries, fruits or mushrooms.  Maybe even some leeks or wild onions are growing back in the trees!

Still trying to work out how to pay for all of this, anyone need a condo in Chicago? We’ve got a real nice one that is available!

Tax season is here and I’m working on that too. Luckily I don’t start the farm taxes until 2009 because we were only incorporated on February 3!  I have to file my S-corp paperwork now. Funny that you have to wait for one thing in order to do the next. I remember that from when I opened my first business. Finding the one starting place helps and then you follow the paperwork trail. Usually the Federal EIN is the first thing you can get, but you have to have an address for the business before that.  You can always use your home address and then change it later to the business address.  Once you have an EIN you can open a bank account, file LLC or INC paperwork.

My next steps: file S-INC status with the IRS, then open a bank account for the business- I’ll have to figure out where the money to put in the account will come from, but more on that later!

It’s Official!

The paperwork was filed on Feb 3, 2009…Big Head Farm, Inc. is officially a registered entity in the state of Michigan!

Now if we could only get our hands on some seeds and a good pole barn (with living quarters)!

Working on the paperwork

Ah, yes. The business side of farming.

I have a goal this week to get all the required paperwork completed to submit for incorporation of Big Head Farm. I will also submit our logo and trademark it. Wading through all of this is very time consuming, but when you have no budget to hire a lawyer to do it for you, you just have to figure it out!

The internet is an amazing resource~ I have found just about everything that I need on the internet. This includes samples of Articles of Incorporation and instructions on how to fill out all the forms.

The next thing I need to figure out on the web is how to build my little website to start selling some advertising and making a little capital to buy the seeds to start the farm. Luckily my husband has some website building experience and he will be able to help me with it. Otherwise, web builders really charge a bunch of cash to build you a site.

My husband has really become excited about seed saving. He started with some of the veggies from my guerilla garden this past summer and has expanded to some peppers from the grocery store. We have already sprouted some of the habanero plants and they are doing just fine in their little make-shift greenhouse in our kitchen window.

I just cannot wait for the spring thaw so I can really get to work out on the land!

Too Much Snow to Get Anything Done

We were back in Michigan this past weekend. We tried to get onto the property- that didn’t work very well. We were in a small pick-up truck, because the car is still in the shop from a road-bed collision after Christmas. We thought, “maybe we can drive through the snow in four wheel drive!” Um. The snow was just too deep. We bottomed out the truck and managed to get pulled back out of the drive before we got really stuck.

So much for thoughts of trying to accomplish something on the property. That’s not going to happen until things melt a bit. And then it will be time for the muck boots!

I’m still working on the ideas for raising capital to get the farm started. We are hoping that in the next month or two we will have the condo in Chicago sold so we can start paying down some debt. That will free up lots of my current income so we can make a dent. I hope to have my money making plan put into action in February so I can order seed, seed starting supplies and compost.

I have been saving toilet paper tubes to turn into seed starters, and rubber bands from the mail for later in harvest to bundle veggies for sale. I’m also saving wire twist-ties because I am sure that they will come in handy on the farm.

We have also been contemplating which structure we will build first and what it needs to have. We figure a basic pole barn with living quarters, a bathroom with shower, and a small kitchen would be a good place to start.

Creative Start-up Ideas

So what do you do when you want to farm, you have the land but you don’t have the money to get started?

Well, I have been pondering this for some time. I think the answer lies in gathering the support of the local community through the internet. Giving people a chance to be a part of the farm. Maybe they can adopt a tree on the farm, or a plant or an animal- like a zoo!

I’ve got  a way to go before I can get out and get planting. I should be buying seeds and planning the first crops and rotations right now. I’m still finishing the strategic business plan and haven’t ordered anything because I don’t have any money for it. Chin up!

I’ll keep pondering my options and thinking up ideas for financing~  when I come up with something I will be sure to let you know! Farm Dreams!

Gathering Market Research

I have a new poll going on Linked-In to gather some market research on fresh produce. If you’d like to help out and select an answer you can find the poll here:
http://polls.linkedin.com/p/14997/ntzuo

Land-HO!

After three months of searching and one month of negotiating, etc. we have finally closed on the 40 acres in Michigan that we think is going to be the perfect new homestead for the Warners and the start of Big Head Farm.

Despite all of the government bailouts we had one heck of a time obtaining financing for the land, mostly because we still own our condo in Chicago (which is on the market if anyone is interested!) My husband and I are both going to get out and find additional jobs to help get us through and to pay for the extra costs. We also need to begin planning and saving for building our new home. There are two homesites that were on the property but have since fallen down or been dismantled. We have to explore those some more and also apply for perc tests, septic and well permits.

Our first project will be to build a simple pole barn and have electric run out to it. We’ll heat it and plumb it so that it cal also serve as our temporary shelter while we work on building our home.

The home is going to be interesting because it will be made from recycled shipping containers. They cost a few thousand dollars each and will need some modifications in order to make them livable. The entire thing will be housed in a simple metal building. We have plans to use geo-thermal and wood burning boiler to heat and cool the house. I’d also like to build a wind turbine and have some solar panels for electric. I suppose we will need to plan for emergencies with some sort of home generator. There’s a lot still to work out and figure out how we are going to pay for all of it.

I have almost completed the business plan. There are still some pieces that need to be filled in . I am hoping to find some grants and possibly some angel investors so we can get started. Once the condo sells we will really be able to save since that is most of our current expenses.

Keeping y’all up to date

So – Starting a farm is no small thing. Especially if you know that you want to do this for a living and survive off the land. I have just completed class #3 at Farm Beginnings and we are really starting to get to the nitty-gritty of the business plan and records, etc.

The internet is a great resource if you know how to weed out all the junk. There is a ton of information and resources, on-line tools, videos on how to do things and networks of peers and customers that you can reach. One of the things we talked about in class is how to develop a “basket of goods and services” for a particular customer, then of course, how do you reach that customer. 

I say internet, baby. All the way. We are going to farm our collective butts off and produce some amazing fruits and vegetables, then we are going to prep them and sell them to you! You can be the next celebrity chef, the next Charlie Trotter or Gordon Ramsey. Just get on-line and place your order! 

We will be local, biodynamic, sustainable, zero carbon footprint, eco-friendly, green, organic, permaculture, slow food, heirloom, seed savers with a small family farm in southwest Michigan.

We close on the 40 acres this coming Friday, then things really kick into high gear! The business plan is coming together, the city condo is on the market- as an aside, we might be on a tv show called “Designed to Sell” in order to help sell our condo in a down market; the farm dream is becoming a reality.

Cross your fingers for us!