Organic alfalfa can be profitable if, as others have mentioned, there is demand for it in your area. I grew certified organic alfalfa / orchard grass mixed for 11 years and sold to organic dairies within a 2 hour drive. The premium paid over conventional hay was approximately 100%. Quality horse hay is worth even more but horse owners can be demanding as customers. However, I would not recommend growing hay unless you can be there with it when the weather is right. Timing is crucial in all phases - cutting, tedding, raking & baling. You can solve most of the labor problem with an accumulator and grapple. Good luck!
Making money with land
- Thread starter JMER817
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CJHames
New member
Have you looked into growing trees and shrubs? A small nursery may work. They don't require a ton of work and it's like having a savings account. The bigger and more mature your plants get, the more valuable they become. And it's fairly easy to propagate your plants. You really need just a few good shrubs to start with, install a good mister and drip irrigation system and take cuttings from each plant, and voila! You have free plants over and over again. You'll want a small greenhouse if you're that far north. You may also need to get a Nurseryman's License from your state. We had to get one here in TX, and I think it cost us around $100. I got the idea years ago from www.freeplants.com. It has really worked well for us. Mike McGroarty is the guys name, and it's the one on-line marketing thing I've found that is the real deal. Great, cheap little system and wonderful people (other growers) to deal with.
I've also been able to hit Home Depot and Lowe's at certain times of the year when they are slashing their tree inventories (usually in the Fall to make room for Christmas tree sales) and literally stealing trees. I've bought 5 and 7-gallon trees such as birch, magnolias, willows, oaks, some maples and fruit trees like peaches, apples, nectarines and pears for as little as $5 each. They usually sell for between $25-$30 each. I grab as many as I can and re-pot them into larger (usually 15-gallon and sometimes 30-gallon) containers and let nature do it's thing. A little fertilizer now and then, some light pruning and a drip irrigation system do all the work. I've been able to turn a $5 tree into a $75 tree in as little as 24 months. You will need to deer-proof the area, of course.
We also own a landscape company, so we're able to take those $5 trees (after a few years) and retail them for $175 or more. Pretty handy to be able to spec your own plants into a landscape design!
We are also growing Japanese Maples, and brother, when they reach maturity we will really clean up! I can retail a 5'-6' 'Bloodgood' Japanese Maple for around $400 (installed). I buy 12"-18" rooted cuttings from other people in Mike's group for as little as $3 each, repot them and in about two more years (we started a year ago) we will get top dollar for them. I can afford to be patient with those kinds of returns. Can I buy a $3 stock and see it shoot to $400 in 3 years? Not often. I could likely sell the 1-yr old Jap Maples now for $25-$30 each if I wanted to. Not gonna happen. I'll wait.
I also sell any excess inventory we may have direct to other landscapers in our area. I've never had to contact or solicit local nurseries to buy them. The landscapers get a good deal (they are likely re-selling my $75 tree for $175 or more after planting) and so do I.
Also, goat meat is becoming very popular in our area. They breed very quickly, are easy to raise and easy to sell.
I've also been able to hit Home Depot and Lowe's at certain times of the year when they are slashing their tree inventories (usually in the Fall to make room for Christmas tree sales) and literally stealing trees. I've bought 5 and 7-gallon trees such as birch, magnolias, willows, oaks, some maples and fruit trees like peaches, apples, nectarines and pears for as little as $5 each. They usually sell for between $25-$30 each. I grab as many as I can and re-pot them into larger (usually 15-gallon and sometimes 30-gallon) containers and let nature do it's thing. A little fertilizer now and then, some light pruning and a drip irrigation system do all the work. I've been able to turn a $5 tree into a $75 tree in as little as 24 months. You will need to deer-proof the area, of course.
We also own a landscape company, so we're able to take those $5 trees (after a few years) and retail them for $175 or more. Pretty handy to be able to spec your own plants into a landscape design!
We are also growing Japanese Maples, and brother, when they reach maturity we will really clean up! I can retail a 5'-6' 'Bloodgood' Japanese Maple for around $400 (installed). I buy 12"-18" rooted cuttings from other people in Mike's group for as little as $3 each, repot them and in about two more years (we started a year ago) we will get top dollar for them. I can afford to be patient with those kinds of returns. Can I buy a $3 stock and see it shoot to $400 in 3 years? Not often. I could likely sell the 1-yr old Jap Maples now for $25-$30 each if I wanted to. Not gonna happen. I'll wait.
I also sell any excess inventory we may have direct to other landscapers in our area. I've never had to contact or solicit local nurseries to buy them. The landscapers get a good deal (they are likely re-selling my $75 tree for $175 or more after planting) and so do I.
Also, goat meat is becoming very popular in our area. They breed very quickly, are easy to raise and easy to sell.
