Posts by Steven Ruiz13

The only real safe bet is buying land.

If it only took ten to twelve years to see a return on investment, nobody else would be planting anything besides walnut trees right now.

Linda Sullivan37 said:Well, here I am... I've been lurking on these forums for a while now, and I finally decided it was time to actually register. I have a question regarding the current state of the berry market here in the States—specifically when it comes to buying up small crops like currants and blueberries. I’m looking for information on reliable buyers and processors. Where are they located, and are there even many active players in this space right now? I’ve scrolled through countless pages, but I can’t seem to find any concrete data. It seems like there are plenty of growers who handle their own processing but aren't interested in buying from outsiders, which leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. My goal is to supplement my household income; since I have a full-time job, I won't be able to turn this into a massive operation just yet, but I think I could manage about an acre or so to start with.🙏

But if you're working a job, why go with berries? Harvest season demands every bit of your time.

I can confirm this experience, word for word.

mistytinker26 said:Hazelnuts and especially walnuts aren't "get rich quick" crops. Anyone who thinks they’ll see a return on their investment by year four is being played. It's a two-sided problem. On one hand, you've got nursery owners spinning fairy tales about yields and prices just to grab some quick cash. On the other, people tend to hear only what they want to hear. They dive into these deals completely unprepared, and then, when they don't see tens of thousands of dollars in profit per acre after five years, they act like the whole world owes them something.
It really just comes down to two things: how much anyone actually expects from this and what kind of information they're working with.
Look, it’s like any other industry. Someone’s going to launch a business, fail miserably, or just quit when things get tough. Meanwhile, someone else will take that exact same concept and actually run it like a professional.
I’ve decided to go with hazelnuts. I’m fully aware that for the first five to seven years, I’ll barely be breaking even. In some other industries, you’d expect to be pulling in a decent profit by then—assuming you were putting in significantly more capital and labor. Personally, I don't expect a 12-acre hazelnut farm to become my primary source of income, even after ten years. Some people, unfortunately, seem to think they can run a commercial operation on just 5 acres. Their math is flawed; they assume a yield of two tons of processed nuts, which isn't the reality, multiplied by whatever retail price a big-box store like Walmart might offer. $27 je $53 Total garbage. $107 Gross minus $20,000 in expenses leaves you with enough for the roof at... $67It’s completely unrealistic. I’d go as far as to say the math is just plain stupid.

That’s just the kind of math this country runs on.

Keith Taylor4 said:Give me a break... 🙄 😁

You could have been decent enough to wait until I actually made it home to check on the book. Besides, how would you know how much produce the boss goes through? Or how much land is sitting behind his new place?🙏

Whoa, take it easy. It sounds good on paper. A 3x4 meter plot should last half a year, right? Wrong. Why? Because

Keith Taylor4 said:you could start by digging out a plot behind the house, maybe something like 😬 12x16 feet

near that "Homegrown Garden" spot—or whatever it was called, I can't recall until I get back home—but a space that size should yield enough produce to feed a family for six months. if you get moving now, you'll be set through the fall...

Provided you aren't eating anything else.

Timothy Cox3 said:so what’s the deal with the bean market?

A pound of beans at the grocery store? Forget about it. Prices are through the roof. Honestly, your best bet is just to plant a few pounds in your own garden. That way you can actually eat like a human being instead of some starving soldier in a 1950s infantry unit.

Timothy Cox3 said:I've got this little creek sitting relatively close by, but it pretty much dries up completely once summer hits

Then you just don't have one.

Timothy Cox3 said:It’s a plum orchard, located out near Kansas City... and you gotta wait five years before those plums actually start producing a full crop...

Do you have access to a solid irrigation system? If you do, go all in on watermelons. Honestly, if anyone tells you that nothing will grow there for some reason, just ignore them and plant anyway. You can still get them in the ground this year. If you have the right setup, grow your own seedlings. If not, just buy them from some pros you can actually trust and don't overthink it. As my Mexican buddies would say—it's as easy as pie.

Timothy Cox3 said:I'm out of data here... things are looking pretty rough and I'm scrambling to find ways to make some extra cash since my orchard is gonna be sitting idle for a few years anyway.

Alright, then I'll just assume you're living out in California's Central Valley. While you're waiting on those citrus trees, maybe you could plant some watermelons? It feels like you might have a few more details to share.

Timothy Cox3 said:Hey everyone, quick question for you all. I’ve got about 7 acres of orchard land, but there’s this one patch—maybe an acre or so—that’s just sitting there empty. I’m thinking about throwing some veggies in that spot. Does anyone have any experience with this or maybe some suggestions? Looking for something relatively easy to get in the ground and actually keep alive without losing my mind.

