Re:The Anthropology of Farming Simulator
by HeyLaughingBoy on Monday October 03, 2022 @02:35PM
(#33071763)
Technically yes, but you can do it on the small (for a hobby farm anyway). You could start a small commercial farm, but you'd basically have bought yourself a sub-minimum wage job.
I live on a horse farm and when we bought the property it didn't really cost that much more than a nice house in the suburbs. My 10 acres and a large new house cost far less than a lot of small houses on tiny lots in places like Seattle or SF. If we had wanted to be farther out (I'm about a 50 minute commute to Minneapolis), we could have gotten more land for even less.
The major adjustments are (a) it's very difficult to take a vacation, (b) the amount of income that goes towards taking care of animals and (c) the work never ends (see [a] above). Besides that, it's all peachy :-)
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-pro... and https://www.farmers.gov/loans
> Farm Ownership Loans can be used to purchase or expand a farm or ranch. This loan can help with paying closing costs, constructing or improving buildings on the farm, or to help conserve and protect soil and water resources.
> USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers up to $600,000 for eligible borrowers through Farm Ownership Loans.
> Farm Operating Loans can be used to purchase livestock, seed and equipment. It can also cover farm operating costs and family living expenses while a farm gets up and running.
> USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers up to $400,000 for eligible borrowers through Farm Operating Loans.
Aside from the "grow things" there is an enormous amount of business sense and domain knowledge (what to grow when, how to fix that thing now, does this other thing need fixing?) that is needed to accompany it.