Side Income Streams for Your Farm

Let’s talk income streams.

You can never have too many! Truth is, most farmers already have the resources and work ethic to build new income streams. It’s just a matter of WHICH income streams will work best for your farm, and how you can MAXIMIZE what you’re already doing with the resources you have.

So, let’s look at 5 different ideas that might work for you.

Selling homemade soap

Especially if you have an in-person or online farm store, soap is a great product to add to the shelves. Unlike crops, it’s a year-round product. It also stays good for a long time, is easy to store, and can be prepared in large batches just a few times a year.

Did you know? We include a soapmaking mini-course in our Small Farm University.

Creating farm-themed photoshoot backdrops

Ever thought about renting out spaces for photoshoots? A lot of people love the idea of a farm photoshoot, and you probably have everything you need to create areas with a ‘farm aesthetic.’ Popular backdrops include flower fields, barns, trellises or arches, hay fields, etc. Set up a few photoshoot areas, then you can start offering it as a new service at your farm!

Teaching cooking/baking classes

Another great way to add an income stream to your farm is to open your kitchen to the local community for classes and workshops. For example, my wife teaches sourdough breadmaking workshops at our Farm on Central. We also offer a free sourdough workshop online, which you can click here to join.

Equipment rentals

If you own your farm equipment, but don’t need to use it very often, there’s another possible income stream for you! Consider offering equipment rentals in the local area. However, this business will require some more oversight and insurance, as well as a trailer to transport the equipment and a flexible schedule.

Growing mushrooms

This one may sound weird, but there’s a lot you can do with mushrooms. And almost anyone can grow mushrooms, because they hardly take up any space! You can start making regular income from just a few shelves of mushrooms in a spare room. Naturally, we’ve got a course on this too, and teach you all about building mushroom growing systems in your house in Small Farm University.

Picking the right income stream

Throwing yourself into multiple projects at once is not an effective way to start building your income. Instead, it’s much more effective to go one at a time. Picking the side income streams that work best for you really depends on your current lifestyle and how efficiently you can build the new project into your daily life.

For example, if you like baking every week, then offering baking classes would be a really good fit for you! But if you don’t care to be in the kitchen, it’s not something you should force.

Likewise, if you enjoy landscaping and creating pretty areas on your farm, then offering photoshoot rentals would be just your type of thing. But it’s not going to work out for every farm.

In the end, try to create income streams that maximize your current interests and resources instead of being something completely new.

Hopefully these ideas give you inspiration for your farm!