Hi! I live on 14 acres of river bottom in New York State. I have sold produce at three local farmers markets. I specialized in unusual vegetables for our area Cantalopes watermelon blue and red fleshed potatoes, canning tomatoes Okra, and the best one of them all pickling cucumbers. I sold pickling cucumbers $1.00 a quart or 10cents a piece. Averaged $32.00 a bushel. We also raise chickens and sold brown eggs and duck eggs and an occasional goose egg. The biggest factors are irrigation and weather. Can not do much about the weather. We grow melons and cucumbers on IRT Plastic because it heats up better than black plastic. Using thermally opaic plastic extends the season and helps us be the first at the market with melons and cucmbers . Our customers get used to buying from us a few weeks earlier than others at the market so we control the sales :) If you like people and can deal with the scedual try growing for market. That reminds me a good "magazine" is Growing For Market subscriptions are available on line.
Linda

They way we make a little extra, if you want to call it that, and no I don't raise dogs. I raise chickens, I sell colored eggs, brown green and blue. My middle son is hatching out eggs and selling babies, and this year we are starting something new. We are going to sell at the Farmers Market. I plan on selling veggies and eggs. I have hired (forced) my 2 oldest boys in helping me. We sure don't make a lot, we barely make enough to pay the feed bill. I started this a couple of years ago for fun, but now it has turned into an adventure of learning a buisness for the kids and we have high hopes that one day it will take off and we will do better then just pay the feed bill.

Excellent post, Bruglover. And Jamie, I've been farming/ranching a LOT longer than you have so I know exactly what that kind of life entails.

Other things to say away from, anything that seems to good to be true ie ostriches, emus, llamas, alpacas. The best way to make money on the farm is to have a job off the farm!

3 comments. Bruglover's post about raising chickens and selling them live was spot on for us. We raised ducks and sold live to asians. I worked at Cessna and mentioned the ducks to some co workers. Two were out the next day and bought 3. I helped butcher them. The next day one told me at work that his grandma wanted them live. Biggest sales were around New Year's festivals.
The largest income/area was from my grandma's garden. She sold baskets of tomatoes to the local hamburger shop as well as cukes to a local restaurant.
Wireweiners' last comment was also spot on. You want to make money, do it off the farm. At best these days you might break even on taxes from farm income. You live off you off-farm income.

While this market definitely depends on your location, & would need some pre-sale marketing research, a woman I knew back in NY made quite a tidy little side income raising up fancy breed chickens to the semi-adult stage & then selling them. She'd buy chicks from one of the major hatcheries & raise them up until she could definitively sex them, then would advertise in the local papers & on feed store bulletin boards accordingly. Depending on the breed & sex, she was getting between $10-$20 apiece for these birds.

Regular customers who wanted specific sexes & weren't interested in raising chicks themselves would place orders with her ahead of time.

I bought birds from her several times & must say that she seemed to do quite well.

i just heard today about a lady selling hatching eggs(setting eggs) on e-bay!! i'm not sure what that entails, how you prepare them for shipping, or how she ships them, i dont know-but the fancier breeds, i'm sure thats a idea. or, if you live in a area where this could be a idea, to sell them direct off the farm,-- but in my estimation, it would just about take every suggestion, fruits, veggies, eggs, poultry, beef---and a off the farm job to make a living, with the prices like they are in stores and gas stations.

The book Micro Eco-Farming by Barbara Berst Adams is very helpful. ISBN 0-9632814-3-7, published by New World Publishing.

The foreword is very encouraging. The book is realistic. There are stories of regular people who have done very well for themselves through farming.

there are some folks down my way who raise quail to sell to hunting clubs.
Barry

I swear, you mention the word "dog" on this forum, and we're almost gauranteed to have a situation on our hands! Glad it was handled nicely this time!

Anyway.....I sort of resent the comments poo-pooing Dans optimism! There ARE farms making money and not just corperate ones. There is a dairy producing organic milk near here and delivering their yummy chocolate milk once a week to Chicago markets - they can't produce emough (retailing for $3 a quart BTW!). There are green houses in this area that started inthe backyard of someones home...now they are thriving and so busy they can barely keep up. I read an article in Successful Farming about a ranch that started growing specialty hay for the big equine market in their area - they were making a hefty profit. I've got a friend whose brother makes over 100k/year with a corn maze....he's opened 3 months out ot the year (supplementing with pumpkins, ornamental corn and squash, etc.).

