Have you ever considered starting an agricultural business? As human begins, one of the most basic requirements to sustain ourselves in the intake of food. Nutrient-rich foods that are packed with energy keep us alive and well, and the need for food is something that will never go out of style like some trendy startup ideas. In terms of business viability, an agricultural business is something that should never be taken lightly due to how many different factors go into starting one.

It’s no surprise that agricultural startups usually have the hardest time seeing success despite having relatively low investment costs. It’s a cutthroat industry with a lot of competition and it’s difficult to carve out a niche when almost every niche has already been engraved into the industry. Despite these challenges, creating an agricultural startup is still extremely profitable and will look fantastic on any entrepreneur’s portfolio.

So to help you demystify the challenges of an agricultural business, we’ve picked out four of the most important points and broke them down into easy-to-digest pieces.

Picking Your Niche

First, you need to establish a niche. Although it’s difficult in the modern age to pick something that stands out, there are always ways to do things differently or better than the competition. A couple of good startup ideas include health foods such as jams, juices and salads, or milling speciality flours for artisanal baking. Your decisions will usually come down to whatever is popular in the local area because retaining the freshness of your flowers, vegetables or fruits is paramount. Choosing the right agricultural niche will be the difference between success and failure.

Modern Farming Machinery

Don’t assume that agricultural businesses only rely on hand tools such as a rake, shovel or pushcart. While the rest of the world has been growing with the help of technology, the farming industry has also been slowly improving its methods to make farming more efficient, safer and provide more yield. However, this can often be quite expensive and you might be surprised at how much money it takes to invest in modern farming machinery. For example, maintaining agricultural machinery bearings that are required in many different types of farming equipment can be costly if you aren’t qualified to fix the machines on your own which is why it’s important to have an engineer on your team that understands how the machinery works.

Land Requirement

Let’s not forget that many agricultural businesses are going to need a lot of land. This can be extremely expensive, and if you want to pay less then you’re going to be further away from city locations, making it difficult and expensive for you to transport your goods a long distance. Keep this in consideration when you plan to grow your business because you might end up paying more than you anticipated on logistics. However, it goes without saying that more land equals more potential profit as your yields will be higher and you’ll have more space to experiment with different products.