Starting a farm today is challenging, and it often takes “blood, sweat and tears” to be successful, according to farmers in Augusta County.
Some of the setbacks include the price of land and livestock, lack of credit, high interest rates, equipment and infrastructure costs and the development of available land, to name a few.
With a generation of farmers now retiring, many younger farmers are getting creative in order to acquire the land needed to get started.
Augusta County farmers Austin and Nikita McNett set out to start their own business in Rockingham County but the price of land was a barrier. While they waited to buy their own land, they started sharecropping on rented land.
“The price per acre was so high,” said Austin McNett. “And we don’t have that war chest of generational farming.”
They were turned away from traditional banks for financing because they lacked assets for collateral.
A New Hope farmer reached out to them in 2019 when they were looking to sell their farm.
The McNetts were able to get some financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, but it wasn’t enough to purchase the land. The owner stepped up to finance the other half of the land for them.
“We robbed Peter to pay Paul, poured blood, sweat and tears to get where we are today,” Austin McNett told Virginia Farm Bureau News magazine.
They now raise feeder cattle and goats, manage a cow-calf operation and grow crops. They’ve also secured another 52 acres of land nearby. They launched a retail meat business, McNett’s Angus Beef.
A specialist with Virginia Farm Bureau Federation said building trust with long-established farmers takes time.
“Short-term contracts are a smart way to build a herd, farm experience and equity,” said Rachel Henley, a working lands and state advocacy specialist with VFBF.
A Madison County couple faced similar challenges and got their break by knocking on the door of a farm that appeared to have underutilized land.
Roger Scott, and his wife, veterinarian Dr. Amanda Weakley-Scott, got their start renting a 350-acre Orange County farm in 2013.
“I went and knocked on (the owner’s) door,” Roger Scott said. “I told him we’ll bushhog it twice a year and take care of the fertilization.”
Also unable to afford livestock, the Scotts worked out a deal for 75 cows from another farmer and split the sales.
“We couldn’t get the loan for the cows, so we built up some equity and sweat equity, and then we were able to transition to buying the cows,” said Roger Scott. “It was a perfect way for a retiring farmer to help out a younger farmer, so they don’t have to borrow a lot of capital.”
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Crystal Graham
