Has it always been your dream to own a small farm? If so, you may have romantic notions about self-sufficiency and living off the land. The thing is, even if you manage to grow all your food, you will still need money to cover other necessities. Even the smallest farm needs to be profitable if it’s going to survive. Here are a few ways to create income from your property and eventually turn a profit.
Sell Vegetables, Fruit, Or Flowers
Selling produce is the most obvious way to make money from your farm. If your road is well-traveled, you could set up a farmstand there. You may also be able to run a booth at a well-attended farmers’ market. If you don’t like the idea of a farmstand and want to sell directly to your end customers, consider a subscription or community-supported agriculture model, where you presell shares at the beginning of the season. Then you can either deliver shares every week or have people come to you to pick them up.
Sell Hay For Animal Feed
.tdi_67_366.td-a-rec{text-align:center}.tdi_67_366 .td-element-style{z-index:-1}.tdi_67_366.td-a-rec-img{text-align:left}.tdi_67_366.td-a-rec-img img{margin:0 auto 0 0}@media (max-width:767px){.tdi_67_366.td-a-rec-img{text-align:center}}
If you have the space for a hayfield but don’t need all of its yield for your animals, sell the excess to your neighbors. If you plan to sell hay, you’ll appreciate having bale handling attachments to lift and move the bales quickly. Check for hay spears for sale that fit your tractor so that you can easily attach them when needed.
Sell Wood Harvested From Your Property
If part of your farmland needs to be cleared to make way for crops, you can make money selling lumber or firewood. Consider getting skid steer quick attach pallet forks to make moving firewood easier. If you have the time, you could offer to deliver it around town for free. Otherwise, you can have customers come to you to pick it up. Because wood grows much slower than most other crops, you may not be able to sustain a firewood business year after year.
Rent Out Space
If there’s one thing most farms have in abundance, it’s wide-open space. You may even have outbuildings that you don’t use regularly. You could consider renting your extra space for people to use as storage or workspace. It may also be possible to create space on your land for recreational vehicles.
Teach Classes
Whether your skills lie in food preservation, seed saving, small engine repair, animal husbandry, or something else, you can be sure there is someone out there who would pay to learn from you. If you have a reliable and fast internet connection, you can teach classes to anyone, anywhere. If you prefer to teach in-person, you can try hosting classes on your property or at a local school or community center.
Your small farm can be profitable if you think outside the box and diversify your offerings. You may find that your work develops a rhythm based on the seasons. However, you choose to make money, be sure to get the right tools to make your operation run smoothly.
