1. Not diversifying income streams soon enough

We all know the stress of drought, flooding, inconsistent weather patterns, late frost, distribution difficulties, poor government funding for many, high input costs, things constantly breaking, systems needing to be changed, volatile commodity pricing, suppliers suddenly dropping you for the cheaper price. Being a farmer is stressful, especially if you are single-crop dependent or don’t have a back-up income source in the current climate of this economy. Branching out into opportunities like: agritourism, creating farm stays, developing your own delivery network/CSA program, incorporating additional crops on your rotation, processing raw products on site, agroforestry, subscription-based reporting services, hiking or fishing leases, event spaces (weddings, corporate retreats, photography destination, farm-to-table meals, etc). 

2. Not seeing the benefits of biological diversity

In both soil and crop species, without enough biodiversity on the farm: you are absolutely shooting yourself in the foot. Incorporating a few more trees or a biodiversity corridor could 1) provide an additional income, 2) boost carbon credits, 3) revitalize your soil, 4) increase water retention, 5) build soil with the extra organic matter, 6) more roots mean better soil structure and less risk of flooding or erosion. Add in some livestock circulating through those systems - as in regenerative grazing sequencing – and you almost double those benefits! You can: (1) skyrocket your soils nutrient intake, but also: (2) boost pest resilience, (3) recycle nitrogen & phosphorus between plants and animals, (4) increase soil metabolism, (5) increase water retention, (6) completely demolish the need for chemical fertiliser, (7) expand microbial + mycelium activity in the soil, (8) increase complex organic biopolymers in the soil … AND … (9) boost an ecosystems overall ability to self-regulate, further reducing costs for the farmer!

3. Profit over soil health

   
   

Now I know this isn’t intentional; we’re all just trying to do our best. But at the end of the day, if you don’t pay attention to the health of your soil: you are creating more costs for yourself and more headaches. It’s difficult to imagine something different when all you’ve known is survival. It doesn’t need to be that way anymore. 

4. Not seeing the income potential of alternative Agriculture concepts

Right, I know you have your systems (or an idea of what your system will look like) in place, and the prospect of changing that so drastically is daunting, so let me speak simply: ROI (return on investment). Think about halving your operation and making double the profit. Biointensive agriculture philosophies like Permaculture, Agroforestry and Biodynamics are not only an incredible investment for the health of the farm-scape, but the opportunity to 1) not only diversify your income stream and potential, but 2) adding a large premium to raw goods [let alone when you process those raw goods on site (e.g. butter, pickled vegetables, jams, flour, dried fruit, wine, etc).

5. Having an open-loop system

We all know the crippling pricing of inputs, not just financially but ecologically. It remains clear: agrochemicals and tillage are polluting and slowly killing our soils. Creating a closed-loop system, in which you are producing your own inputs on site is: not only 1) cheaper (potentially completely free), 2) creating a living soil (an investment for the future), 3) reducing or eradicating waste production, 4) enhancing biodiversity, 5) increasing resilience against pests, disease, weather, climate, the ebb-and-flow of the (local, regional, provincial, national and global) economic climate.