What to grow for profit on 5 acres central NY
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groundcover
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My neighbor said elderberry for medicinal use, she said pretty big return per acre.
RNeumann
Elite Member
With higher production crops (most you mentioned) 5 acres is less than one person can do by themselves- making it hard to profit from. With that, I’d be looking into crops that are more niche, specialty or labor intensive. Look around and ask around- the locals will know best. No trellis wine grapes, fruit, nuts, organic etc are a few things that come to mind.
Deerherd
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At one time New York was the largest producer of hops and would be a good use for 5 acres.
NY is really pushing the micro breweries and with the right strain you could do well.
NY is really pushing the micro breweries and with the right strain you could do well.
2LaneCruzer
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DrRod
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I went through this process in deciding to grow sports turf and Christmas trees.
First -- ensure there is a market. Lots of people grow Christmas trees locally but the dealers all buy from big producers in Michigan and North Carolina.
Second -- equipment costs can eat you up. Consider what it takes to grow, harvest, store, and transport something as simple as hay [which may not be a bad choice].
Third -- most small scale crops are such because they require intensive labor inputs. So if you are willing to put in the time, heritage tomatoes, legacy garlic, uncommon greens, and the like may be of interest to your local markets and restaurants.
Some Amish families I know send a truck to DC twice a week with fresh greens and some vegetables [plus the occasional snapping turtle]. I've heard they bring back $40k per load distributed pretty widely. The trick is to find the market. They laugh at the stuff city folk will buy like the tops of beets and the aforementioned turtles -- just a matter of taste.
First -- ensure there is a market. Lots of people grow Christmas trees locally but the dealers all buy from big producers in Michigan and North Carolina.
Second -- equipment costs can eat you up. Consider what it takes to grow, harvest, store, and transport something as simple as hay [which may not be a bad choice].
Third -- most small scale crops are such because they require intensive labor inputs. So if you are willing to put in the time, heritage tomatoes, legacy garlic, uncommon greens, and the like may be of interest to your local markets and restaurants.
Some Amish families I know send a truck to DC twice a week with fresh greens and some vegetables [plus the occasional snapping turtle]. I've heard they bring back $40k per load distributed pretty widely. The trick is to find the market. They laugh at the stuff city folk will buy like the tops of beets and the aforementioned turtles -- just a matter of taste.
dickfoster
Elite Member
I know what it would be in my area, POT. Gotta have lots of sun and water though. I'm pretty sure it's the number one cash crop in my county and many counties around.
mcfarmall
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Weed :thumbsup:
Or on a less litigious note, Lavender. My dental hygienist is quitting her job to build/open/run a lavender processing facility to make soap, trim bud, etc.... Of course, she grows the stuff on her 5 acre or so lot. She says theres big $$ in it.
Or on a less litigious note, Lavender. My dental hygienist is quitting her job to build/open/run a lavender processing facility to make soap, trim bud, etc.... Of course, she grows the stuff on her 5 acre or so lot. She says theres big $$ in it.