Possible Income Sources

So much attention is devoted these days to electronics and other flashy areas of science that even colleges and universities sometimes forget that making a living is not just about the leading edge of technical advance.  Around the world, many people, in fact most people, still make a living producing real goods: things you can wear and eat and use everyday.

I'm not saying that electronic gadgets aren't nice or good.  I'm using a computer to type this page.  I appreciate cell phones (except when half-witted drivers are using them instead of watching the road).  But let's face facts.  When big economic and technological collapses come, and they always do, people need to know how to get along without the gadgets.  We need to know how to find and purify water.  We need to know what kinds of plants can be eaten, and what should be left alone.  We need to be able to clean our bodies and to make a shelter for ourselves, to make bread without commercial yeast, to prepare and cook other things we like to eat, and even to make clothes, if necessary.

Real things, like food, shelter and clothing are here to stay, regardless of what may or may not happen to our particular nation, our economy, our conveniences, and so on.  And raising food, making basic necessities, mastering many of the forgotten (or nearly so) crafts and trades will serve us well.

If you’re wanting to own and live on a piece of land outside of town, you can even find ways to make a living from the land itself.  Use your own tools, your own barn (that you can build yourself) your own learned skills to produce goods that will give you something to sell, to trade or barter with.

Below is a partial list of some of the crops, livestock and other things that you may want to consider as a means of support.  Many have learned to take on several of these, turning their small property into a producing farm or ranch.  Some folks are able to live completely off their own land, and the skills they master.  Take a look at the list.  Do a search on the items that strike you as interesting.  In time, this website will have more detailed information on most of these things.  But all things in their own time.

To find out more on any item, do a search using  GOOGLE,  MSN,  or YAHOO    The Google Search Box is provided at the bottom of the list. 

And don’t forget to check the State Extension offices listed on our Helpful Resources page). 

Field Crops

Feed and Forage...

Bird seed (sunflower, proso millet, canary grass, etc.)

Forage brassicas - turnips, rutabagas

Kochia

Medics

Sainfoin

Switchgrass

Fiber, Fuel, Edible and Industrial Oils...

Borage

Broomcorn

Canola

Castor beans

Comfrey

Corn (for oil)

Crambe

Cuphea

Flax

Guayule

Jojoba

Kenaf

Lesquerella

Lupine

Meadowfoam

Milkweed

Perilla

Safflower

Sesame

Sunflowers

Vernonia

Food Grains, Pseudo-cereals, Legumes, etc....

Adzuki beans

Amaranth (food and feed)

Barley

Buckwheat

Dry edible beans (fieldbeans)

Einkorn

Emmer

Field peas (food and feed)

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Hops

Indian corn

Jerusalem artichokes (food and feed)

Kamut

Lentils

Malting barley

Mung beans

Organically grown grains of all types

Peanuts

Pearl millet

Popcorn, white and colored

Psyllium (medicinal)

Quinoa

Seed production - registered and certified seed, turfgrass, etc.

Sesame (seeds)

Sorghum (syrup)

Soybeans, incl. natto soybeans for tofu, tempeh; and Edible soybeans (edamame)

Spelt

Triticale

Wheatgrass

Wild rice

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Specialty and Ethnic Vegetables

See also Field Crops

Asparagus

Baby vegetables

Cabbage

Carrots

Celery

Chinese water chestnuts

Cole crops (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi)

Corn, miniature

Fenugreek

Edible flowers

Garlic

Gourds, ornamental

Gourmet vegetables

Greenhouse production for out-of-season crops

Heirloom varieties of any vegetable

Herbs - culinary and medicinal

Horseradish

Luffa gourds

Mushrooms- agaricus, shiitake, oyster, morel, etc.

Onions (transplants, shallots, sweet, early)

Organically grown vegetables of all types

Oriental vegetables

Peas and pea shoots

Peppers - specialty types (purple, hot, etc.)

Pumpkins

Red beets

Salad greens - mesclun

Sprouts (alfalfa, bean, etc.)

