Calling all Team-BHP Farmers : The Farming Thread!

[jeepster]

hi guys,
as per today's statistics there are 74,339 threads, 20,44,286 posts & 62,723 bhpians.

& i thought there must be some farmers or farm-owners here on teambhp, right?
so i am starting this thread specifically for farm pictures, details like what do you grow there, where it is & other queries if you have any.


note:
please don't post about friends farm here. (its ok if he is bhpian)
it should be yours, your siblings, your parents or grand parents only. (other wise owned by your primary family member)

[jeepster]

ok here is our farm in ter near osmanabad.

• 24 acres.
• currently we have sugarcane in 20 acres.
• two bulls. (deoni breed)
• two cows. (deoni breed)
• 3 calves of different ages. (deoni breed)
• one semi dead HMT 5911.
• one bore well & a open-well.

this picture was taken back in 1994. (at the place shown in first pic as no. 3 )
from left to right my dad, his friend, me, jeeps driver behind me, my late grandma & my jeep. (the bulls are not included)

BTW some info about TER.

The Telegraph - Calcutta : Nation

Osmanabad- Ter - India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com

[TaureanBull]

I am impressed. A unique thread. We have several acres in Pataudi, Gurgaon. No pics as of now. I dream of making my farmhouse sometimes in future.

However, threat of acquisition is looming large. I am not sure but it has been declared a residential zone. Yet to get a confirmation of above.

[SILVERWOOD]

I own 26 acres of dry land in my home town, karnataka.

Currently, it is on annual lease.I will certainly click few pictures and post them for sure.

[akshay4587]

I stay at a farmhouse,(not that big-Just 8 Acres),and we have rented out the land.
Am i elgible to post?

[jkdas]

Thanks lord its not about farmville !

Nice bull Are they of hybrid breed?

[.anshuman]

We do have farms in Haryana which yield a very good output. We grow Rice, Wheat and Cotton. Will post the pics soon.

[samy3660]

We have 3 acres farm land in kamshet near lonavala, where we grow organic wheat, rice and some other stuffs for personal consumption.

[rm_arjuna]

we own 63 acres in AP & Karnataka in various sizes from 2 acres to 15acres . We cultivate sunflower,jowar,til,Tur dhal, groundnut , Paddy , Tobacco, onion,chilly ,
5 acres mango orchard & 4 acres areca nut and also sheep farm with more than 100 sheeps.I will post pictures after my visit in dec. holidays

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Nice bull Are they of hybrid breed?

no its maharashtrian DEONI breed.

http://zplatur.gov.in/htmldocs/Anima...toGallery.html

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I stay at a farmhouse,(not that big-Just 8 Acres),and we have rented out the land.
Am i elgible to post?

rented? for how much?
please post the pictures.

Originally Posted by samy3660

where we grow organic wheat, rice and some other stuffs for personal consumption.

at least you are not wasting our national property.
there are many businessman who buy farms at dirt cheap rates & the sell off making lots of money.

Originally Posted by rm_arjuna

we own 63 acres in AP & Karnataka

please post the pictures.

[maddy42]

Our family is into the coffee and paddy cultivation. Some of our fields and farmhouse are here.

Have like 20 odd cows and buffaloes. 3 dogs too.

1 old international jeep and Massey ferguson tractor are the work horses for us.


Top left is our farm house, Middle is the field, and lower circle is the new estate
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[maddy42]

Jeep








The pet is austin. He is no more but my favorite pet to date. Was one awesome guy!

[selfdrive]

All of us have aspirations and career related ambitions. Some of us are clear enough to know the career of their calling and work towards it. Some others change their professions midway in their career as their interests, knowledge and objectives develop or saturate. Some other people are not clear what they really want to do or are unable to know how to go about it.

Somewhere in my subconscious a thought took root. A thought that I am watering with my interests and would like to nurture. Something I would like to do - farming. Now, do I have it in me to be a farmer? I dont really know but I would like to find out. The dual challenge is that I know nothing about it and I dont own any land. While the second part can be redressed somewhere down the line, the first part needs to be clarified thoroughly. I intend to work on this as a project and invest most of my efforts on getting the design part correct so that I can expect and understand the issues that will arise later during the actual implementation.

The timeline I have for implementation is 30 months from now: April 2 2014 (so that no jokes about All Fools day are made). This is for the actual 'go live' date and I would ideally like to test this adequately before I start full throttle.

I expect this to be a vegetarian thing, so I dont expect to rear/ breed animals, poultry or fish (or anything else that has a head/ eyes)

In terms of land, it has to be owned by me/ us (based on legal/ tax obligations as defined by our friendly CA).
How do I go about things though?
Are there any websites that offer farming land for sale?
If so, are there any consultants to evaluate it in terms of productivity?
I presume a farmer card will be required, but I dont have any farmer card in my immediate family. How and where can I obtain this?

