Pointers to get started in farming?

Farm Questions
1

I have just inherited some land. Planning to do farming there, any pointers to help me get started ?

2

Hi Trupti,

Mind sharing where your land is located and the acreage ?? What are your goals? Do you want to go commercial? Please let us know so that some of the experts here can suggest something.

3

It’s in Ahmednagar district, about 7 acres. I cannot leave my current job and pay full-time attention to the land. But also not feeling like letting it go waste through laziness / ignorance. Thinking of planting some fruit trees or something which will not expect me to be around all the time - will appreciate help in this. Wondering where to sell the produce too. Might leave the job in 4-5 years if farming turns out to be interesting.

It doesn’t have a well / house / fence / tractor yet. What should I get done first ? I guess the house can wait, since I’m not planning to stay there right now anyways. How much will the fence cost ? Want to get it done more as a demarcation than as a cattle deterrent - there’s no plants there yet. Don’t know the dimensions of the area, but assuming it’s square. :stuck_out_tongue: Road on one side, so I guess no need to get the fence done that side yet. Will need to get the well dug too. Is a borewell enough ? I’ve been advised to get a “real” well since it can be used to store water. What do you think ? Any idea of the cost difference betn a regular well and a borewell ? Maybe I can rent a tractor from someone as required - any idea how much it costs to buy / rent ?

Sorry, don’t know what is meant by “go commercial” ? Guess I need to sell the produce somewhere … else no point growing it :stuck_out_tongue:

Totally new to this :smiley:

4

Trupti,

Secure the Perimeter !!! Borewell should be good to start with but Investing in a tank to harvest rain water makes sense than leeching from the water table all the time.

Anything you plant needs care and attention in the initial years. Dont waste your money if you or someone on your behalf cannot look after it. What you should grow mainly depends on your goals. So ask yourself what you need from your land and i am sure you will find answers. If you are in ahmednagar, you dont have to worry about “where to sell”

“else no point growing it” ----- How about as retirement activity or as investment for your grand children??? :slight_smile:

5

Hi Trupti,
you need not buy tractor, you get it easily on rent. In jalgaon district you could get it for 800+ rs /acre to get the job done on rent . If you can not visit regularly you need to have a caretaker , called as “saaldaar” . Typically in jalgaon peoples pay aprox 35-40k/year + 2/3 bags of jowar/bajara and some more similar commodity stuff .

Regarding fencing check if cattle been grazed nearby your land or your land to easily accessible, if yes you need to think of fencing initially .

If you are planning well, this is right time to plan so that it will be done by summer.
If you are planning for a watershed Maharshtra government gives a good subsidy for this development.

Also for horticulture (lime/sweet lime/pomegranate) etc you get subsidy of aprox 30+k/hecatar (Disbursed in 3 years) .

You may need to do soil testing and they could give good recommendations.

Please refer mahanhm.gov.in/static_pages/page12a.php

Do let me know if you need brochure for the same, today I got one to understand the goverment process .

Borewell will cost you Aprox 40k and well aprox 1.5lacks (recently one of the farmers from jamner told me this figure).

Thanks

6

Good stuff, ppb.
Would you be able to post the brochure scan or the contents? Thanks.

Edit: Apologies for making you take the trouble and thanks for the scans - but it looks like they are hard to read - I am removing them, let’s find another source.

7

Thanks for the replies agri_exec, ppb and Chandra 8) .

Is there any link for finding out how to collect the soil for analysis ? I imagine I’ll need to collect samples from various parts / depths ?

yeah, planning for retirement is a good idea. also seems to me that the fruits we get in the market aren’t really as good as my childhood ones … maybe just old tastebuds :stuck_out_tongue: . Anyway, so thinking of trying to grow fruits. really miss :frowning: the ratnagiri hapoos :smiley: we used to get in Pune - i know i can’t grow the same in Ahmednagar, but can try some other fruits.

8

Soil samples can be collected any time of the year except Monsoons. Each field to be sampled should be divided into uniform
areas. Each area should have the same soil texture and color, cropping history, and fertilizer, manure, and lime treatments. Samples are
most easily collected using a soil tube, soil auger, or a garden spade. To take the soil sample, scrape off all surface residue and
litter and take the sample to a depth of 6-8 inches for annual crops and 10-12 inches for perennial crops. Usually 15 to 20
samples should be collected from randomly selected areas in the field. The soil should be thoroughly mixed in a clean plastic pail and about 1 pint of this mixture should be placed in a sample bag.

Or please refer to agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/ … pling.html

9

Check this too: farmnest.com/forum/new-trends-in … thodology/

10

I have attached photographs of those brochure but it was not readable. I will attach either scanned one or xlate it and post .

Thanks,