Gorkhdeep Farms: Success Through Conventional Farming

I am Gorkhdeep, and like my father I want to take up farming as a full time profession. I am in 12th class and besides farming, I also want to start a business. Besides me, there are four more members in our family, my grandparents and my parents. My grandfather was a full time farmer and now my dad is following his footsteps. I too want to follow my dad’s footsteps in near future. My parents could not study after tenth class, hence I first want to complete my education and then join the farming.

Our family owns 40 acres of land and we follow the conventional crop cycle of wheat and paddy. We also have 3 buffalos and for them we cultivate the fodder in one acre of land. In todays time, you cannot survive without the use of modern agricultural implements and hence we have invested in these equipment. Today we have two tractors, 2 trollies, ripper and leveler. We use non organic pesticides and fertilizers but we do use animal dung as organic fertilizer in our fields. We also engage a Combine for harvesting the crops along with manpower needed to get the job done.

We tried to diversify by planting sunflower in 2 acres but it did not go as planned as it was not profitable and the workload was too much even after taking proper care. We also tried cotton cultivation but it was affected by diseases and hence had to abandon that as well. So, my message to all budding farmers is that you need to do full research and gain full knowledge about the needs of a crop such as soil type, moisture levels, diseases that can affect the crops and how to prevent them and weather conditions. Also I have seen that when youngsters go to colleges and get degrees they feel farming is below their standards but my belief is that when you take up agriculture, you become your own boss and own decision maker. With right amount of hardwork and patience, you can earn much more than well paying jobs.