Need helpful ideas on moneymaking/saving

[saramark]

We have 1 acre in Maine. Growing season is pretty short, and we have pretty bad winters for the most part.
We currently raise 150-200 broilers yearly and those we sell pays for our 50 that we eat with a little leftover cash. We have 16 layers, 7 of which are just getting ready to lay their first eggs. We sell off excess eggs. We have a small garden that we are expanding and cut our own fire wood free from a friend's land. We barter chicken for organic raw milk and dairy products and share grain orders so we get a discount per ton. I have about 1/3 acre that is currently unused and the ground is fairly wet, not really swampy, but may work for animal pasture.
We have no interest in milking anything, as we have already worked out the barter for dairy. We homeschool and my wife is a SAHM. She is looking for enterprises that we can do from home that don't require her to have transportation and I would like to be home more, and make more money from home rather than having to leave.
I know there are lots of resourceful people on HT and we value your opinions. We are looking more at independence than money making, but some bills just require cash, so that is a consideration. We love animals and gardening, but are short on cash to fork out to build new things or equipment.

Mark

[ldc]

If you, or your wife, are crafty, about 5 yrs. ago I met a lady who I thought was selling antiques, in one of those towns that has made that it's business along their main street, here in Louisiana. Anyway it was raining, and this woman was sewing, while we talked. Turned out she makes more money from finishing other people's craft projects than from her antiques! So, long winters in Maine, right? Lots of people have quilts and sweaters they have promised to relatives and friends by a certain date (new baby's birth date, graduation, anniversaries, etc.); and no way to finish. The antiques dealer said she couldn't divulge her prices, but she was making a "pretty penny"!!! Good luck (I realize this isn't about animals or gardening; just something "different"!) ldc

[Terri]

Do you itemize on your taxes?

The lady at H&R block says that we can claim a tax deduction for any fresh veggies we give them, so I have given them 40 cucumbers so far. (We have enough pickles to last us the next couple of years).

If cukes sell for 50 cents each, that is the same as $20. *IF* Uncle Sam takes 1/4 of our income, that is the same as $5 in our pockets come tax time.

Now, that isn't much, excepting that I have only dropped them off twice, and the cucumbers HAVE to be kept picked or they will stop bearing. In a couple of weeks I think that I will have other vegetables to add to it as well.

[Siryet]

we raise pigs to become hogs. We raise three, keep two and sell the third, on the hoof, and this pays for our two and feed. We have our feed ground w/o any medicines or hormones and we pick it up and store in in 55 gal drums. We usually order 1,000 lbs at a time and get it for .11 a lb.
We do not spend any money for meat as we raise sheep the same way but I believe you would need more than 1/3 acre for sheep and dry ground is a necessity for sheep.

[YounGrey]

There are a lot of good ideas here, i would look back at some old posts.

[KindredSpirit]

I notice you said you homeschool. Could you teach a class for homeschoolers in cooking, gardening, sewing or something along the lines of home economics? You could charge each family for the semester and have activities once a week for the kids in whatever type of course you choose.

[amelia]

Ken Scharabok's e-book on ideas for making money in the country is wonderful. Ken is an HT member. I'm sure you can locate his contact info by searching old posts. The book is professional quality, and chock full of great ideas. The book was, at least at one time, being offered free to fellow HT members.

The fact that you mentioned your short growing season in Maine got me thinking: Isn't the book "Four Season Harvest," by Elliott Coleman, about year-round gardening in Maine? Might be worth a look.

Regarding tax deductions for giving away (bartering?) produce, I'd be careful. You can take a tax deduction for legitimate business expenses, but I can't quite see how giveaways would fit that definition. Also, remember that bartering, technically speaking, generates taxable income.

[hmsteader71]

Does your wife enjoy baking? Could she bake homemade breads to sell? That is something I started last year and it brings in a little extra income that does help.

[gilberte]

Did you happen to catch the article in the Bangor Daily News this past weekend about the guy over in Madison who raises tomatoes year-round in a 17 acre greenhouse? Profitable enough to employ 115 people and they're going to expand! Also talking about raising other veggies that way. It would require some capitol outlay though.

[vickiesmom]

hmsteader71 How does that work??? I think here in Michigan you need all kinds of permits. I love to bake. Would I need to work out of a commercial kitchen???

[saramark]

My wife does make very good homemade bread and we could sell at our friends farm stand, which is where we advertise our chicken and sell our eggs. For our own consumption, we had talked about growing some lettuce and other things inside the house in the bad weather months.

