How to get started with agtech and farming investments?

I’ve been chewing on this idea for quite a while now—though I haven't quite managed to track down the hard data yet... Does anyone actually know what the current market rate is for walnut timber? How many years does it take for them to reach maturity? And what are we looking at for the price of saplings these days? ...

Keith Taylor4 said:With walnut farming, you aren't seeing a dime of profit for at least the first decade...

We do this because we love the work; honestly, we've had more than enough of staring at computer screens all day...

Besides, it’ll leave behind something meaningful for the generations to come...

We’ll plant them for the future. 😁 Besides, they aren't much work. 😁 I can't wait. 😍 Honestly, I'm a bit crazy—I'd plant just about anything right now. 😍

vividbear5 said:It depends on the variety, but from what I’ve gathered, walnuts are "jealous" trees—they don't play well with others, even their own kind. You're looking at spacing something like 10x12 or 12x14 feet, roughly.

Yield:

. yield kg yield kg
age good location bad location
1 - 15 0 0
16 - 25 10 7
26 - 35 25 15
36 - 60 45 22
61 - 80 55 13
81 - 100 32 13

Apparently, Kyrgyzstan has the highest concentration of walnut trees in the world.

The major producers of walnuts (for eating) are: the USA, the former USSR, China, Turkey, and Italy.

Back in 2005, global production hit about 1.5 million tons.

In the Western US, roughly 82,000 hectares are planted with walnuts, yielding about 295,000 tons from those 80,000 hectares.
So, you're looking at an average industrial yield of about 3.5 tons per hectare.

For comparison, you can pull up to 30 or 35 tons per hectare with apples—pears are similar.

That’s exactly why the market price for apples is significantly lower than for walnuts.🙂

I'll go run some numbers based on those measurements. 🙏 Thanks! 🙂

goldenowl8 said:So, I’ve been watching lately how many of my friends are suddenly obsessed with getting into agriculture, and honestly, it’s left me a bit stunned. It got me thinking: I’ve got about five acres of land out here, and I'm weighing the idea of planting an apple orchard. Maintenance shouldn't be much of a headache since my cousin is an agronomist and she’s more than happy to jump in and help run the show. I guess I’m just looking for some real-world perspective. Once you actually get those trees in the ground, what kind of upfront capital are we talking about, and what does the workload look like during those first few years? 🙏

Trying to run a half-acre apple orchard isn't some little hobby you just breeze through...

You’ll basically have work to do with them almost every single day...

I don't know the exact market prices off the top of my head, but you're going to need saplings, posts, and wire for the trellising, plus fencing, a tractor, a sprayer, a tiller...

And a frost protection system...

You have to spray every two weeks, sometimes even more often...

Then there's pruning in the spring, and when they're small, you have to shape them so they tie into the wires... You also have to mow the rows constantly...

Oh, and don't forget to pay for hail insurance...

Just one more thing I was wondering about... those wild cherry trees—what’s the actual drill with planting them and keeping them alive, and how many years am I looking at before they actually hit a decent height?

Anyone here have experience planting pine trees? Looking for some advice 🙏

Someone brought up making traditional smoked sausages. This past winter, I decided to dive in headfirst and processed about 220 pounds of meat. That’s roughly 50 individual links or logs. My grandfather does this every single year, so I figured I’d try my hand at finding that same kind of satisfaction. Once everything dries out, I’m estimating we’ll end up with about 110 pounds of finished product. I’m looking at a price point of around $50 per pound. It could go higher depending on the market, but there’s no sense in getting greedy.
I sank about $833 into the livestock and the spice blends. It took one solid day of slaughtering and prep work, and now there's still the whole smoking process ahead of us. I didn't handle the smoker myself—my grandfather took care of his batch first, then moved on to mine. 😬

It should be ready for sale soon. 🙂

Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing they’d be willing to share? Any advice, no matter how small, would be appreciated.

$50/lb? 😲 You can't even find those prices at a legitimate big-box retailer with tax included, full certifications, and a solid quality guarantee 😕

Samuel Smith5 said:Someone brought up making traditional smoked sausages. This past winter, I decided to dive in headfirst and processed about 220 pounds of meat. That’s roughly 50 individual links or logs. My grandfather does this every single year, so I figured I’d try my hand at finding that same kind of satisfaction. Once everything dries out, I’m estimating we’ll end up with about 110 pounds of finished product. I’m looking at a price point of around $50 per pound. It could go higher depending on the market, but there’s no sense in getting greedy.
I sank about $833 into the livestock and the spice blends. It took one solid day of slaughtering and prep work, and now there's still the whole smoking process ahead of us. I didn't handle the smoker myself—my grandfather took care of his batch first, then moved on to mine. 😬

It should be ready for sale soon. 🙂

Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing they’d be willing to share? Any advice, no matter how small, would be appreciated.

Are you part of a local trade association or something? Are you officially registered? Do you follow the standard regulations or just fly by the seat of your pants, and do you actually hold a certification?

