Making money with land

[300UGUY]

How about chickens?I see signs up for fresh eggs all the time for $2.50-$3.00 a doz.

I've had chickens for years, I can't feed them for $3 a dozen. Chicken feed ain't chicken feed anymore. The problem with all this, you need to market to a small segment of the population, the "foodies", who want organic, free range...etc. They are a small minority, folks with the interest, and INCOME to spend on special food. Most folks with the income just want cheap eggs, $.99 cents at Wallmart. I live in a high income area, but a very conservative one. That means they equate organic = hippies. Or worse. You mention organic around here, and you will get a earfull of "that Al Gore Sxxx!!". Spending more money than necessary on food is really a uphill battle. That's why the A2 market has vendors coming from over 100 miles away, that's where you can sell your products, if they had a market closer to home, they wouldn't drive for hours to get to A2. It is also very competitive, there is a long waiting list to get in, and you have to meet their standards.

 

[roadhunter]

I've had chickens for years, I can't feed them for $3 a dozen. Chicken feed ain't chicken feed anymore. The problem with all this, you need to market to a small segment of the population, the "foodies", who want organic, free range...etc. They are a small minority, folks with the interest, and INCOME to spend on special food. Most folks with the income just want cheap eggs, $.99 cents at Wallmart. I live in a high income area, but a very conservative one. That means they equate organic = hippies. Or worse. You mention organic around here, and you will get a earfull of "that Al Gore Sxxx!!". Spending more money than necessary on food is really a uphill battle. That's why the A2 market has vendors coming from over 100 miles away, that's where you can sell your products, if they had a market closer to home, they wouldn't drive for hours to get to A2. It is also very competitive, there is a long waiting list to get in, and you have to meet their standards.

It's getting more popular here. most of the natural food stores sell fresh eggs and I know down in Colorado you can do alright selling organic eggs.

 

[300UGUY]

Real organic eggs here are $5 or 6 per dozen. 50 lbs of organic chicken feed runs $25 + ( last I checked was last year ). Of course, our economy in Michigan still sucks.

 

[charlz]

a crop like garlic doesn't require a lot of time.

I dunno about that... I believe there is a member or two on here that grow garlic 'for profit' that might be able to chime in. The labor is split up, fall planting and spring/summer harvesting (I just harvested mine). However you are dealing with a bulb so it basically requires hand planting either by stoop labor or one of those 'ride on' planters (which means you need more than one guy). Harvesting requires it to be lifted out of the ground, bundled and hung out of the sun for drying. Then you have to clean, maybe braid etc.

All that said if I were to do a specialty crop garlic is one that I would look at pretty hard. There seems to be a market for it with chefs etc.

Garlic is one of the things i would like to see on 'How its Made' or similar tv show.

 

[farmer2009]

One thing I seen the other day was Yak. The article stated their stocking density at twice cattle. I know it wouldn't be a lot on 4 acres but might provide some income.
Outside of that the pick your own strawberries and blueberries sound good. Might even be able to pre-sell some or sell memberships to help with the start up cost. But then again you have to be able to go out everyday and check and pick what they aren't. The public can be very inefficient and lazy.

 

[Redbug]

Ok, I'll correct you. There are no subsidies. At least not in my State.

States Pour Government Money into Wine - Businessweek

 

[motownbrowne]

Real organic eggs here are $5 or 6 per dozen. 50 lbs of organic chicken feed runs $25 + ( last I checked was last year ). Of course, our economy in Michigan still sucks.

We sell organic free range eggs for $4. Feed costs about $20 a #50 bag after delivery, but we buy a pallet at a time, so it might be more if you buy lesser amounts.

I've seen organic duck eggs around here for 5.69/half dozen.

You can make money growing on a small scale, but it's NOT easy.

If I was just starting out, first thing I'd do is visit a successful operation that's similar in scale to what you want to do. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Good luck.

 

[randy41]

I dunno about that... I believe there is a member or two on here that grow garlic 'for profit' that might be able to chime in. The labor is split up, fall planting and spring/summer harvesting (I just harvested mine). However you are dealing with a bulb so it basically requires hand planting either by stoop labor or one of those 'ride on' planters (which means you need more than one guy). Harvesting requires it to be lifted out of the ground, bundled and hung out of the sun for drying. Then you have to clean, maybe braid etc.

All that said if I were to do a specialty crop garlic is one that I would look at pretty hard. There seems to be a market for it with chefs etc.

Garlic is one of the things i would like to see on 'How its Made' or similar tv show.

i grow it for the market. have been for at least 10 years. compared to almost all the other things i grow garlic requires very little labor. it sells readily at the farmers market for $8/lb. if you don't want to go to the farmers market you can find a coop to buy it for less money. if you want to grow something that requires no labor then grow couch potatoes.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

if you want to grow something that requires no labor then grow couch potatoes.

LOL, my favorite vegetable.

 

[burnieman]

Here in California there's only one crop to grow on a small piece of land. Very profitable. Good luck.