Problems and making money from homesteading

 

Making Money and Problems from homesteading

Yes, there are problems in homesteading and yes, there is money to be made. There are pros and cons of both. I’ll first discuss the “problems” with homesteading. Then, follow up with making money from homesteading. Homesteading can be rewarding and devasting at the same time. It’s a trial and error way of life. I will share both that have affected my life.

Homesteading Problems

I am not going to lie, homesteading is not for everyone. There are many unexpected homesteading problems. It can be very difficult at times. Homesteading problems were abundant for us over the many years that we were homesteading. Besides having financial burdens there were emotional problems.  Some of the emotional problems we encountered are when our animals either got sick or died.  It was especially hard when we birthed and raised the animals ourselves. Read Raising meat and dairy goats-why I failed how I failed at raising goats.

Keeping predators out

Homesteading in Florida had many types of animal predators.  Some of the predators were Bobcats, Panthers, Pumas, many poisonous snakes, birds of prey and more.  Some of cat family predators were actually protected or on the endangered lists. This posed problems for us since we were not allowed to eliminate them. Other predators were right in our backyard; our neighbor’s dogs. We knew we had to invest in a herding dog to watch over our homestead for us. Which we did, you can read that in our next post.

Animal Infirmary

When animals get sick, they need to be separated from other animals. Sick animals can cost as much or as more than when we as humans get sick.  Transporting the sick or injured animal is not always feasible. Most times the vet needs to come to the farm. The “house call” adds to the expenses too.

Then there’s the medication for the sick animal. I am not sure if there is animal insurance or not but if there is, we never had or probably couldn’t afford it.  Finally, comes to the decision what to do if the animal is too hurt or too sick to be healed or fixed. My animals always have a place in my heart. I feel their pain and want to fix it no matter what the cost.

Animal Housing

Proper housing is very important to keep your homestead animals safe and dry.  Even if living in warmer states, animals need shelter no matter where they live.  Birthing housing is imperative to maintain a quiet, less stressful place for the mother to give birth and bond with her baby. Good animal housing keeps out the predators at night also.

Above all, it is crucial to maintaining a clean housing area. Keeping it mucked and free of bugs and mites is important. To this day, we still use diatomaceous earth or DE Diatomaceous Earth for fleas and other uses for Natural Living around all the areas of our housing and under our chicken wings and in their dusting holes.

Let’s Make Money Homesteading

Now, that we talked about some of the problems when homesteading, let’s talk about making money while homesteading. First, homesteading is not a hobby, a business or an individual hobby; it is the main activity of a family. Second, it’s about realizing your food and the lively hood comes from what you make on the homestead. Read from another blogger, BEST STATES FOR HOMESTEADING WITH 5 PURPOSES IN MIND for the best states for homesteading and why.

So, what is homesteading? It’s definitely not gardening. Most gardening people still go to the store for food, while homesteaders grow everything they eat except for those things that can be bought in bulk at a much cheaper price than they can produce, such as cereals, and items that the homesteader cannot produce, such as salt and spares. Other exceptions include luxury products such as olive oil, coffee, and tea, but most teas can be grown and dried with success.

Homesteading is a way of life

Homesteading is not agriculture, because farmers typically produce a number of cash crops they sell instead of focusing on the production of everything they use and cutting into purchases their food outside. Agriculture is a highly regulated activity; the homesteading is barely regulated. It is possible to run a business from a farm (and this is often a good idea), but it’s a terrible idea to treat homesteading as a business.

Homesteading is the activity of finding and cutting each umbilical cord that binds you to the debt economy, on the outside. This is the process of eliminating just about every expense by making your farm food, water, fuel and, finally, the capital. It is the accumulation of capital in the form of farmland and livestock, which allows a homesteader to pass on a legacy for his succession to future generations – to children born in the homestead. We did this for years and it was rewarding, difficult and most stressful for us. Our son has no desire whatsoever to “live rough”. He is the complete opposite, he prefers the easy life. But at least he has the skills and know-how if he ever decided to get back to his roots.

Ways to make money from homesteading:

Open your own farm shop

If you want to open your own farm shop, you should make it easily visible to other people. These include, for example, signs that point to the farm shop. A mistake of many farms is that they do not draw enough attention to their shop. So many people do not even get the idea to enter the yard. I know commercial ads are expensive, but until you build up a clientele, this may have to be an optional expense.