I always recommend Lyn Byszinski's book, The Flower Farmer, to anyone who likes to grow flowers! It is a great reference and has an excellent plan for a "trial" year, and then a plan for growth.

I think the people who do well have an open mind, like you and your wife, Dan! I live in a pit of farming where these cranky old SOB's have done the same thing for 50 years and all they do is smirk at a new idea whilst complaining about not making a living farming. They're too set in their ways to believe that there IS a way as long as there is a will! My husband and I are trapped in a family that has grown corn and beans for eons (having also had 100 head of dairy cattle too, but bailing when there was still money to made when the Dutch were buying entire herds)...we wait until the moment we can break ground on a few acres to grow something absolutely crazy...just to drive the neighbors insane!

I wish I had some advice based on actual experience Dan, but since we're just waiting for the day when this partnership is no longer, and we have some actual control. In the meantime we just read everything we can get our hands on and keep our eyes opened, just like you.

Best of luck to you and the family! I wish you lots of success! :)

Tracy

I can agree with everyone has said on the dog issue. I also know some breeders of fine hunting and livestock dogs. I don't think they are really clearing as much profit from them after all the expenses, but their purpose is to supply a demand and help fill the void. I have also seen the inhumane and squalid puppy mills first hand. I'm the first to call in the help of the Humane Society and SPCA, but I am also the first to recommend a good breeder or a type of dog to someone looking for such a creature.
I can't say enough about the merits of direct marketing. Beef is still the "Cadillac" of meats and there is certainly nothing wrong with poultry and pork, either. Not everyone lives near an Asian community to sell LIVE birds to, but there's always someone who will eat poultry, pork or beef, or all.
Basilmom, I know exactly what you are dealing with. The attitudes are just like that here, and some have even accused me of being a "lesser" farmer for focusing my attention on produce and alternative crops/livestock. It just no longer makes sense to me to keep trying to pay for that 250K combine and 175K tractor [not to mention all the accompanying support implements and vehicles] just to grow stuff that barely clears the cost of labor/fuel, let alone PAY for all that stuff. I'd much rather take their teasing and shunning, while getting as much or more per lb what they get for a bushel of what they waste time/money/labor growing! I just can't get over the act that after 17 years of doing this, nobody has followed suit! It's not like I hold the only key to the only door!
Dan, good luick with whatever you decide to do.

Link below.

Robin, could you recheck your link? I don't think that is the one you wanted.

Basilmom- AMEN SISTER!!! You are so right about the naysayers. The whole point of the new movements in agriculture is to help people who are INTERESTED in making money off of their land (and are willing to use new thinking to accomplish thier goals). The same ol, same ol only seems to work for the biggest of the big. My biggest problem is this mentality of loans, loans, loans. Of course you are never going to make any money if you have all of these loans to pay off. Not only that, you are not in charge of your own destiny--the bank is. Start S L O W and easy.

Basilmoms' DH here..I grew up working our family farm even though we had a tenant farmer who was a good dairy man. His venture into progressive farming was articial insemenation(sp)? Anyway, keeping an open mind has helped MANY farming families keep farming. I worked with a guy in MS who raised rabbits for breeding and food to local stores, restraunts(sp)and he was building the business so he could be at home. He did none of the processing. I would suggest subscribing to "Successful Farming" as a small investment in getting a wide range of ideas. My first job when I was 12 was baling hay for local farmers, it was a great job, eventually I turned my attention to working for the tenant here. To start i would start small and learn,learn and ask questions. As for the naysayers well it may be all they know, and all they WANT to know. Good luck and "if you are committed, there is always a way.."
basilmoms'DH

not wanting to get into the fights about kennels, and not wanting to keep the fight going-but i just have to point out one thing-- 99% of the dogs being destroyed in shelters are from people that let their dogs run loose--yes, farm dogs too, and never think of having them spayed-or even confined to their own property. my neighbor has a pack of 17 that is rapidly ruing my garden--no dog laws in mo. no help from the law. can you imagine how this unspayed pack is growing?and --remember, if you have hunting dogs-or farm dogs- they're fine on YOUR place--not mine. lol--now that i've kicked the hornets nest--have you thought about having bee"s? sure, you'll have to watch for, and treat the mites that are giving problems, but farm show was telling about farmers "renting" hives over the summer, to help with pollination. it would pay to check into all the problems first, but this applies to anything. best of luck with your operation.

