If you are currently a homesteader or if you are thinking about starting a homestead, you may wonder how to make money homesteading. There are several ways to make money homesteading and can range from things that will make a little extra cash to things that could potentially replace your “traditional” job as your income.
It is always nice to have a few ways that your homestead is bringing in money in order to support the time and effort you put into all of the endeavors.
Once you have reviewed these ways to make money homesteading, checkout these profitable homesteading worksheets so you know exactly what you are making!
Here are 15 Ways to Make Money Homesteading
Money Saved
Ok, so this might not be the most intuitive way to make money homesteading. However, it is likely that if you are growing your own food, producing your own meat or other products that your cost for the high quality of these items will be less than if you were purchasing an equal quality product in the store.
Most homesteaders will also be using everything they produce which decreases waste. This money saved puts extra money in your pocket. Check out our free guide on how to save money homesteading for more details on saving money.
Selling Pigs
You can raise pigs to butchering age and sell the processed meat product or sell piglets.
Selling Milk
You can do herdshares or sell raw milk from your farm (if your state allows). Or sell the milk for pets/animal consumption. Some states do require a permit even to sell for animal consumption, so be sure to look up your state specific rules.
Selling Goats
You can sell baby goats either dairy, meat or wool. Not sure how to even get started with goats? Check out Raising Goats the Basics to get started!
Selling Cows
Just like with pigs, you can raise the cows to butchering age and sell the processed meat or sell young cows.
Selling Chicken
You can sell butchering age chickens or you can butcher and sell the processed meat. Some states allow you to process and sell yourself. Others you must take to a certified processor.
So, make sure you know all of your states requirements before selling any homegrown meat.
Selling Hatching Eggs
You can keep breeding chickens and sell their fertile eggs. You will likely want to be NPIP certified for this.
Selling Chicks or Pullets
You can hatch your own chicks and sell them as day olds or raise them to be old enough to tell their sex and sell the girls as laying hens for a premium price.
Here are some more ideas on how to make money with chickens. We average about $500/mo here on our homestead!
Not sure how to incubate chicks or even where to start with raising chickens? Check out How to Get Started Raising Chickens.
Selling Homemade Soap
If you are a soapmaker (or you can learn to be a soapmaker), you can sell your own homemade soap. This is a great value added product if you have dairy goats.
Selling Eating Eggs
You can get extra laying hens and sell their eggs as eating eggs. This is a great way to make money homesteading that won’t take much extra time.
Make sure that you have the right breeds for your flock to get the most eggs!
Selling Wool/Fiber
If you have wool or fiber animals such as angora goats you can sell their fiber. If you are a good spinner, you can sell it spun.
Or you can spin your wool/fiber and make products like sweaters and throws to sell! Making full products like this can be a great way to make money homesteading as these products will appeal to more than just other homesteaders which opens up your customer base!
Selling Fruits
If you have fruit trees or a berry patch you can sell your extra fruit at local farmer’s markets. Or you can have a you pick stand at your farm.
Selling Vegetables
One way to make money homesteading is with your garden! You can grow extra vegetables in your garden and sell them at your local farmer’s markets or to local restaurants.
Create a CSA
You can take the eating eggs, meat products and fruits and vegetables listed above and create CSA packages where you have customers that pay a price to get a varied supply of items each week.
Selling Baked Goods
You can get a certified home kitchen and make baked goods such as pies, cakes or other items.
All of these ideas can help you make money homesteading. Of course, you will want to look into your local laws.
Most states have specifics around things like selling processed meat, baked goods, raw milk and the like. This information can usually be pretty easily found by looking at your state’s Department of Agriculture.
If you have kids on the homestead, teaching them to be self-sufficent is also important. Here are 11 jobs for kid entrepreneurs!
BONUS IDEA to Make Money Homesteading:
Another way some homesteaders make money homesteading is by running an online blog and/or selling ebooks and courses so that they can help others learn the crafts of homesteading.
If this sounds good, you might check out this ebook from our friends at A Modern Homestead and learn how to make money blogging.
If you are planning to use some of the ideas to make money homesteading, make sure that you figure out your cost to make the product and then sell the product for more than it costs you. That way you are sure what your profit is.
For more information on how to make money homesteading, check out the profitable homesteading worksheets we use to run our homestead like a business!
For More Homesteading Information, Check These Out:
I am very interested. I have 67 acres and need to suppliment my income since I recently became a widow raising 3 grandchildren.
Michelle,
How are you and the grand kids?
What farm ideas have you put into practice for supplemental income?
I raise chickens and sell the eggs, but I’m thinking of raising goats to make cheese and soap. This website is full of awesome tips and tricks!
Blessings,
Lisa
widowhood is tough. Adding raising gradchildren. Adds good company and being busy has its rewards. There are good ideas here. We grew for an honor vegetable stand . Later we added eggs in mixed colors. The kids hated pulling weeds, got excited watching seeds sprout and chicks hatch and really enjoyed gathering eggs.
God bless and good luck.
Great post about how to make money. Just what I needed!!!its very intresting and very helpful for me and others.include more article about this .
This all sounds great but remember people this isn’t just poof lots of money, in fact it’s hardly enough money to survive, which is its appeal to us minimalist but be aware. For example that chickens take 6 to 8 months to lay eggs, lots of feed needed plus lots of fencing or predators will kill all.
Interesting and nice ideas about homesteading make money.Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing. Look forward to reading more.
We have 13 goats and ? chickens on a 2 acre fenced pasture. They live well together, but certain things should be considered when doing this – something to research. We have a Great Pyrenes guardian dog who lives in the enclosure with them. He keeps us from having to create a protected space. The chickens are basically free range, and choose not to fly over the fence. Their coop is attached to the goat barn, and they go there to roost every night. Now, time to make money while enjoying them! Baby goats & awesome chicks shouldn’t be a problem to sell. Thanks for this encouraging post. Love from North Mississippi
Enjoyed the article and posts after. Here in central Canada we still have snow in April. Keeping chicks warm requires heat. Making extra money has come from a few places. I hatch or buy heritage breed chicks and sell at six months or double the prices for a breeding pair. Silkies and Wyandotte specialties get bought up fast. Coloured eggs sell well on the local Swap and Buy internet Facebook page. Refinishing or repurposing items has also become a good income. Bees and honey are great for trade. It’s all about the joy.