We might need a few more details first.

Alexander Chase3 said:I would likely only visit once or twice a month—though that assumes I have staff on hand—and I actually have a reliable crew there to handle the oversight. It’s a fully equipped pig farm, though it has been sitting idle for about ten years now.

I am looking into some low-investment farming options—nothing needs to be incredibly profitable, really—as long as the risk remains minimal. The land is located in Canada, so I won't be worrying about any government subsidies or grants there.

if it's a pig farm, then sticking with pigs might actually be your best bet.

I’m an old-timer with about 120 trees. I used a 120-horsepower John Deere and a heavy-duty chain to clear them all in just one day—no issues at all. Honestly, I spent another four days working with a chainsaw, but hey, it kept me warm all winter for next to nothing.

Adam Taylor12 said:The area surrounding the ravine
It’s about 1.7 acres—there's an old plum orchard that's stopped producing, a completely neglected vineyard, and what used to be a garden once upon a time.
A mix of tillable land and pasture, though I can't quite tell them apart myself.😳
For the most part, the terrain is flat, similar to where neighbors out here mow their grass for hay.
There's some woodland nearby, though I couldn't tell you exactly where it starts—the access road has been swallowed up by brush, and even when it was clear, I heard people say it was nearly impassable—they mentioned needing pack animals just to haul anything through.
It's roughly a thirty-minute drive from New York City.

Personally? I’d call that a gold mine. 1.7 acres just half an hour from New York City.🙏🙏

So, where are you located? Who are you, really? What kind of resources are we talking about here? And how old are you?

Basically, people are going to be stuck paying peanuts because 98.7878% of all business will just happen under the table.

velvetrider16 said:Precisely. You can opt in immediately, or just wait through that first year. Ultimately, it comes down to your own strategy and your CPA's advice...

You can actually opt out of the IRS system if you decide to join voluntarily during that first year. There's a little trick to it, though. When you fill out the registration form, you just list an "expected revenue" figure that's higher than $85,000 $0.00. If your actual earnings end up being lower than what you predicted, the tax authorities will approve your exit. That way, you aren't stuck in the system for five years. But if your turnover ends up exceeding $85,000 $0.00, then you're legally required to stay in the IRS system, no exceptions
.

Joseph Wright4 said:I don't know. Maybe there's something to it. I guess.

I don't entirely agree with you. I mean, sure, there are way too many veterans on the registry, and they probably should have organized some things differently instead of just handing out pensions and all that—I guess that part is fair.
I don't buy the idea that history belongs solely to the right wing. If the left keeps pushing the old resistance fighters as the only reason America exists today, while basically sidelining veterans... if the younger Democratic Party crowd celebrates elections by singing songs about defunct regimes or celebrating outdated holidays... there’s plenty of reason why people won't touch the Democratic Party with a ten-foot pole. It’s not even that they don't realize the Republican Party is corrupt and stealing—though, honestly, it’s pretty much the same story over at the Democrats too. Not to mention how they bring up things like religious education in schools or issues with the diaspora during election cycles. Those aren't even real policy debates; it's just certain people within the Democratic Party pushing their own ideology because they clearly look down on those topics. None of that actually helps the country move forward.

Where did you get the idea that people choose the Republican Party over the Democratic Party? That’s just not accurate. If you take away the votes from the border states, then the Democratic Party and the Republican Party actually ended up with pretty much equal numbers within the US itself.
And regarding the veterans—with some exceptions—those who are truly honorable and haven't exploited their status are actually more likely to lean toward the Democratic Party or other parties rather than the Republican Party.

brightbison15 said:Look, I’m highly educated too. Three degrees under my belt. But frankly, I’m embarrassed to say who I work for or how I got there. I don't quite follow your logic. Every person I know in the Republican Party, or even those who vote for them, does it out of pure self-interest. It's about getting a job through a connection, rigging a contract... not to mention the outright extortion. I haven't met a single Republican voter who actually thinks the party is "good" just for the sake of being good...

Must be nice to actually know someone who votes Republican. Out in the Midwest, they win elections constantly, but the second politics comes up in conversation, nobody will admit they voted for them. Even local party officials won't own it; they always make some excuse like, "Yeah, I had to."
When you live in a society full of petty thieves, where almost every family has someone living off an undeserved pension, and it feels like you can't find anyone over 38 who isn't retired... well, can you really expect anyone else to take power?