yes, but I'd be paying income tax on that too....so while I might be able to do some creative accounting ledger entries to generate however much income I wanted, I'd be on the hook for fed & state taxes on that income. Definitely not worth not paying state sales tax on some stuff here & there.
But that is a good point for someone doing subsistence farming....might be worth assigning value for the crops/critters to feed your family to get to the $10k number....
You're only going to pay tax on the NET INCOME - not the gross. So, if you generate $10,000 in sales/revenue, but it costs you $9,999 to do that (seeds, fertilizer, equipment depreciation, fuel, insurance, farm market booth rental, etc., etc., etc.) you are going to pay tax on $1.00.
KEEP GOOD RECORDS on what you earn and what you spend. You're going to need it for the state and you're also going to need it for your Federal tax return (as well as your state return). For your "farm income" you're going to have to fill out a "Schedule F" to show the income and expenses. The net income then flows to a line on page 1 of your 1040.
Find a good accountant/tax preparer in your area - one with experience with farms. There's a lot of nuances for farm accounting so you want someone who knows the rules off the top of their head. I'm a CPA (don't practice any more) and if I started farming I would probably consult with someone myself.
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And, back to the pumpkin idea - I live about a mile from a 3rd generation apple orchard. They are only open once the apple harvest starts. They also sell some produce and also pumpkins. They advertise as "real locally grown produce", but they actually buy pretty much everything from somewhere else. They sell their pumpkins for $.75/pound so it's not unusual to go in there and drop $30 for a few pumpkins.
Also, consider getting some bees. You might want to contact your extension agent to get a list of beekeepers in your area that might be interested in putting some hives around your pumpkins. They might charge you a fee or "rent you the hives. Regardless, work a deal where you get part of the honey harvest. The orchard is selling their honey for $17/qt.
If you go the pumpkin route, you might want to consider selling "wholesale" to some small, local boutique/gift shops. Some pumpkins would make good impulse items for their customers. Also consider the little "mini pumpkins" in addition to Jack-O-Lantern size pumpkins. The mini's sell for $1 or $2 each.
Good Luck!
