Wondering how to make money farming? Surprisingly, one type
of farm business that's growing and doing well is the micro eco-farm that feeds
the trends of locally produced, locally grown, hand-crafted, sustainable
eco-produced and earth-regenerating. Though old industrial era-type farms
continue to struggle, the new micro eco-farm trend, accurately predicted to
flourish by the Trends Institute, is actually finding markets for this business
are so high, many can't keep up with the demand.
What are micro eco-farms?
These farms operate on a fraction of an acre to small
acreage. They are niche farms, and make money farming by carving out their own
local or shared-interest interweaving of crops and sometimes on-farm
agritourism. But don't assume if you only have a tiny backyard you can't find
more acreage nearby, and for free. And don't give up on how to make money
farming if you have 100s of acres and don't think micro eco-farming is for you.
Read on.
How to make money
farming the micro farm way if you already have a large-acreage farm.
Once you learn about micro eco-farming, you can carve out a
backyard or couple of acres to start your own micro farm within your larger
farm. I've seen numerous larger farms survive and thrive because of this. There
are many stories about such farms at the Center for the Micro Eco-Farming
Movement (see link below). One dairy farmer's wife started a roadside stand
from her home garden that blossomed into an on-farm store and ended up making
more than the rest of their acreage combined. Another larger farm was saved
with a couple of acres of u-pick pumpkins and fun autumn agritourism
activities.
How to make money farming if you have a backyard to small
acreage and are just starting out
Some people with small backyards do just fine making money
farming, usually as a secondary stream of income, while others solicit other
people's yards as well, with a trade situation where the yard owner gets some
produce for free, while the farmer can sell the rest.
Start by discovering the possibilities of what you could
produce. As America grows more and more towards local food independence and an
artisan renaissance, you could consider gourmet herbs and vegetables from your
urban backyard, healing products made from your own herbs, gourmet mushrooms
from a backyard shed, or any design-your-own "micro eco-farm" you
create. Others who want to make money farming specialize in health food items
like wheat grass or grow rare microgreens for restaurants or houseplants in a
backyard greenhouse.
