Alex Rollin

What follows is a basic plan for the start-up of a small scale farm that utilizes sustainable and ecologically friendly practices, and is situated within and compatible with the network of other operations in the country and the world poised to continue innovation in farming with sustainible, ecologically friendly technology.

The goals of the farm are the following:

• Provide a high quality of life for those working on the property
• Provide education and resources for those working on the property to move on to their own property and operations
• Activiley participate in the research and development of technology and processes that aid in raising the quality of life, environment and financial sustainability, and ecologocal responsibility of the operation and our farm network
• Continue to develop our own systems towards greater efficiency for our own operation and that of the other participants in the network.
• Provide high quality products to the customers of the farm
• Provide high quality customer service and the opportunity for partcipation and learning for the customers of the farm

The commercial business plan has three key aspects.

The first is that only surplus crops are taken to market, and that a surplus is always the target.

The second is that additional resources are spent on research and development of small scale farming innovations that enrich the goals of the farm and the network before resources are applied to the farming of a surplus of agriculutural product for market.

Third, at the point where a package of equipment and resources is available, through the process and continual investment in research and development, at the point where that is possible, then commercial output of agricultural products is prioritized above continued research.

The basic land requirements for a farming operation are:

• Soil that can accept and grow crops that will amend the soil, building a rich top soil suitable for food crops
• A site that is a minimum of 15 acres, and preferrably 20
  
• Water for irrigating crops
• A building site for a home

These basics get us only so far, though.  The next steps are:

• Access to the power grid for pumps, machines, and computers
• Access to 3 phase power for heacy machinery
• Access to natural gas
• Access to the national telecommunications infrastructure including high speed internet
  

Ideally the initial site won't need major soil amendments and will offer:

• Deep alluvial top soil that is rich and ready to grow most california food crops
• Welll access to a relatively intainted aqcuifer

20 acres allows for a site plan with the following:

• 5 acres of open crops
• 2 acres of production green houses
• 1 acre of regional herbs in a natural garden
• 1 acre for residential use building
• 1 acre for farm use buildings
• 2 acres for goats
• 8 acres for cattle

The following are some of the crops to be grown on the property: Cauliflower, broccoli, green cabbage, red cabbage, kale, chard, brussel sprouts, Red Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Butter Lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce ,Green Peas, Snow Peas, Tomatoes, Russet Potatos, Sweet Potatos, Blackberries, Squashes, Wheat, Oats, Buckwheat, Basil, Herbs, Corn, Onions, Garlic

Livestock on the property is generally for the purpose of providing milk, though some cattle will be kept for beef.  All of the livestock will be grass fed, and the pastures will be maintained using well known high intensity grazing practices that amend the soil.  A projected 1.5 AU is acceptable, allowing for 4 cows and their calves with one bull on 8 acres.  About 10 goats can be kept on 4 acres with high intensity grazing and pasture rotation.

For the residential buildings, these are the needs I have identified:

• 2 single family homes of 1000 sq/ft
• 1 building for property workers with 8 'hotel rooms' furnished with sinks, desks, and beds
• 1 bathing facility containing restrooms and showers for the workers
• 1 office for business operations of 1000 sq/ft
  
• 1 500 sq/ft commercial kitchen for commercial food preparation and storage
• 1 750 sq/ft multi-purpose room attached to the commercial kitchen

For the ag buildings this is what I have identified:

• 1 open air barn of 2000 sq/ft
• 1 machine shop with indoor garage of 1000 sq/ft
• 1 production shop for manufacture of equipment of 4000 sq/ft
• 1 large garage for farm machinery of 1000 sq/ft
• 1 enclosed tool shed of 500 sq/ft

These are the beginning requirements, and crop planning and a site map for deriving the most utility from the least materials comes next.

For more information about the technology and resource package being developed, please visit http://openfarmtech.org and see the links to the "Global Village Construction Set" on that site.  These are plans for development all of the core technologies needed in building and beginning the operations of a small scale farm like the one described here.  The biggest difference is that these technologies are OpenSource and replicable using local resources and manpower.  For example, any farmer could MAKE their own tractor and maintain it themselves with a number of different power technologies, as opposed to financing the purchase of a tractor from one of the well known manufacturers.  The maintenance costs are lower as a result of the design process used in engineering the tractor, and so the value can be passed on to the farmer and the community in quality of life.