Startup Equipment and Methods for a Petite Farmer

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Hi :)
My husband and I moved to our dream house here in Ontario, Canada, 3 years ago. We keep assorted poultry for eggs and meat for ourselves/selling, plus a large veg garden, about 75x50 foot. We have another acre or so we could use for veg space, and will be expanding our chicken and duck flocks.

We'd both like for me to quit my job and farm full time, with my husband continuing work; he's the primary earner and we want that stability, plus he loves his job and I hate mine!

The problem is, I have a lot of heart, but not much muscle! I'll work all day rain or shine, but I'm only 100lbs, and have problems moving our snowblower or rototiller, let alone operating them.

Neither me nor hubby have much confidence that I could manage an acre with the hand tractor/broadfork methods we're hearing and reading so much about. We're thinking of cultivating by hand but getting a small tractor for breaking ground and bed preparation and other heavy tasks beyond my strength.... but we're concerned that this flies in the face of what most of the successful market farmers seem to be doing ....

Can anyone give us some advice on realistic methods/equipment/crops for a small-built lady farmer?!

Thank you so much! Rachel :)

Featured Answer

User

8 years ago

We are a tool-using species ...

Consider hiring someone to do the heavy stuff like the first tilling and harrowing. Then you can take over with a smaller vehicle for the day to day stuff of lighter tilling, weed control and planting

Check Craigslist in the Farm section, there are usually people looking for work for their equipment.

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Comments (6)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
8 years ago
Check out Hoss wheel hoes, they are great. If you can find old Planet Jr Wheel hoes, they are great too. Also check out Planet Jr. 2 wheel tractors https://youtu.be/FggPteKOi80 This is a Tuffy, I have a Super Tuffy, but I lost all my videos or I would share one. There are bigger models, check them out on YouTube, search for Planet Jr Tractors. Thew quit making them in the 50's, so they are getting harder to find, but back in the eastern part of the US, they are pretty easy to find. Well worth the money.
Rachel Perusse
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you!! I'll definitely take a look at all these — cheers for the help! :)
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Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a)
8 years ago
Many agronomic trents are toward lower or no tillage and use of cover crops to maintain a healthy soil but those systems usually require more power and specialized equipment. Having said that I have not been able to get away from tillage in some form, even though I am amazed at what I can plant with my no-til Monosem planter. Like all no-til planters it requires a larger tractor to operate.

I believe you might be wise to consider letting the riding tractors handle the brunt work required for most crop tasks from working the ground to planting to cultivating and even to aid in harvesting. I even use a platform mounted on my tractor front bucket loader to load produce into my market truck. It eliminates most of the heavy lifting and speeds the task immensely.
Rachel Perusse
Original Author
8 years ago
That's a great idea! Thanks, that could be really viable, especially as we're in a very rural and agricultural area! :D
waynedanielson
8 years ago
I'm not a small built farmer, but I still put a motor on anything I can and once you start going with power, you quickly learn, more power is better.

Believe it Not, I'm going to recommend you at least look into the BCS line of walk behind tractors...we call them rollers. There's enough attachments to put on them...if you want, you can make hay bales. Not to mention every other aspect of landscape soil work and farm prep.

There's small tractors of various makes, from JD and Kubota to Iseki, Yanmar and others. If you live in a farm area, I'd discover what dealerships are around you...if nothing else, you'll learn what kind of parts availability exist.

I'd take the time to consider what you're going to do. If you're looking at turning extra land into vegetables, that would lead you down a different road than fencing it and raising some kind of livestock.

You live in maple country?