Income.

[Bubbas Boys]

Looking for advise from you fine folks on here. Wanting ideas on ways to make $500-800 a month on our farm. Doing some changing of things and could use a littlw income. Doesnt have to be every month, we are good at spreading things out and saving. We have 7 tillable acres in alfalfa hay right now. Also, have 1/2 acre of what is now a goat pasture. Livestock? Planting something? What do folks make money on? We not afraid of hard work!

[Harry Chickpea]

You only want the holy grail.

Corn maze (maize?)
Just about time to plant punkins for harvest?
Goat cam and adopt a goat? (could be an educational opportunity for city kids)

[gibbsgirl]

I've had better luck trying to figure out ways to steadily reduce our expenses because of our homesteading life than increasing our income.

[Bubbas Boys]

We have done really well at this already. Can always do better though.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

you haven't got the acreage for a hole lot from the sound of it , but you could on farm process chickens , your looking at start up costs that eat the income from your first 100-200 birds , you really need 4 people to make a evisceration line work smooth and you can only do 2000 birds a year in some states

start small with 2 dozen birds to get the feel for it and take losses and learn lessons on a small scale then when you think your ready step up to the plate with 100
when you figure out how to processes pack and chill a hundred in a day , you will be ready for other plans

next issue , marketing and sales you have to figure out how not to spend to much time on this as it sucks time and resources

at one point I a friend and I had this operation running we got to the point where we had 100 birds at a time , our families decided about the time we covered all our costs of start up , they weren't so interested in being a part of an evisceration line every few weeks , something about we were already over committed and hadn't enough time in the day we didn't need that also , the nice part is when I do a small run for us I have the equipment to do it fast.

[Michael W. Smith]

$500.00 - $800.00 per month?!?!?!?

Are you close enough to the public, that they would come to you for a pick your own strawberry patch?

Even with strawberries, you are looking at planting one year and not harvesting till the next. However, the first year of harvest, you could potentially "harvest" the runners and plant more fields.

Potentially, your first field could produce for a second year while your second field would also be producing.

I know one guy that tried this. It is somewhat labor intensive though. That first year of planting you have to keep the weeds in check. Then the second year when it first produces, you have to have people working to direct the people on where to pick, weed patrol, plus charging the people for what they picked as they come out of the field.

Of course, you are dealing with nature, so if you have several rainy days in a row, strawberries are going to rot. And if you don't have enough people coming to pick, you may have to try to round up people to pick them and then sell them.

They guy I knew did this for about 2 or 3 years - mostly using family. The family got fed up with it, and he hasn't done it again.

I have no idea what kind of money could be made. You will have a full year of expenses before you start bringing in money.

[gibbsgirl]

Dog breeding or kennel services might be an opportunity. Or boarding other animals depending on your setup.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Tobacco, about 3 acres will catch it. Too late for this year but this will give you time to get your ducks in a row for next years crop. You will need to get barn space and some basic equipment together. It's a labor intensive high dollar crop.

[Bubbas Boys]

Ok. Thanks everyone. We are open to try almost anything. Lol

[geo in mi]

Learn how to roast pigs........

geo

[FarmerKat]

I was going to suggest pigs and sell weaners or feed them up and sell whole live pig ready to butcher (that way you don't have to deal with regulations pertaining to meat processing). The other thing (not sure how viable this is but it is something I am thinking about trying) is starting herbs from seed and then selling them.

This may not be applicable for your area but we see quite a bit of this around here ... if there is a draw to your area/property, create a couple of spots for campers and let people camp there in their RVs. If you are near town, you may be able to rent space for outdoor storage of RVs, boats, etc. that people are not allowed to keep in neighborhoods.

[Bubbas Boys]

We are starting the pig operation now. Looking for an add on yo them. Thanks. We are located right by a pretty busy lake. The main Marina is 1/4 mile from us.

[Bubbas Boys]

Lots of folks do firewood around us already. The only livestock is pretty much show animals.

[wwubben]

Provide a service to the public that does not require a lot of expense.Mostly labor.