Charles Ramos7 said:$50/lb? 😲 You can't even find those prices at a legitimate big-box retailer with tax included, full certifications, and a solid quality guarantee 😕

It's honestly pretty rare to stumble upon authentic, traditional smoked sausage in any standard supermarket, isn't it? Most of those sausages being sold under that premium label aren't worth half the price tag they carry.
The truth is, most of the sausages marketed under that specific name have absolutely nothing to do with the real thing, and I really hope they get pulled from the shelves soon so that only the genuine product can be sold under that name. Making a real artisanal sausage is a massive undertaking that takes at least nine months and involves such a specific series of steps regarding pork production and meat processing technology.
When you're making high-quality homemade sausage, shouldn't you only be using the absolute best cuts of pork paired with natural ingredients like salt, garlic, and both sweet and spicy paprika? A true, authentic sausage should have incredible nutritional value and those distinct qualities—like that beautiful color, aroma, and the rich taste of aged meat—that make it special.

There is even an federal regulation governing the production of authentic regional smoked sausage, which strictly defines the production areas, the allowed livestock breeds, how the pigs are raised, and the entire manufacturing process. These regulations served as the foundation for launching oversight station pilot projects and conducting studies to protect the authenticity of this traditional product. That study is essentially the starting point for officially protecting the heritage of this specific type of sausage.

And finally... in America, there just isn't a "legitimate company" paying sales tax and holding all those necessary certifications and quality guarantees that would sell this kind of sausage for $50/lb. Don't you think it would be better if all those imitation products were removed from stores, so they couldn't call their cheap sausages by a name they don't actually deserve?

I don't bother with retail shelves. I sell to people who actually have an eye for quality—and trust me, this stuff is the real deal. Sure, there's no sales tax factored in and I haven't jumped through all the hoops for a formal certification, but that doesn't change the fact that the product holds up just fine.

"To make authentic, small-batch smoked sausage, you should exclusively use the premium cuts of pork."
Yeah, sounds great in a cookbook, doesn't it? But reality usually tells a different story.

So, what do you think a fair price for some genuine, homemade sausage should actually be?

Samuel Smith5 said:I don't bother with retail shelves. I sell to people who actually have an eye for quality—and trust me, this stuff is the real deal. Sure, there's no sales tax factored in and I haven't jumped through all the hoops for a formal certification, but that doesn't change the fact that the product holds up just fine.

"To make authentic, small-batch smoked sausage, you should exclusively use the premium cuts of pork."
Yeah, sounds great in a cookbook, doesn't it? But reality usually tells a different story.

So, what do you think a fair price for some genuine, homemade sausage should actually be?

I saw some guy from Tyson Foods—or maybe just the biggest meat producer out there—claiming that for real, small-batch sausage to be profitable in a retail shop, it’d need to go for about $55 a pound.

Samuel Smith5 said:I don't bother with retail shelves. I sell to people who actually have an eye for quality—and trust me, this stuff is the real deal. Sure, there's no sales tax factored in and I haven't jumped through all the hoops for a formal certification, but that doesn't change the fact that the product holds up just fine.

"To make authentic, small-batch smoked sausage, you should exclusively use the premium cuts of pork."
Yeah, sounds great in a cookbook, doesn't it? But reality usually tells a different story.

So, what do you think a fair price for some genuine, homemade sausage should actually be?

Hey... I'm really sorry if my last reply felt like a personal attack on you, because that truly wasn't my intention at all. I was just talking about all those various sausages sold in our local supermarkets under the label of "authentic sausage" when they really shouldn't even be allowed to carry that name.
As for your specific product and its quality, I can't really comment since I don't know anything about it personally. 🙂

And now, regarding the pricing: in the American market, we see somewhere between 15 and 20 railcars worth of authentic regional smoked sausage sold annually (though studies suggest there is actually demand for about 60 railcars of the dry variety per year). A huge portion of this trade happens "under the table," meaning it's cash sales without receipts that never show up on any official books. The market is still expanding, too. There's a particular shortage of this kind of sausage during the months from September through May. Generally, the wholesale production cost for authentic regional smoked sausage fluctuates between $150 and $83/lb, depending on the quality of the meat and how it's being sold.

Yeah, it all sounds great on paper... but most stores already carry everything you’d think to grow. Plus, crops don't just materialize because you clicked a button...

The best way to actually make money? Grow everything yourself so you can stop hitting the grocery store. Calculate $33 per day, times 30 days. $1000 times 12 months—that's 36 $0.00 in earnings!

Mushrooms are cheap and easy to produce. Snails, homegrown rabbits, frogs... even fish ponds with tilapia... all that stuff...

Walnuts? You'll be down at least 10k before they even start producing. And they won't yield more than 10 kilos of walnuts. $33 Earnings? Forget it.

If you want them to go crazy, hook them up to the sewer line. Then they act wild. That's basically candy for them... though maybe not strictly necessary for walnuts. Walnuts like being out in the open, right up front. Interestingly, the ones behind them do nothing.

A lemon, for instance, can handle being tucked in a corner.

bluecrane16 — I’ll post some photos once everything finally matures 😁

So, I found this link over on the USDA website...

