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Running and maintaining a profitable small farm is not easy. Sure, you’ll be your own boss and set your own hours (at least in theory), but that usually means meeting the demands of clients and managing changing market conditions – all of which involves waking up early. Happened and during late sleep.
Most Profitable Small Farm Businesses
In other words, your life as a farmer is less Instagram-worthy and more relaxed than a nonbusiness one. After all, a farm is still a business, and the same rules apply as starting a business — plus the added responsibilities of a farm.
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The good news is that there are many opportunities to expand what you’re doing and generate additional small farm income. For example, farming and the agricultural lifestyle are getting a lot of attention, especially from urban dwellers and desk workers. That’s a potential market to find right there. Moreover, as consumer preferences change and evolve, you have the opportunity to develop new small farm business ideas even in a limited area.
We will take a look at some small farming ideas that you can adopt or may inspire you to find a small farming business idea. Some of these are based on crop trends as well as other ideas for taking your working farm to another level of profitability. We’ll also look at some business loan options to help make these small farm ideas a reality.
Business ideas for small farms can vary widely – some may lean more toward lifestyle services, while others may be an extension of a small farm you already run. Here are some small farm income ideas that may resonate with a variety of audiences.
The nature of events, especially weddings, is changing. In 2017, the average wedding price exceeded $30,000 – an unrealistic amount for many people. For this reason, couples are looking for alternative ways to celebrate their marriage that are less expensive than large scale weddings. More casual venues, such as small farms, may provide this. There’s even a trend called “micro-weddings,” which allows couples to have a big wedding in a kind of express fashion.
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As a profitable small farm business idea, consider starting an event venue or wedding venue that allows couples to celebrate their weddings at an affordable cost. For example, you can offer these micro wedding packages that attract couples, or you can rent out your venue at a competitive price compared to other venues in your area.
If this interests you, check out our guide on how to start a wedding venue. You may choose to go a different direction at some point, but this can be a great starting point to determine if the idea of a small farm income is right for you.
If you’re interested in small acreage farming ideas, consider growing hops for local breweries. With the explosion of craft beer in nearly every corner of the country, there are a lot of beers being produced—and a lot of hops that need to go into production.
The good news is you don’t need a lot of space to grow hops: Hop vines grow very densely, so you can plant up to 1,200 plants per acre. You can also grow many different types of hops, such as the common Cascade or Centennial hops, as well as many other non-domesticated hop varieties. A word of caution, though: Hop plants tend to produce more crops after a few seasons, so don’t expect a big harvest right away.
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It’s not all bad news, however, as many hop growers work in advance contracts, meaning they buy the next season’s crop a year or two in advance. So, this idea of a small farm can bear fruit not only now but also in the years to come.
Similarly, as craft breweries and distilleries proliferate across the country, there is growing interest in using grains from local, small producers. As you may already know, most grain and malt are commercially produced in North America. While these grains are still the most common choice for most brewers and distillers, demand for local wheat and barley malt is increasing.
Some states, such as New York, offer tax credits to brewers for having farms. In return, these breweries are required to use a certain percentage of state-grown ingredients. This means you can take advantage of the trend as well as grant programs by setting aside some land for these crops and building relationships with your local friends in the business.
Hands-on learning is important for children, and building an educational farm helps with this development. Consider setting up a teaching farm that offers tours, classes and workshops about your farm’s animals and agriculture, and encourages groups to get up close and personal with farm life.
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You can go even further and create business opportunities for students to learn on your farm during the summer or school holidays. If you go this route to create an education farm, remember that it is important to let educational institutions know that you offer these services. Along the same lines, this small farm idea makes the most sense for farms located close enough to schools that it is a place to live.
We don’t need to tell you that the vacation and vacation rental business is booming. Services like VRBO and Airbnb have made it very easy for vacationers to book trips. (For perspective, Airbnb notes that 2 million people stay in one of its accommodations overnight.) That’s a huge potential market to tap into.
Consider building a tiny house or cabin on your property to rent out. Yes, it is an investment to set up a new structure. But if you market your new small business as a business, you may find that it is a profitable venture, especially if you research the market and look at similar rental prices in your area.
While you might think that the farm lifestyle isn’t much fun, especially for city dwellers, many people want to spend a few days away from their hectic pace and enjoy nature. This is especially true if you’re a few hours from downtown and can provide fun extras like home-cooked breakfasts of farm-fresh produce at people’s accommodations.
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Bees are important – not only do they make honey, but they also pollinate many of the crops we eat every day (including the ones you grow). With the continued collapse of bee colonies and significant declines in bee populations, saving bees is vital to our ecosystem. But this eco-friendly invention can also be a profitable small farming idea.
Beekeeping can open up many different sources of income. First, you can sell honey and beeswax products at a farm store or online. Many local merchants may wish to carry your product as well. But you can take advantage of the renewed interest in beekeeping and bee farms by offering tours, classes and other experiences.
Importantly, beekeeping is a great option for small-scale farms because the hives don’t take up a lot of space. Evidence of this is the increase in beekeeping in the city, where people keep entire hives on the roofs of houses.
You decide what small farm idea you want to pursue – then find the capital to get it off the ground. Fortunately, you have options, especially if you’ve been in business for a while and are creating a new source of income for your small farm. Some of the ideas we listed above require more capital than others, but luckily there are plenty of options for farm loans to get you going.
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If you’ve already started a business and done well with your revenue numbers (and have maintained a strong credit score afterward), the first thing you’ll want to do is look for a small farm business financing idea. Have SBA.loans. This is because these loans are best in class due to their high rates, long repayment terms and high equity.
SBA loans are provided by banks – often small community banks in your area – but most importantly, they are guaranteed by the US Small Business Administration (SBA). This means that lenders have a safety net in case borrowers default, so they can extend favorable terms to qualified borrowers.
Of course, as you might expect, these loans are competitive, which is why the article we mentioned about a strong business financial history is important. but if you have good experience