Thanks to all who recommended Joel Salatin's books. I am just finishing "You Can Farm" and am so pumped up and excited about trying the pastured boiler operation at our farm (if we can ever sell our house in the burbs!) I am already doing the whole organic thing with vegetables and flowers and know from experience that pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers are a recipe for failure and just more problems. I have a feeling that Salatin is correct in his thinking that this is a major problem with livestock also.

I guess I'll find out!!! Thanks all again for all of your great information.

Cant believe no one suggested raising dogs and cats. LOL

GOODOLEBOY! DUCK!

(I'm not raising dogs!)

Dan, one thing you've never mentioned and nobody has asked is how much time you will have to spend on whatever you want to do. Do you work off the farm? How bout' your wife? Are your kids ages old enough to help with labor and how many do you have? Is your wife behind you on any money making endeavor you might choose. I saw your member page and it said you moved back to a family farm so I'll assume you own it outright and dont have a home/land payment?

My cousin just started a large scale organic farm near KC. They are taking interns. I'm sure they are full this year but if your interested and think it would be a learning experience you might want next year could be a possibility. I have no idea how long they require you to stay but know they provide you with room and board in exchange for the experience. His wife is a gormet chef so you would not go hungry. I've yet to make it up to see his place but from what I understand it's magnificant. The guest quarters is nicer than most folks home. My cousin "retired" in his 30's and is very well off but grew up on a farm and it's never left his system.

Ceresone, I think you are wanting to stir up something otherwise you would not have posted again. Anyone who has ever lived in the country has had to deal with stray and packed up dogs at one time or another. Some just deal with it differently than others. Your statement on "no dog laws in Missouri" shows your ignorance. If you would go out and buy 1 chicken, put it in a cage in your garden (if you have one) wait for the "pack" to arrive you could eliminate any problem you have as Missouri does have a law regarding dogs after livestock that's been on the books dang near forever.

The majority of the dog problems you speak of come from folks who all move out to a couple of acres and everyone thinks they are farmers/ranchers and do let their dogs run loose. Since your a dog lover and would most likley not want to kill a dog you can go to www.natchezss.com and order some shotgun shells used for riot control, they are rubber pellets and won't kill and animal but will sting the heck out of it.

For those that thought Bruglover's post was excellent, I'm sure it was if you agreed with it. But if you had read my last post it had nothing to do with what I had written.

Why don't some of you with all the advise get on over to the journal and keep us all entertained with your daily farming/ranching activities. Folks would enjoy it plus it would help provide folks just getting started ideas of what goes on while farming/ranching, the time it involves, plus gives them some possible ideas.

Jamie

I just want to echo the sentiments of basilmom (and DH) and imtoobusy.

Thank heavens for the optimistic out-of-the-box thinkers! My DH and I both come from "old-school" farm families (generation after generation...ad infinitum) and we live smack-dab in the middle of an old school farming community where everybody is either BIG or fades away into obscurity whilst the big guys shake their heads knowingly. My husband and I both work in town, but finally were able to move back to the country this past year where we wanted to raise our 4 kids. We have 170 acres and will do some "conventional" crop-farming and plan to acquire more land as it becomes available, but also are planning to do some "crazy" things such as organic gardening, fruit orchard, chickens and ducks, small cattle herd (and who knows what other kind of livestock strikes our fancy) and start a reforestation project and tree nursery on our non-tillable land. BOY have we been getting it from every side when the old-timers hear our plans! They seem to take pleasure in the fact that we will SURELY not succeed. We listen to their advice, smile, and turn a deaf ear to the naysaying - we're not necessarily in this to make lots of money, breaking even would be great - we just enjoy the experiences and lifestyle of being (mostly) self-sufficient through our own hard work.