The operational support program for producing regional specialty sausages

Does anyone know where I can dig up info on getting a certification for this kind of meat, how to get production legalized, or what specific sanitary requirements we're looking at to stay compliant?

Samuel Smith5 said:bluecrane16 — I’ll post some photos once everything finally matures 😁

So, I found this link over on the USDA website...

The operational support program for producing regional specialty sausages

Does anyone know where I can dig up info on getting a certification for this kind of meat, how to get production legalized, or what specific sanitary requirements we're looking at to stay compliant?

Here is the link for that local association...http://www.slavonski-kulen.com/
Right now they have about 70 members, ranging from large farms to smaller producers, spread across the entire Midwest region. Not everyone is officially registered yet, but they are working toward that, along with implementing HACCP systems throughout the production process and focusing on quality control and protection.

They've actually established regulations for traditional meat production—which covers everything from the specific geographic area and raw material sourcing to veterinary safety measures and the actual manufacturing technology—as well as oversight rules for monitoring production quality and labeling. I believe there's also a completed study regarding authenticity protection and official branding.
They even set up a dedicated processing center, Kulin Co.

If you're interested, I can send you some contact numbers via private message.

bluecrane16 said:Here is the link for that local association...http://www.slavonski-kulen.com/
Right now they have about 70 members, ranging from large farms to smaller producers, spread across the entire Midwest region. Not everyone is officially registered yet, but they are working toward that, along with implementing HACCP systems throughout the production process and focusing on quality control and protection.

They've actually established regulations for traditional meat production—which covers everything from the specific geographic area and raw material sourcing to veterinary safety measures and the actual manufacturing technology—as well as oversight rules for monitoring production quality and labeling. I believe there's also a completed study regarding authenticity protection and official branding.
They even set up a dedicated processing center, Kulin Co.

If you're interested, I can send you some contact numbers via private message.

Thanks. I need to wrap my head around all this before I start making calls. If I end up needing those numbers, I'll just shoot you a DM.

Samuel Smith5 said:I don't bother with retail shelves. I sell to people who actually have an eye for quality—and trust me, this stuff is the real deal. Sure, there's no sales tax factored in and I haven't jumped through all the hoops for a formal certification, but that doesn't change the fact that the product holds up just fine.

"To make authentic, small-batch smoked sausage, you should exclusively use the premium cuts of pork."
Yeah, sounds great in a cookbook, doesn't it? But reality usually tells a different story.

So, what do you think a fair price for some genuine, homemade sausage should actually be?

I don't doubt your quality, but in this day and age, buying meat products without all the necessary paperwork feels like too much of a gamble.
As for the price, if you're charging $50/lb and you aren't running a registered business or paying taxes, once that same product hits a supermarket shelf, it would cost at least $50 (like someone mentioned), if not more. In my opinion, that’s insanely overpriced.
Just because there's a protected designation for "traditional regional sausage" doesn't mean other similar products can't be sold as sausage.
Besides, all this fuss over "protected traditional status" feels like selling smoke—or more accurately, "all hat and no cattle." You described it perfectly: one pig, a handful of spices, an hour of work... the hardest part is just typing out those zeros on the price tag... Let's be real, it's not like we're launching a rocket to the moon!😠

Charles Ramos7 said:I don't doubt your quality, but in this day and age, buying meat products without all the necessary paperwork feels like too much of a gamble.
As for the price, if you're charging $50/lb and you aren't running a registered business or paying taxes, once that same product hits a supermarket shelf, it would cost at least $50 (like someone mentioned), if not more. In my opinion, that’s insanely overpriced.
Just because there's a protected designation for "traditional regional sausage" doesn't mean other similar products can't be sold as sausage.
Besides, all this fuss over "protected traditional status" feels like selling smoke—or more accurately, "all hat and no cattle." You described it perfectly: one pig, a handful of spices, an hour of work... the hardest part is just typing out those zeros on the price tag... Let's be real, it's not like we're launching a rocket to the moon!😠

I'm sorry if I sound blunt, but let's not talk nonsense, okay?

The whole protection process is actually still happening right now. She just listed some of the steps they've taken so far. Once everything is officially finalized, no "similar products" will be allowed to use that specific name anymore, because the regulations will dictate every single detail—from the type of meat used to the exact ingredients, shape, and color—just to qualify for the label. 🙂
The real issue is that our market here in the States isn't regulated well enough yet, so you see all sorts of random sausages in grocery stores being sold as premium cured meats. People buy them thinking they're getting the real thing, but they have no idea. The other day at a major supermarket chain, I saw this salami that was shaped vaguely like the traditional product, but it had the name printed in massive letters on the package. And don't even get me started on the price. It was ridiculous.

Why don't you try making a "similar product" to something that has already gone through the full legal protection process and finished all the paperwork, and then we'll see how that goes.

Hey there! I noticed you’re getting into the orchard business, so I was hoping to pick your brain. Which would be a smarter move for a one-acre plot: planting plums or cherries? Also, what kind of spacing should I use for Oblačinski?