How To Boost Small Farm Profits

How To Boost Small Farm Profits John Suscovich provides advice on raising pastured chickens profitably His common-sense advice on the chicken business often applies to other ag ventures as well While Suscovich’s actual time farming has been relatively brief beginning in 2011 it has been intense While working as farm manager of what has become Kent Farm Brewery he has raised as many as 2 400 broilers in a season as well as pigs sheep hops apples herbs and vegetables on the 52-acre Connecticut farm A key message he states is that a number of those ventures failed “I had endless enthusiasm and passion but I lacked a clear direction I took on more than I could manage and spread myself too thin across multiple operations In this way I made farming more difficult and wasted time money and energy ” One place he continues to invest time and energy is his Farm Marketing Solutions a multi-media publishing company It includes more than 650 videos his Growing Farms Podcast and several self-published how-to workbooks that he sells on his website What sets Suscovich apart from most advice givers is his business-first approach He consistently stresses establishing budgets and tracking costs His YouTube video “$4 44 Difference Raising Cornish Cross VS Red Ranger Chickens” is a prime example Using an easy-to-follow whiteboard he goes over labor feed and pros and cons of the breeds Near the end of the video he sums up his thinking behind his materials “ you’ve got to know the numbers if you’re going to stay in business ” Another thing to be appreciated with Suscovich’s materials is an emphasis on outside resources He didn’t develop all of the ideas he shares by himself and a number of his videos are interviews with other small farmers He is building on the work of many others tempered by his own experiences The self-published workbooks range from $13 99 for his Stress Free Chicken Tractor Plans to $97 for his 292-page Pastured Poultry Packet #2 The latter includes marketing strategies marketing materials marketing campaign examples what to do with social media and more The $50 Pastured Poultry Packet #1 offers a step-by-step planning guide for the costs of raising broilers on grass whether for a business or for a family Suscovich’s videos are free on his YouTube channel Contact: FARM SHOW Followup hello@farmmarketingsolutions com; www farmmarketingsolutions com; facebook com/FarmMarketingSolutions/

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