[Terri]

What do you do with your alfalfa now? Do you have the equipment to cut and bale it? If you do, then let the exchange office now that you are available to cut other peoples hay. If you do not, see if someone will cut it on shares.

That will not bring you in your goal, but it will bring you in something.

Pick your own strawberries is a one-tome deal, as strawberries first yield and then they are done for the year. Of course you could also plant blueberries, black raspberries, thornless blackberries, and so stretch things out to do steady business for perhaps 3 months.

At any rate, *DO* check out Joel Salatin. He does make money farming, and I have heard it said he could sell ice to the eskimoux, but for a man just starting a business that is not a bad thing! you can learn marketing from someone who is good at it. Remember that he has established customers, and you will not get as high prices as he does.

One pearl of wisdom: when everybody hears that agriculture has been hit hard, then raise your prices a bit. Folks will accept it because there is a drought. Then, do not lower them after the drought or whatever is over,

And, according to J D Belanger, for a farm business to work, everybody has to win. The seller must make a profit (and not just break even) or he will not stay in business long. The customer must get good food for the table at a price they are comfortable with, or they will not come back very often and the business will also go under. When both are satisfied, then the farmer makes a profit and stays in business, and the customer serves good food to the family and comes back and is pleased.

[TnAndy]

I'd look at hoop house tomatoes, with a side business of pigs or chickens you could feed the ones you can't market.

[SueMc]

Don't just look at what you're doing as just cash in hand basis. Look at what you might be saving because you're not buying meat or produce. I know it's different if you purchase all of your feed but if you raise pastured meat with extra feed only during the winter, your beef, pork or whatever may/should be less expensive than what you get in the stores.
For example, we purchased a bred Guernsey heifer who had a bull calf. The only time we fed him anything other than pasture was in the Winter. We got lots of milk from momma for us, other family and "free" food for the pigs, plus two years later a good amount of tasty, surprisingly, fairly well marbled, tender beef. Our next beef will be a last year's Angus steer. He cost us the price of semen and his mom's cut of the vet bill for synchronized breeding and whatever hay (which we raise) we feed in the winter. I know I tend to be simplistic about the true cost of my meat that we raise but I'm sure not having to shell out $10++/lb for steaks.
To me, what I save in output for food is the same as cash in hand.

Of course any "savings" I may have is ate up by a bunch of worthless horses and mules and a few dogs!

[BigHenTinyBrain]

Go get a part time job.
I work 3 days a week at the local general store. Quick, pleasant, keeps us up to date on news, nets us more opportunity than I can list, pays the essential bills.
We've been able to hear first about free chickens, bales of hay, odd jobs, seasonal jobs and good deals. We sell our farm produced extras via word of mouth, and could sell twice as much if we wanted to.
A cashier job (or some other minor, easy, center-of-town job) mostly requires a good attitude, honesty and the ability to count. The benefits of 10-20 hours off farm in a small town can be outstandingly useful.

[simi-steading]

I moved away from Central Illinois, because there was woo much flat land and no timber... Also not a lot of money to be made there...

You could do rabbits.. I used to buy rabbits from a guy there for my snake, but he did very well selling butchered rabbits.

Now that I'm in WV, my plan is to lumber out some of my hardwood timber and build smaller furniture pieces and functional art.. I just got two very large chestnut stumps that I plan to build live edge book matched tables out of that should go for quite a bit of money since you can't find wood like that any more.

Use your imagination.... Think of things no one else is doing... Out here we have a guy that collected bottles and turned it into recycled hand blown glass.... Find a niche and make it big...

[simi-steading]

Originally Posted by Bubbas Boys

We are starting the pig operation now. Looking for an add on yo them. Thanks. We are located right by a pretty busy lake. The main Marina is 1/4 mile from us.

I just saw this.... Maybe worm farming or crickets? Or some other type of bait that's not often sold there, such as wax worms maybe?

I got more bamboo that I can get rid of... If I was in your place, I'd be selling cane poles...

Like I said, think about filling a niche that no one else is.

I used to fish Carlisle lake dam quite a bit, and I'm trying to remember what I used to see there that did well..