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How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

The idea of making extra money is something we all think about- but what about using your homestead? If you are like me and have always dreamed of having your own farm- you’ll quickly realize the cost of taking care of animals really adds up.

When we started with chickens and pigs I decided to sell our chicken eggs to pay for the feed costs of the chickens.

Throughout our entire debt-free journey I’ve always assigned one stream of income to one area- now our homestead has expanded to ducks, sheep, lambs, and goats and the income streams are expanding.

Things to Consider Before You Dive In

To create an income stream that works for you, all you need is some creativity- or use these ideas as inspiration! This article will explore thirty-one different methods that can be used in conjunction with one another or separately to create the livelihood of your dreams.

You’ll find out how easy it can be to make money on a small homestead if you’re willing to put in the work and try something new!

Start with a tiny step and move on from there. If you are like me, it’s so easy to get excited and start implementing EVERYTHING, but that won’t always work out the best.

Start with one way to bring in an income stream, and then once you figure out if that one is a keeper or not, move on to the next.

On our homestead, blogging is the number one source of bringing in an income from the farm. Next is selling animals.

At this stage in our homestead journey, we are working on providing everything we need for a year’s supply before considering growing excess to sell.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

1. Offering Homemade Goods

Whether it’s fresh baked goods, canned goods, or home-crafted soaps, there are many ways to go about selling homemade goods on a small homestead.

Companies like Etsy and eBay make it easy for anyone to start an online storefront to sell their goods.

You can also try leaving your items on consignment at local shops or Farmer’s markets/craft fairs. Search for local consignment shop’s Facebook pages and give them a letter of interest.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

2. Sell Your Extra Produce

It seems simple. Still, many people don’t think of selling their excess produce as a way to make money on the homestead, even though it’s an intelligent way to make your extra produce profitable! Growing food is a great way to be self-sustainable, and if you go the extra step to sell it, well, that’s double the awesomeness.

Gardening Articles to Check out or Save for Later:

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

3. Engage in Sabbaticals

Sabbaticals are mini-vacations that you get paid for. They provide you with the opportunity to explore areas of your homesteading life that are tricky to get around, whether it’s working on your skillset or learning how to can food.

Sabbaticals allow you time and space to obtain those skills without straying too far from your productive duties- what could be better than that?

5. Organize Workshops in Your Area

Many homesteaders have built successful businesses teaching others about the skills they’ve learned over the years. So whether it’s beekeeping, gardening, or cooking classes, there are likely to be others who would be interested in learning from you!

Reach out to your local library and see if they would be willing to offer a class taught by you. I was able to do this with our local library to provide couponing classes. They were going to pay me a small amount to teach classes.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

6. Rent out your Extra Space

If you have extra space on your homestead, you might as well make money off of it. Whether it’s a camping area for attendees at an annual event or just a place to stay when people come to visit, renting out your property is a great way to generate revenue and potentially meet new people.

I think about this all the time for us now that we have a permanently parked camper in our woods. Can you say cute Airbnb? Unfortunately, my husband isn’t on board… yet!

If you want a third party to help you with renting out your space check out Neighbor.com – the perfect platform that links renters in need with neighbors who are more than willing to lend out their underutilized spaces!

In just minutes, turn excess space into valuable storage income. No commitment or contracts needed; it’s easy as 1-2-3 so start padding those pockets today!

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

7. Sell Your Crafts Online

Another easy way to make money off your homestead is by setting up an online storefront with sites like Etsy or eBay. Again, be sure to include information about where you live so customers can easily find you.

Please use Pinterest to find out what people are searching for to create and make it for them. Right now, the Gnomes are popular.

adam out buck we rent
Meet Adam! He’s a handsome, sweet stinky boy!

8. Rent out Your Animals

If you have animals on your property, why not rent them out for others to use? For example, you could be paid to let people hunt at your place, allow their dogs to train on yours, or even use your animals for farming purposes. For us renting out a buck is an easier option.

Trust me, and if you want to breed your goats, you need to consider whether keeping a buck on the property is worth it. Use Facebook Livestock groups or Homesteading forums to share what you are offering.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

9. Breed Livestock

Some homesteaders choose to breed animals not only for their consumption but also as a source of income. If you have good quality breeding stock, you can sell the offspring to others in your area looking for high-quality animals. For us, we are selling Nigerian Dwarf Goats and Kune Kune pigs.

This is something you will likely have to have a more considerable investment to start. Obtaining high-quality breeding lines means you can charge more for your animals.

For us, we offer registered goats and non-registered goats. Of course, you can sell the registered animals for a higher amount.

what to do with chickens when you go on vacation

10. Sell Your Unwanted Animals

If you have an animal that just isn’t working out (Uhm, why is my hen a Rooster?) or isn’t worth feeding anymore, don’t just kill it! Instead, you can use sites like Craigslist or Facebook to post ads selling your livestock. If you live in a rural area, you might even get requests from people who want to buy your animal for their own needs.

11. Rent Your Skills

Large farms and ranches have been using this model for years, but many still don’t realize that they can rent out their skills as a homesteader! Whether it’s for a landscaping job or a hog butchering workshop, renting out your skills is an easy way to make additional money.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

12. Rent Your Woodlot

If you have ample wooded land, why not let others come and harvest it to their needs? You can use sites like Craigslist to post ads selling your services to those who need firewood.