Where would we be if the Wright Bros hadn't thought outside the box? Or Alex G Bell? Or any number of other people/inventors?

As long as you have realistic expectations, have done your research, and won't "loose the farm" with inappropriate investing, then I say GO FOR IT!
Good Luck Dan.

Jamie,
Good to hear back from you. Hope youre getting rested up from the hay.

At the risk of boring everybody, Ill try to give a brief rundown of my situation:
I was a self employed home builder for 16 years running multiple jobs w/ employees and subs. The last 5 years Ive had a desk/computer job where I do a lot of graphic design work (long storysuffice it to say Im a quick study and very adaptable!).
I still have my full time "day job". But I will soon be cutting that to 4 (maybe 3) days a week.

My wife of 19 years is wonderful. She is smart (smarter than me for sure), very frugal (she can take $100 and pay $110 worth of bills with it), and she is very supportive and excited about the farm. She does not work outside the home. She home schools our three sons, ages 12, 7, & 3, makes everything from scratch (even mills her own flour from organic grain she buys through the coop). She cans, bakes, wants to make her own soapshes amazing.

We are living and still working on our new house, built on property "given" to us by her parents. We moved by her family after both my parents were killed in a car accident several years ago. We had lived close to my folks because they were considerably older. But now the boys are growing up on their great grandpas farm. Great grandma lives about 500 feet away, Grandma & Grandpa live down the lane about 1500. Its a nice setting for the boys.

We have very manageable debt and some supplemental income from several sources. I "own" 5 acres and "rent" the balance of the farm, bout 20 acres total with 2 ponds. The infrastructure of the farm is intact but needing repair. I have available 2 good tractors (smaller ones, 8N), brush hogs, plow, disc, harrow, blades, augers, and spreader. There are numerous out buildings and a large barn, but most are filled with many years of junk..

I work till dark most nights on either the garden, property, or our house. I work hard and like getting dirty.

So thats my situation. Got any ideas for me?

We are so thankful for all the encouragement we have been getting!
It makes us think we may be on the right track!

Thanks All!
Dan & Denise

(I am also helping to rebuild my in-laws house after a MAJOR fire last January. Forgot that :) )

Dan, when your wife is ready to learn to make soap, have her email me. I'd be glad to help her out...I have a fair bit of practical knowledge on that subject ;)

Tracey,
Thanks! I know she would love to talk to you about it.
She really appreciated your post (as did I).
And thanks to your DH for the insight and encouragemnt.
Dan

Tracey -

I make soap too, though, not as much now that I've changed jobs.

Lora

Dan, as of yesterday unless the sky opens up and the temp's stay down the haying is finished for the year. Equipment's put up (but not washed) and the hay is in the barn.

I re-read most all of this thread including your location which sounds about perfect for a market garden. Have you checked yet to see if there are available spaces at the farmers market where your wanting to sell your produce? I know the area we moved from last year had a waiting list as space was limited.

A great book for the market gardener is 'On Good Land', by Michael Abrams. Not so much for the advise given but to inspire you.

I think with the land you have I would concentrate on produce. Have you made any trips to the farmers market and got any ideas on what's selling good and what's not? I'd really start there. No gurantee someone else is not gonna do the same thing and have a supply of it the next year. I'd not concentrate on one single item and attempt to keep a wide assortment of things.

Do you have a truck and trailer to get your stuff to market yet if you decide that's the route your gonna take? Sounds like you have all the other equipment you will need for a market garden.

I have a VERY limited ammount of experience on gardening so it's tough for me to tell you what you need to grow and how much space will be needed for each crop. Sounds like you have plenty of help at home which is nice.

I think your just gonna have to experemient and do some trial and error stuff before you can find your nich' and really get things going.

Heck, a 1-5 acre garden depending on the crop can keep one busy all day almost every day.

