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Here's one for the inner agriculturalist who is also looking to make some money with his or her green thumb (or whatever you call it for animals and fungi!)! The micro-farming category is a wide and versatile one, which could encompass such things as greenhouse growing, seasonal backyard gardening, mushroom bags in the basement, raising crickets, worms, or other pet food/fishing bait, Valentine's Day roses, kitchen herb gardens, selling chicken eggs from your backyard coop, and much more; from utilitarian, to ornamental, to downright necessary for survival! Regardless of the vast array of specific products that you could offer from your micro-farm, there are two (2) “hard and fast” basics with micro farming you must understand before considering this as a possible income stream.
Number 1: Micro-farming is a goods-based business idea. Your end-product is a physical product to be sold.
Number 2: Micro farming involves the rearing and care of living things, and differs only from "full-scale" farming in just that - the scale and size of your operation. If you can't, or don't enjoy, raising living things, a micro-farming venture is not for you. Also, as living things are involved, this is definitely something that requires ethics and plenty of forethought on the part of the micro-farmer businessperson.
As with most business ideas (well, most of the ones that will actually work, I should say!), this one does require quite a bit of upfront work and networking to make it profitable in the first place, but don't let that hold you back (unless you're not ready for the work commitment - then, by all means, yes, let it hold you back!). Like I say, almost any truly viable business idea WILL require a lot of blood, sweat, and tears up front to get it turning a profit.
When we hear the word “farm”, especially in a conversation related to business and making a profit, many people instantly think of a vast expanse of land; and this isn’t such a far-fetched image to pop into one’s mind, as traditional-style farming of most mainstream staple crops and livestock all over the world has always followed this model – the bigger your expanse of land, the more living organisms (whatever they may be) you can raise and sell for profit (again, we are talking about making money here). A small farm, or micro-farm, might just be a hobby farm, or a subsistence operation for the farmer and the farmer’s family. If this is what you think, I’ve got to hand it to you, you are spot-on correct in most cases, especially in this modern world we live in where the corporate giants have even taken over farming, which has only amplified the stereotype I have given in the example! However, there is still plenty of room for the micro-farmer in this equation, and it all boils back down to the basics of Business and Marketing 101 again – find a need and fill it!
Let’s take a step back here and defining “micro-farm”. Any Internet search on the term will yield numerous results with many of your top hits saying something to the effect of: “small scale farming in urban or suburban areas, usually done on 5 acres or less of land”. This is how I am using the term here in this article as well; however, let me get something straight - for our purposes here, I personally consider a 5-acre micro-farm a “big” micro-farm, although I agree that it technically fits the definition. Here in this article I am not just talking about those micro-farmers who farm several acres of land, but also about the micro-farmers who perform their whole operation out of something as small as a room in their house, or even just their kitchen windowsill in their tiny urban apartment, like a teacher colleague of mine from my “day job 😊” does.
Now that we know what we are talking about, let’s take a look at how a small-time micro-farmer can bust into this arena that is even now controlled by the corporate “Big Box” farms where much our daily staples are concerned.
As I mentioned earlier, the key here is finding a need and filling it. A very common theme indeed in small business in general – finding a specific niche! Of course, you can get as specific as you want and probably come up with 101 different categories in this department and then some, but for our purposes right now I am only going to give treatment to the broadest three (3) “umbrella” categories:
1) Fresh,
2) Organic,
3) and Specialty.
For any of these three categories, but especially the first two, you are probably going to want to search locally for your market. Remember, anything that requires shipping long distances, at least in the “fresh” and “organic” categories, is going to require competing with Costco and WalMart and those other Big Box players. Not that a feat like that cannot be done, but one step at a time while you are just getting started, my friend! One step at a time!
Fresh – No matter where you live in the world, you are always going to be around people who want and are willing to pay for fresh food. Yes, of course, no matter where you are in the world you will also always come across people who could give a rip and will eat any processed garbage just because it is cheap, but don’t worry about them – they are not your target audience. If you can establish a regular supply of something fresh – even if it is a seasonal thing – and get repeat customers in your area to regularly purchase from you, then you are on your way to making your way in this category. You can do this with anything, but it really works well with such things as kitchen herbs, wheatgrass, sprouts, and other products like these, even mushrooms (these can also fall into the “specialty” category) – things that can be grown easily, don’t take a long time from start-to-harvest, and stay in operation year-round, harvesting and selling every week or two.
