Are you looking for outlets to make your Small Farm profitable? Whether you’re starting out small or have big ideas in mind, getting into the right avenue of farming is something to think long and hard on. From your personal preferences and the experience you have with certain types of animals, to the type of soil that you’re working your tractor with, you may find that the final decision is easier to nail down than you had originally thought.
Here are a few highly profitable farm ventures that you should consider!
You Don’t Need a Large Area to Get Started
Some types of farming may only need a quarter acre of land to get started. From there, you can expand or add in new crops to diversify your farm. For instance, garlic farming can yield about 2.5 tons per 1/4 acre. You can harvest your crops after just six months. Right now, there’s a huge demand for organic garlic!
https://blog.kuza.io/8-profitable-farming-ventures-on-just-%C2%BC-acre-of-land-in-kenya-3db871809f16
Start a Small Dairy Farm
People love being able to buy fresh milk from local dairy farmers. Just be warned, the feed can get pretty expensive and make up about half of your total production costs. You can keep a few cows on a small amount of acreage. With the right type of breed, a great vet, and good home care, you can yield a lot of milk each day.
https://blog.kuza.io/8-profitable-farming-ventures-on-just-%C2%BC-acre-of-land-in-kenya-3db871809f16
Start a Jam and Jelly Business
If you’re into canning and have plenty of fruit (or even peppers!) on hand, you might want to consider opening up a small jam and jelly business at your farm, online, or through the local farmer’s market. Just remember that there may be food-production laws that you need to consider, even though you’re operating your business at home.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/start-small-jams-jellies-business-15809.html
Seed Production
What’s one thing that every farmer or gardener needs to get started? Seeds. Where do those seeds come from? Seed farms, of course! You can also build a seed bank for better plants with other seed sellers. Sell your seeds online, at gardening shows, on your blog, or to local landscaping businesses.
http://b2binformation.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-set-up-seed-manufacturing.html
Compost Manufacturing
Have lots of manure on hand? What about organic compost from your vegetable garden? Rather than pile it up in the back 40, you ought to consider starting a composting business. You can even offer to accept organic materials from local farmers who need to move it from their property. Just note…you’ll need a lot of extra space and likely some heavy machinery or a small tractor to make this happen!
https://www.thebalance.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-starting-a-composting-business-2951463
Poultry Farming/Broiler Chickens
From a small neighborhood egg business to handling frozen chickens for retail, poultry offer a lot of different options. You can even work with larger poultry companies as a subcontractor raising chickens for their processing and retail purposes.
https://www.thespruce.com/start-a-chicken-broiler-business-3016901
Vegetable Farming
Ready to keep things straightforward and simple? Vegetable gardening is the way to go. Not only can it help you reduce your monthly expenses on grocery bills, it can supplement or replace your income entirely, depending on how big you want to go. Work with your local agricultural extension service to find out which varieties grow best with the soil in your area. We recommend starting out small, because too much too soon can overwhelm the beginning farmer.
http://www.almanac.com/vegetable-garden-planning-for-beginners
Have a Backup Plan
One “U Pick” Strawberry farm in Indiana found that implementing asparagus into their crop turned out to be a huge hit. The crops were booming, and they were able to set up at a local farmer’s market with the lush harvest. This helped to supplement their farm income on days when rainy weather prevented families with young children from coming out to pick produce.
