Ideas please- need to make $10K on 10 acres per year

[Dirtslinger]

I work near 7 days a week 7 months of the year, and then homestead chores late into the evenings.
In winter I switch jobs, putting in a lot of hours also off of the farm. I just realized if I can make $15000.00 per year from the farm... I can quit my winter work and spend a lot more time at home, catching up on all I rally want to do! I am aware this is a long shot.

I can probably make $5000K from honey and bee products.
So that leaves $10k... And I don't have a tractor. But have very good bottom land pasture.
Winter is long, and I am unable to get hay without a tractor -hiring others has been unreliable. Livestock over-wintering can get expensive...but very worthwhile if it's worth keeping some form of breeding stock.

Eggs, small time turkey production, meat ducks, all seem to require more feed than they are worth (even free ranged) and not having a tractor (not even for hire) veggies are just not possible at this time.
Also worried about raising cattle- seems incredibly risky with this market. If I can't sell them in fall I also can't afford to feed them over a winter!

I'd love to hear any ideas of what you've done/tried!!! Basically what I'd love to try are two projects that will each generate about $5K per year (above and beyond the feed!!!) I'm happy to invest in more fencing and build sheds.

Thanks.

[Terri]

Would you rather be at home in the summer? I am thinking that if you get a job at the the school district, which would give you your SUMMERS off.

I have not done the following on a LARGE scale, partly because I am disabled. But, if you garden with a tiller, you should be able to handle an acre of vegetables. I used to run the tillers between the rows to keep the weeds down. This was not enough for carrots and small vegetables, but it did well for the bush beans and such.

Selling hay, perhaps? There are sickle-bar mowers availabe that do not need a tractor.

[Cabin Fever]

Several rows of chicken houses.

[tyusclan]

Fruit trees.

A very good book to read is called Ten Acres Enough. It's available from Small Farmers Journal, www.smallfarmersjournal.com.

The book was written in the late 1860's, so the prices he mentions will be greatly out of date, but he's an entertaining writer and really has some interesting points of view that are truly timeless. It's well worth reading.

[Old Vet]

The only way to make 10,000 from ten acres is to raise dope and sell it. A lot of people have truid to make that much out of a lot more and have not had much luck. You can raise alpacas and sell the fur or something like that and you would make more than half of that. If it was easy to make 15,000 on ten acres most of us would make more than that.

[Jim S.]

Get a car trailer, start pulling in junkers, and open a junkyard. Once the car parts are picked off them, sell off the carcasses for scrap. You'll make way more than $10K on 10 acres of junk cars.

[coalroadcabin]

chinchilla farm?

(Just and idea out of the air here. I've never farmed them but I do know as pets they are easy to raise.)

[humbug]

Have you considered raising registered dogs?

[sisterpine]

It sounds like the poster is wanting to raise 10K net which is a whole different thing than 10K gross for sure. I grossed 10K with my side business this year but when I deducted every thing that I could deduct I ended up -2500 so there was no net income. Hopeful expenses will be kept down and profits up in 08 and it will be a different story.

Can you not sell honey in the winter as well. Or do the bees just hibernate or some such. How about something you can make easily and sell to others like leather goods or play houses (great christmas gifts) wishing wells for the yard, porch swings etc. sounds like you have lots of room! sis

[fin29]

Pastured poultry--broilers--provided you have a market that'll pay $2.50 per pound or more and can get broiler-adequate food for $450 a ton or better. I do it.

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by humbug

Have you considered raising registered dogs?

Please give a great deal of consideration before acting on this suggestion. No pun intended, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I know that there are people on this forum who breed and sell dogs, but IMO it is a very bad idea IF the sole purpose of the venture is to earn a profit.

You have to realize that dogs are companion animals, NOT livestock. They should never be raised as livestock are. Dogs need to be socialized, and it is very difficult to do that with more than a few puppies at a time. It is expensive to raise dogs if they are properly fed, housed, trained/socialized, and provided with proper veterinary care. I know a lot of people who do breed dogs and they are all pretty much in agreement that not only do they not make a profit, but most of them lose money.