This are only the initial questions and as this project rolls further, I will definitely have other questions and hopefully more answers as well.

I appreciate advice from all quarters to answer these questions and any others that we can think of.

As for the carrots, I guess I can only offer helpful bhpians the opportunity to come and work on the farm for a day!

[tsk1979]

since I come from a family of farmers, let me help you there.
First of all, do not view India as one country when it comes to farming. Depends on where you live and how you live, who were your forefathers, what is your cast, creed religion, and whats the color of your hair, different rules apply (okay, hair color was a bit too much).

For example, you need to buy Agricultural land.
In certain areas, only people whose "gotra" belongs to farming community can buy agricultural land.
Thats why, you will find, that almost all farmers in PB are jats.

So first thing you need to find out, is "Can you buy agricultural land"?

Thats the big bit.

About the rest, here are your options
1. Food crops like wheat and rice
If you live in an area with abundant water(eg Ganges plains), you can grow rice, otherwise you grow wheat. Yield can range from 20,000 /acre to 30,000 but when crop is good, expect 10,000, because you will have to throw away half your grain. The local trader mafia will offer you half your support price, and as usual the govt will be so lazy that by the time it will come around collecting your grain, half will have rotted. So you sell all for half price, or sell half for full price
2. Fruits
Better deal business wise, but you need 3 years for returns to start. Companies take orchards on rent, and will give you lump sum based on state of crop. Harvesting, and procuring is then their headache, you just water and fertilize and drug your plants
3. Flowers and other exotica
Most money. but most hard work. You need connections in big cities to sell such stuff, and if you can make that, it will give you yields of upto 100000-200000/acre

That said, first find out whether you can buy agricultural land, and after that do a 1 year diploma in farming from any agricultural university. PAU Ludhiana is among the best, and they keep having good seminars etc.,. But then Punjab is a farmer state, so finding such level of education may be difficult in your area.

Since you do not belong to a farming family, you will need to do that course. No way out.
I have tilled fields with tractors just for fun, yet I hardly know the nitty grities. Given a few months I could probably manage a farm, but thats because I am from that background.

For an outsider, you are on your own.

And last but not the least, you will have to leave your regular job if you really want to do farming, and not just rent out your farming land to some farmer on "theka".

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

since I come from a family of farmers, let me help you there.

Thanks sir, much appreciated!

First of all, do not view India as one country when it comes to farming. Depends on where you live and how you live, who were your forefathers, what is your cast, creed religion, and whats the color of your hair, different rules apply (okay, hair color was a bit too much).

That could be a problem as I am of Telugu origin but live in maharashtra. I do speak Marathi fluently so I have some hope. Everything else except hair colour is an issue. No hair = no issue!

So first thing you need to find out, is "Can you buy agricultural land"?
Thats the big bit.

About the rest, here are your options
1. Food crops like wheat and rice
If you live in an area with abundant water(eg Ganges plains), you can grow rice, otherwise you grow wheat. Yield can range from 20,000 /acre to 30,000 but when crop is good, expect 10,000, because you will have to throw away half your grain. The local trader mafia will offer you half your support price, and as usual the govt will be so lazy that by the time it will come around collecting your grain, half will have rotted. So you sell all for half price, or sell half for full price
I intend to sell direct. I can organise transport, logistics etc. I will sow as done in the area where the land is located. I presume this will depend on soil, weather, irrigation etc.

2. Fruits
Better deal business wise, but you need 3 years for returns to start. Companies take orchards on rent, and will give you lump sum based on state of crop. Harvesting, and procuring is then their headache, you just water and fertilize and drug your plants
This sounds a good option, but in this case the companies would dictate the type of crop based on requirements. Perhaps a combination of the first two would be ideal

3. Flowers and other exotica
I have an allergy to most floral smells, so I guess I wont be able to get my hands dirty on this one

That said, first find out whether you can buy agricultural land, and after that do a 1 year diploma in farming from any agricultural university. PAU Ludhiana is among the best, and they keep having good seminars etc.,. But then Punjab is a farmer state, so finding such level of education may be difficult in your area.

This is a fantastic idea. I will start with the local Agricultural college and see what I can find!

And last but not the least, you will have to leave your regular job if you really want to do farming, and not just rent out your farming land to some farmer on "theka".
yes sir! This is the reason why the timeframe for the project is 30 months. I will need some time to get the finances in order and ensure progress is steady and the change is managed well.
It will be a conscious (and hopefully successful) effort to ensure that we integrate into that lifestyle rather than live in the city and rent out the farm to someone else.

Thanks tsk. My answers in bold italics where relevant