FOR ASPIRING FARMERS
Who backs an aspiring farmer? Where to find your backers
By Sam Marwood
Who has spare capacity to back an aspiring farmer? These people exist, and you need to find them.
Our free guide for aspiring farmers, You Can Own a Farm, names the places to look.
The retiring farmer
The future of farming in Australia is as much in their hands as in yours.
Many retiring farmers want to scale back but don't want to leave. They find someone to share the farm with, someone who can do the physical work they can't keep up with. That could mean buying into the herd, sharing production costs, or jointly buying the property next door.
There are many options. Ageing on Farm, the guide written for retiring farmers, gives the full picture.
Banks
Visit local banks with your farm pitch and find out how much you could borrow.
You may not plan to apply for a loan, but you'll learn what's possible.
Family and friends who believe in you
Some people don't have enough to buy a farm outright, but have a fair amount. They'd love the idea of backing an aspiring farmer they know and trust, and having somewhere to visit.
If you have a pitch ready, put it to them directly.
A local buyer with an interest
People are buying property in your area. Find out who's buying, and look for ways to meet them and talk about your farming ambitions.
A community you help build
In some regions, locals are working together to put young families on the land and keep farms in local hands. In a community owned farm, the locals are the owners and a farming family runs it. Community Owned Farms, another guide in the series, shows how a community champion finds the farms and gets the district behind them.
If you want to take this further, find a local champion to drive it in your area, or think about driving it yourself. If you put in the effort, it could be what uncovers a farm opportunity for you.
A backer looking for a farmer
Take a made up example. Think of someone in a big city with a farming dream and the capacity to help, but without the skills or the confidence to run a farm. They can't quit their job. They want to find an aspiring farmer who'll also put money in and run the farm with them.
The steps: get the backer to commit to a set contribution, agree on the location and the kind of farming, and put together a proposal to own and run a farm together.
What do backers want?
Some want a lot of involvement, some very little. Most want to be briefed regularly and to visit the farm a few times a year.
Some want the highest possible return with as little involvement as possible, and they're probably not the answer for you.
If a backer is only after profit and isn't sharing the risk, do you really want to go into business with them?
The full guide, You Can Own a Farm, is free at cultivatefarms.com/resources.
You can build your own plan at cultivatefarms.com/plan.