Right now I have a 5 month old purebred, registered dog in my home who will be going BACK to the breeder as soon as the weather clears enough for me to make the 500+ drive to get her there. This dog came from an experienced breeder whose family also raises, trains, and sells German Shorthaired Pointers. The breeder intended to keep this puppy as a show puppy but did not have enough time for her and offered her to me. I HATE the dog- she was not properly socialized, has had almost no training, and is a very "in your face" kind of a dog who has no concept of boundaries. Also, because she spent a lot of time in a kennel, she is not housebroken. She is exactly the kind of dog that I would expect to see from a BYB or puppy miller, and is a prime example of what can happen when a breeder overextends themselves with to many dogs. The dog has been here for 10 days and I cannot wait to get rid of her. The sad thing is that had she been properly raised she might have turned out to be a really fantastic dog.

I know that plenty of people do breed dogs for profit, and some of those dogs turn out just fine. BUT, be aware, there is a lot more to it than just getting a pair of dogs and setting up shop as a breeder.

[Goatguy]

1. Turn your house into a "bed and breakfast" if your near any kind of vacation area...
2. Start a "U-Pick" strawberry or blueberry patch, People come and pick what they want for really cheap /lb
3. Put up several windmill generaters, roll your meter backwards, and have the electricity company pay you
4. Set up a day care? or similar afterschool activities.
5. Board horses (its amazing how much people will pay for that)
6. Buy or build a big roaster, then raise 20 pigs or so and do catering for weddings, anniversarys, group picnics, 4th of july parties... people LOVE roast pig and you could make REAL good money with it. Plus you'll be sitting in the sun, drinking beer, and bbq'ing, how could someone really consider that work anyhow?
7. Set up a petting zoo/farm that schools and familys can come to to see animals up close and give the city kids a chance to try "real" milk, collect thier own eggs, ect
8. Just raise some eggs, and chicks for eggs. They make good money with just a simple roadside stand
9. Sell fill dirt, get yourself a backhoe and make a pit in an unnoticeable spot on your property, fill up people's truck beds for $25 work off good fill dirt, half an acre is a LOT of truck beds full of dirt.
10. Let your bees Swarm in the spring and then post advertisements saying that you will collect swarms of bees from people yards for $50.

hhmm... I'm out of ideas, Use your imagination, you'll figure something out. Money really is pretty easy to come by. Good luck!

[Elizabeth]

Goatguy's post just prompted me to post again- not sure what kind of area you live in, but if I needed to make 10k I would look into boarding dogs and providing doggie day care. I planned on doing this at my old place in Florida before I met and married a Minnesotan and moved North. Now we have a farm and don't want to be tied to a business as well, so I have never implemented my plans.

But, I did a lot of research and it seemed to be an ideal money making project for me. I figured that with a dozen indoor/outdoor runs and a series of fenced play areas I could make enough $$$ to live very comfortably- and that was all I wanted- I wasn't planning to knock myself out, just needed some $$ to supplement other income (partly from bees, coincidentally). My needs were pretty modest as I had no mortgage or other debt. Maybe something like this would work for you?

[claytonpiano]

We raised broilers on 3 acres and made over $1000 profit just from 300 of them. We did move them around to help supplement feed and only raised 3 groups. The first group was for us and our family personally, but folks started asking if they could buy some from us. So, we raised some more. You could raise more than we did and should see a profit depending on what type of land you have and what you are willing to do. I was able to get $3 per pound.

What we did was leave them in a closed in area for 3 weeks, then move them out into a penned area that has a wire roof and a section where they can get out of the rain. It needs to be fairly large to make this work. I supplement their feed from the garden and stuff that I raise just for the broilers.

This next year, if we get moved in time, we hope to plant more stuff for food and raise more. This way, it paid for our entire feed bill (including our layers) and we still made profit. We waited until later in the spring when we didn't have to keep a lamp on the birds 24 hours a day. We processed them ourselves and sold them.