Organic – Very similar in many aspects to the “Fresh” category, but when you specifically grow it and sell it as “Organic” you are reaching out to a whole other demographic. This demographic is generally very particular about their food in general and willing to pay more for organic products – both good things where you the businessperson are concerned! Remember, you can’t sell something as “organic” unless it actually meets the definition of organic and you can’t sell something as “certified organic” unless you actually do take the time to get your enterprise certified as “organic”.
Specialty – There is a little more leeway with this category, as, with enough research and drive, you could get into some very esoteric things with a high consumer price tag on them that can sometimes be (relatively) easily shipped long distances (again, this is a good thing where you, the businessperson, are concerned!). Two of the more “famous” examples you often hear about in this category are ginseng farming and gourmet mushroom farming. Honey often fits into this category as well. And something like “Valentine’s Day Roses” would also easily fit into this category. Essentially, this is a category you can be very picky and selective with. The goal here with this one where making a profit is concerned is specializing in something so specifically that the Big Box competition doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
For a final word on micro-farming – this is DEFINITLEY NOT a business idea that will get you rich overnight! In fact, to help me prove this point, go ahead and scroll down to check out the external article What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living in the “Further Reading” section below. First and foremost, micro-farming is a lifestyle and a passion that can be used to pull in a second-income-stream for those who enjoy this kind of thing. And don’t forget those ethics – you are dealing with living organisms here! If raising living things in a fair, ethical manner isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe look towards a different business idea for your inspiration.
Some Micro-Farming Ideas (the list of possibilities is much, much, much longer than just this measly list below!):
- Seasonal fruit and/or vegetables from your garden/small acreage farm
- Specialty dairy products (i.e. goat milk, goat cheese) form your small acreage farm
- Valentine's Day Roses (and/or other holiday flowers)
- A "U-Pick" flower garden
- Raising guppies/minnows/worms/crayfish/crickets/grubs/mealworms/etc. for fishing bait or pet food
- Silkworms (this one has been around on both very large and very small scales [and everything in between] for several thousand years of human history and counting :))
- "Basement" mushroom bags/logs/boxes (ok, so it doesn't actually have to be done in a basement :))
- Wheatgrass Flats and other Kitchen Herb Gardens (this is one of my favorites!)
- Pet breeding
- Not really a true “farming” idea, but animal care and boarding if you have an acre or two (or five 😊)
External Links/Further Reading:
How to Make Money Farming 5 Acres or Less [Not Just Market Gardening!]
(This article was last updated on Outdoor Happens on Nov. 11, 2020. This information is current as of Nov. 12, 2020, when last checked by the Webmaster of Biz Opp Empire.)
A goodie from self-sufficient homesteader Elle Meager over at Outdoor Happens (www.outdoorhappens.com). A very well written article packed with tips, tricks, and multiple angles to consider when thinking about getting into micro-farming. Elle does a good job of getting you to think about the whole picture of what you are doing when it comes to your micro-farm and what kinds of things you should think about/groundwork you should lay in advance before "pulling the trigger" and jumping into micro-farming as a newb.
Wheatgrass grower carves at-home niche business in the fresh wheatgrass industry
5 Highly Profitable Farm Ventures
How to Make Six Figures Farming on ⅓ Acre – Advice from Urban Farmer Curtis Stone
Profitable Plants - a goldmine website for growing plants for profit with the small acreage farmer and backyard gardener in mind!
Fungi Perfecti - great source for buying mushroom grow kits and equipment for growing mushrooms at home
Ten Most Profitable Herbs To Grow
What nobody told me about small farming: I can't make a living - one small-time farmer's boldly told truth about small farm finances
27 Ways to Make Money From Your Small Farm - this site is a REAL goldmine of information!
Urban Farming: 10 Crops You Can Grow at Home
Want to be a Micro-Farmer? 6 Tips for Success
Farmers and Asbestos
By Michelle Whitmer; edited by Walter Pacheco. This link posted here June 25, 2022. Asbestos.com, brought to you by The Mesothelioma Center (c) 2022. (This information was last reviewed for accuracy on 3/23/2023.)
While most of the information compiled on this page is "How To" related, this resource brought to us by The Mesothelioma Center brings us a well-justified word of warning! For many of us in the 21st Century, this will probably not be an issue; but YOU NEVER KNOW, and it definitely doesn't hurt to be informed of the possible dangers out there before they wind up hurting you! Just what do you REALLY have in your barn or garden shed? Just where did your vermiculite come from? Know the risks and know what you could be dealing with! Like I say, it doesn't hurt to be informed, but it CAN hurt to not be informed!