I'd go ahead and stay away from livestock except for what you want for your freezer. You don't have enough land to really make a good go of it but you do have enough land to raise your family's and at least one other's plenty of meat including beef, pork, and chicken. Start on some fencing for the cattle, coop's or tractors for the hens, and whatever one has for pigs. My chicken tractors I used to use were of the same size as my raised beds. It looked like I had a bunch of people burried in my garden to folks not familiar with raised bed as there were 13 4x12 raised beds.

One nice thing about a small ammount of livestock will also be if you want to start your kids in 4-H. Great fun come fair time plus the kids make some good money off the sale of their livestock. It's not as big a thing here as where we moved from as there all the kids 4-H animals sold GREAT at the fair and the whole community came out for it. Here it's kinda on the lame side but hopefully it will pick up. Great learning experience for the kids plus they meet others that also have intrests like theirs. FWIW, pigs were the easiest keeping money makers for the 4-H kids but we had great extension agents there that really worked with the kids and helped them pick out whatever they were gonna raise.

I guess in short my advise would be for you to head to the farmers market. Check out the availability to make sure they have room for you, and if they do sign up for next year and if not get put on the waiting list. Make a plan for next years garden. Line out your garden area. Begin amending the soil by making each bed or area specific for what your wanting to grow in it. Get fencing and irrigation in place. Then see what happens! Worse case looking at what you have is you won't have much of a need for a grocery store especially if your wife and kids can some of the veggies.

There are so many ideas out there floating around that one can make money on it makes your head spin. Heck I've got neighbors that raise native grass and wildflowers. Some of thier seed goes for over $600 a pound! I also remember a story of a guy that went around collecting pollen. He collected it from tree's and then sold it to a pharmacetucial company and they used it to make allergy medications. He was only one of a very few in the US that did it and had more work than he could handle. He would of course do most of his work in the spring and simply ask folks with lots of tree's if he could collect some pollen and very rarely did anyone object as it don't hurt the tree. There's more stories out there but you'll just need to find out what will work out best for you and your family.

Good luck,
Jamie

I've been a lurker on the farm forum for quite awhile...but couln't resist posting here. We make an income from our farm, which has cows, goats, chickens, and hay...another way.

We live on the Buffalo River in TN...have about 1 mile frontage on the river...and for 15 years we have had a canoe rental and campground...at one end of the farm. We started with 12 canoes and are up to 80 now...and it keeps us very busy. Our specialty is churches and families. We changed to a no-alcohol campground about 4 years ago...we got tired of the trouble with all the drunks, and it is very prosperous. When we started the canoe rental our youngest son was 13.

Twice a year we host a plant swap at the campground that was started here on the GW...Last Sat. we had over 75 people at the swap. There will be another one in Oct.

Sometimes you just have to make use of what God has given you to use.

Jan

One year I was laid off for the off season at the greenhouse where I worked. The manager there asked if I wanted to take his stuff to the farmers market. I thought that would probably be lame, but agreed since I didn't have anything else. Well, he offered to pay me 1/4 of the total, I went on Wednesday afternoon, and Saturday morning. His 13 year old daughter went with me. Let me tell you, that was the best money I've ever made! We had the 1st sweet corn of the season, and could not take money and hand out corn fast enough. Very strange to me, so many people have their own gardens and the grocery store is so much easier than a special trip... Well, it surprised the heck out of me. We also had tomatoes, watermelon, cantelope, berries, etc. But that 1st sweet corn was what they were there for. Then the buyers stayed with us thru the season. It was fun.

My, My, jamie, didn't mean for you to get your shorts in a uproar, lol. think maybe it's the ignorance of the sheriff, or the lawyer we called, after 40 years of having calves and chickens killed by the neighbors pack of 17 dogs? or, perhaps the game warden when they chased a doe into our back yard after they gutted her?got to have pictues of them, or law enforcement has to see them do it, before anything can be done. and--since its done at night, thats impossible.
the forum is for enjoyment, not to argue, so lets not fight, my previous post was only to show there is two sides to each story.
now, sorry about that folk's, let's get back to making money on the farm.

