Small Farm - Big Profits (Sometimes)

Diversity is the name of the game when it comes to small farms. the list of products is pretty long.

• 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 - specialty types, Truffles, Wasabi ,Apples, esp. Heirloom varieties, Asian pears, Brambles - blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, blackraspberries, 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

I stole the above list from a couple of sections from http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/altlist.shtml

which is the USDA's website that lists possible agricultural land and property uses.

Monoculture farming (where you see acres and acres for miles and miles of corn, soybeans, or melons) works for megafarms but, for the homestead farmer, limited resources and land necessitate a wide variety of crops and livestock

 Another consideration is that when you eat what you grow you want to make sure you grow a wide variety. If you find you have an affinity for growing a certain crop and have a market for it, by all means- grow it. But most small homesteads need more than one cash crop or revenue source. You don't have to sell $30K in one main crop if you pull in $3K from potatoes $5k from plants for transplanting, $6k from apples, $11K in potatoes, $15K in feeder calves, $4K in Christmas trees and wreaths. The disadvantages of keeping the physical capital and means of production for these multiple crops is offset by the stability that having multiple crops offers. If heavy spring rains drown out your potatoes you still have your other crops.

Same can be said for animals and poultry multiple products living in synergy = bigger profit from smaller acreage. You have to have a plan and then be fluid enough to adjust your plan to make the necessary changes to optimize return.