[JoeandKie]

Hello everyone

We are new to all of this and at times quite overwelmed.

We live on a farm in Mpumalanga and currently farm with Avocadoes, Macadamia Nuts and Bananas. We have 4 kids, ages ranging from 11 months to 10 years. We are winners in the diversity visa lottery for 2012, our case number is relatively high, so we trust that we will have a chance for an interview.

We would like to farm in the states as well, so should anyone of you know of any farmers who are successfull and willing to share some info, please let us know.

[Malamute]

Hi JoeandKie,

I'm not a farmer, but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum, and hope that one day those of us here can welcome you to the USA. I was als a DV lottery winner with a high number - one that only become current in the last month - so I know all about waiting for that interview!

Welcome and good luck with everything!

[Eileen]

Hello and Welcome to SAUSA. Not sure if you have come across this site before but it looks very interesting and may be of help to you, particulary with any Farming questions you might have. I live in Louisiana and the area where I live is mainly Sugar Cane farming, also Rice. But anyway, here are the links which might be of help. Keep in touch as you will find the folks on SAUSA very friendly and helpful


http://usda.mannlib....862A29D44F681B0

Info on Fruits and Nuts which you might find of interest:

http://usda.mannlib....documentID=1377

[Mlungu]

I'm also not a farmer, but looking at your farming activity, California sounds like the place for you. They farm with most of the stuff on your list

[JoeandKie]

Thank you so much all of you!

Do any of you have kids? We are trying to work out what the minimum is for us to get by a month, no, we will not stay in a city. An acquiantance in Ohio says for a family of 6, at least $5000 per month.

Even though none of you are farmers, if you take a look at the farmers around you, where you live, which farmers seem to be doing well financially? Here we have agricultural economists with whom you can get in contact with, they have so many stats and info, and they help farmers to see whether the farms they are interested in will be viable or not. IDo you get people in that career there as well? If so, where could I try and get hold of someone? I can also tell new farmers here in SA which commodities to stay away from, what is your opinion on that?

I am planning to come over next month to do some investigation. I have made contact with numerous universities who have big agricultural faculties, and I am busy arranging meetings with the extension officers. Should you know of any specific area which you think is really worth seeing and perhaps a person with whom I can arrange a meeting, please let me know.

My best friend married an american girl, they lived in Minnesota for years, The winters were to harsh, so last year I helped them move from MN to Tennessee.... TN stole my heart. If I can choose, I would live there, but I also realise that it is no use moving there and we barely make a living... Maybe a cattle farm there will work, apparently the guys are doing well.

For the first year I will be working for my friend, he has a landscaping company. I plan to only work 4 days and use the friday and weekend seeing more farming areas etc and if I find the place, then only to buy. If I need to learn, those 3 days I am willing to help a farmer in that industry with his commodity until I can start farming myself.

Any good ideas for cars for my wife... and all the kids?

[Mlungu]

Hi, my two cents worth again: Look at : www.ucdavis.edu/. It is a university in California known for agriculture. Used cars are cheap in the USA. Google consumer reports or reviews on a specific car and model before you pay for anything.

Not related to any of your questions but my pet subject: Make sure your children's vaccinations are up to date and bring the records with you. If you don't, your child will get all of his/her vaccination again and it will become your pet subject too

[C185]

http://www.newschann...rs-in-tennessee

Just something in the news I found concerning Farming in Tennessee. We hope to have you in our wonderful state soon.

http://www.kbb.com/

That is a good website to get new & used car values. You can also have a look at http://www.carmax.com/ for used cars, they are pretty reliable with good quality used cars. Toyota and Honda makes the more popular minivans that is ideal for your size family.

Have a look at http://www.realtracs.com/ for property rental and sales in TN, you can also find land prizes on there.

You should be able to survive with about $2500 - $3000/month, it all depends what you will be satisfied with to start off with. Just to give you an idea, everybody is welcome to correct me if they do not fully agree, but these figures are for bare minimums. $5000/month in TN should be a fairly comfortable.

Food +- $600-$800/month
Gas +- $200/month
Rent +- $1000 - $1400
Car insurance Less than $100/month. (This will come down as you build up on your driving history)
I can not really say much on health insurance, sorry.
Utilities (electric/water etc) $200 - $300

These prizes are what you should be looking at if you are fairly conservative with your spending, also remember that cost of living change from state to state, city to city and salaries are normally adjusted to this. It would be ideal if you can get more specific details from people who live in specific areas/cities you are interested in.

This post has been edited by C185: 19 September 2011 - 09:52 PM

[JoeandKie]

Vacinations, check, and all the other optional ones, I have done.... VERY EXPENSIVE!!!

