Finca advice appreciated

Oct 13, 2003
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As you may or may not know, I've been married to my Dominican wife about a year now... this is still the same woman who figured in this thread:

http://www.dr1.com/forums/men-mars-women-venus/41272-trip-france.html

As part of the ongoing Dominicanization of the family I am currently looking into buying some land and turning it into a finca for the family derive some income from... but I have difficulty putting the numbers together for lack of data.

So to finish a crude business case I am looking for input on:

1. The growth rate, planting density and number of harvests a year on the following crops:
a. Platano
b. Yucca
c. ?ame

2. Any suggestion on a possible rotation scheme of these crops, so as not to exhaust the soil

3. The wholesale price of these crops, of fertiliser, a small windmill and a watertank to hold excess rain for irrigation.

4. Compensation for a workforce of 2 people, unskilled labor, with annual liquidation to avoid build up of rights over the years.. I'm looking at around RD$ 100 a day and one meal.

Any serious replies are very welcome (by PM if you feel this is better).
 

amparocorp

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Aug 11, 2002
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the father of my dominican wife of 20 years has a small finca. i don't think he ever made any money except for his fighting roosters, which he's quite good at raising. i can say that his family of ten kids never went hungry, always lots of platanos, yucca, chickens, ducks, pigs, sometimes a cow, no indoor plumbing. platanos pay pennies, same for yucca, you need a huge place to make a dollar from this type of crop. this type of crop is like ice for eskimos, i'd pick a crop like flowers, more labor intensive but the return on a small plot is much greater.
 
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AlterEgo

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the father of my dominican wife of 20 years has a small finca. i don't think he ever made any money except for his fighting roosters, which he's quite good at raising. i can say that his family of ten kids never went hungry, always lots of platanos, yucca, chickens, ducks, pigs, sometimes a cow, no indoor plumbing. platanos pay pennies, same for yucca, you need a huge place to make a dollar from this type of crop. this type of crop is like ice for eskimos, i'd pick a crop like flowers, more labor intensive but the return on a small plot is much greater.

Funny you say that. One of my husband's brothers has a finca in Ocoa, over 1000 tareas, and they have produced all sorts of crops. However, his wife [a very astute businesswoman] recently decided the way to go is flowers. They sell well, and not as much 'shrinkage' as they can't be eaten by the local ladrones. They employ a manager who lives on the property with his wife and 2 children.

AE
 

Adrian Bye

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Jul 7, 2002
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to start a business like this cold without the experience or contacts will be difficult, i would guess it will probably fail no matter how much business planning you try to do.. much better to hang out with some of the locals, almost be an apprentice or something similar to learn how it all works.

if its not you, but you're funding your wife's family, i'd consider finding out of they're serious -- tell whoever will run the farm they have to go do an apprenticeship for a year or two with a similar farm.. then if they still want to start a farm at the end of the year you'll fund it. this way they'll gain the skills and contacts to be able to do it properly and they will know exactly what works.

your paris trip is a nice story.. is this side of it pleasant, or is it a pain in the ass?
 
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Oct 13, 2003
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Adrian and others,

Thanks for the concern you have, I really appreciate it..

My in-laws have experience in this line of work, have been farming for a large number of years (until the farm was sold because they needed the money to invest in university education for the kids) and are nice people really.. so I believe that part is covered.

The reason I'm solliciting advice here, is that I want to check if their numbers are ball-park correct, because as most Dominicans, they tend to be optimistic (which is a quality I like) and I tend to be a glass half empty kind of guy (which is something they like; go figure)... so I'm looking for some experience balllpark numbers..

Also the land is not going to be a finca forever, I am planning to use it to build my 2nd home. This will not be starting for a few years, until the building industry is in a slump and I can build cheaply... meanwhile the land can be used as a replacement income source for the remittances we currently send over.... as a replacement of say 6% cost of capital so to speak... the current investment climate being what it is in bonds, stocks and the like, this would seem like an opp to kill 3 birds with one stone..

With that in mind I'm building a business case but need some data if you can supply them..

So it is my initiative, nobody in the family has been promised anything yet, and no its not a pain in the ass at all


==============

Oh and to round out the picture for the curious but so far not very helpful DR1 community, I send remittances because I took a girl with a steady government job from the family to which she contributed in a major way and have since replaced that income (nothing more) so as to not have pa and ma experience a major decrease in income
 
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Adrian Bye

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you're a smart dude. if it were me, i'd just go ahead and do it, too many ways you can't lose, and sounds like the family will be able to make it work one way or another. you may not be able to get the land back later though.

and you do basically owe them since you wouldn't be with the girl if she didn't get her college education.

good luck with it.
 

amparocorp

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start getting your paperwork in order that you may import orchids into Holland, this may take months, meanwhile your in laws can get started. you may do very well with very little space but you'll need a lot of water........
 
