Alright, time for a thread on how we started our farm from scratch with no bank loans and no USDA ag loans or grants! Still involves debt, but also some awesome people (and a great deal of privilege).

To get this farm started we needed 1) land; 2) cows; 3) milking parlor and cheese processing plant and equipment; 4) money to operate

We started with four calves and kept them at a friend's place and then Ranae's parents' farm and gradually added a few more calves.

We then got our cheese equipment when a couple of women interested in local foods and farms offered us a $10,000 loan at the same time an Iowan cheesemaker was calling it quits and selling. Equipment sat for years, but we realized people will put money into their interests.

Then we were approached by a couple that wanted there to be more small family farms in Iowa and were looking to buy a farm and rent it to a young couple. It didn't work out exactly that way, but another realization of what people were willing to do.

We talked to a financially-savvy family member that has never been involved in ag and told them about the value of Iowa farmland. They saw it as a safe investment and bought the farm which we now rent from them at market rates. Wonderful and supportive landlords.

Access to land is a giant hurdle to beginning farmers, so this was huge. 80 acres in Iowa was ~$650,000. How are new farmers supposed to swing that? We moved out to the farm but still needed ~$300,000 for a dairy building that would pass regulations.

Banks and USDA not comfortable with something they hadn't seen before, we put together options for private investment. 1) Become an LLC member and share in company profits; 2) 10 year low interest rate loan; 3) 3 year slightly higher interest rate loan.

We had a 48-page business plan full of projections and a deck of powerpoint slides. Lots of emails, lots of phone calls, and we put classifieds in local papers advertising meetings where we pitched our business idea along with plates of free cheese.

We found about 30 serious and amazing people who either bought into the LLC or loaned us money. Former dairy farmers, corn/soy/hog farmers, local business owners, local food/farm enthusiasts, former Iowans. People want to see more farms back on the landscape!

We also had a few small loans, like one from USDA Rural Development through our local telephone company (intended for businesses) and were in @practicalfarmer's Beginning Farmer Grant Program. Plus LOTS of help from people who didn't invest any $.

We built the building, we passed the inspections, in 2016 we sold our first wedge of cheese. Since then we have operated like many small business start-ups. We did not expect profits in our early years, but we have made progress and moved in the right direction every year.

Cash flow (having the right amount of money at the right time) is often tough. Our initial plans were best guesses of our costs and we didn't want to borrow more than we needed, so we've taken additional loans along the way. Stressful, but how most farms/new businesses operate.

People told us start-ups should not expect to be profitable until year five, but the same people are now telling us 10 years is more common. We'll see (year 4 = 2020). We continue to adjust our business model to cut costs, increase sales, and make smart investments.

There are not a lot of options to start a farm when you don't have one and this keeps many people out of farming. This is what we've tried and we're happy to talk more details with anyone who needs them.

If you are inspired by the people who invested in our farm and would like to help a great potential beginning farmer, check out this fundraiser by @SHDCheese and @documentarypoem . https://www.gofundme.com/f/blackland2020