Does anyone have a link to the e book mentioned? Thanks for the help, and we are still searching the forums for more help. We are just in a stage that we want to have as much independence as possible.

For grain, we have been paying for organic feed as the chicken customers want that, and pay about 27 cents lb of feed. Natural, medication free feed doesn't seem to be plentiful, anyone got a source in Maine that is cheaper than what we are paying? We will probably do a few pigs this coming year, just got too busy with broilers this spring and is too late to start now. I haven't got anything built yet for pigs.

mark

[hmsteader71]

Originally Posted by vickiesmom

hmsteader71 How does that work??? I think here in Michigan you need all kinds of permits. I love to bake. Would I need to work out of a commercial kitchen???

Here in the town I live in there are no regulations. I did check with the Health Department recently to see if I could get my kitchen certified and you can't do that. It has to be in another building. For the farmer's markets here there's no problem.
I also have a couple guys that my husband works with ordering. If I was to do it on a bigger scale I would have to move into a certified kitchen.
With the orders from work and the stand when I sell I make between $40.00-$50.00 a week. That does really help right now.

[jassytoo]

On your 1/3 acre of damp ground, maybe blueberries? Of course, maybe that would be like growing blackberries here in the PNW. More like noxious weeds! Just a thought, that is what Maine is famous for,right?

[Ken Scharabok]

"Ken Scharabok's e-book on ideas for making money in the country is wonderful. Ken is an HT member. I'm sure you can locate his contact info by searching old posts. The book is professional quality, and chock full of great ideas. The book was, at least at one time, being offered free to fellow HT members."

I use to give this e-book away for free, but now have it listed for a nominal amount on eBay. Folks kept telling me it is good enough to sell and giving it away somewhat goes against the title of "How to Earn Extra Money in the Country". Do a search on earn extra money and then it is in the store listings.

When folks ask to have it sent free from old references I let them know it is on eBay. Perhaps 10% are willing to part with a couple of bucks for the information so must not have wanted it very badly.

On bartering, technically you can have to declare what you are given as taxable income (fair market value I believe) and what you gave them at the your cost. Give-a-ways would only count as a charity deduction if the federal government recognizes it as a formal charity or church. I suspect most people who barter don't report either on their taxes. To be sure check with a professional tax preparer.

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by vickiesmom

hmsteader71 How does that work??? I think here in Michigan you need all kinds of permits. I love to bake. Would I need to work out of a commercial kitchen???

Have fun....
http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7...2817--,00.html

You might find/ask some Amish or Mennonite folks about this. Many sell baked goods for income.

[bill not in oh]

Mark - you might check on canary reed grass. It's good forage, can be baled for hay and will grow in wet areas (actually in standing water, I believe). You probably wouldn't get a whole lot off a third acre, but...

[WisJim]

In many states you do need a commercial kitchen to bake the bread in that you sell. Some communities have community kitchens built with this in mind. I think that the one we had rented for $5 an hour, but people left such a mess that it closed. On the other hand, I know other poeple that built a commercial kitchen at their home or farm so they could legally sell baked goods, jams, etc., and were able to do it for a modest investment. Need to find the stainless steel counter, sink, etc., used instead of new.

[Maura]

Homesteader 71. In Michigan you need to use an approved kitchen. If you cook out of your home, you would have to set up a second kitchen. If you are baking, all you need is an oven, sink, counter or table, and refrigerator that are seperate from the family kitchen. Your county may also have a kitchen that you can use, perhaps in a school that teaches culinary arts. In Tuscola county, they have set up a kitchen so folks can process jelly, jam, baked goods, etc., for selling. I'm sure if you contact your county someone can tell you if there is a kitchen available.

[Jolly]

Depends on how far under the radar you're willing to fly.

When my kids were in high school, our kitchen had the constant smell of fresh baked goods. My wife baked small speacialty breads and cakes, in the little one pound loaf tins.

About twice a month, we had a regular round of doctor's, lawyer's and professional offices - the kinds of people who have a little money, and don't usually have access to a lot of home cooking. We even hit the lounges of schools, leaving a basketful of baked goods, and a "donation" jar.

After expenses, all proceeds went to the band booster club....but we made some decent profits, considering the effort that went into it...

[vickiesmom]

Thanks Maura...I was thinking of asking a church or the fire department if I could use their kitchen.