Just a few thoughts from this non-farming city girl. I don't know if anyone has mentioned selling to restaurants, but I know a lot of farmers in NYC do this. More restaurants are focusing on fresh and local ingredients and might be happy to buy from you.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was mentioned but not by name. This is when people buy a share of what you grow for the season. Folks receive a portion of whatever is in season each week during the growing season. I'm sure more information is available online.

I grow a few tomatos and beans myself, but I'll be the first on line for local sweet corn or peaches at a farmer's market. It just isn't the same to get them from the store.

Mag

Oh my God you had to mention REAL peaches!!!! Ahhhh man now I must find some this summer!!! ;o)
And Community Supported Agriculture is indeed what I meant but couldn't recall the name. I'm hoping to do somehing of this sort on the farm. Startin' small but startin' and THATS whats important.
I've also been thinking of tomatoes seedlings in the spring. Not the common ones but the more odd ball types. I bet they would sell some fast.
Now darn it where can I find real peaches (not that cardboard stuff at the winn dixie)?
Mike

I am surprised no one has mentioned the old rabbit, earthworm, worm casing/manure combo. Rabbits can be sold as pets or meat, worms for enriching gardens or fishbait, and composted manure by worms as super fertilizer and soil enricher.

The problem with the old rabbit/earthworm/worm casing compost thing is marketing, regulations, & public opinion.

Rabbits require as much care as poultry - more I think where butchering is concerned. It's not as easy as it used to be for those who want to sell rabbit as meat - many more regulations now, & most folks decidedly do NOT want to buy meat rabbits live & butcher them themselves. Not to mention rabbit meat will never be as popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe.

And selling fishbait & rabbit/worm manure isn't going to make much mad money these days since the entire country has been turned on to making their own compost - which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, those rabbits still have to be fed, watered, cleaned, etc., etc., etc.

I'd do chickens long before I'd do rabbits.

My husband works with a man who's wife raises Iguanas (big lizards). He said she is in competition with his cattle income. I guess, according to her husband, she does very well.

Personally, I am thinking of selling bushes for hedges. You see them in the catalogs all the time. Bet I could pot 200 small privet bushes in an afternoon and wouldn't cost me anything but the cheap pot. And, I even have an endless supply! No, really, I would not curse anyone with that stuff.

Never thought about iguanas, But I am wondering if you could build an iguaga tractor and put it in your garden. Feed the iguana's at the same time you de-bug your garden.

Seriously, you might get a phone book for your nearest moderate to large town and see what kind of specialty grocery stores are there. We have one here that is always packed. It is more expensive than most grocery stores and it doesn't stock as much stuff, but people love to go there because it has a really nice ambience about it. It almost feels like a "specialty" store. They, like farmer's markets, would probably like to have really fresh, local produce especially if you delivered it. Also, you might want to look at the demographics of those towns. In this region, we are developing a fairly substantial Mexican population, and I understand you can make a tidy sum on meat goats. As others have noted, where you have an oriental population poultry might be a popular choice. It kind of depends on the demongraphics of where you are, the size of the market, and the number of competitors for that market. I think if you sell the animals live you cut out some of the regulatory hassles. I bet there aren't any regulations for iguanas.

Good to see you back, Jamie. Missed you.

Enjoyed reading all the posts. Very interesting. I am about to go into the rabbit/earthworm/wormcasting/manure thing. On a very small scale to begin with. I will have ten does and three bucks at the start. I have already talked to a processor who has told me she will take all the rabbits (4-6 pounds 10-12 weeks old) that I can bring her. Worm castings are expensive in this area. Around 15.00 a pound. Rabbit manure is also sold for 20-25 dollars a truck (pick up) bed full (you load). Any manure not sold will definitely be put to use in my raised beds. Also, the earthworms that like to live in the rabbit manure will be added to the raised beds. I will never be rich but heck I will be happy. I love working with rabbits and love veggie gardening. I can even work outside the home some to have spending money...LOL...It is a win-win situation for me.

Dan, let us all know what you come up with and how things work out.

Oh, another idea that I am working on is: We have two casinos here that have very exclusive restaurants so I am working on selling herbs to them but will have to wait and see how this works out.

