Alberta is unique in the fact that it is economically sound and has a highly driven working population. Many consider this province to be the Texas of the North, where folks are 10 feet tall and bulletproof – you know – big oil and big farms.
With that tag is a perception that one must be big in order to be successful and that small successes just don’t matter. This misconception has trickled down to a younger population who believe that starting out small is not worth starting out at all. There is sometimes an opinion that one must land in the pot so to speak, or get it all up front in order to be in the game. Indeed, many of the ready-to- retire farming generation have perpetuated this attitude by refusing to break up enterprises so several people can get started. This has unintentionally instilled in the new entrant the suggestion that there is no economic hope in the smaller farm unit. On the other side of the table, the new entrant may have an expectation that they should “have” the farm. All of these expectations are unrealistic.
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To shift the argument away from the emotional debate, let’s look at what is happening in farm equipment manufacturing as an indicator of future trends in agriculture. One may assume that big equipment is the ticket for companies such as John Deere. Check out the John Deere website and you will notice that only in North America does a giant machine, the 850K Crawler Dozer, come up on the home page. In all other nations, a small implement is featured. One could surmise then that the North American market has a large need for huge equipment, but a further search into the site reveals that most of the featured tractors are smaller and would be considered “chore tractors” by Alberta standards. The site mirrors the reality that most farms worldwide are indeed tiny by our standards (only Australia has a bigger land base per unit than ours at nearly 9,000 acres versus Alberta’s average farm size of 1,055 acres).
Big growth, small machinery
From a global perspective the largest growth in farm equipment sales is projected to be in the BRIC countries Brazil, India and China. Brazil has an average farm size of 270 acres with India’s average farm being 3.3 acres. The sales surge in China will be immense and farm implement manufacturers are readying for the buying spree.
This is even more interesting considering the average Chinese farm is a mere .32 acres in size. Even in the European Union, average farm size is 46.2 acres and the number of European farmers most certainly outstrip those at home with 8.6 million European compared to 275,000 Canadian farmers, of which 82,000 are in Alberta. Small farms feed the world.
Too often, being 10 feet tall and bulletproof, keeps one from seeing the ground. For many, a well-run small farm that generates enough income for a family and addresses future retirement needs is just as desirable as a large enterprise. When you take into account the accessibility of information, technology and the gateways to global markets, it becomes fairly evident that there is opportunity in starting small and growing with your potential. The challenge is to look beyond the acres and into the generation of net income.
Creative, innovation and dedicated new entrants to agriculture are making as much headline as corporate agriculture, and they are more likely to get out of the rut of lone commodity production and grow into areas of agriculturally based product commercialization. In addition, the consumer of today wants the small farm to produce their food as they perceive it to be more wholesome, safe and direct to the land.
When this province was built, immigrants were offered one quarter section at a time. It was a treasure to them and the chance at a new life. They could create and grow their families and their farms together. They were the beginning of what we now have. If your vision is a large corporate enterprise or a small and unique family farm, you must start like everyone else, with the first quarter section. Every moment sitting on the sidelines wanting to sell your farm as a unit to the next big guy or wringing your hands in anticipation of getting some land handed to you is time wasted.
If you have a passion and want to farm in any capacity, start now! Put yourself to the test and start with that quarter section and grow your farm. You are still 10 feet tall and immensely wealthy in the eyes of the majority of farmers in the world. And, yes, there are tractors just for you.
BrendaSchoeppisamarket analystandtheownerandauthor ofBeeflink,anationalbeefcattle marketnewsletter.Aprofessional speakerandindustrymarketand researchconsultant,sheranches nearRimbey,Alberta. [email protected]
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Formany,awell-run smallfarmthat generatesenough incomeforafamily andaddressesfuture retirementneedsisjust asdesirableasalarge enterprise.