Here's one for the inner agriculturalist who is also looking to make some money with his or her green thumb (or whatever you call it for animals and fungi!)! The micro-farming category is a wide and versatile one, which could encompass such things as greenhouse growing, seasonal backyard gardening, mushroom bags in the basement, raising crickets, worms, or other pet food/fishing bait, Valentine's Day roses, kitchen herb gardens, selling chicken eggs from your backyard coop, and much more; from utilitarian, to ornamental, to downright necessary for survival! Regardless of the vast array of specific products that you could offer from your micro-farm, there are two (2) “hard and fast” basics with micro farming you must understand before considering this as a possible income stream.
Number 1: Micro-farming is a goods-based business idea. Your end-product is a physical product to be sold.
Number 2: Micro farming involves the rearing and care of living things, and differs only from "full-scale" farming in just that - the scale and size of your operation. If you can't, or don't enjoy, raising living things, a micro-farming venture is not for you. Also, as living things are involved, this is definitely something that requires ethics and plenty of forethought on the part of the micro-farmer businessperson.
As with most business ideas (well, most of the ones that will actually work, I should say!), this one does require quite a bit of upfront work and networking to make it profitable in the first place, but don't let that hold you back (unless you're not ready for the work commitment - then, by all means, yes, let it hold you back!). Like I say, almost any truly viable business idea WILL require a lot of blood, sweat, and tears up front to get it turning a profit.
When we hear the word “farm”, especially in a conversation related to business and making a profit, many people instantly think of a vast expanse of land; and this isn’t such a far-fetched image to pop into one’s mind, as traditional-style farming of most mainstream staple crops and livestock all over the world has always followed this model – the bigger your expanse of land, the more living organisms (whatever they may be) you can raise and sell for profit (again, we are talking about making money here). A small farm, or micro-farm, might just be a hobby farm, or a subsistence operation for the farmer and the farmer’s family. If this is what you think, I’ve got to hand it to you, you are spot-on correct in most cases, especially in this modern world we live in where the corporate giants have even taken over farming, which has only amplified the stereotype I have given in the example! However, there is still plenty of room for the micro-farmer in this equation, and it all boils back down to the basics of Business and Marketing 101 again – find a need and fill it!
Let’s take a step back here and defining “micro-farm”. Any Internet search on the term will yield numerous results with many of your top hits saying something to the effect of: “small scale farming in urban or suburban areas, usually done on 5 acres or less of land”. This is how I am using the term here in this article as well; however, let me get something straight - for our purposes here, I personally consider a 5-acre micro-farm a “big” micro-farm, although I agree that it technically fits the definition. Here in this article I am not just talking about those micro-farmers who farm several acres of land, but also about the micro-farmers who perform their whole operation out of something as small as a room in their house, or even just their kitchen windowsill in their tiny urban apartment, like a teacher colleague of mine from my “day job 😊” does.
Now that we know what we are talking about, let’s take a look at how a small-time micro-farmer can bust into this arena that is even now controlled by the corporate “Big Box” farms where much our daily staples are concerned.
As I mentioned earlier, the key here is finding a need and filling it. A very common theme indeed in small business in general – finding a specific niche! Of course, you can get as specific as you want and probably come up with 101 different categories in this department and then some, but for our purposes right now I am only going to give treatment to the broadest three (3) “umbrella” categories:
1) Fresh,
2) Organic,
3) and Specialty.
For any of these three categories, but especially the first two, you are probably going to want to search locally for your market. Remember, anything that requires shipping long distances, at least in the “fresh” and “organic” categories, is going to require competing with Costco and WalMart and those other Big Box players. Not that a feat like that cannot be done, but one step at a time while you are just getting started, my friend! One step at a time!
Fresh – No matter where you live in the world, you are always going to be around people who want and are willing to pay for fresh food. Yes, of course, no matter where you are in the world you will also always come across people who could give a rip and will eat any processed garbage just because it is cheap, but don’t worry about them – they are not your target audience. If you can establish a regular supply of something fresh – even if it is a seasonal thing – and get repeat customers in your area to regularly purchase from you, then you are on your way to making your way in this category. You can do this with anything, but it really works well with such things as kitchen herbs, wheatgrass, sprouts, and other products like these, even mushrooms (these can also fall into the “specialty” category) – things that can be grown easily, don’t take a long time from start-to-harvest, and stay in operation year-round, harvesting and selling every week or two.
