How to Starting a Soybean Farming Business

Saturday, November 9, 2013

How to Starting a Soybean Farming Business

Soybean is a major crop in the U.S. For every soybean farmer, maximum yield is the ultimate goal. If you are interested in starting your own soybean farm, we have a basic guide to help you. You can find tips in soybean planting, harvesting and storage.

You can also find links to resources on soybean farming, soybean farms and equipment.

Soybeans are used in a variety of ways – as food substitute, fertilizer, animal feed and source of special oils, among other uses. They are planted by many farmers in the U.S. and have become a major crop for the country. If you are interested in growing soybeans as a crop, here are some tips.

Guide to Soybean Planting

Before planting soybean seeds, you could take soil samples for your farm for testing to know whether you would need to condition your soil. Soybeans grow best in soil that is neither too acidic nor too alkaline. Add lime to lessen acidity or ammonium sulphate to increase alkalinity. Add composts, manure or fertilizer to increase the soil’s fertility. Although some varieties can be grown at all seasons, soybeans are usually planted in May and harvested in October.

Different varieties of soybeans grow differently under different conditions. And so, the most important decision a farmer planning to start a soybean farm would have to make is with regards to the choice of soybean variety to plant. Choosing the breed of soybeans that will thrive well under a farm’s climate is crucial to attaining maximum yield for a crop. If you are just starting a soybean farm, you can ask local seed dealers’ recommendation on the best variety to plant around your area. Later on, you can conduct your own on-farm trials to discover which variety produces the highest yield for your farm.

Planting should follow specific requirements such as spacings between rows and spacing within rows. Plants should be watered regularly, weeded and protected from insects. Soybean production is more effective at about 300 acres of plantation. And it results to higher yields too. A yield of 50 bushels-per-acre is considered high.

Soybean Harvesting and Storage

Harvesting equipment are employed to harvest soybeans. In harvesting, care is taken to minimize breaking or cracking of the beans. The same care should be observed when sending the beans to storage. The beans must be stored in conditions that will prevent the soybeans from insect infestations. Both the beans and the containers should be clean and dry. In general, potential insect infestations could be averted with proper harvesting, loading and storage practices. Use of insecticides is not advised for two reasons: it is an added expense and there are few recommended insecticides available for this.

Resources on Soybean Farming

You can visit soybean farms growers suppliers for resources on soybean growing, visit the American Soybean Association (ASA). You can visit www.farm.ewg.org for information on soybean subsidies in the US. To find soybean farms for sale, visit www.soybeanfarms.com.

Equipment. Getting quality used equipment with a good service guarantee saves farmers time and money. Buying used farm equipment from dealerships offering service plans and extended warranties just makes sense.

References

How to Starting a Soybean Farming Business

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Saturday, November 9, 2013