How to Make an Income From Your Little Piece of Land!
Because there are so many of us searching for "The Good Life", we have decided to put together some ideas to help each of us on this life changing journey. We are in no way experts at any of the ideas listed below, however, we do want to aid in your creative process! If you have ANYTHING to add in the way of ideas, links, stories, successes, or otherwise - please feel free to write!
Income From The Land
Fields -
Trees -
Gardens -
Misc
Animals
Bees
*Raise bees to help pollinate your garden - this
gives you a better crop for your family & a better crop to sell.
*Rent your hives out to other local farmers, orchards, & gardeners -
now you can help others get a better yield & make some extra income at
the same time.
*Build bee hives & sell bee keeping supplies.
*Make a display case with a clear window - this helps teach others about
our dependence on these little creatures! You can also now take your display
with you & make a profit by spreading the good word!
*Sell bees wax - it's a byproduct of the bee keeping business & very
desirable by candle makers & folks who make their own toiletries.
*Make candles your self - you're now using up your own resources & offering
another product for your customers to buy.
*Make other items with bees on them - garden markers, vests, flower pots,
place mats, etc.
*Make recipe booklets for different honey products.
*Write articles for newspapers - healthfood news - newsletters - etc. about
the benefits of honey - get paid for the articles & now folks will need
that great honey also =)
*Offer to supply a story to the evening news, talk radio, and social groups
- you're giving them a story (which is what they have to search for &
now it's being handed to them) & building publicity for your bee
operation!
*Make up bee fact & coloring sheets - give them out to schools, pre-k,
4H, boyscouts, & other groups - now you have a whole group of people
who want to come out to your farm to sees the bees in action!
Apis
Newsletter
Bees & Honey
Bee
Keeping
Mark Turner's Home
Page
National Honey Board
The Bee Keepers
Homepage
The Pollination Home Page
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Butterflies
*Keep several varieties in a greenhouse and invite groups to come
& experience "life with butterflies."
*Provide a butterfly habitat (including the chrysalis) for schools &
pre-schools. (My childs teacher said they had to pay $38 for their kit &
it is only made from netting bought at a fabric store & a craft hoop
which costs under $2!
*Provide live butterflies for special occasions - weddings, graduations,
funerals, dedications, etc.
*Conduct learning tours for schools - hospitals - old folk's homes - museums
- etc.
*Cater to the collector. Butterflies only live a short time, when their life
is over, you can still enjoy their beauty in a collection.
*Make special stationary, pictures, pieces of art (same as above - only use
them in different ways).
*Take actual photographs & use as calenders, post cards, pictures,
etc.
*Sell as a pet project for homeschoolers - or other families. Once someone
loves a particular animal, they always seem to want more. Now they will recognize
you as the expert & come to you for more!
*Because you will attract people who love butterflies, you can now sell them
other products that carry the same theme - pictures, t-shirts, quilts, towels,
vests, table cloths, curtains, etc.
*Rent out the butterflies for special occasions. Now you're not selling them
- just decorating a beautiful cage & renting it out. this way you can
make your money over & over!
Raising
Moths & Butterflies
Butterflies
of North America
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Chickens
*Raise to sell the meat.
*Sell the eggs
*Make pillows from the feathers.
*Sell baby chicks
*Raise different variety & supply the "special breeds" shopper.
*Sell chicken house plans
*Use manure for your garden - or sell to others (you can include it in compost
to sell).
*Supply schools with eggs to hatch in class.
*Easter is a great time for people of all kinds to want chicks!
*Use the feathers for fly fishing! Or sell the special feathers to others
for this purpose.
*With no electric needed - could sell as an alarm clock for Y2K
=)
Chicken
Breeds
How-to For A Poultry
Show
Murray McMurray
Hatchery
The
Poultry Page
The Coop
Top
Cows
*Produce milk for your family and sell to others.
*Provide beef for your family & sell extra to others.
*Provide stud services.
*Sell composted manure.
*Use for field work.
*Make special goods using the cow hide - foot stools, seat covers, wallets,
etc.
Brahman
Cattle
Breeds
Of Cattle
Piedmontese
Cattle
The Cattle
Pages
The American Angus
Ass.
Udderly Great Cow
Links
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Ducks
*Sell eggs to eat
*Sell eggs to the craft market. Just blow out the centers & dry. They
make great decorations!
*Sell baby ducks
*Sell for meat
*Sell breading stock
*Sell plans for duck houses - or make duck houses & nesting boxes.
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Goats
*Sell as pets
*Provide milk for your family & sell extra.
*Provide stud services
*Sell for meat
*Make other products for your family & sell extra - cheese, cheese curd,
butter, soap, yogurt, cheese cake, etc.
*Sell to 4H children for animal projects.
Goat
Kingdom
Goat Web
Nubian
Goats
Pygmy
Goats
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Pigs
*Sell for meat
*Skins can be made into hide - or snacks.
*Pig ears & hoofs are now considered a great treat for dogs! This could
be a great local market, because pet people want to pamper their pets as
much as possible!
*Provide stud services.
*Provide a clearing service - pigs can clear a good amount of ground in a
short amount of time!
*Sell babies as feeder pigs
*Pig hair or "bristles" are used for brushes.
*Offer slaughtering services.
Pigs -
4H
Swine
Swine Husbandry
The Prairie Hog
Report
Top
Rabbits
*Sell as pets
*Sell for meat (I read one story of a family who was the only family in town
that had "white meat - or chicken" during the depression, because they raised
rabbits.)
