Benedict T. Palen, Jr - Mistakes To Avoid In Agriculture As A Beginner

 Entering into Agriculture can be interesting and fulfilling, but the early times of investing can be quite difficult for first-time entrants. Obviously, it is useful to know some of the most frequent mistakes made by new farmers and prevent them in order to make your enterprise successful. In this article, there are notable errors, according to Benedict T Palen Jr., that inexperienced farmers should work to steer clear of when entering the profession.

Not Having Enough Capital

Among the mistakes that farmers, especially those that are new in the business make is entering the field with little money or inadequate capital investment. In order to venture into farming, there are costs such as land, equipment and infrastructure, seed, animals, and labor force, among others. Lack of access to credit or savings can really put your new farming enterprise into a deep hole very soon. Ensure that you are clear on the start-up expenses and future expenses, and make sure you have enough capital to keep you going until you begin to make your profits.

Poor Record Keeping

In several cases, many tend not to prioritize record keeping of activities on the farm, the financial activities, the yields obtained from the crops, the livestock's health, the soil's condition, and so on. Organizing records is important so as to enable a firm’s decisions, attract finances, control expenses, and enhance performance in the long run. That is why you should start fostering the best practice of tracking key farm data from day one.

No Business or Marketing Plan 

One of the most frequent mistakes new farmers make is leaping into the business of commercial farming without a business vision or plan and without doing adequate market analysis. Take time to evaluate your market, calculate potential profit and loss, gain knowledge on various structures of farm business and taxes, planned out the production, financing, and marketing strategies before all your efforts are as small as a seed. Managing a farm with no predetermined strategies is nearly impossible in the long run when it comes to being profitable. 

Buying Too Much Equipment

According to Benedict TPalen Jr., buying more than is required in farming equipment is one of the traps that new farmers are likely to land themselves in, and this is usually expensive. The first consideration should be for the basic equipment and purchase other equipment on trial if needed but rent them. Also, study how to buy in, lease, share, or hire some of the equipment if the owned capacity has too much idle time.   

Conclusion

Some of the areas that new farmers should avoid include under-capitalization, poor planning coupled with poor record keeping, overspending on equipment, and having an undirected production agenda, which all will contribute to a less stressful and more rewarding farming experience. Most new agricultural businesses fail within the first two years of start-up, so proper planning, viable business strategy, and gradual development are vital for conversion of the agricultural start-up into a profitable business in the long run, according to expert analysis of Benedict T Palen Jr.