When I quit my job last April we figured that things would be tight for a year and then dh would become an administrator and things would be hunky dorey. Well, after simplifying our lives and getting back to basics I now realize that I don't want him to have an admin job right now because it means he will be at work an extra 2 hours a day and an extra 10 weeks a year This will be rough with 3 wee ones). We both cherish our family time and an admin job would wipe much of that time out. We are thinking an admin job is in his future but maybe not for a couple of years so that we can get time to get in our homeschool, homesteading groove. Dh also wants to help with the homeschooling responsibilities so if he did help with them it would take up all our free time.

We have enough money to squeek by and with the raise he will get next year we will be able to pay on our student loans but won't have much left over for anything else including savings or a new (meaning new to us) car (Dh's car is 14 years old and mine is 9) or any extras for our family.

We have thought several times about selling our property (we could make about 40G over what we paid for it if we parcel it out) but there just isn't anything out there that is as good a deal in as good as shape as what we have now for the price we want to pay.

What I would like to do is to think of something that we can do with our land to help earn the money we need for extras and savings. We have 7 acres of flat land that was used for farming before we moved in and we have a nice pole barn that is insulated and has running water. I thought about starting a small veggie market in the pole barn in the summer but dh is afraid of the liability involved with having people on our land.

I would love if some of you mamas can brainstorm with me about what we could do with this land. Dh has talked about turning it into a tree farm but I have no idea what that entails or if it is lucrative enough. I do plan on selling veggies at the farmer's markets this summer but that will only put a dent in the 5G I would need to make a year to make our finances work and keep this place.

TIA for any suggestions.

I think it would be neat to have apple trees or some type of fruit tree planted on your land. I think it would be lower maintanance to focus on one crop than to have a (large) traditional garden. And the trees would be nicer to look at then, say, 7 acres of corn. However, I assume that it would take a few years before you'd actually have apples/fruit to sell so that's probably not the best idea. Of course, personally, I still think owning a herd of sheep is a winning idea. They could keep your grass short, you could shear them for wool and they'd be so cute! (and maybe just a little smelly ;) )

Well, I'm obviously short on ideas today. Hopefully, someone more creative than me will have some suggestions.

chickens --> sell the eggs?


sorry short on ideas...i keep thinking though that you would want to be careful who farms the land because they could put yucky stuff on the crops you don't want yourself or your kids exposed to KWIM?

get a subscription to Countryside Journal or see if you're library has any to borrow. They have TONS of idea on how to make money off your land.

I know corn is a big one around here. Fresh potatos... salad greens... eggs... wildflowers... Do the farmers market with everything... even start in April with hardy starts. I know people that make easily 30K from the Farmers Market. I have a couple friends who do two farmers markets and make what they need to all year. Then they just farm. I don't know if you will be able to do that where you are... but here fresh organic produce is a REALLY big deal. In the times the farmers market is not open, you could sell things to local stores, espically the small ones that sell vitamin suppliments and things.

A few tips I can think of that make me buy from our local farmers market:

**Put your salad greens in a bag with pansys and nastershums (sp?)... flowers sell salad.

**Cut up day old produce (or slightly old produce) to make a stir fry mix and sell it cheap. (You must check the regulations on this. The water is a big deal for washing veggies. You may have to get it tested or cut and wash at a place that is already tested.)

**Bags of organic potatoes are a big hit around here.

**Wash spinich and put it in a bag. It looks nicer than the dirty clumps, although I know it is the same, most people go for the least work. It is worth it if you sell just two or three more bags per open day.

**Gourd bird houses. Even have the kids paint them, or sell them with little paint kits. I LOVE this idea!

**Fresh cut herbs. Even if there is a bouqet of "Italian sauce herbs" such as Basil, Thyme, Orgeano, and a sprig of Rosemary... people eat that stuff up. Look on FlavorPrints from Lonra Sass "Recipies from an Echological kitchen" for the ideas on what to put with what.

I hope this helps give you some ideas. I have been dying to do the farmers market for years, (but I don't have enough product or space) and I have slowly been filing back all of the things that I would do that helps me buy from certian people over and over again. Smiling is a huge asset too.

Love Val

We have 140 acres outside of town some pasture, some not, we rent out some of it to a cattle farmer. The one we rent to handles all the upkeep of the land - including making improvements - fencing, adding ponds, cleaning up the land etc. We get paid so he can handle upkeep, and improves our property. Not a bad deal imo.

The farmers markets around here are tiny with only 5-12 vendors at each one. The one town has it three weekdays per week and the others are Saturday mornings.

I will mull over your ideas and see what works best for us. Chickens are definitely a possibility but we didn't want to get into the expense of them this year with the new baby coming.