Spindifferent
Gold Member
JMER817 - Just do whatever you enjoy doing.
gurumanjohn
Member
You may want to think about what you can make from your crop that would add value and bring a higher price. Some examples are jams and jellies and sachets made from lavender and herbs. I realize that adds more labor, but someimtes the added value makes it a profitable venture. We make hot pepper jelly from our jalapino peppers. It's still not a hedge fund beater, but it does produce a multiple.
Good luck
Good luck
rtempleton1
New member
All depends on the amount of work you want to do.
Shenandoah
Member
Great thread.
I have a few acres I bought 10 years ago in the next town over and have asked myself this question a few times. My family has a 58 acre farm and I know what we do on that, but what to do with three and a half acres is another question entirely.
The most profitable use I've heard of is a guy who leases out the land for a cell tower and rakes in $2400 a month without even visiting the place. I'd love to do that but the guy across the road from me already did it, so ixnay on that idea.
I guess he's a cell tower farmer...
I have a few acres I bought 10 years ago in the next town over and have asked myself this question a few times. My family has a 58 acre farm and I know what we do on that, but what to do with three and a half acres is another question entirely.
The most profitable use I've heard of is a guy who leases out the land for a cell tower and rakes in $2400 a month without even visiting the place. I'd love to do that but the guy across the road from me already did it, so ixnay on that idea.
I guess he's a cell tower farmer...
I'm glad we are back on the right track. I asked this same question when we built our house on a 7 ac plot, leaving about 4 acres of former farmland to work with. At first we were going to sell it off for a house lot, but that would be a short term influx of cash, and ruin our reason for 7 ac. We thought about renting it for hay, we thought about many things. But I'm no farmer, have a job, a wife, and kids. What I like are trees. So, we started planting trees a couple of years ago, and most died. Wrong soil, extreme deer pressure. We started a small orchard for a second time after the deer and voles ate the first. Invested in tree tubes. But this will be mostly for family consumption.
Did a whole lot more homework. Though we did not get a soil sample, we did evalute our soil type, previous crops, and planted a variety of trees around the property to see what grows. Our final decision was to grow a crop we could live with (that is, have time enough to tend), one that would increase the value of the land even if we did not raise the plant as a crop, one that would serve the family even if we did not make money off the crop, and one we could have "fun" with.
Our choice? We are experimenting with osage orange trees, including thornless cultivars. We won't have a "crop" for years, but when ready we plan on coppicing and doing agroforestry practices. Why osage orange? Rare in our area, but if we can get usable wood products (in ground wood products like stakes, fence posts, hop poles), we are certain of a market in the area where we live. If we get nothing, we can use the OO as biomass (okay, firewood). If we do nothing we will have a nice forested 3-4 acres.
Did a whole lot more homework. Though we did not get a soil sample, we did evalute our soil type, previous crops, and planted a variety of trees around the property to see what grows. Our final decision was to grow a crop we could live with (that is, have time enough to tend), one that would increase the value of the land even if we did not raise the plant as a crop, one that would serve the family even if we did not make money off the crop, and one we could have "fun" with.
Our choice? We are experimenting with osage orange trees, including thornless cultivars. We won't have a "crop" for years, but when ready we plan on coppicing and doing agroforestry practices. Why osage orange? Rare in our area, but if we can get usable wood products (in ground wood products like stakes, fence posts, hop poles), we are certain of a market in the area where we live. If we get nothing, we can use the OO as biomass (okay, firewood). If we do nothing we will have a nice forested 3-4 acres.
texasjohn
Super Member
ROUNDBABY
Member
YOU CAN GROW TAHITIAN WINTER SQUASH AND SELL THEM FOR ORNAMENTALS AND THEY MAKE BETTER PIES THAN PUMPKIN. THE KICKER IS THE SEED IS VERY HIGH--50$/#. YOU CAN SELL JUST FOR SEED AND DO VERY WELL AND AFTER LOCAL CUSTOMERS LEARN TO EAT THEM LIKE PUMPKIN PIES AT ESPECIALLY ASIAN MARKET STORES YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED!!
FOR LOCAL MARKET VEGETABLES I"VE LEARNED OKRA AND BEANS PRODUCE THE MOST PROFIT AND BEAR EVERY 3-4 DAYS, BUT WILL WORK YOU'RE TALE OFF. THEY CONTINUALLY BEAR TILL FROSTS HIT, THEN THE TAHITIAN WINTER SQUASH COMES IN FOR SELLING AND LATER FOR WINTER MONEY DRY OUT THE SEEDS FOR THE BIG MONEY.
FOR LOCAL MARKET VEGETABLES I"VE LEARNED OKRA AND BEANS PRODUCE THE MOST PROFIT AND BEAR EVERY 3-4 DAYS, BUT WILL WORK YOU'RE TALE OFF. THEY CONTINUALLY BEAR TILL FROSTS HIT, THEN THE TAHITIAN WINTER SQUASH COMES IN FOR SELLING AND LATER FOR WINTER MONEY DRY OUT THE SEEDS FOR THE BIG MONEY.