Universities, have made contact with them all who have an interest in agriculture... California = expensive... But their info... priceless.

Cars, thank you for confirming, we see that a Honda (can't remember mdel name) and Toyota Sienna will do the job... bye-bye VW kombi

Buget??? was this one aimed for 2 people or 6? My kids eat A LOT!!!! You have covered about everything except, internet and cellphone (I know I will need pre paid at first) and then.... SCHOOL, 3 of my kids will have to go to school.

I saw a thread whilst browsing on the forums where some people jotted down what the first few weeks months cost them when they just landed. I remember they said that deposits for houses/apartments were threefold, car insurance more expensive, and one also paid more than $5000 for a months stay in a long-stay hotel. I you know what I am talking about, please help me with this link...

Thank you for all the info

[C185]

I don't think you should ad more than a $100-$200/month for food if you are concerned about a family of 6, unfortunately I cannot give you accurate figures on that but we have friends in Clarksville, TN that is a family of 5 and they seem to do fairly well in about that region. I think to start off with and if you shop smart at places like Walmart or SamsClub (Makro ) then you should be fine.

Cellphones, have a look at http://www.sprint.com , http://www.att.com , http://www.tmobile.com and http://www.verizon.com for prize info. You get family packages that works well since calls to each other is unlimited. You don't necessarily have to start off with prepaid, try and get a contract from the start. Just a note, chances are good you have to pay for your phone, anything from $30 - $100 should be a safe margin, depending on what cellphone you would like.

Internet/home phone/cable TV can usually be obtained as one package from one provider like Comcast, you can find prices on their website http://www.comcast.com. Direct TV also provides satellite TV.

Chances are good that all these websites would want you to enter a zip code for pricing, you can use 37076 or 37214 if you want. These are both zip codes in the Nashville area.

Schools, public schools are free and it should not be a problem for you, the kids will be picked up by bus that is also free. If you do make the move try and do it over the summer holidays in the USA, June - August, that way they can start school at the beginning of the school year. Schools in parts of TN start in the early parts of August.

The Honda minivan is the Honda Odyssey, good reliable and comfortable. My sister drives the Toyota Sienna and it is also very comfortable.

Deposits for electricity and water connections should not be more than $100 - $120, if needed at all. Rental deposits will likely be a months rent, 3 months rent if you go to big apartment complexes with no credit history. But I would stay away from them, they are very small, you should not have a problem getting a house to rent.

This post has been edited by C185: 20 September 2011 - 01:46 AM

[treverly]

You can probably apply for reduced price school lunches. This means that your children will be able to eat a cooked lunch at school consisting of a meat and 2 vegetables plus fruit and milk for about 40c. The prices could be different in your area. (4oz meat 4oz vegetable and 1/4 pint milk)
They can also get breakfast at school which is a biscuit(sort of scone) with chicken/sausage patty or breakfast pizza with milk, also about 30c. Nobody needs to know that they are getting help and you can change that as soon as you are able. It will help enormously with your grocery account. (In USA there is no stigma to asking for help ) Most of their friends will eat school lunches so they won't look different.
Go to one of the school sites in the area and look at their menus for the month. They are quite varied. I live in Greenville, South Carolina.
Greenville County School menus
Bev

[JoeandKie]

Thank you guys, you are such a big help!

[Knersus]

If you or anyone want to study Ag here, Iowa State or Kansas State IS AG....lol, the rest are for show...

Email me with as much questions as u like regarding farming... You will get some Bloubul answers....

[C185]

Knersus, on 05 December 2011 - 12:10 AM, said:

If you or anyone want to study Ag here, Iowa State or Kansas State IS AG....lol, the rest are for show...

Email me with as much questions as u like regarding farming... You will get some Bloubul answers....

Jy sien daar kry jou nou alles verkeerd.....hoe kan mens Bloubul antwoorde vertrou...?

[JoeandKie]

Ai ai manne.... laat ons nou nie dat rugby vroee vriendskappe versier nie....

No, I will not go and study again.

I did have a successfull trip in the US during the month of Oct and was priveledged to speak to the cream of the crop in a few Agricultural fileds. Initially it was difficult for any American to even grant me an appointment or any direct answers to questions, I think they are scared of getting sued. In the end, one real cool guy helped us so much and set up meetings for 2 days with ALL the people I wanted to see, they ended up giving me straight answers to my straight questions, which I really appreciated... I even co-lectured at the University of Tennessee on the "Chalenges farmers face in Africa"... WELL they call it a lecture, I just showed them some pictures and shared some of our political frustrations... for what it is worth, maybe they will inderstand our struggles a bit better and more compasion for us....