I am hoping that my big smile, huge preggo belly, and handsome little salesman Gabe will help us be successful at the farm markets this summer :)

Raising goats? Goat cheese, goat's milk, etc...sold to local organic/natural markets.

How far a radius is "around here"? Can you maybe drive to the nearest bigger city once a week?

Also, I wouldn't let dh's fear of having people on your land stop you from investigating that possibility. At least if you call your homeowner's insurance agent and talk the idea over with him/her, you will know what the real risks and costs would be. He may be right, but you won't really know unless you ask.

Could you rent or lease part of the property for someone else to farm?

I don't know how far out you are but I know here and in Nashville there are 2 huge farms that are geared toward kids. They have big pumpkin patches and other veggies during the year. They have nice play areas for the kids (swings and slides). The one in Nashville, sells the pumpkins, and have a little stand to sell cookies and cidar during the fall and they take the kids on hayrides too. That might be more than you would want to take on all at once but if you started with something small and geared it toward a family outing that might bring in extra money. We went to the farm, I bought pumpkins and also cidar and cookies.

Is any of it avail for Crop reduction program (crp) ? I don't know particulars on it myself but it may be worth investigating.

Wind energy and associated programs; low/no interest loans (to buy the turbine), excess energy buy back and property tax reductions.

Katie

Bobbi Jo,
This is not an ideal solution, nor is it really a solution at all, just a way to buy a little time....Have you considered seeing if you student loan payment can be lowered or deferred for awhile? There are all sorts of deferrment programs, and, while it may cost you a little more in the long run, it might be a way to give you a little room until whatever you might decide to do (apple orchard, etc.) gets off the ground, and while your babe is still wee, while you still need more time.

Good luck!!!

We have 15 acres and I have wondered the same thing. We had chickens for a while, free range. The hardest part with them is the darn snakes. We lost one a week for a while. But, they are cheap to get started with. They will nest in anything, including old mailboxes, shoe boxes, etc. Here they are cheap to buy - $2 each. They lay one egg a day. We need 6 a day for us on average. So then I need more than six chickens to sell any. Even just having a dozen or two at the farmer's market weekly is good. Remember the thread on Super Crunch about prices of organic eggs. Some were at more than $3 a doz. That that $6 a week and buy two more chickens. And keep that up. Just do something about the snakes.

Goats are an idea. Maybe raise pigmy goats for sale instead of the milk and butter right now. I would think it would be less work until you are out of the baby years.

Llamas are raised for wool but they can get expensive to buy.

Can someone cut hay on the open areas? Charge them $5 a bale. They sell it for $18 so they are still making money.

What about bees? Are they expensive to get into? I would think so. But honey can be a money making proposition.

I like the wind energy idea. Shoot the way the wind has been here the last two weeks, I could have bought half the state.

Here, fresh organic herbs are expensive, very!

I would be concerned about liability of folks coming to my place. Even if you are meticulous about safety, etc. I would stick with going to the farmer's market weekly. Grow different stuff from the average fare, not just organic.

My mind is still running. I will think up more.

here are some ideas i am pondering for when we finally move to some land & delve in to homesteading ~

also - there are a few great homesteading sites out there..maybe do a search & see if you can find any ideas there?

goats ~ milk, cheese & SOAP!

chickens for eggs ~ organically fed

breeding a certain animal & selling for profit..mini horses? goats?

lease your land to a farmer - esp. if they can farm organically!

have a huge organic garden & sell at the markets, or even on your property..many people do this - have you thought of starting a CSA.. you sell shares, people buy, get organic veggies, flowers, etc.. from you.

BEES!! for fresh honey :)

sew, dye, make waldork dolls..sell online?

if we find ap lace w/ a nice enough barn..we'd like to have a horse boarding facility... the place we board our horse really has a great deal set up!! boaring here runs anywhere from $90-$150 per month.... there are 19 horses where we board.

*~*~goodluck mama!~*~

Bobbi Jo, the only other idea I could come up with is renting out your barn, Around here there is nowhere to put a horse for within an hour drive of the city, may not be such an issue if your so rural, but lots of people are unhappy with where there horses are and maybe someone could rent your barn for their own horses or if they had only one or two horses, they could run a boarding stable but in your barn..........hey that's a great biz idea for someone in your area, rent your barn and start a boarding stable. Bonus, your kids could be around horses with little or no work from you. If you have any horse related questions feel free to pm me.

anni

Hi!

If you do decide to go the family farm route, I have a book for you called "Rebirth of the Small Family Farm". It's a little book, almost a handbook, that shows how to earn a livable income farming 2 acres of land. Very inspiring! Good luck!