Squash

Sweet corn

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes - speciality types

Truffles

Wasabi

Fruits and Nuts

Apples, esp. Heirloom varieties

Asian pears

Brambles - blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, black-raspberries, etc.

Blueberries

Cranberries, currants

Elderberries

Gooseberries

Kiwi, hardy

Lingonberries

Melons - specialty types

Paw paw

Rhubarb products

Strawberries, day neutral types

Table grapes, seeded and seedless

Wine grapes for home brewing market

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Horticultural/Nursery

Bedding plants - annual flowers, herbs, etc.

Field grown cut flowers

Field grown mums

Flowers for drying

Greenhouse production

Hydroponic production

Organically grown bedding plants and fruit trees

Potted annuals

Native plants/wild flowers and seeds

Regionally hardy shrubs and perennial flowers

Agroforestry/Forest Products

Bamboo (yes, bamboo)

Christmas trees

Firewood

Paulownia

Sawlogs

Tree seed collection

Wild nuts

Livestock/Animals

Game Related...

Beefalo (hybrid of buffalo and beef)

Buffalo (American Bison)

Deer - fallow deer, red deer

Elk (wapiti) for meat and antlers

Fish bait - worms, minnows

Pheasant for release/restocking programs and meat

Exotic Livestock/Minor Breeds/Special Uses...

Alpacas and llamas for pack animals, hair, and pets

Boar

Butterflies (for gardeners)

Fox, red, silver, and blue

Goats for milk, meat, and hair (Angora)

Horses - draft horse breeding, miniatures, exotics

Mink

Mules and donkeys

Ostriches, rheas, emus

Rabbits for meat, lab animals, and hair (Angora)

Reindeer

Sheep/Lambs for meat, wool, milk (for cheese)

Snails (escargot)

Veal, conventional and certified

Water buffalo

Worms (for composting)

Poultry...

Balut (duck eggs partially incubated)

Chickens  

Chicken eggs partially developed (for Asian markets)

Doves

Duck - meat and paté

Free range poultry of all types

Geese

Guinea fowl

Organically raised poultry of all types

Peafowl/Peacocks (feathers)

Pigeons

Quail/Squab

Turkey

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Aquaculture/Fishfarming... 

Aquaponics (combining aquaculture and hydroponics operations)

Bass, Trout, Catfish, Crayfish, Tilapia    (at least you’ll eat well!)

Watercress and other aquatic plants

Pet and Medicine Related...

Dogs (guard dogs, special breeds)

Guinea pigs

Pet foods - crickets, mealy-worms, etc.

Farm and Home Enterprises

Services...

Antique shop/Antique restoration

Boat storage

Direct marketing operations - U-pick, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmstand

Child care in country setting

Composting services and products

Custom machinery work

Custom planting and care of window boxes and container annuals

Custom planting and care of vegetable gardens

Custom slaughter

Farm sitting

Gift shops

Pet motels for large as well as small animals

Religious services held on farm, e.g. sunrise Easter services, weddings

Restaurant

Seed and supplies distributor

Small engine repair

Taxidermy

Recreation and Education...

Barn dances

Bed and breakfast

Campground

Chuck wagon

Fee hunting and fishing/game farms

Hunting, fishing, and nature hike guides

Lectures on herbs, gardening at farm

Museum of old farm equipment on working farm

Petting zoo

Sleigh rides with work horses

Tours for public, school children

Trail rides

Vacations on farm

Wagon trains

Value-added Products/On-farm Processing...

Cheese

Cider and other apple products

Confections and candles

Corn snack foods

Crafts

Dried flowers, cultivated arid wild

Dried Fruits

Fresh or stone ground grains

Furniture, e.g. outdoor chairs, picnic tables

Honey and beeswax products

Meat processing, e.g., jerky

Sawmill

Soap-making

Tanning hides

Toys from wood

Wheat-weaving

Winemaking

Wool processing and spinning

Woodworking, such as country cabinetry, furniture making, etc.

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