If you’re wondering how to make money on a small acreage, don’t worry – your opportunities are limited only by your own skills and interests. Land doesn’t have to be a limiting factor, especially if you have some expertise in particular areas. Here are some profitable ideas to try if you are looking for inspiration.
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How Can I Make Money With a Few Acres of Land? General Tips to Follow
There is a misconception out there that, to be a farmer, you must be dirt poor. It is expected that you work very hard for very little money. You might feel like you are a slave to the land, beholden to the weather and the challenges it throws your way.
However, by following a few simple tips, there are ways you can make money from just a few acres. Work smarter, not harder, with this advice.
Think Like a Business
Before you dive into your new business as a farmer, it’s important that you develop the right mindset. You aren’t going to be able to make money with your farm if you’re just dabbling in this here, and that there.
You need to sit down and come up with a formal business plan that identifies your market, what you plan to sell, and how exactly you are going to make money.
Once you start to think like a business, you will find that making money becomes easier.
Grow and Produce What You Can Sell
If you plan on making money by having a market garden, one of the most popular options for people with limited acreage, don’t grow things that won’t sell well.
Rutabagas are great – and they’re pretty easy to grow – but you are going to have a much harder time convincing people to buy them than you are sweet corn and tomatoes. Be realistic about what you’re selling or raising – and what you charge for those products.
Find Steady Customers
Last but not least, your business is nothing without a steady customer base. That doesn’t matter whether your business is a farm or a restaurant or any other kind of enterprise. You need customers to function.
A lot of farmers fail to make money from their farms because they aren’t friendly and willing to advertise. You’ve got to put in the leg work to build a customer base and keep them coming back for more.
No matter how great your product is, if you aren’t willing to network and interact with other people, you aren’t going to be very successful.
How to Make Money on a Small Acreage: Profitable Small Farm Ideas To Try
Here are a few of the best ways you can make money from your small farm – no matter how little acreage you might have.
Start a Market Garden
Market gardening is one of the most popular options for people who don’t have a lot of space. Farm fresh vegetables are always in demand no matter where you live or what time of the year.
If you’re able to grow an organic garden, your products will be in even higher demand. Certain vegetables grown in this fashion, like kale, tomatoes, and lettuce, can fetch much higher prices than others.
Start by focusing on just a few types of vegetables that you know how to grow well so you don’t get overwhelmed. Consider alternative techniques for growers who are tight on space – things like hydroponics and greenhouse growing will offer you much higher yields than traditional field planting.
Grow Mushrooms
Mushroom farming is growing in popularity – and for good reason. Mushrooms aren’t only good for you, but certain types of gourmet mushrooms fetch extremely high prices.
The beauty of growing mushrooms is that you can do so in conditions that are not ideal for growing most other types of vegetables – those that are dark and damp. Mushrooms are perfect for farmers who have property mostly consisting of woodland and wooded edges.
A growing area of just 200 square feet can produce 5,000 lbs of mushrooms per year – worth roughly $30,000 at current prices if you grow in-demand varieties like oyster and Shiitake.
Rent Space
Here’s a great way to make money if you have a particularly scenic plot of land – why not rent your space?
Depending on your area of expertise and how much land you have available, it’s easy to make money from your farm by renting out your spare acreage for events like weddings, conferences, and fitness classes.
You don’t necessarily have to manage these events yourself – you can always have someone else do that – but the vacant land itself can be a hot commodity.
Grow Flowers
Most people don’t think of growing flowers when they think of ways they can make money on their small farms.
However, flowers don’t take up a lot of space, and while there’s a lot of work involved in pruning, fertilizing, and otherwise tending to the beautiful blooms, you can make a ton of money – especially if you have a greenhouse on-site.
If you want to take things one step further, you can create value-added products like bouquets, floral arrangements, and wreaths to sell, too.
Make and Sell Honey
Raising honey bees for money used to be a trendy, uncommon way to make money on a small farm – but now, it’s one of the most popular. You can make money with bees in so many ways, including the most obvious (making honey) to the least (selling honey bee nucs).
Raise Pastured Chickens
While it requires a fair bit of space to raise any kind of livestock, pastured chickens are some of the best options for people with limited acreage. You can raise these birds for eggs or for meat.
Some would argue that, to raise the best quality chickens for meat or eggs, you need to have lots of space at your disposal. While it is true that chickens need plenty of space to peck, scratch, and forage, the reality is that you don’t have to have hundreds of acres for them to graze upon.
Instead, you might consider raising your chickens in chicken tractors. These are portable pens that you move every day or every few days, either by hand or with a tractor.
Here’s a video explaining how pastured poultry pens allow you to maximize a small amount of space:
Grow Gourmet Garlic
Gourmet garlic is another thing you might consider growing if you have just a small amount of space. You can sell some kinds of garlic for up to $15 per pound. All you need is a tenth of an acre to produce 2700 pounds, netting you $40,000 of profit! Not too shabby for such a small amount of space and work.
How Can I Make Money With a Few Acres of Land?
Start small, especially if you only have a few acres of land to work with.
When you first get started with running a small farm business, it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of it all and want to do everything. Don’t give in to that temptation. Focus on just one business idea at a time and go from there.
With time, you will likely find that it is far easier to make money on a small acreage than you previously thought!