What is sold in the store ultimately depends on the farmer. For example, they can offer fruit, vegetables, jam, milk, cheese, and pork. If it is excellent quality, many customers are ready to pay for that, as I do. This will generate a regular customer that will continue to purchase from you. Thus, one can rely on regular additional earnings. But one must also ensure that the goods offered are free of sprays, hormones, etc. Because only then, can you expect to get paid its value.

Provide holiday offers

Some farms have now become adventure huts. In addition to traditional farming activities, holiday offers are also provided. Especially in the field of children’s entertainment, you have many options here. It does not always have to be a riding stable. A small petting zoo with goats, piglets, and calves, also makes a lot. The corn maze has really taken on over the last several years and grown in popularity.

The best way to earn money is by selling food made at the farm using natural products. But also a small entrance fee is possible. Especially if you have more offers available. For example, you can provide guest rooms, offer milking parlors, give harvest tips, serve meals, and much, much more.  Many farmers share this experience. However, if you really want to earn long term here, you will also need to invest some money. In addition to renovations, this includes, for example, other leisure activities.

Produce electricity, self-supply and possibly generate profits

If you run a larger farm, you should not let yourself be deprived of the opportunity to produce electricity. In addition to the placement of solar cells, wind and water wheels, you can also win with biogas energy. These can then be used to operate his/her yard. This saves enormous costs in the long term. In the end, that also means that you earn more. After all, there is additional revenue. If you have enough power left, you can sell it under certain circumstances. This will generate additional revenue that should not be underestimated.

Profitable mini-farming

Vegetables, such as tomatoes, cabbage, turnip etc. can be a good source of income for homesteaders. A small mini-farm can be developed in a small area of the homesteader, such as in front of his house, or near to it. Having a “pick-your-own” farm is profitable. Having the customers pick their own saves in farm labor and storage. I personally, visit pick-your-own farms every spring, summer, and fall.

 

Flowers and honey

Growing cut flowers and making honey is an easy way to earn income. Homesteaders can grow a small garden near to their house. They can grow all types of flowers to sell such as zinnias, bee balm, roses, sunflower, etc. The bees will live off these and give back their liquid gold in return. Ensure to have plenty of shade and water for the bees.

Fruit wines and mead

By making fruit wines and mead, homesteaders can earn extra income The ingredients which are used for making fruit wine and mead also known as honey wine are easily available at home. Check out my post Amazing benefits of Elderberry.

Essential oils and essences

Essential oils are the pure form of oils. They are free from any type of fat. Essential oils are made from peppermint, tea tree, and roses. They are naturally occurring oils. They have no side effects. These oils have antifungal, antibacterial and healing properties. They are very much in demand in the market because of low cost and pure form oils. So making essential oils can be a rich source to earn income for homesteaders. This is something I always wanted to try. I think it would require going to France:)

Grow costly Herbs

Another good way of earning extra income from homesteading is to grow money earning herbs. Herbs are used in every part of the world. Herbs such as basil, peppermint, rosemary, coriander, lavender etc. are the costly herbs that can be grown by a homesteader to get extra income. These herbs are also much in demand in the market because they are used in cooking but also in making medicines.

Plant trees for long-term benefits

Growing plants have a positive effect on the environment. They provide fresh air to their surroundings. Plants such as appletree, lemon tree, orange tree etc. not only help in cleaning the environment but also provide fruits which give extra income to homesteaders. Not to mention, the bees love them! Again, consider, pick your own!

Raising goats for milk and meat

I have a lot of experience with raising goats (good and bad). At one time, we had 149 of them. I wrote a whole blog post of this. It includes some things, as what breeds to buy. How many goats you should start with. How to care for them. What are the benefits and disadvantages of owning goats for milk and cheese? Read the whole post Simple Basics for Raising Meat and Dairy Goats.

Wool farming

Rearing of sheep can be a good source of income for homesteaders. Wool farming not only helps homesteaders, but it also provides them with an income which they cannot imagine. By rearing sheep they can sell their wool which is used for making blankets and is much in demand in the market. They can also sell meat and milk, which is considered as best for ill persons. Because the nutritional value of these products obtained from sheep is very high.

Though the ways mentioned above are best to make extra income for homesteaders. A positive attitude can give you positive results but a negative attitude will give negative results. So it depends on thinking of homesteader which step or attitude he or she wants to make in mind. Also, it takes money to make money. Don’t cut corners on live animals or housing and use of natural products. These will pay you back seven-fold.

Have you tried making any part of homesteading? I would really love to hear your thoughts and issues if you had any while homesteading if you’d care to share. Please leave a comment and subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, we’d love to have you in our family!

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