I have a small holding, but under the tax laws since I generate my income through agriculture and make enough to qualify.....I am a farm. I raise chickens and do sell eggs. I don't have a problem, given proper husbandry, making money on the eggs and sales of chicks I incubate. They always pay for themselves or their upkeep anyway.

I have a range of greenhouses, and if you have oil wells on premises and own them so you are not limited to household use of gas, growing can be almost pure profit. I'm reading interesting things about fish culture and if you also have access to a good water source, woudn't discount it.

The obvious one coming to mind is a bed and breakfast on a working farm. Why not?

We have some people in our area that charge city folks to come stay in their farm house and watch the cows graze. I am trying the goat thing and have done well selling the offspring. I will get bigger next year and try to do more that just pay for the feed. Most of my other farm stuff is just for fun, horses, chickens.
The one thing I am trying to get off the ground and actually make a profit is a canoe rental business. I have finally done all of the leg work and have started booking customers. I need to advertise more and see if I can get this thing going. I have a webstie, brochures, links on other websites dealing with tourism. Any suggestins on how to market this business???

I haven't visited this thread for quite a while, but just saw an article that you might be interested in. It is in Today's Farmer by MFA and is titled Goat Numbers Grow with Markets. This is the Nov, 2005 issue. I haven't read the entire article but the sentence "Meat goats are the fastest-growing animal enterprise in the country today" caught my attention. It might be worth checking out especially if you are in an area with a large population of eithnic customers such as Hispanic, Middle Easterners, Caribbean Islanders, Muslims, Jews, etc. Another plus is they want live animals, so no slaughter. Might be worth checking out.

Alot of info on this old thread. How about some up-dates?

Replying on all the dog comments! Before you go after those who breed purebred dogs and sell them, go Chase after those who don't get their males and females fixed. It's not just the males that should be fixed. Let's do more spaying don't go and blame just the males. Also don't breed your dog just to get a new dog , ull get more, and please stop harassing the breeders just cuz their easy to contact and spend more time find the irresponsible owners. Maybe do a twice a yr nueturing and spaying clinics all over for super cheap. I breed dogs and I'm.proud of everyone of them , and I won't stop. But I am doin a new thing and working with my vets on it. I sell the dog a tad cheaper but comes with contract on they have to get the dog fixed before age 1 and they get a big discount using my vet. So please keep your complaints away from licensed breeders.

Replying on all the dog comments! Before you go after those who breed purebred dogs and sell them, go Chase after those who don't get their males and females fixed. It's not just the males that should be fixed. Let's do more spaying don't go and blame just the males. Also don't breed your dog just to get a new dog , ull get more, and please stop harassing the breeders just cuz their easy to contact and spend more time find the irresponsible owners. Maybe do a twice a yr nueturing and spaying clinics all over for super cheap. I breed dogs and I'm.proud of everyone of them , and I won't stop. But I am doin a new thing and working with my vets on it. I sell the dog a tad cheaper but comes with contract on they have to get the dog fixed before age 1 and they get a big discount using my vet. So please keep your complaints away from licensed breeders.

I am new to this I was wanting to get someone elses point of view on this would you want to buy a broiler already processed bird for $4.50lb or buy a live bird and process it yourself and only pay 4-3 a bird i would think more people would buy th elive bird rather than wanting to buy a bird for $4.50 a pound.. Thanks Allen

We raise texas longhorns,its like anything do your reserch,like the longhorns the meat is great better than chicken but you must butcher early rather than later in cows life.
I saw a purple longhorn,I want one ,we saw it in a pasture then the guys wife caught him cheating took the farm,sold everything,havent seen once since.Beautiful.

I learned so much from reading this thread during my lunch period this afternoon. So many great ideas! It would be great to see follow-ups now that the original post is a few years old. DAN-DENISE: How are things going? What did you end up doing? Others who were getting started, what did you try? What were the outcomes?

I am a teacher full-time, but dabble in a lot of things on the side: soap making, natural deodorant, lotion, vegetable gardening, growing berries and have most recently acquired a small (5) flock of laying hens. I have only sold a few dozen eggs to people I know, other than that, I've not sold anything else. I am wondering if trying to sell items at the farmer's market would be worth all the time and effort since it would be in addition to my regular job. I know I don't have enough hens right now to sell many eggs-we eat most of what we get. I am going to "test" these hens for a full year before I determine if I want to get more hens next spring.

