Making money with land

[Rhino35]

Jives,

I am both intrigued and surprised to hear you are experimenting with Osage Orange trees. I live in Northern Kentucky and these trees are prevalent. When I bought 7 acres adjoining my existing 5, all hillside facing west, the land hadn't been bush hogged for four years. There were over a hundred clusters of saplings of OO, called Hedge Apple trees around here. And these dang things have nasty thorns! I spend months walking down there and clipping them off as low as I could to the ground. Then I dragged 'em to a nice spot in my forested area and piled the branches up. I consider them my prime nuisance, but if they didn't have thorns then perhaps they could be grown and marketed.

Not to hijack the thread, but I read up on Osage Orange trees. They were a natural tree in America, but only grew in the Red River area where Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas come together. No farm animals will eat the fruit, and birds don't like it, although horses may taste them a bit after they fall to the ground according to my neighbor. Some scientists surmise that with the heavy fruit evolution would not have favored the tree unless something ate it and pooped the seeds out in different locations. Some think that might have been the giant ground sloth, which went extinct about 12,000 years ago. It was used as a hedge to contain livestock before barbed wire. During the depression the federal government created a dual purpose work program to plant the Osage Orange all over the midwest. Created jobs and the idea was to create wind barriers to cut down on soil loss during those dust bowl years.

Another name for the OO tree is "Ironwood Tree". Really hard wood - will dull chain saws fairly quickly. Native Americans used the wood to make bows - and early French settlers also used the wood for that purpose. It is a very pretty cream color with the bark stripped off, with a green/yellowish tinge, and the mature trees around my property don't seem to have quite the thorns the younger saplings display.

If you know more about marketing these, and about the thornless variety, please share. The dang things grow GREAT on my property!

 

[sfloggie]

A recent TSP podcast that might be of interest. The Profitable Small Acre Homestead | The Survival Podcast

- Blackberries (you pick) is low maintenance, just well drained,but moist area.
- Not sure if lavender grows well in MI, but a good money crop.
- Sorghum. Smithfield Foods is contracting with growers as they need the supply. Maybe the same through someone in your area.


Jim

 

[jfrank12]

I may have missed it but I am surprised nobody has mentioned agritourism. I am opening up a pumpkin patch this fall (as long as my pumpkins make it that far) and I think that the additional income from opening up my small farm to folks who want to spend time in the country will make it worth while. Our property lends itself nicely to this sort of thing and we already have a tractor and trailer for hay rides, chickens, ducks, turkceys, for customers to look at, etc. Throw in some gourds and you have a nice fall setup. Pumpkins need to be rotated because of diseases, but with 4 acres you could grow quite a few of them each year to sell. A lot of good advice in this thread, especially taking it slow and finding the market first if possible. I think it has to be a labor of love though, I doubt I will be able to retire early just on my small. Its possible but I'm not quitting my pension over it.

 

[Mike7.62]

I see that no one has mentioned bees. I have been keeping them for six years now, and it is a relatively low cost option for someone willing to put in the time, and sometimes frustration. I started with two hives, then expanded to five the following year, lost two over the winter, one to starvation and the other to Nosema, and have since captured a swarm and now have four. So far this season I have extracted 125 pounds of honey off of three of my hives, and have not harvested one that has two supers on it, one full, and the other partially so. I will likely get another take this fall if the fall nectar flow is productive.

There are some downsides to the hobby/avocation. The first is the state. They seem to want to be involved in everything agricultural, and if you get into this on a commercial basis, expect to have them in your biz. You can get away with keeping them at arms length if you're a smaller entity such as myself, and sell to individuals or at farmers markets, but if you plan on getting into anything larger, expect inspections of your hives and your honey processing facilities.

The second are the bees themselves. They have more pests and diseases than you will believe. Everything from Varroa mites to CCD to africanization of the hive can present and wipe out your investment literally overnight. That is just three problems, there are about ten others, and that doesn't include external threats such as bears, skunks, and Japanese Hornets. Some of these are rare and can be controlled through the use of various drugs and methods such as screened bottom boards and traps, but others can take you by surprise, including the bees themselves. I have one hive that is five years old that has produced next to no honey, and it is next to two others that have done wonderfully well. Go figure.

