If you raise dairy animals, you may have heard of the DHIA program where milk is weighed and lab tested to record milk components. If not, now you have.
Continue reading “Become a DHIA Verification Tester”Tag: <1 month turnaround
Sell Foraged Rose Hips
Foraged rose hips are an incredibly useful source of vitamin C. Many herbalists hold them in high regard, and with good reason. Taken in a tea or mixed into a healing tonic, rose hips can help someone fight off any immune attacks.
Rose hips are not so easy to come by in all locales. They are also only seasonally available toward the end of summer. It takes time to scout out a spot to forage for rose hips and then go back at the right time to gather them. For these reasons, if you know of a ready source or–even better–have them growing on your property, you can sell them for a small extra income stream.
Continue reading “Sell Foraged Rose Hips”Resell Nursery Seedlings
While putting together a tree seedling co-op for some friends the other day, it occurred to me that you can resell nursery seedlings for a pretty tidy profit if you have the timing and a little expendable cash. With discounts of as much as 80-90% for large quantities of each species, you can turn small dollars into a pretty sweet return, getting free seedlings to boot.
Continue reading “Resell Nursery Seedlings”Teach Survival Classes
In researching a business opportunity we’re pursuing, I’ve discovered how much people are longing for good teachers. If you have survival skills, consider teaching survival classes to supplement your small farm income.
Continue reading “Teach Survival Classes”Start an Art Business
An art business is a great way to create a supplemental income for your small farm. From traditional oil paintings to unique crafted sculptures, if you have artistic talent, you can find a market for that talent.
Here are a couple of resources to help you decide if an art business is right for you:
Become a Hired Scythe
There is something magical about the sound of a well honed scythe blade sliding across the grass. That scything is infinitely better for both the environment and the land itself is an added bonus. Many people are drawn to this, one of the skills of the “old ways,” but scything is a true skilled trade and not many people can do it themselves. This is where you can come in, by offering your services as a hired scythe.
Lands managed by scything tend to improve in health over time. Scything is also ideal for places where machinery can’t get, such as in wet areas or steep hills. Because of its nearly nonexistent environmental impact, scything is appealing to the environmentally conscious among us, so you’ll probably find more demand for a hired scythe near urban areas.
Niche markets without a lot of supply are perfect money makers if you find the right area and marketing. A hired scythe could draw demand from all around once word gets out. You aren’t likely to have a lot of competition, either.
Continue reading “Become a Hired Scythe”
Make and Sell Colloidal Silver
I’ve been meaning to buy a colloidal silver generator for a few years now. The cost of buying commercially prepared silver is the only reason we don’t use it more. As it turns out, that’s a barrier for a lot of other people too, but lower priced, independent sellers can definitely find their niche in the colloidal silver market.
In researching for purchasing my own generator, I joined some Facebook groups and discovered that a surprising number of people are still more interested in buying it made than making their own. Having also bartered for locally made colloidal silver in the past, I think making and selling colloidal silver could definitely be a small side income that opens the door to a bigger business, perhaps selling herbs or finished herbal tinctures and salves. Continue reading “Make and Sell Colloidal Silver”
Start a Babysitting Business
Affordable, trustworthy childcare is getting harder to find. If you have the time and space, starting a babysitting business may be an excellent side business, freeing you up to pursue other farming ventures.
If you have children already, you probably have what you need to start a babysitting business in your home. If you don’t already have children, you may find it easier to go to other people’s homes to babysit. There is demand for both of these models.
The main consideration on whether or not this will work for you is state licensing requirements. Some states require no special licensing if you watch a limited number of children in your own home while others may require you to operate under a daycare license. It is critical to look into this before getting started to avoid potential legal issues. Insurance is another consideration – if you have to disclose your babysitting business to your insurance company, they may require you to add liability insurance. It’s a good idea to have this anyway, but that’s a topic for another day. Continue reading “Start a Babysitting Business”
Sell Bagged Chicken Manure on eBay
In another of those, “Do they really do that?” episodes, we have bagged chicken manure. And yes, they do. Take a look at these search results on eBay to see that not only are people listing chicken manure for sale, they’re also selling it at pretty high numbers. One seller is selling what fits in a flat rate box, 1.5-2 pounds according to their listing, for $5, plus $7.20 for shipping and they’ve sold 45 of them! Not bad for something you’d ordinarily not consider valuable. Another seller has gallon bags (4#) for $18.99, collected fresh.
If you have facilities to compost, there is a market for composted and bagged chicken manure as well, adding more value to a product you probably already have an abundance of if you raise chickens. Continue reading “Sell Bagged Chicken Manure on eBay”
Make Toy Surprise Bath Bombs
My daughter got a toy surprise bath bomb for Christmas last year. What a hit! She enjoyed it so much we bought all the supplies to make our own and they’re incredibly easy. They are made up of very small toys–in her case, a color changing mermaid–inside a bath bomb. You drop the bath bomb in, which is fun in its own right, and after the bomb dissolves, there’s a fun toy to play with. All of her siblings were jealous – so was I.
Bath bombs can be made with a small number of inexpensive ingredients that are easy to purchase – many at your local grocery store. I bought all of my supplies on Amazon for convenience. Things like essential oils and large bath bomb molds aren’t easy to find locally and may not be for you either. I’ll include a list below. Continue reading “Make Toy Surprise Bath Bombs”