The days of living exclusively off pensions are numbered. Longevity trends, rising social security costs, and the specter of inflation, combine to mean that retirement in the conventional sense of the term is likely to be progressively pushed beyond 65, rather than being brought forward. Stock investment is a successful and challenging form of financial planning, but many people would enjoy making livings from farming activities. These two lines of revenue generation need no longer be mutually exclusive, given the facilities of the Internet and online stock trading. Economies moved away from agriculture to industries and services during the past 200 years, but it appears that growing crops and rearing animals have acquired new values of late.

Economic development, population growth, and concerns for safety and the environment, are three incredibly powerful drivers of new and value-added global demands for farm produce. The world needs more grain, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products as our numbers continue to grow beyond 6 billion. The expanding demands for expensive wines from countries such as India and China, establish the fact that purchasing power if primarily directed at better things to eat and to drink. Deadly virus attacks on poultry and cattle have raised concerns about hygiene standards for meat, and this applies to chemical and heavy metal pollution in sea food as well. Finally, we have prospects of bio-fuels competing with lands under traditional agriculture. All this makes a potent brew for profitable growth in agriculture, far ahead of anything most industrial or commercial stocks can promise!

Most urban folk are accustomed to images of rolling plains, heavy machines, and utter isolation, when words such as ‘farming’, ‘ranches’, and ‘agriculture’ are introduced in to conversations. However, Community Supported Agriculture, specialized production of bio-dynamic crops, and high quality food processing, are a few of the modern types of farming in which one can engage in suburban and small-scale settings. Electronic commerce is also possible from agrarian environments. The handsome material benefits come with living closer to nature in sustainable ways. It is a lifestyle to enjoy regardless of age and sex! Wind and solar energy technologies mean that we are no longer bound by soil fertility and arable lands alone, in searching for rural vocations. Read on, if living off the land, in a modern version of the ways of our ancestors, intrigues you!

Financial Planning Benefits of Agriculture in the United States

Protracted World Trade Organization negotiations are indicators of the domination of US agriculture in today’s world. Other countries strive to enter the sophisticated North American market area for foods, natural fuels, organic fibers, and beverages, while they fear the productivity of US agriculture as threats for their own farmers! The US Department of Agriculture is one of the most efficient of federal bodies: it ensures top quality produce for consumers, while supporting growers with cutting-edge technologies and with diligent regulation. People who wish to embellish their financial planning with agricultural stocks in the United States, have to meet tough performance standards, but can look forward to comprehensive support.

Farming as a Path to Financial Planning (Part 2)