The third is up front costs. They are not high for the hive boxes, smokers, veils etc. One can get two hive boxes and the relevant equipment for $500, not including bees. The bees will cost you around $80 for packaged bees/queen to $125 for a nucleus of five frames. Once installed in the hive boxes, regular inspections are required especially in spring and fall. You will likely not get honey in the first season, but there are always exceptions. I managed to take 60# from one of my hives in the first year, but the second-previously mentioned-has not produced much of anything in six years. If you continue in the endeavor you will need to invest in extraction equipment beyond the basics, which can be expensive. Many times your local bee club will have one that can be used, but it will likely be in high demand and not convenient to you schedule. I bought my own radial extractor for $800. They are more expensive now.

There is a use for tractors in this if you want to provide nectar for your bees. Planting a food plot of clover, buckwheat, or other flowering plant can increase your take. I have planted clover near my hives for a dual use or food plot for both bees and deer. Of course, that will increase the expense to you, but it does help.

Anyway, I find beekeeping to be both fun and it can be profitable if you watch your costs, but like anything else, it requires more work than one would believe until you are actually doing it. The good side is that once your sunk costs for hive boxes, extractors etc. are done, they are able to be used for many seasons, and your input is mostly labor.

 

[Rhino35]

Mike,

I probably wouldn't keep bees to harvest the honey, but with all the news about bees dying I'm curious about how to just help the natural bees thrive. Any quick tips? I live in the country and have land down a hill behind my home where it's very natural, both in small tree forest grove and open meadow. I do let clover grow in my lawn and never have used pesticides (or weed suppressants) and I see bees.

Rhino

 

[suzy]

Whether or not you have water available for irrigation is a big factor. Dryland farming also is dependant on your soil type, annual rainfall and when it falls. Most crops have an immediacy as to their harvest and sale. If all your raspberries, asparagus, apples or whatever are ready to pick and the customers don't show up or it rains, there goes your profit. The beauty of garlic is that once it has dried, you can market it at your speed.

My 5 apple trees just took a major beating from a hailstorm, the 2 cherry trees and most saskatoons had a poor pollinating spring ( after bumper crops last year), lost a calf and cow while calving. On the other hand, the lambs have dodged the coyotes so far...the hay is fabulous this year, spruce bark beetles killed 6 spruce trees last year so the firewood harvest is good and there will hopefully be some tasty apple juice made in the fall. Luckily, I always have lots of tasty meat in the freezer to remind me what a good thing it is to live on a farm!

By diversifying into a few crops suitable to your situation, you can lessen the risk of having total failure in any one year. By starting small, you lessen the risk of losing a lot of money on expensive seed or start up stock.
Keep us posted on what you decide to do!

 

[motownbrowne]

Mike,

I probably wouldn't keep bees to harvest the honey, but with all the news about bees dying I'm curious about how to just help the natural bees thrive. Any quick tips? I live in the country and have land down a hill behind my home where it's very natural, both in small tree forest grove and open meadow. I do let clover grow in my lawn and never have used pesticides (or weed suppressants) and I see bees.

Rhino

You can help by planting "pollinator-friendly" crops and by discouraging your neighbors from using pesticides. All the time people on here and otherwise talk about spraying this or that on their land. I understand there's a use for that stuff in moderation, but it is way overused in this country.

Also, mason bees are responsible for a lot of pollination in North America, where honeybees aren't native in the first place. Making habitat for them is pretty simple, check it out on the web.

 

[Rhino35]

Thanks, Motownbrowne.

 

[hlyautey]

Are you growing anything now? I'm in a similar situation here in Georgia. I do grow a lot of vegetables for myself and friends but would be interested in actually making some money. 4 acres is small enough to go organic, but there are extra hurdles to do that.

 

[SteelMonkey]

The most successful farmers I've seen of late are farming like the dope farmers do, in greenhouses with hydroponics, but they are growing tomato's, Kale, bell peppers, romain, and others to the local restaurants. One lady is making about 40k per year in four small 10'x20' greenhouses. She say's she does deliver to the restaurants on a daily basis and she does have to grow different items for different places. Her other thoughts on the way she farms is that it is nice not to have to fire up tractors to do most of the work, and growing inside allows her to grow year round without fear of droughts, floods, etc. She said she still has to deal with Aphids and such, but ladybugs and other predator bugs help take care of that.

Just seemed like a nice way to do it, but as someone else said, marketing is part of the equation as well.

Tad