Making money with land

[motownbrowne]

To the chicken owners out there, $20 for a 50lb bag of food? We free range over about an acre (fenced in with our dairy goats) and have 14 chickens (13 layers, one rooster) We pay $11.95 for a bag of Nutrina layer feed, but we don't go through barely 50lbs in a month, they are constantly eating so many bugs, etc. We also throw all the table scraps out there; they are our garbage disposal.

That price is for ORGANIC feed delivered to my door on a pallet. You are what you eat, ya know. Ours are free range too, we rotate pasture frequently, and "graze" them on cover crops we plant.

 

[duke7595]

Another crop to consider is Asparagus. It takes a couple of years to establish but sells high.

 

[rds1555]

turnips are a good crop they can be planed late we planted them after the early sweet corn was done we disk the corn and used a cyclone seeded then i think my dad lightly disk them in we got 8 $ a banana box whole sale in the 90s just pull from the ground and cut the top off and they need washed soon after pulled or they will not be verry white . to get the Indian corn to be real nice it should be sprayed for bugs not real profitable . neck pumpkins grow easy . straw berry's are the one of the most profitable per acre.

 

[Big Barn]

JMER817, You are still getting a lot of posts from folks who are telling you what other people claim to be successfully doing. I am not saying they are all wrong, and there is a lot of good advice in many posts, but very few few of your advisers are actually running a place on which they rely upon to keep them alive.

Yes

Terry

 

[ozhank]

Haven't you heard the old story about how to make a million dollars from farming? Start with 2 million ...

 

[rds1555]

they have alot or ideas and info about of growing normal and not so normal look at the money part if considering Asparagus not too much to be made .
Agricultural Alternatives

 

[hlyautey]

This guy is a sustainable farmer. He has 200 acres but his model is scalable. I believe this is the future of farming, not the factory farms that dominate now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIbXU5iR2P4

 

[BarTX]

I have been successful growing blueberries in Centerville, Tx. It is just a hobby right now. I have two blueberry patches about 1/3 acre with 175 plants. The plants range from 2-5 years old. Our yield was about 40 lbs this year. That is equal to about 53 pints of blueberries. @ $3.00 a pint that would be $159.00. When the plants reach maturity we could be harvesting approx. 2500 pints (8500 pints/acre @ 608 plants/acre University of Kentucky estimate). 2500 x $3.00 = $7500.00.

 

[MAYTAG MAN]

I wish I had 4 acres of usable land...of course I do think that money takes all the fun out of growing things but I guess if you want to measure something, you need a device. Money does smell like sh"t so it could make things grow if you use it properly. On the other hand, every dollar you don't have to pay to the Federal Reserve is philosophically earned. Just eating your own produce means you don't have to earn a buck or three. If you're into being able to work for a living, consider putting the best fuel possible into your engine and you will be clean and lean (on the inside). I used to hate rainy days...now I pray for rain. I used to go to the local gym...now I go to my garden. Weeds are compost, table scraps are compost, unpoisoned grass clippings, leaves and hay add to the tilth...which rhymes with filth...yea God. Renovating my mind makes me smile.

 

[ozhank]

I have 320ac of bush/scrub which under our tree clearing laws, not allowed to touch except for timber for my own use. I have cleared some land around the house for firebreak, (fires are a real hazard here), have established an aquaponics system, an orchard, about 30 chooks (chickens?) for eggs and meat, and have 4 milking goats for our own use. Basically, we can produce most of our own food, and with some purchases of chick peas (garbonzo?) and other beans and grains for our protein. We make our own cheese and yoghurt. Next summer will be growing soybeans for making tofu and other soy products. The excess tofu we dry for later inclusion into spaghetti bolognaise, which the grand kids can't tell from "real" meat. For income, to pay the bills that need cash, I sell some firewood, strainer posts and split posts and rails, and some dried herbs that are excess to our needs.