So much of farming is about timing. The difference between planting strawberries in November compared to strawberries in January can be the difference between having a few pounds per plant and having a handful per plant. Putting fall greens in the ground in September can get you a harvest in November; putting them in the ground in October gets you a harvestable product in February or March. I've been chasing the clock since my old landlords started trying to remove me from the old location last January.
The fall expansion plans were another attempt to chase the clock and try to get enough space into production to sustain the farm over the winter. We missed the window on this year's strawberries; next year's have to be in the ground in November, and there's not enough space to both have strawberries and put in enough greens to harvest through the winter at a rate that could maintain myself and my manager at even $10/hour. I thought my option was to borrow more money, race the clock to get more land into production... but this is why I surround myself with people who look at things differently. My dad made the point that if I didn't beat the clock, the money I borrowed to try would be wasted and due back at the time I needed it most. He suggested I borrow just to get through the winter. But my boyfriend had the million dollar idea - presell some of the spring strawberry harvest.
There are still some kinks to work out, but I think this is the winner. If I sell roughly a third of the expected harvest now, it'll be enough to get through the winter even if I can't harvest anything from the crops I'll interplant with the strawberries. Then I add the cost of the expansion to the FSA loan package, and take the winter to get the new rows up and ready for production with everything they'll need - grade the land properly, shape beds properly, cover the whole thing in caterpillar tunnels and put in automated irrigation. Get them producing early spring, and roll forward from there with everything I need to produce at a level that can cover both expenses and expansion. And finally stop chasing the clock.