Organic – Very similar in many aspects to the “Fresh” category, but when you specifically grow it and sell it as “Organic” you are reaching out to a whole other demographic. This demographic is generally very particular about their food in general and willing to pay more for organic products – both good things where you the businessperson are concerned! Remember, you can’t sell something as “organic” unless it actually meets the definition of organic and you can’t sell something as “certified organic” unless you actually do take the time to get your enterprise certified as “organic”.
Specialty – There is a little more leeway with this category, as, with enough research and drive, you could get into some very esoteric things with a high consumer price tag on them that can sometimes be (relatively) easily shipped long distances (again, this is a good thing where you, the businessperson, are concerned!). Two of the more “famous” examples you often hear about in this category are ginseng farming and gourmet mushroom farming. Honey often fits into this category as well. And something like “Valentine’s Day Roses” would also easily fit into this category. Essentially, this is a category you can be very picky and selective with. The goal here with this one where making a profit is concerned is specializing in something so specifically that the Big Box competition doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
For a final word on micro-farming – this is DEFINITLEY NOT a business idea that will get you rich overnight! In fact, to help me prove this point, go ahead and scroll down to check out the external article What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living in the “Further Reading” section below. First and foremost, micro-farming is a lifestyle and a passion that can be used to pull in a second-income-stream for those who enjoy this kind of thing. And don’t forget those ethics – you are dealing with living organisms here! If raising living things in a fair, ethical manner isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe look towards a different business idea for your inspiration.
Some Micro-Farming Ideas (the list of possibilities is much, much, much longer than just this measly list below!):
- Seasonal fruit and/or vegetables from your garden/small acreage farm
- Specialty dairy products (i.e. goat milk, goat cheese) form your small acreage farm
- Valentine's Day Roses (and/or other holiday flowers)
- A "U-Pick" flower garden
- Raising guppies/minnows/worms/crayfish/crickets/grubs/mealworms/etc. for fishing bait or pet food
- Silkworms (this one has been around on both very large and very small scales [and everything in between] for several thousand years of human history and counting :))
- "Basement" mushroom bags/logs/boxes (ok, so it doesn't actually have to be done in a basement :))
- Wheatgrass Flats and other Kitchen Herb Gardens (this is one of my favorites!)
- Pet breeding
- Not really a true “farming” idea, but animal care and boarding if you have an acre or two (or five 😊)
External Links/Further Reading:
How to Make Money Farming 5 Acres or Less [Not Just Market Gardening!]
(This article was last updated on Outdoor Happens on Nov. 11, 2020. This information is current as of Nov. 12, 2020, when last checked by the Webmaster of Biz Opp Empire.)
A goodie from self-sufficient homesteader Elle Meager over at Outdoor Happens (www.outdoorhappens.com). A very well written article packed with tips, tricks, and multiple angles to consider when thinking about getting into micro-farming. Elle does a good job of getting you to think about the whole picture of what you are doing when it comes to your micro-farm and what kinds of things you should think about/groundwork you should lay in advance before "pulling the trigger" and jumping into micro-farming as a newb.
Wheatgrass grower carves at-home niche business in the fresh wheatgrass industry
5 Highly Profitable Farm Ventures
How to Make Six Figures Farming on ⅓ Acre – Advice from Urban Farmer Curtis Stone
Profitable Plants - a goldmine website for growing plants for profit with the small acreage farmer and backyard gardener in mind!
Fungi Perfecti - great source for buying mushroom grow kits and equipment for growing mushrooms at home
Ten Most Profitable Herbs To Grow
What nobody told me about small farming: I can't make a living - one small-time farmer's boldly told truth about small farm finances
27 Ways to Make Money From Your Small Farm - this site is a REAL goldmine of information!
Urban Farming: 10 Crops You Can Grow at Home
Want to be a Micro-Farmer? 6 Tips for Success
Farmers and Asbestos
By Michelle Whitmer; edited by Walter Pacheco. This link posted here June 25, 2022. Asbestos.com, brought to you by The Mesothelioma Center (c) 2022. (This information was last reviewed for accuracy on 3/23/2023.)
While most of the information compiled on this page is "How To" related, this resource brought to us by The Mesothelioma Center brings us a well-justified word of warning! For many of us in the 21st Century, this will probably not be an issue; but YOU NEVER KNOW, and it definitely doesn't hurt to be informed of the possible dangers out there before they wind up hurting you! Just what do you REALLY have in your barn or garden shed? Just where did your vermiculite come from? Know the risks and know what you could be dealing with! Like I say, it doesn't hurt to be informed, but it CAN hurt to not be informed!