*Can be used to heat a greenhouse.
*Some breeds have useful fur - angoras. You can sell the fur, or spin it
yourself & sell the yarn.
*Teach spinning classes. That will provide a market for your yarn, rabbits,
and fur - plus you're making the money on the classes.
*Sell the pelts. These are sought after for coats & other accessories.
I know some folks don't like to hear this, but we shouldn't let anything
go to waste. I'm not suggesting that you raise rabbits for this reason alone,
but you might as well sell the pelts of rabbits you use for meat.
*Manure is great for your garden.
Feature
Articles on Raising Rabbits
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Pets
*You could always raise non-farm animals for pets & other uses.
These would also be great for classroom visits, petting zoos - fairs - unique
family pets - and a reason for folks to visit your
homestead!
*Guardian dogs for the farm - hunting - herding - the blind - general watch dogs - or just pets.
*Parrots - raising parrots can be a bit expensive to get into & take some time to learn the how-to's, but you can make some good extra money in this field! I would suggest starting out with love birds. You can sell them for approx. $30-$75 each & they can have 15-30 babies per year.
*Exotic bugs - reptiles - fish - cats - fowl - miniature horses/donkeys - llamas - ratites - etc.. all have their place among income opportunities on a homestead.
*Don't forget all the opportunities
for pet supplies, accessories, food, cages, etc.
Alpaca Farms
Bluesky Alpacas
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Miniature
Donkeys
The Ultimate Llama
Connection
The Ostrich Farm
Top
Worms
Worms can provide some great things for the homesteader!
* Use as compost digesters (put your table and yard scraps into a box of
worms, and they convert it into beautiful compost!
* Release into your garden beds - the hardest working, but underpaid soil
tillers =)
* Sell as fishing bait
* Sell worms to others who want to start a worm compost system
* Raise as food for chickens and other poultry
* Take to local schools and show children how to make their own worm compost
system (kids love this stuff - especially when the girls have to stick their
hands into the pile of worms! You'll be the talk of the school - and I'm
sure they'll want you back year after year!). Also offer a color sheet with
worm facts - and your contact information if parents want to purchase worms
for their homes.
Weaving -
Spinning
Halcyon
Yarn - a supplier of yarn, fiber, books, and equipment for weaving, knitting,
crocheting, spinning, rug making, felting, papermaking, and lace making,
plus lots of wonderful crafts for kids.
Rugs
Did you know that you can make rugs out of MANY
types of material? When I used to think of rug making - the only thought
that came to my mind was - braided rag rugs. BUT - you can make beautiful
floor coverings out of things you might not have thought of!
* Paint on a piece of heavy cloth or canvas, trim with binding if you wish.
You can sponge, stencil, stamp, marbling techniques,etc.. Then coat with
a sealer.
* Save scraps of cloth and braid into a rug
* With cloth pieces (including old jean cut into strips) weave into beautiful
patterns!
* Weave heavy yard made from your farm into rugs - these make beautiful
pieces!
Stained Glass
From The Kitchen
Cheese Making
Now that you have your own dairy cow, sheep, or goat - you can make your
own cheese!
* Make for your own household
* Make to sell to others
* Sell to restaurants
* Teach a class on how to make cheese
* Sell at farmers markets
* Submit cheese recipes to the local paper (or whatever other product you
make from home - butter, herb sauces, spice dishes etc.)of course best made
with fresh ingredients! Also include your name and contact information so
folks can buy the fresh homemade ingredients from you!
Cheese Making
How-tos
New England Cheese Supply
Recipes
Top
Income From The Land
Gardens
* I weed & divide plants/shrubs for a few people. In exchange for some
of my wages, I get the plants that I've divided. I ask a local nursery the
name of the plant if I don't know what it is. Then I exchange them on the
garden website
(http://www.gardenweb.com/) for other
plants that I really want. I also sell the plants at local flea markets for
cash! I have received 100s of seeds through the mail from different plant
exchange websites! I've planted them & next year I plan to have a huge
inventory of different plants! This way, I can turn a little bit of sweat
into cash! I like bulbs or tubular plants that don't need a lot of babying,
and that are quick multipliers! I have 1/2 an acre that I can either mow
or plant "money" on. Oh yea, a comment on the pecans... I picked up and sold
over $600 worth of pecans this season from 4 trees! It only took me a couple
of days of off & on work!
Idea from Sharon Pochis
Misc
* One thing I've noticed that isn't used a lot is the "free" produce
that Nature gives us. Pecans, for example, grow in many parts of the country.
Have you priced the cost of a bag of pecans, shelled or not? Exorbitant!
If people with pecan trees harvested their pecans and then saved what they
would use for those holiday pies and cookies (and the rest of the year),
they could sell the remainder at farmer's markets and even grocery stores.
They could watch TV and shell them and sell them for even more!
* Also, people nowadays want fresh herbs and many grocery stores and farmers'
markets will buy them from home-growers. If they're organic, the price even
goes higher!
* For those that live in the mountains (or wherever), pine nuts are a BIG
gourmet thing nowadays and used to make fancy pestos, etc. Restaurants will
buy from small harvesters often, bringing them a fresh source daily/weekly
and giving the harvester another income. The pine nuts can also be sold at
farmers' markets, too. Well, am sure I'll come up with some other ideas,
but that's all for now! Debbie
* Thanks Debbie for your great ideas!
..........
If you like to take pictures, take beautiful pictures of nature & your
farm animals - then sell them as postcards!
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