The ABC's of Alternative Agriculture

As we write this, wholesale vegetable dealers in Minneapolis are paying $4 per pound for French beans and $2 per pound for scallopini. This should be enough to get the attention of any farmer who has been fighting anemic grain prices. How can a farmer cash in on vegetable prices rivaling those for choice cuts of beef? Or, for that matter, just what is a scallopini? This is all part of one of the big stories of farming in the 1980's alternative agriculture.

Alternative agriculture is difficult to define. For some, it is as simple as ABC: asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower. For others, it might be llamas or catfish. One farmer joked that alternative agriculture is any new crop he thinks of first and then watches his neighbor get rich from growing.

No matter what its definition, alternative agriculture always involves choices among enterprises that are not usually grown in a particular farming area. This atypical entrepreneurial choice, more than anything else, is what makes alternative agriculture unique, from a farm management point of view. Traditionally, farmers have considered such choices as "corn or soybeans?" or "hogs or cattle?" But rarely have many considered "corn or strawberries?" Alternative crops offer new opportunities, but they also provide new challenges. Instead of choosing from a few traditional options, farmers may be faced with dozens of alternatives and they may have to learn new farming practices.

Why Alternatives?

Some farmers seem to be born for business. They see the opportunities for marketing to well-heeled consumers. If these consumers are willing to pay sky-high prices for vegetables with names most people cannot even pronounce much less grow successfully these born-for-business farmers are willing to try to meet that demand. And, most likely, these farmers will succeed.

Unfortunately, many farmers turn to alternatives only when they are faced with continual poor returns from traditional crops. Some farmers succeed. For example, some small farmers in southern Maryland questioned the future of tobacco production and turned to vegetables or hogs in time to avert disaster. They had the skills and market access to play the new game. But many grain farmers in other parts of the country found themselves without the labor, capital, or markets necessary to do any better with raspberries than they could with wheat.

While the farm crisis caused farmers to look at alternative agriculture in the 1980's, concerns about the environment may well be the big factor in the 1990's. Already we are seeing livestock bans proposed for areas near critical water supplies, and key herbicides are being withdrawn from legal use on corn. These changes can force the farmer to consider new enterprises and production practices just as $1.50 corn can. But alternative agriculture is simply not big enough to include all U.S. farmers. Only those who consider it early and study it seriously will succeed.

Headache No. 1

We visited one farmer in southern Maryland who had a particularly large family. We asked how he chose his crops that year. He said he did it by matching the jobs each of his children could do to the jobs each crop required. Not all of us have a labor force of children, but we can all benefit from the wisdom of his answer. It is essential to have adequate labor throughout the season for whatever alternatives are considered.

Labor requirements for alternative crops have many important dimensions. One is obvious if an enterprise requires so many hours of labor per acre, make sure you have that many hours available. But there are at least three other factors that are just as important. First, consider the timing of the labor requirements. Many alternatives use most of the labor during a short period of the season. Second, some crops require special crew sizes or work during odd hours of the day. Hanging tobacco is not a one-person operation no matter how much time that person has. Minnesota cauliflower is best harvested in the very early morning to keep it cool. And third, some alternatives require skilled labor. Unskilled harvest labor can quickly ruin a marketing plan that depends on delivering quality products.

When labor is in short supply, consider this problem in comparing budgets for enterprises. Most crop budgets, for example, are prepared on a per-acre basis. Comparing budgets for two similar crops such as corn and soybeans is easier than comparing per-acre budgets for corn and strawberries. The higher labor requirements for one acre of strawberries might force a farmer to give up many acres of corn. Therefore, an acre-for-acre comparison, as opposed to a whole farm comparison, does not give an accurate analysis of profits. Always consider how the entire operation will change with alternatives. (See Part II, Chapter 9 on opportunity costs.)

Even in an area where farm labor is in short supply or the farm manager is not the type to manage a large number of workers, do not rule out agricultural alternatives. Simply be careful about choosing an alternative. In southern Maryland, some tobacco farmers found a good source of supplemental income in hogs. The swine alternative actually took much less labor than their main crop of tobacco.

County Extension Agent Dan Donnelly (L) looks over berry crop grown by James R. Owens. The Owens farm once had tobacco as a main crop but now offers a variety of vegetables and berries to southern Maryland customers. (USDA photo by Larry Rana, 89BW1036-23)

Machinery and Capital

Choose an enterprise that makes good use of existing equipment, or at least give the matter serious thought. New specialized equipment adds a financial burden to an already risky venture. At the same time, it is important to be creative about how equipment can be used for other purposes. More than one southern Maryland tobacco barn has been converted inexpensively into a hog barn.

The capital requirements for alternative agriculture also deserve close attention. These types of crops are usually expensive to grow. Budgeting petunia seed at $1,000 per ounce for a new bedding plant operation could be difficult. Unfortunately for most farmers forced into alternative agriculture, capital is the limiting resource. That limit, even more than labor, can put a damper on any venture into alternatives.

Doris Roberts finds the southern Maryland pick-your-own strawberry farm a tasty place to spend her morning. (USDA photo by Larry Rana, 89BW1036-31)

While some bankers are quick to accept business plans for traditional enterprises, they may be skeptical of a sure-fire asparagus plan. Asparagus will be new to them, and they will rightly require solid financial documents to convince them that the plan is sound.