Ask in your neighborhood who others have used and price compare. Get quotes from a few different places, so you get the most bang for your buck.

13. Sell Hunting Rights

If you live in an area well-known for wildlife (or if you have a few extra bucks), you might want to sell hunting rights to your land. Hunting is one of the oldest forms of income, and it’s still viable today.

14. Sell Your Eggs

If you have chickens or other egg-laying animals, you can sell the eggs they produce to others in your area. It’s an excellent way to get the chicken feed paid for. You can start a small roadside stand for your eggs and other items as well.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

15. Sell Your Animal Skins

If you are an animal lover, you might not want to skin them after death, but if you do, why not make some extra cash when you’re at it? You can sell these skins for high prices per animal either in your area or online through websites like eBay.

16. Make Cheese

If you have good quality milk on your property, why not make the kind of cheese you like best? Making cheese at home is becoming more popular and can even be done by new homesteaders with ease.

17. Sell Your “Excess” Crops

Unless you’re using some form of permaculture, chances are you’ll always grow more food than you can use yourself. So while it’s important to eat first, you can still make money off the rest of your harvest by selling it to others.

18. Make Homemade Specialties

If your recipe is unique enough, you might be able to sell it through the internet to people outside of your community! You can even start a Youtube channel featuring your recipes.

19. Sell Hatching Eggs

Hatching your eggs can be a great way to replace livestock that you’ve lost or simply as an additional source of income.

You can sell them online through sites like Craigslist or eBay, and first-time buyers may even come right to you. Duck eggs are known for selling at higher prices. The incubator we use is the Hova-Bator. We have had great success with it.

I’m really excited to start this with a rare chicken breed we got this year in 2022.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

20. Cultivate Your compost

A lot of people are willing to pay money for good compost. So why not create an area on your homestead specifically for composting and start expanding?

You can even sell this compost in bulk at farmers’ markets or by bag online. If you have animals and a garden going, you will have an excellent base for your compost.

21. Make a Freezer Sauce

If you cook many freezer meals, why not make a sauce that’s specifically suited to it? You can then sell this sauce to others who make freezer cooking as well for profit! As a bonus, if you love freezer cooking, you could create a course or printables to sell on Etsy with your freezer recipes.

Meal Planning Tips:

22. Keep Bees

Bees can produce more than enough honey for your needs! You can sell the excess you have online or at farmers’ markets. This is something that will have an initial upfront cost but could be well worth it.

You can sell the honey at your roadside stand, Etsy shop, or local Farmer’s market, to name a few.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

23. Sell Herbs

If you’re into growing herbs, this is another excellent source of income for a small homesteader. You can sell them fresh or dried and in bulk or small amounts.

Making little homemade fragrant satchel packets of lavender and other herbs is an easy and fun thing to start with. There are so many ways to utilize dried herbs that you could search online to start selling.

24. Sell Firewood

Do you have an ample supply of firewood? Then, why not sell it to others for extra cash! Whether it’s in your area, online, or local farmers’ markets (if allowed), this is a great way to make some cash on your property while not using the wood yourself.

Search for local campgrounds near you. If there are any, you will have a greater chance of success with this option.

How to Make Money on a Small Homestead

25. Start a Pumpkin Patch

There are so many places around the US that demand pumpkins- especially at Halloween time. If you’re willing to plant a pumpkin patch, you could even start selling them in your front yard in late October!

Pumpkins we have found are one of the easiest things to grow on our homestead. We utilize half of our compost pile and grow the pumpkins right over it.

25. Start a blog

Starting up a blog about your homesteading experience is helpful for others and profitable. You can sell ads on your site or products through affiliate links to make money off of it!

Even if you don’t want to start a blog about your homestead, you can create a blog or Youtube channel on anything you have a passion for. Blogging has changed our lives drastically. We were even able to pay off our mortgage in four years from my blogging income.

Blogging Tips:

26. Rent Your Property

If you have room on your property, why not turn it into a small vacation rental site? This is great for other experienced homesteaders who want to travel to your area or are just looking to save money on their lodging.

27. Keep Farm Animals

Keeping additional farm animals, such as pigs or rabbits, can be a great way to bring in extra income. You can sell the meat you produce with these animals online or even at local farmers’ markets.

28. Rent Out Your Tools

If you have extra tools, why not rent them out? It’s is excellent for farms far away from the city or even people looking to do some DIY homesteading. Also, if you have milking equipment, this is a great one to rent out as well.

29. Sell Firewood for Charcoal

Many people use charcoal for various things (even cooking!), and there is a big market there. So why not get in on the action and start selling your homemade charcoal to a group that needs it?

30. Sell Game Meat

If you are blessed with a lot of extra game meat, why not sell it to others who’ll love to have it at their dinner table? Whether it’s done through an online site or at a local farmers market, this is a great way to get even more from your hunting.

prepare your homestead for winter

31. Board Animals

Where are my mini pig lovers? I have seen several times over and over in the pig groups owners looking for a place to take their mini pigs. If you have an extra stall in your barn or an outdoor run, consider boarding animals for income.

There are many ways to make money on a small homestead. In addition, you can explore different ideas for generating revenue from your land and property that will work best with you depending on what type of farmstead you have. If all these options seem overwhelming, pick one and work from there.

I can’t wait to hear which one you are going to try next? Or if you have some of these implemented on your homestead now, share with me in the comments? I would love to hear from you.

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