[hbrundage]

Totally possible to compete on quality, especially if you are more in it for the lifestyle or the community aspect. You can sell at a farmer's market for 5x what the local grocery store charges and you get 100% of the margin!

Better yet, if you harvest at the right time your product will taste way better because it wasn't shipped across the continent!

Lots of people are still getting into farming these days, you can make a full time salary on as low as 1 acre, especially if you do microgreens. See this fellow's content for far more detail than you might ever want https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbHwAfHQA9M

[ClumsyPilot]

> You can sell at a farmer's market for 5x what the local grocery store charges and you get 100% of the margin!

Ever tried selling 50 tons of wheat at the farmer's market? Its a minor side-income at best

> "you can make a full time salary on as low as 1 acre,"

Thats total wishfull thinking. - you can only do that in specific niches, with significant capital outlay, near a city. You are not going ti make any money off an average 1-acre field in the countryside

[vangelis]

Don't compete on commodity crops to start.

[ClumsyPilot]

That's 99% of farm produce, so you are basically supporting the statement above - only the largest farms are profitable, and family farm is dead outside tiny niches.

[giantg2]

Most small farmers I know have modest incomes or less. Many also need to work another job.

[randomdata]

> Most small farmers I know have modest incomes or less.

I guess that depends on your perspective. As a small farmer, the per-hour income is incredible, putting my earning potential as a developer to shame. But it doesn't require many hours of my time.

> Many also need to work another job.

Since it doesn't require many hours of my time, it seems reasonable to spend that time doing something else. Sitting around watching TV all day would get old pretty fast.