How to Make Money from Homesteading

How many times have you daydreamed about living on the land and providing for yourself? Well, the truth is, most homesteaders aren’t 100% self-sufficient, especially modern homesteaders, who are all about connecting with others and living a balanced life. We’re here to help you brainstorm and bring your homesteading dream to fruition. This is your year!

Whether you already have land or are saving away for land, these ideas will get the wheels turning for how to make money from homesteading.

The Truth About Making Money from Homesteading 

Remember: you don’t have to have land to be a modern homesteader, and you don’t have to have land to get started on many of these business models. What we do suggest, however, is making one of these homesteading cash cows (listed below) your end goal. Start with a simple side hustle, stash away everything you earn, then buy yourself a plot of land and start building it out, renting it out, and securing income.

There are many ways to learn how to make money from homesteading. The obvious method is to sell homestead goods–food, products, compost, hay, eggs, etc. There are a few sneaky, unobvious ways–if you will– that are where the real money comes from. Let’s start with those– how to make a cash cow from just an acre or two. 

Build a Cash Cow on Your Land

Build a business on your land that is clear, markettable, and highly-profitable. Think of places you loved to go to growing up… the pumpkin patch, the apple orchard, on a family camping trip. Or maybe it’s somewhere you’ve experienced as an adult– a gorgeous barn wedding, a therapeutic retreat center, or a private property for hunting. Build something that inspires you on your land. Most of these ideas have a relatively low startup cost! 

Run an event venue on your land. Charge people to have weddings, family reunions, bar mitzvahs, graduation parties, and everything in between on your land. Start with a simple pavilion and a clean restroom. (The average wedding venue in the U.S. in 2022 was $11,200…) If you can book a wedding at that price once a weekend from April through June, you’re looking at $134,400! 

Top-Earning Cash Cows to Make Money from Your Homestead

• Run an Event Venue
• Build a Vineyard
• Own a Pumpkin Patch 
• Start an Apple Orchard (think: picking, apple donuts, apple cider, magic) 
• Own a Christmas Tree Farm
• Host Barn Weddings
• Start a Flower Farm 
• Make a Hydroponic Farm 
• Build a Retreat Center
• Make a Aquaponic Farm 
• Build a Family Camp 
• Have Party & Event Rentals (4th of July fireworks, family reunion) 
• Create Trails for Hiking, Biking, and Fishing. 
• Host Family Farm Tours (think field trips) 
• Build a Shooting Range
• Setup Tent Camping Spots 
• Start a Petting Zoo
• Build a Corn Maze
• Sell Salvaged Architecture- crappy broken down barn door…
• Grow Orchards
• Lease Hunting Rights
• Outdoor Yoga Studio

Live in an apartment in the city or in the suburbs? Don’t let that stop you! We’re all about apartment homesteading, urban homesteading, and suburban homesteading here. There are a few small-scale cash cows you can start now. Plus, you can start with a side hustle selling products. (More ideas below.) 

City-Friendly Cash Cow Ideas

• Build a Hydroponics Farm
• Launch a Microbrewery 
• Create a Farmers’ Market Business
• Start a Mushroom Business
• Start a Worm Farm

Rent Your Resources

This is the secret that no one wants to tell you… If you have the means to buy land, you can rent it out to make it pay for itself. Not only can you Airbnb and VRBO it out, but you can rent homesteading resources–like tools, tractors, and greenhouses. People pay up to $1000 per month to board their horses… People pay $5000 or more for rustic farm wedding venues… It’s all about learning how to finesse. 

• Host through Airbnb 
• Rent Sprinter Van and RV guests. 
• Rent Horse Stables
• Rent Tractors
• Rent Tools
• Rent the Land for Events
• Rent Your Land for Photo Shoots
• Rent Your Greenhouse

Co-op, Market, Share

Self-sufficiency is not the end-all, be-all for modern homesteading. Now, you can go in with others to build a herd through a herd share program. You can invite others to come harvest your crops with a u-pick farm model. Utilize WWOOFers to come work on your land for the cultural exchange. Support a local farm by getting Community-Supported Agriculture–a CSA.

