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Small Acreage Cash Crops

M

mtgummibear

Member
I know this board includes lots of people who make a living from farming and lots who do it as a hobby or 2nd income. I would love to hear from anyone who has suggetions on how to earn a little extra income on our 40 acres.

The goal is maybe two to three thousand dollars a year in net income. We do have a 50HP tractor and some tillage equipment.

We are located in central to northern Georgia (about 30 miles south of Atlanta). Pretty much all of the land is tillable and is currently in mixed grass/native pasture.

Some things I"ve thought about are gourmet garlics with possibly trying to market directly to restaurants; Sweet potatoes grow real well and easily in our area but I think you"d have grow an awful lot of them to get much return; We grow great melons in our area but without irrigation probably not possible;

I just want to hear ideas from the rest of you because there may be a ton of things I haven"t even thought about.
 
I'm doing similar farming and get around $3K from selling hay each year. Our area has a lot of horse people that don't have their own hay so its pretty easy to sell good hay and for the bales I have I can sell them right out of the field. Hay can be tough because of weather and is hard work. You need to start with what kind of markets can you sell to and work from that. Hay is worth nothing if there is no one around that want's it or if there is too much hay around. Being able to direct sell to a customer is way better for profit than needing a middle man. Our area also has a lot of farmers markets where people bring mostly produce to sell. I don't know how well farmers do at them since I've never attended one but I do know they attract a lot of people.
 
Son has 13 acres in northern SC and he has several acres of fescue hay and same in corn. He bales with square bales for horse owners and hand picks corn for use as deer bait (it's legal in some counties here). He "nets" about $1000 per year on sales of $2500-3000. Not much money but it's his hobby. (His machinery was donated by his dad...)He would like a few more acres, but as a State Trooper, shift work really interferes with his ability to expand.
 
Vegetables and or fruit will return the highest dollar amount. Strawberries are a good crop and if labor is a problem then a U Pick operation should be considered.
 
You might try your state's extension office. They have tons of information online for browsing and downloading. Could get some ideas from there too.
 
What are your annual home heating costs?Perhaps a corn furnace and growing your own heating fuel+some to sell would be an option...Corn would also sell as niche market pet food,animal grain etc.Corns are a pretty basic,simple crop when not going for perfect,maximum yield,only income crop.
 
I would consider growing strawberries. We pick ours at a nearby fruit stand. They charge $1.50 per pound and you pick them. They grow the Chandler variety. They grow them on raised beds covered with black plastic. They have a machine that does this in one operation.
They can irrigate if its a dry spring.

There's a farmer in Ohio that grows strawberries too here's a pic of a wagon load. Hal
11qslcj.jpg
 
Is that a tobacco area? Any odds of getting a contract? If it's a burley area, you can get going with very little over head with out door cure'n sturctures. Should be able to net your goal with a few acres as long as you do most of the work your self.

Dave
 
I can't believe it, all these wise guys on here and no one suggested Maryjuanna!

On a serious note, take a drive some Sunday afternoon and see what others in the area are doing. Also scope out what the city folks in Atlanta need. That is where the $$ are, selling stuff to the city people.

Lots of horses around? grow horse hay. Hire neighbors with baler or put it up on shares. Of course for horses it would need to be in small square bales.

Dont put a lot into equipment. Maintenance will eat your lunch.

I have 75 acres tillable here. Share crop it 1/3 - 2/3, I get 1/3 and dont lift a finger.
I netted around $12,000 this year, of course yields were excellent and prices good. Corn, wheat and double crop soybeans. I dont expect that every year.

Gene
 

You could plant corn then ferment the mash and distill. Probably a good market in Ga.

A chiropractor in our town had an indoor cash crop of about 1,000 plants using fancy indoor lights. The DEA hauled him away last week and they had lots of pictures in the local paper. This would be an example of a crop to avoid.

Don't peanuts grow well in Ga?
 
I"m 38 miles south of Atlanta. Tobacco is not grown anywhere in the area. The hay market is a high risk due to not many cattle left in the area and a large amount of the horses have been sold off in 2009. You might try produce, strawberrys, greenhouse plants. There is a good market for goats but you have to watch for dogs and coyotes. They are extremly bad in the area. Are you close to Griffin or Williamson ?
 
For the least amount of labor and the most profit hay is the best bet. Plant it one time and that planting will last for decades and the work is a lot less. Do a large garden ya maybe more profit but lots of hand labor and you never know how the weather will be so you do not know how well the crops will grow plus you may have to get water to it and that in turn costs you more $$. Years ago my dad did a 2 acre garden and I did hay and for all the work he did he might have made $200 more a year then I did doing hay but he was out there 7 days a week working and I was out there only a few hours a week making hay
 
You could grow pumpkins. I have netted $1000 from $12 of pumpkin seeds on maybe a 1/4 acre. Most were sold on the honour system from a wagon at the road in October.
 
I would try growing strawberries or any other fruit that can be make into jelly, I would love to buy jelly (not from grocery store). Every year my hometown has a small fair and there are two older ladies that sell jam, I pay $4/jar. And I would pay $4/ 12 oz. jar, for many jars. The small things of life are sometimes the best, homemade jam/jelly. I had an old boss and his wife canned many jars of jam and the *ickhead wouldnt sell me any.
 
You'll notice almost everyone suggest a vegetable. I was going to suggest a little truck farm; i.e. a mix of vegetables that grow well. The issue with veggies is the picking, back breaking if you do it yourself, expensive if you hire it done.
If you clos enough to a city you could do U-Pick.
 
Your garlic idea is a good one, if there is no one in your area doing it- could also sell at farmer's market. You can also pickle it, etc., and sell alongside the fresh stuff. You could only handle a large garden full of garlic, labor-wise, and I think (with your modest income goals) hay is probably your best bet on the rest.
 
Two things:

1) Read "How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 acres" by Whatley for some ideas and general issues (certainly not a bible and has many short comings).

B) Find and read everything you can about Joel Salatin. He is well diversified and started on small acreage. He now has a few hundred acres, owned and leased, and does very well, demand far exceeds his supply. In fact, Salatin is in NC or VA, not too far from you. He is a bit odd, but has a brain well worth picking; pay him a visit.
 
Never grow pot on your own land. Grow it somewhere on the neighbors place that he never gets to. That is the local joke anyway. The state narcotics guys found plants on some land owned by one of the most decent honest guys in the county. He knew nothing about it. They busted a meth lab at an abondon farmstead I own under similar circumstances. Now his nickname is Pot Head and mine is Crankster. It's getting old.
 
Thanks for the response. The address is Griffin but actually a little closer to Hampton. I'm in Spalding County a mile or two away from the Henry County line. I'm on Teamon Rd. if you're familiar with the area.
 
Just want to thank everyone for their replies. A lot of good things to think about. I already sell a few vegetables at work and my co-workers love the fresh-raised and pay premium dollar for it, but I just don't know if I can raise enough to make a significant income.

I'd really like to do the hay, but I'll just have to look at how to finance serviceable equipment to use.

Again thanks to all!!
 
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