LONDON, Ohio – Farming is a tough occupation. Farmers face a variety of challenges, including unpredictable weather, fluctuating market prices and rising operational costs. The profession requires continuous learning and creative solutions to problems. Demands of farming can be overwhelming, and many find that the mental and physical strain can be particularly challenging.

Trevor Corboy, agriculture and natural resources educator from Brown County, specializes in agribusiness. Corboy’s Ask the Expert presentation at this year’s Farm Science Review (FSR), Getting Started in a Farm Business, was well-attended as many in the listening audience were aiming to farm for the very first time.

“We see a wide range of people wanting to start a small farm, and with a variety of reasons,” Corboy said. “Some people just want a few acres and don’t want to do anything with the land. They just want to get out in country. Others just want to live on the land and make a little money off the farm, such as having a cut flower business or raising some chickens for the eggs. Maybe it’s a part of their retirement plan, while others want to raise a particular animal.”

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, 42 percent of all farms are smaller than 50 acres.

“We see some people who are a generation removed the farm and they’ve decided to come back,” Corboy said. “We see a lot of people who are retired from some other career and are looking to start a small farm. Maybe they might get a couple sheep, a few cows or maybe they’re thinking of selling freezer meat and want to get established that way. We see a wide array of people with a variety of intentions why they want to be a beginning farmer.”

Dave Garrison, of Morrow, Ohio, attended Corboy’s discussion. Garrison has ideas of ending his employment as a truck driver, purchasing some farmland in or around Warren County and start farming from scratch. Garrison’s concern is that the cost of rural acreage might be out of his reach.

“My aim is to bring an end to my career as an on-the-road truck driver, find some rural property and make my dream come true,” Garrison said. “I have two young children and my wife is an elementary school teacher. I’m sure I’ll still work off the farm, but having that piece of land sounds good right now. I know it won’t come easy, and the price of farmland worries me.”

The average price for farm real estate (land and buildings) in Ohio was $8,760 per acre in 2024, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

“I see first-timers buy just a few acres, then others purchase 200 acres,” Corboy said. “The first thing one needs to do is take a look at your goals and passions and ask yourself why are you getting into farming? What is the gist of what you’re trying to do? If you decide to raise some type of meat animal, is there a market for that meat? So, we tell first-timers to sit down and write all your goals on a piece of paper before anything else.

“Then, one may ask what resources are already available, such as does the farm already have a building and fencing. If you have animals, you might have to invest in feeders. If your intention is to grow some crops you’ll need a tractor. Perhaps you’ll need to hire somebody to cultivate the land or bale your hay.”

Corboy said there are grants, bank loans and other resources to help the small farmer get started. He also pointed to the upcoming 2025 Southern Ohio Small Farm College in Piketon, Ohio, as a good resource for new and established farmers. The event begins Oct. 15. Corboy helped run and operate the Ohio New and Small Farm College in Wilmington, Ohio, this past spring.

The New and Small Farm Colleges are an eight-week program that introduces new and seasoned farmers to a wide variety of topics. The program teaches participants how to set goals, plan, budget and where to find resources available for them as they venture into their small farm operation.

The courses lay out how to manage financial and farm records. Extension educators illustrate many different enterprises that can be profitable on land as small as 1 acre. To round out the experience, a bus tour takes participants to area farms to see firsthand how small farm life works.

“Since 2005, past New and Small Farm Colleges have helped over 900 individuals representing more than 600 farms from 60 Ohio counties improve the economic development of their small family-owned farms,” Corboy said.