Three Ways To Fund Your Miniature Farm
When it comes to funding a Miniature Farm, there are usually three options. You either have money to burn, money to sacrifice, or money from an institution.
Money To Burn:
This option is the least accessible. This option applies to anyone who has a surplus of money and is bored with their life and they want something more. Miniature Farming is the way to go if you want to spend your money and enjoy life while doing it. If you fall into this category, I would recommend you buy the best of the best of everything. Buy the perfect location with the perfect view and if you can afford it, buy the best breeding stock of every miniature farm animal on the planet.
Build the best hay barn, chicken coop, duck pond, pony corrals, pasture fences, and infrastructure you can. Buy the best farm equipment on the market, but keep size in perspective. Once you have your Miniature Farm up and running, share it with the rest of us. Inspire those who dream of what you create. If you have money to burn, I challenge you to invest in a video camera and share your vision with the world. Motivate others to follow in your foot prints by documenting your ups and downs, opportunities and challenges, and your triumphs and disappointments.
In three words, create the "Fairy Tale Farm".
Money To Sacrifice:
This is where the majority of us Miniature Farm hopefuls fit in. We are the ones who sacrifice a portion of our monthly pay checks to our passion for Miniature Farming. We can't always afford that new bunch of baby chicks each spring, but we order them anyway. We might not be able to afford the best feed for out farm animals, but we buy it anyway. If a shortage of the green stuff is holding you back from that "Fairy Tale Farm", I want to invite you to start actively thinking outside of the box.
Start looking around for items you might be able to substitute for that luxury suite chicken coop you've been drooling over in your mind. You will be surprise how a bucket of paint can make old wood look brand new again. Search for bargains on building materials and farm animals. I just put money down today on two baby Pygmy goats and worked out a deal with the farmer to break the payment into two. In six weeks we get to pick up our little babies and bring them home to join our Miniature Farm, because I creatively sought a solution to my limited funds situation.
If you are waiting for the money to burn, before you start your Miniature Farm, it may never happen. Commit to go down to the feed store this spring and purchase six baby chicks. All you need to start them for the first few weeks, is a card board box, some wood shavings, a heat lamp, water and chicken starter. The commitment is the first and often the most difficult step. I run into people all the time who have always wanted a handful of laying hens for their back yard, and I find them still wanting and never doing.
Sacrifice your money to build your Miniature Farm, and your sacrifices will bless the lives of your family, friends, community and of course the plants and livestock you tend to. Don't let the. "I don't have enough money" syndrome dissuade you from getting started. Sit down at your kitchen table tonight and get out a pen and paper. Across the top of the page I want you to write the following:
Income ~ Expenses ~ Miniature Farm
Place how much you make a month under the word income. Write each monthly expense under the word expenses. Once you done this, I want you to add up the totals of each of the two columns. Now subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income. Is there any money left over? If there isn't, I want you to go back through the expense column and think if there are any expenses you don't really need or want. I know there are the necessary monthly expenses such as groceries, auto, rent, utilities and so on, but if you want your Miniature Farm bad enough, I think you'll find that there might be a couple expenses you could get rid of and redirect those funds to your dream.
Money From An Institution:
The government isn't the only organization that can give farm subsidies. Check out the funds committed to your city, county and state budgets. Can you find any funds dedicated to farming? With the increasing awareness of self sufficiency and environment, there are organizations out there that may be interested in funding your Miniature Farm.
The drawback to using other peoples money, is that you sometimes lose some of your decision making rights. If you don't mind being part of something bigger, then this may be the funding option for you, but be prepared to include other people in the decision making process. Oftentimes a reckoning or audit must be faithfully performed from year to year when using other peoples money. The secret is having a clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish with your Miniature Farm. Is it to give back to humanity? Maybe your goal is to provide fresh eggs for the homeless in your community.
I haven't put a whole lot of thought into this option, because I love to be in control and I don't like being told what to do, especially when I'm the one out with the animals in the wee hours of the morning making sure they are cared for properly. I love being in the trenches. If you can find an investor who has just always wanted to spend money to promote agriculture, you may be able to work something out. Just make sure you know how much or how little control you'll have over the management of your Miniature Farm before you sign any pieces of paper.
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