I was raised in the city, living many years in apartments or houses with no designated space to garden. House plants were about the extent of my experience. As a teenager, I tried to grow a vegetable garden but failed miserably. With no rake, no hoe, and no YouTube, I had no understanding of how to plant, cultivate and keep things alive. Most importantly, I lacked mentors. The following spring, I tried again and failed again.

Years later, with the experience forgotten, I was dating a handsome school teacher. He had grown up on a farm and yearned to dig in the dirt and I lived in a city house with a small backyard. One day he shyly approached me and asked me if he could put a vegetable garden in my backyard. Sure, why not?

RJ grew an amazing variety, tending his garden with care. He always knew exactly what the plants needed and when. He made it look so easy. He showered me with an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. I was in love, and I jokingly tell people that I knew I would never starve if I married this man.

In 1993 we tied the knot and then harvested the tomatoes. We established an urban farm! I made up for what I lacked in experience and knowledge with enthusiasm and a head for business. People were amazed at the volume of food coming out of our garden. RJ was the talk of the neighborhood! It was an enchanting time, and after a few years, we began to talk about growing more and started our search for a larger piece of land. In 2007, we found a 10-acre plot outside Topeka, ready to purchase. After we made the move to Kansas, the owner decided he couldn’t bear to part with his land. We kept looking.

We moved into a small city house in Topeka, weathering the economic crisis of 2008. We hung on by the skin of our teeth, postponing the search for a farm and using our down payment to survive. We continued teaching school and raising our two kids. In 2011 we finally moved to a 3-acre country home in Auburn, thinking this would be the closest we would get to a farm, end of story. There is a lot that can be grown on 3 acres, though. We bought a flock of laying hens, planted some fruit trees, and got a vegetable garden going. This journey in farming was about to take us on a wild ride.

We got to know our next-door neighbors, they had been trying off and on for 8 years to sell their farm, but they were being pinched by the same economic crunch as the rest of the country. In 2015 RJ toured their property and came home very excited. “Honey! I think this is our dream farm. You should see this! It has grazing pastures and a big pond.”

The farm had been owned by a loving 4H family and was full of their memories and experiences. Their children had grown, and the farm had fallen asleep. It was overgrown with poison ivy, scrubby trees, and mass quantities of noxious weeds. The place called out to be loved again. The sellers were thrilled that we were going to make it come alive. However, the owners refused to split the land from the 2500-square-foot house on the property. My husband confidently reassured me, “Honey, I know you can turn this into something special...” He made my lack of gardening skills seem less painful. We finally purchased 80 acres and named it Hidden Hill Farms.

This 80 acres was 4 times the size I thought our homestead farm would be. This space would feed a lot more than our family. We would be able to feed the world one tomato at a time! It was clear, we needed a strategic plan and an order of operations. The farm would need to become a BUSINESS. Having taught school all my life, I wouldn’t dare teach a class without a plan, or take a trip without having a destination. The same is true for a farm.

We set our plan in motion by working backwards. We had to make some decisions. We used a big whiteboard as our brainstorming center, and the ideas came rolling out: What was already in place that we could profit from? What did we want the farm to become? What goods and services did we want to produce and sell? What could our farm produce? Who would be our customers?

First, we defined our mission and purpose:

1. To grow healthy food to sell to our community, provide a place of rest and relaxation, offer an opportunity for people to gain an appreciation for agriculture, to know how their food is grown, and depend on us for their supply.

2. Develop agritourism: create a Farm Stay experience, give tours, educate people, and develop the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

Next, we would evaluate the land, water resources, and existing structures. What was already in place? What are our skill sets? Who do we know that can help us? What should we tackle first? How much will it cost, and can we afford to wait for the return on investment?

Each of us brought our unique skill set to the operation. It was a priority to restore the pasture for cattle and prep the garden spaces. I didn’t know how to clear land, but my husband did. He and our son spent months clearing the overgrown land using loaders, chainsaws, etc. RJ also insisted we employ a team of goats to do the clearing. They helped us save money, conserve fuel, eliminate chemicals, reduce work, and improve the land. Goats are a great green team, effectively munching away the debris.

I knew how to renovate the house for the Farm Stay. The first year, we put renters in to give us some time to think and generate a steady source of income. The agritourism space would encompass a manageable 5 acres. It was the easiest thing to start with and could be divided into smaller projects. Our daughter helped us with branding and worked on refining many aspects of the Farm Stay.

Plan Time

Our family began regular planning meetings. The big whiteboard had 4 columns

The project and purpose

What are the costs and timeline for completion? Is there grant money for our project?

Who does it? What skills were needed to complete? Who will we hire /cost etc?

Permits necessary (if any)

This gave us clear direction, and we could visually check it off the list when we accomplished something. It feels great to see our progress and how much we have been able to do in a short time.

Assess Your Situation

What features does your land have? Let it speak to you. What goods and services will you be able to sell? Who is your customer? What is your endgame? This is one of the most important questions to answer. For example, you may make amazing jellies and jams from your berry patch. Do you have buyers? Would your time be better spent selling the berries instead of processing them? Do pies sell better?

What turns around your profit and time the best?

I started with laying hens and selling their eggs. As I gained customers, they told me what they would buy from me. We expanded into meat chickens, and honey as a result of customer requests.

Make it Manageable

How much do you need to invest to get going? Can you break your investment into phases to start bringing in revenue? What infrastructure is already in place to support your choice? Start with the easiest thing.

Confidence to Act

Believe in yourself. You must be confident that your products are the best and that your customers need what you have. You must be able to bring in money to make a living. There is a misnomer about vegetable farmers out there that says we should give away our extra veggies for free. Your work, time, and investment are valuable. There is a difference between a hobby farm and a farm for profit. Function like a business.

Resilience

You will have failures. There are so many factors we cannot control, weather, predators, interest rates, etc. learn from them and try something different. Don’t be too emotionally attached to an idea if it’s not working. Let it go and invest your time and talent into something else.

Community

Mr. Rogers used to say, “Look for the helping people” He was right. Many wonderful people are out there waiting to support local growers and businesses. Develop relationships with them and share your vision for your farm. You will be surprised at how many helping people are out there.

Remember that even though you work for your farm, ultimately, you have to make your farm work for you. It is a reflection of the amazing skills and talents you have been blessed with to be able to call yourself a farmer.

So what is your main goal for your farm? Do you want to raise vegetables? Sell them at a farmers’ market? Keep bees and sell honey? You don’t need a lot of land to begin turning around marketable items. Our Farm Stay, laying hen coops, meat bird pastures, vegetable high tunnels, and beehives are on only 5 acres. The rest is grazing space for our grass-fed beef. You can do a lot on a small space.

Angela Dake is the owner of Hidden Hill Farms LLC in Auburn, Kansas. She and her husband RJ run an agritourism farm which includes farm stays, farm experiences, tours, classes, farm camp, and special events. They raise cow-calf pairs and produce grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, fresh seasonal produce, eggs, and honey. RJ runs a custom haying operation and does farm consulting. Both have been presenters at conferences and teach classes on agricultural topics.

Visit their farm this Spring for the garden and homesteading workshop day, April 22. More info on their wedbsite:www.hiddenhillfarms.com

Facebook: @hiddenhillfarms

Instagram:@hiddenhillfarms

Youtube: @hiddenhillfarms7619

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