Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness- Thomas Jefferson
Hello steemians, greetings to you all. Welcome to the fifth edition of this series - Agric Digest
The last post highlighted what we need to establish a farm ranging from passion/knowledge to getting vital information on agriculture market.
In this edition we will be looking at qualities that a homesteader of a farmer must possess to be successful in the Agriculture world.
The goal of every farmer is to be successful in his farming endeavors. To every thing in life, there is a principle to succeed in such things.
Behind every great and successful farmer you know or have heard are distinct qualities.
QUALITIES OF A SUCCESSFUL FARMER
Resilience/Perseverance and Passion: Resilience, according to me means not given up. Agriculture and farming are expensive in times of time, strength and motivation. Just like life, agriculture has ups and downs. Every business in the world is faced with risks and challenges. Hence, there is a need for you to possess resilience when things start going bad such as disease outbreaks and low yield.
So many farm and homestead have shut down during the period of disease outbreaks due to lack of passion which would have kept them going and looking for solutions. Such farmers become downcast and tend to abandon what they have labored on, instead of them looking for a way out. Many of them result in selling their farm and tagging themselves as a failure.
Also due to financial problem, your farm might experience some problems like you not been able to feed your animal or carry out some management practices which will affect your farm. Although this might be due to proper planning and foresight, the mistake has been made, so you bear the consequence and move on.
Farming is not easy and such you must neither be easy with the challenges you will face in the course of agriculture.
Perseverance is a function of passion. Every farmer must love what they do which includes there farm and all that is in it. Passion is what birth the not giving up mentality. The agriculture and farming world will throw the stones of diseases, weeds, small money and bad pricing of products; it is your passion that will keep you going
Farming is loving, hence you must love what you do for your farm and products to be love; customers only buy what they love.
Creativity and Innovation: Although the technology aspect of farming is developing, it still has not circulated to the small-scale farmers and homesteaders. Hence the notion of using what you have to get what you want must be encouraged and applied.
Use what you have to get what you want
Learn to see the additional roles certain implements, plants, animals, and structures can play in your farms. Find out how to utilize every waste. Every waste and by-products on the farm is another useful product to the farm or the world. Feces could be used to make compost and a source of energy although that requires a high level of technology. Eggshells have been used as fertilizer for individual plants as they supply a high degree of calcium. It is also used in place of polythene bags in nursery section of different plants. Individual plants can serve as alternatives to antibiotics for animals to their anti-oxidizing, and other anti-working characteristics. Example of such plants is Neem tree which I worked using broiler birds which acted as antibiotics to the animals.
The beauty of a farmer/homesteader lies in his ability to transform things.
Farmers are an agent of transformation (seed into plants, small animals into big animals). These should be extended to other parts of the farms, not the plants and animals alone.
Those planks of woods and metals lying down around your farm do have usefulness if only you will see them.
Management skill: Every farmer must be a good manager irrespective of having one in your farmer as it contributes mostly to the smooth running of the farm. You must be able to make the right decision when your farm calls for it such as decisions on finances, product market price and maintenance of the farm.
Time management is also an important part of farm management because farming involves season. All other attributes discussed in this post are what makes a good manager.
Researcher/Reader/Willing to learn: Ignorance is not restricted outside agriculture. In fact, it is one of the greatest things that kills a farm apart from diseases. So many diseases and problems on farms will have been averted if farmers were readers. People who are not farmers yet are even vast in farming than the peasant which ought not to be. Spoilage which is one of the factors responsible for the down-trend of agriculture which is mainly a function of ignorance.
The quote" readers are leaders" explain why a good producer who is also a leader on his farm must read and must research by trying something new. Hence your reading will complement and boost your managerial skills.
Steemit is also playing a role in averting agricultural ignorance as there several homesteaders trying something new and sharing various methods of farming. For instance, i learned the use of eggs in farms as compost here on steemit. But I did not stop there; I made some research also.
Research and reading are influencer's of creativity.
Sensitivity: This involves paying attention to everything about your farm to the smallest details. You should be sensitive to your plants and animals, product market, feed price, feed composition and market price. You must have knowledge of everything on your farm.
Communication: You must be able to communicate with anyone working on your farmers and buyers of your products. Buyers sometimes are a good source of information for advancing the farmers. Hence you must have excellent communication skills. Anyone working on your farm should be treated as your family.
These qualities are the guaranteed pathways to success in farming. I hope you follow them.
THANKS FOR READING
THE AGRICULTURE WORLD NEEDS YOU. INVEST IN AGRICULTURE.
Other posts in this series
Agric Digest #1: State of the Untapped Mine (Agriculture)
Agric Digest 2: Agriculture Finance-The bloodline of Agriculture
7 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Agriculture (Agric Digest #3)
How to Establish A backyard Farm/Homestead/Small Scale Farm (Agric Digest 4)
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