Agriculture Business Ideas You can Do From Home
Living the country life doesn’t have to be a fantasy or something only the rich can do. There are new and old agricultural business ideas that have given many individuals and young families the income they need to live in a rural area. Starting your own agricultural business also a great way to work alongside your spouse, and there are many tasks that children can take on to help the business run smoothly.
1. Hatchery
Selling baby chicks is one of many profitable agricultural business ideas that you can do both locally and as a mail order business. Chickens are popular among urban and suburban dwellers, because they are the easiest livestock to care for. They can provide a family with eggs, meat or both. It’s one way to save money at the grocery store, and get your feet wet at raising your own food. Your hatchery can be just what people in your community need to buy baby chicks to raise. Many people prefer to raise chickens themselves, rather than to buy pullets (older chickens), to control what they eat and to “train” them to return to their chicken coop to roost. Your job would be to have enough laying hens to lay eggs, incubate them, and sell them when they hatch. Many hatcheries take pre-orders and deliver baby chicks one day after they hatch. You can also distribute the chicks to local farm supply stores, or take orders through your website. Baby chicks sell for $1.75 to $3.00 each, depending on the breed and where you live. Red Sex Links, also known as Golden Comets, are top selling breeds that you should start with.
2. Marketing Farming Products
Maybe you don’t care to get your hands dirty, and would like to put your internet and business marketing skills to work. Farmers can always use a hand in marketing their products. Many of them are too busy to find the time, or lack online marketing skills. It’s amazing how hard it is sometimes for newcomers who move to a rural area, to find produce and other products made locally. If you’re a marketing expert, then one of the agricultural business ideas on your list should be a marketing consultant to area farms and homesteads. In addition to consulting, you can market farming products by:
- Reselling products online or locally
- Becoming a drop ship distributor
- Designing websites and offering search engine optimization serv ices
- Starting a food co-op or farmer’s market in your area
See what the needs are in the community and put your creativity to work. Help other agricultural business owners take their business to a new level.
3. Soapmaker
The demand for natural, handcrafted soaps is on the rise as more people catch on to the fact that many of the soaps on the market contain harmful chemicals that can lead to severe health problems. Out of all the agricultural business ideas discussed, this is the easiest to start and run, and you could even start in a city apartment. One idea is to sell soapmaking supplies wholesale to other soapmakers. For example, you can make a goat’s milk soap base and sell it at wholesale prices for another soapmaker to add oils and scents and sell it at retail prices. You can make your own soaps from start to finish and sell them on consignment, or online through websites. You can also sell them at local natural food stores, farmer’s markets, county fairs and other places.
Hard economic times have hit all industries, but you can still make a living with one of these agricultural business ideas. You can even try them all at once, if you have the time, resources and family members who can help.