Turkeys will work also, but they need lots more area to forage and are stupid mothers. We let our silkies raise them. The problem with turkeys is that you need lots of feed to get them started, but eventually they are really good graisers. The important thing is to have your buyers BEFORE you buy and raise the birds. There is nothing like trying to find freezer space for 100 birds!!

The thing is that you must diversify. You will lose birds to raccoons, fox and hawks. The bees do well for us, but then we live in Raleigh, NC where we have a great market for the birds and eggs. The drought was terrible on our bees and their honey production this year. Piano students going in and out 3 days a week helps us a lot. It really depends on how many folks you can market to. We never even needed to advertise.

My piano teacher friends want herbs and specialty lettuce. The drought killed us with that this year, but it would work great if I had taken better care of the garden. The thing is, I was raising stuff they couldn't get at the farmer's market because I had a small green house. Once the market gets going in full swing, I don't do as well. So, again, you have to diversify.

You can do it, but you need a niche market. Another friend raises mushrooms. The extension agents here in NC have helped her market them. Several restaurants buy all she can raise as a result of the agents marketing campaign. They are asking for farm raised eggs also.

You might call your extension agent and see what he recommends. They have been VERY helpful to us and encouraged us with the broilers. In NC after I process 1000 in a year, then I can't legally do anymore so we would have to locate a processing plant. I've been unable to find one that will do a small number of birds. There was one close to us but the USDA closed them down last spring while I needed them.....so we processed our own.

[Terri]

Goatguy, here in the USA you can register your name with the fire department and such, so that you are called when swarms make a nuisance.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

The only way to make 10,000 from ten acres is to raise dope and sell it.

Sure, a cash crop of weed or opium poppies. That'll do it all right! LOL

Originally Posted by Old Vet

You can raise alpacas and sell the fur or something like that and you would make more than half of that. If it was easy to make 15,000 on ten acres most of us would make more than that.

Oh, you can make a lot more than that with alpacas! But forget the fur, the REAL money in alpacas is in breeding them (with each other, of course).

Alpacas typically go for between $10,000 and $20,000 each, depending on sex and age. Obviously it won't take you long to invest $50,000 on even a small family of alpacas, but the financial incentive is certainly there if you can get them breeding.

However, I don't know what effect the impending recession will have on the price of alpacas. It could be a risky investment.

[veme]

Small fruit - strawberries raspberries blueberries are very profitable.

I grew them for market 15 years ago and it was labor intensive. 10 acres of small fruit and you would need help - lots of it.

Taking Easter pictures of kids with baby animals & sending them to grandparents faraway can be profitable.
Ditto hay rides, pumpkin patch stuff, canning & fiber workshops, farm "tourism" - let them spend the week-end & shovel manure and feed the chickens.


I made a seasonal decorating business by growing gourds Indian corn & pumpkins and setting up Fall displays for local restaurants,Dr.'s offices, banks etc.
I was a lot of work but very, very profitable.
Dry flower material & live florist like ivy stuff sells well too.
Mini blue corn was always a big hit & so were daffodils & fall dug mums.

[Quinton]

Backyard Market Gardening

http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Marke.../dp/0962464805

Hey, if a guy in Maine can make $20,000 on 1 acre!!

Just pay attention to what you sell, you cant sell corn and make that.

[cchapman84]

I would go for garlic. An acre of garlic can get you about $5,000 gross (more if it's certified organic), and there's not much overhead, so you could probably net around $3500-$4000/acre. Sell direct at the farmer's market, restaurants, etc.

[woodsrunner]

Small fruits. You already have the bees in your plan. Raspberries can easily do what you want on much less than ten acres. Other crops with high returns on small parcels, ginseng, goldenseal, garlic, herbs. Be aware though, high monetary returns usually mean highly labor intensive too. If they didn't, everyone would be doing it and you wouldn't be able to give the crop away, let alone sell it.