Please update with continuing or new stories!! :)

Go after it! If you're looking to make a side business of it, considering a couple things. First, SCORE mentoring is a free program: score.org. They can help you with a business plan if you really want to grow your business.

If that is the case, also consider incorporating or forming a business entity. That way, you have "authority" to do business, and can also potentially attain tax benefits.

Here is more information: https://harborcompliance.com/information/pennsylvania-articles-of-incorporation.php.

breezyb

Why do all of you "anti puppy-mill" folks seem to be the same. Your brains seem to have fallen out as you wide-swath the whole industry with the same red paintbrush.

Now don't get me wrong. I do not endorse mistreating dogs or following the practices that some unethical breeders follow. And those breeders should be shut down. But those breeders are NOT the majority! They are the minority, and you folks can't seem to get that.

Instead you say ANYBODY who wants to breed dogs is a "puppy-mill", and you discourage people from entering the business. Wrong! Get a clue. Most of the folks that would enter into such a business love and take care of their breeding dogs.

If you want to get rid of the bad breeders, you do it by encouraging good breeders. And there ARE A LOT OF THEM. When people start buying from the reputable breeders who care for their dogs / cats, the bad breeders will fade away because nobody buys from them.

I would love to breed dogs myself. But I won't because of people like you. I'm not going to fight the politics, even though I take fantastic care of every dog I own. I know a lot about dogs. And I would take just as good care of dogs purchased for breeding. They would be a happy pack of pets, enjoying lots of land to run and play. But no, I won't put up with the headaches of the politics.

And by the way -- reality is there ARE "big ticket" breeds. Just because you can make money breeding a specific type of dog does NOT make it wrong!

Now I'll hop off my soapbox.

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I remember someone told me once, meat goats have quick turn around on money making, 7-8 months. What about having a Rex Rabbit farm, their fur is really soft, and makes good money. Good luck! :-)

Can you grow persimmon trees? Those are really expensive in the stores-$3.00 each!

Agri-tourism is popular here. Add a few tenting sites to the shady grassy areas, put in a few outhouses and a couple of outdoor/solar showers. If you have the level gravel or paved areas, add some RV sites. Boost your wifi to cover the area.

1) Start a small nursery. You can grow thousands of seedlings and cuttings with little property. I made a lot of money one year selling all my plants locally. I had 14 acres and a lot of full garden space when we decided to move. I had a couple of garage sales with mostly plants in the spring when people were buying and I posted the rest for sale on Kijiji and other local buy-and-sell places. I got a lot of response. The money I made was a real eye opener! I have since thought that I would like to do that again, as a business, when I have time again. Maybe approach some local sellers with a list of what you have for sale. Perennial food plants sell very well, i.e. berries, asparagus, rhubarb...

2) Do some decorative landscaping and have weddings there. I've had some calls from people interested in having them here but we are just not set up for that, nor do we have the time, but it's big money.

3) If you have a good location on your property, start a farmer's market. Rent out spaces, that way you get paid no matter what. Do a lot of advertising ahead of time, like the previous summer, fall and winter. You may need to upgrade your insurance for that. Or have a fair on your property, like a fall fair through the Chamber of commerce and ADVERTISE, renting out booths and tenting spaces for renters.

4) Put a small market booth at the end of your driveway or build a small shed or open pole barn, roof only and have an open store there on the weekends. In addition to your produce and eggs you can make crafts, grapevine wreaths, organic farm soap, jams-jellies, syrup, dried herbs, handmade jewelry, garden ornaments, bat and bird houses, etc. etc. The list of things you could sell there is long. Advertise your stuff in a buy-and-sell area that will get people out there. Make a large A-frame sign for the street corners. You can keep the produce and a few items there through the week with a self-pay system.

5) Start a CSA and ADVERTISE.

6) Bees. Use top bar hives for more beeswax. It's worth more than the honey. You can sell bars of the wax online.

7) Start a hatchery. Sell them in your store or online and ship to people. ADVERTISE.