Oct 13, 2003
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As the thread got a little sidetracked without any answers on my original questions, I've repeated my questions below.

Please, as much as I do appreicate your opinions, I'm looking for answers to my questions only at this time.


Finca advice appreciated

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you may or may not know, I've been married to my Dominican wife about a year now... this is still the same woman who figured in this thread:

Trip to France

As part of the ongoing Dominicanization of the family I am currently looking into buying some land and turning it into a finca for the family derive some income from... but I have difficulty putting the numbers together for lack of data.

So to finish a crude business case I am looking for input on:

1. The growth rate, planting density and number of harvests a year on the following crops:
a. Platano
b. Yucca
c. ?ame

2. Any suggestion on a possible rotation scheme of these crops, so as not to exhaust the soil

3. The wholesale price of these crops, of fertiliser, a small windmill and a watertank to hold excess rain for irrigation.

4. Compensation for a workforce of 2 people, unskilled labor, with annual liquidation to avoid build up of rights over the years.. I'm looking at around RD$ 100 a day and one meal.

Any serious replies are very welcome (by PM if you feel this is better).
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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well its banana season now -they cant be rotated and it takes about three years to get the first crop, then one crop year , well mine do anyway,they need to be at least three feet apart
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i am sorry if my post is out of line as it does not answer OP question. but it is finca related :)
my father in law has several fincas, occasional crop but mainly meat cows. he does very well, that is he makes money, quite a lot, actually. ever taken farming animals into account?
btw, they are free range, or whatever it is called in civilized countries.
 

Acira

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Sep 20, 2009
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start getting your paperwork in order that you may import orchids into Holland, this may take months, meanwhile your in laws can get started. you may do very well with very little space but you'll need a lot of water........

If there is water around somewhere the finca, it shouldn't be that hard for a "Dutchie" to find a solution for irrigating the crops as they are experts in that ;)
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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OKAY, let's try this:

1. The growth rate, planting density and number of harvests a year on the following crops:
a. Platano ->w/irrigation 11 months; w/o a year. W/ 250 plantas/Ta; w/o 100
b. Yucca -> 5-6 months 1 meter in twin rows along raises mounds 1 crop
c. ?ame-> no experience. not much of a money crop

2. Any suggestion on a possible rotation scheme of these crops, so as not to exhaust the soil => If you go with yucca, you can plant peanuts after the crop. Fertilize.

3. The wholesale price of these crops, of fertiliser, a small windmill and a watertank to hold excess rain for irrigation. Sorry, but I would have to go and see at a farm goods store...

HB

4. Compensation for a workforce of 2 people, unskilled labor, with annual liquidation to avoid build up of rights over the years.. I'm looking at around RD$ 100 a day and one meal.=> I do not think farm workers are getting 100 pesos a day...but you will have to ask your in-laws what they are paying up that was. I also do not know if farm workers get things like doble sueldo and worker's insurance....better ask Mr. Guzman...
 

RacerX

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Nov 22, 2009
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As you may or may not know, I've been married to my Dominican wife about a year now... this is still the same woman who figured in this thread:

http://www.dr1.com/forums/men-mars-women-venus/41272-trip-france.html

As part of the ongoing Dominicanization of the family I am currently looking into buying some land and turning it into a finca for the family derive some income from... but I have difficulty putting the numbers together for lack of data.

So to finish a crude business case I am looking for input on:

1. The growth rate, planting density and number of harvests a year on the following crops:
a. Platano
b. Yucca
c. ?ame

2. Any suggestion on a possible rotation scheme of these crops, so as not to exhaust the soil

3. The wholesale price of these crops, of fertiliser, a small windmill and a watertank to hold excess rain for irrigation.

4. Compensation for a workforce of 2 people, unskilled labor, with annual liquidation to avoid build up of rights over the years.. I'm looking at around RD$ 100 a day and one meal.

Any serious replies are very welcome (by PM if you feel this is better).

Peanuts. They grow underground like beans, and cant be stolen for food until they are roasted. Plus if you examine it right, with the ambient temperature in higher elevations maybe you can simulate the Georgia climate where the peanut is a cash crop. Lower elevations, maybe vidalia onions might be good for you.
 

TOOBER_SDQ

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Nov 19, 2008
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Buy my finca !!! Please !!!

Please believe me when I say that I am being sincere although some of this may sound sarcastic.

I have went down this road and it was an incredible failure. First I planted 8000 plantain trees; all dead. Then I covered 80 tereas with yucca; the size & quality of the crop was too small to sell commercially. Then I tried goats, lambs, ducks, cows etc... everything was a FAILURE

Everything is dead dead dead.

