My name’s Geoff, I’m 32 years old and 2023 will be my 10th season farming. I grew up in Michigan and graduated from MSU with a B.S. in Agriscience in 2013. I’ve been living out west since 2015. My skills include farm production management and sales, technical writing and conservation/resource management. I’ve managed several different operations, worked for Extension and have done some small farm consulting/farmer education.
I’m looking for at least 10 acres to build a diversified production system. Main enterprises would be seed crops and orchard/vineyard production. Land/home prices are very high (especially for those of us that have worked in small-scale ag. for much of our career) so, depending on appraised value and the desires of the current landowner, I may be interested a non-traditional path to permanency/equity. I have a detailed farm business plan that I’ll take to FSA in hopes of securing a ‘beginning farmer downpayment loan’ and/or ‘direct farm operations loan’. While I’d ultimately like to own the land outright, I’m open to possibilities including lease-to-own or some form of farm succession/land transfer.
The only real essential is unpolluted land that is capable of providing adequate crop yields. There are many, many other factors to consider but let's just start there.
I received a 4-year Ag. degree from Michigan State University in 2013 and have been working full-time on farms ever since. I have experience managing commercial seed crops, orchard and vineyard production and pastured sheep. Additionally, I have done small farm consulting and mentoring of new farmers.
I've been looking for land and revising farm business plans for several years. My short term goal is to secure land and financing in order to start farm operations. Building out farm infrastructure, completing necessary field work, establishing cropping systems, developing markets and bringing in some of the first crops are the important "short-term" plans.
Long-term goals include fine-tuning production systems, thinking creatively about farm resilience/longevity and (hopefully) enjoying full-time employment with a financially solvent operation.
On-farm housing is highly desired but not necessarily required.
I strive to keep trust, integrity and humility at the forefront of all my interpersonal interactions while also regularly reflecting on historical/global context and broad patterns of human interaction.
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