• Start a Herd Share
• Start a U-pick Farm
• WWOOF
• Farmer’s Market Business
• CSA
• Offer Breeding Services

Sell Products–Online, or Start a Farmers Market business or Farmstand

One of the oldest tricks in the book for making money aside from a 9-5 job, start a business that sells products. There are so many ways for how to make money from homesteading and selling your products. Nowadays, you can sell online–through social media, etsy, or a website. Get your products out there! For a simpler life, start a farmers’ market business or a farmstand. 

Sell Produce

You can sell produce at a farmstand on the side of the road near where you live and sell others what you’ve grown. Plus, when running a farmers market business, the most popular booths are going to be those that center around farm fresh produce. So, if you have the resources and abundant harvests each year, consider growing and selling the following foods: 

• Lettuce
• Kale 
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Parsely
• Mint
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Lavender 
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Peaches

Sell Heirloom Seeds

Many people find that preserving and selling heirloom seeds is a lucrative business. Not only is it pretty easy to do, it promotes good values by keeping quality seeds in the world. 

Sell Handmade Goods 

This is one of our favorite apartment homesteader, city homesteader, and suburban homesteader options. There are so many natural and beautiful things that can be made in a small space and sold at a farmers market or online. Here are some creative ideas to get you inspired: 

• Sell Wool and Homemade Yarn
• Sell Beeswax Candles, Salves, and Remedies
• Sell Leather Goods
• Sew Linen Clothing
• Sew Quilt Jackets
• Sell Ceramics
• Sell Jewelry
• Sell Antiques & Thrifted Finds
• Sell Handmade Beauty Products

Sell Compost

Did you know that you can get paid for your cow manure? Well, you’ll have to do a bit more work than that and learn how to compost. Once you’ve got some compost built up from waste, you can sell it to businesses, farms, and individuals. 

Sell Salvaged Architecture 

Believe it or not, that crumbling old farmhouse on your land, people might just pay big bucks for. Remember: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! 

Sell Food and Drink Products

Whether you have land yet, or not, you can sell food and drink products that get people hooked on your business. We’re obsessed with this puréed garlic dip only available at our local farmers market. Sometimes, it’s all about creating that one perfect treat that people can’t pass up. Here’s some popular business ideas: 

• Sell Honey and Honeycomb from Bees
• Brew Coffee to Sell from a Local Coffee Shop
• Canned Jams and Jellies
• Canned Peppers
• Canned Pie Filling
• Kimchee
• Nut Butters
• Salad Dressings
• Kombucha
• Homemade Vinegars
• Homemade Salsa 
• Barbeque Sauce
• Bone Broth
• Baked Goods
• Cheese
• Herbal Tea Blends
• Foraged Food

Services to Offer

If you’ve been at the homesteading thing for awhile, there are lots of great services you can offer. If you have a venue space for people to rent out, you can throw in your own catering for an extra couple thousand dollars. You can train animals, work on lan, split logs, or mend clothes. The point? Whatever you can do for yourself and your own land, you can also do for others, while charging them and making money. 

• Catering
• Building Raised Beds
• Animal Training
• Freelance Tractor Work
• Bush Hogging
• Log Splitter
• Farm Sitting
• Garden Consultation
• Snow Removal 
• Leaf Removal 
• Seamstress

Teach Others

Whether you’ve already figured out how to make money from homesteading, or you are just wanting to connect with others in your community, teaching is a great way to make some money and also make a positive impact. 

• Blog
• Make a documentary
• Write a Cookbook 
• E-Courses
• Workshops
• Horseback Riding Lessons

Alternative Ways of Working with Your Hands

If you want to learn to make money from homesteading but want to grow in a trade, take on something meaningful that requires working with your hands. Here are some of our top picks:

• Flip Furniture
• Become a Doula
• Become a Ceramics Artist
• Become a Cobbler
• Become a Welder
• Become a Fisherman or Fisherwoman
• Become an Arborist
• Become a General Contractor 
• Become a House Painter
• Become a Blacksmith
• Become a Carpenter 
• Become a Seamstress

Why not start five, ten, fifteen of these ideas? The more you succeed, the more you can share your harvest with others. Happy homesteading!