Real Life Ways to Make Money on Your Homestead

The first step to finding ways to make your homestead profitable is of course research, that is, after all, what landed you on my little corner of the web. It won't be easy, I cannot give you a cut and dry blueprint. Everyones has different goals, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Your ability to monetize will also depend on the area in which you live. There has to be a market for what you do, you have to find a void and fill it. Some of these suggestions may not work for you, your region, or your homestead.

Make your farm a You-Pick destination. A pumpkin patch can be a huge draw in the fall. Pack your patch with fun activities like a corn maze, mini petting zoo, and pony rides. Use this as an opportunity to sell your farm made products, jams, honey, bread, etc.





Have a roadside or farm side stand. Utilize social media to drum up business for your farm grown eggs, meat and produce. Contact local brick and mortar businesses about setting up in their parking lot one or two days a week if your area doesn't have a designated farmers market.

Meat animals can bring your homestead a decent income. Preselling half's or whole animals means that you know exactly how many animals you need to raise to slaughter weight, without getting stuck with unsold extras. Cows, rabbits, pigs, sheep, goat, and chickens are all viable options.

Start an heirloom greenhouse. Build a few hoop houses and plant heirloom seeds. Save the seeds from your own garden to create a self-sustaining business. People will pay extra for quality, heirloom plants.  You can even make a sell customized herb boxes, planter boxes, and container gardens for your customers.

Fiber animals are something the Wanderer and I have wanted to get into, we currently have 1 single French Angora buck that produces the softest wool fiber. Sheep, goats, alpacas, angora rabbits all produce amazing fiber that can either be sold raw and unprocessed or cleaned and spun on your farm for income. If you choose to process the fiber on site you can host classes where you teach others how to dye and spin wool.

AirBnB should be considered a viable option if you have space. Create nooks on your farm featuring a firepit, outdoor furniture, and a tiny house. Rent these spaces on the rental site Airbnb.

Build a pay lake. If you have a pond on your property, or you have the space to install a pond, you can stock them and then charge people to come and fish your pond. There are several pay lakes in our area. If you go this route you can also breed and sell your own fish bait.

Farm weddings arre the rage right now and can bring the farm owner several thousand dollars a day. Make your farm a wedding destination.

Sell items you create on your farm online using sites like Ebay and Etsy. Or purge your old wardrobe on selling sites like Poshmark.

State a herd share program. In a lot of states raw milk is still illegal, but sharing a cow and the milk from the cow is legal. Invest in a managable herd of cows or goats and sell shares. For the cost of the share your herd share partners recieve raw milk, cheese, butter.

Determine what your strenghts and weaknesses are, and form a homesteading plan of action that works for you.