I hope you have better luck.

The going rate for hired help in the campo is 300 peso + lunch. For a monthly salary you may be able to negotiate 5 -6000 peso; but expect ZOMBIES for that money.

Here are your costs: electricity, Zombie salaries, tractor to plow the land, frequent replacement of rotted wooden fence posts, shotgun & shotgun license, ?. The list goes on and on and on and on?.

There are 2 seasons in DR, from what I can see; dry & wet. Stuff, like bananas, yucca and yams grow during the wet season. The dry season on a finca is like scorched earth, unless you have a water well, and then sometimes the well goes dry.

If you are not planning on being on that finca EVERY DAY to manage it, I?m afraid to say that you will be subsidizing it for years to come, and it can get to be very expensive. Plus, your Zombies will rob you blind.

Buy my finca, PLEASE !!! I?d love to get rid of it. It is like a ball and chain around my neck.
 

Redscot

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Dec 10, 2004
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The location of your finca is definitely an important consideration.

I am no farmer, but have been involved through family members and have crunched the numbers for them.

In my opinion, for your situation (depending on your location) Platano's are the safest bet. They take the least amount of investment. 100 Sepa's per tarea is the most I have seen recommended so as to not overcrowd. If you take a sample of 10 tarea's at the 9-10 month mark you could potentially have 50,000 platano's. The platanero's pick the product up at the finca for an estimated 2 peso's per platano (This fluctuates of course). The benefit of the platano is that as one plant matures it continuously produces another plant which matures a few months after the first and so on and so on. This is a model that would not make the family rich, but would give them a consistent income.

Depending on where you are located, you could send your family members to the department of agriculture. A family member recently solicited 2000 sepa's of platano and they were granted free of charge. These sepa's come pre-treated to help ensure their growth.

The tuber's are tougher imo. They need tilled soil (which means removing trunk's, root systems, etc. from the land. They also require more fertilizer, and the initial investment is more considerable. They are also more all or nothing. You plant your tubers and at the year mark, more or less, you sell them. You family members would need to be salaried to sustain the growth periods, and then would have a large influx of peso's when they sold the crop (maybe not the best model for you, the patron).

Anyway, just some random thoughts, I wish you luck.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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Michel, drop me a note. Next time you're "in country" I can arrange a meeting with a couple of professors at the local agricultural university. They ought to be able to answer any questions you have.

I also know of highly productive mature coffee producing land available.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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Make SURE You Get a "CLEAR TITLE"

AND get title insurance as well'
I tried to buy 100 tareas in Moca,no clear title for over 100 years! The owner said "That's how we do it here.Just pass along the title to the new "owner"! I didn't do the purchase!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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AND get title insurance as well'
I tried to buy 100 tareas in Moca,no clear title for over 100 years! The owner said "That's how we do it here.Just pass along the title to the new "owner"! I didn't do the purchase!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

If there is no title but clear evidence of exchange of paperwork through the various transactions a title will cost you about 40,000 pesos.
 

Lucille

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Jan 14, 2007
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Please believe me when I say that I am being sincere although some of this may sound sarcastic.

I have went down this road and it was an incredible failure. First I planted 8000 plantain trees; all dead. Then I covered 80 tereas with yucca; the size & quality of the crop was too small to sell commercially. Then I tried goats, lambs, ducks, cows etc... everything was a FAILURE

Everything is dead dead dead.

I hope you have better luck.

The going rate for hired help in the campo is 300 peso + lunch. For a monthly salary you may be able to negotiate 5 -6000 peso; but expect ZOMBIES for that money.

Here are your costs: electricity, Zombie salaries, tractor to plow the land, frequent replacement of rotted wooden fence posts, shotgun & shotgun license, ?. The list goes on and on and on and on?.

There are 2 seasons in DR, from what I can see; dry & wet. Stuff, like bananas, yucca and yams grow during the wet season. The dry season on a finca is like scorched earth, unless you have a water well, and then sometimes the well goes dry.

If you are not planning on being on that finca EVERY DAY to manage it, I?m afraid to say that you will be subsidizing it for years to come, and it can get to be very expensive. Plus, your Zombies will rob you blind.

Buy my finca, PLEASE !!! I?d love to get rid of it. It is like a ball and chain around my neck.

Toober- You funny....lol...about the zombie salaries ....
I wish good luck to the OP....
I know he is not asking opinion about to open or not the business , but IMHO I like to add this.
I heard the same thing like you are posting.
Finca=bankruptcy
I am very positive person and I don't like to be negative, but a finca will be the last business that I will think of...
Lucille
 
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