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5 Monetization Strategies for Your Hobby Farm

You’ve always dreamed about running your very own hobby farm – and you’re finally in a financial position that will allow you to make your dream come true. But how can you generate income from your farm? TnF Farms outlines tips on surveying possible farmland, forming an LLC, planting your first crops, and marketing your farm.

Survey Potential Land First

If you’re getting ready to put an offer in for local farmland, you need to do your research first and thoroughly evaluate any plot of land you’re thinking about buying. This should not be a hasty or spontaneous purchase. For instance, you’ll find that 190 properties sold in September 2023 in Tallahassee, down over 21 percent year over year.

Make sure to hire a professional surveyor to assess your farm before you buy. This will help you avoid tricky boundary disputes with new neighbors, pinpoint potential limitations or natural hazards, and ensure that you’re agreeing to an accurate sales price in terms of the property’s actual value.

Decide on a Business Model

You might assume that your options for generating revenue from your farmland are limited to selling produce or homemade condiments. But if you think outside the box, you can come up with other creative ways to make money! For instance, Discount Lots recommends renting out your farm as a wedding venue, becoming a beekeeper, setting up tiny cabins or campsites on your land, or even teaching classes on farming, gardening, canning, and other life skills.

Register for LLC Status

Running your hobby farm business as a limited liability company, or LLC, will protect your personal assets. Plus, you’ll enjoy beneficial tax breaks. Managing a farm can be an expensive and risky endeavor, so establishing LLC status is a responsible way to mitigate some of these risks.

Hiring a lawyer for assistance with this process can be expensive. To save money, you could file by yourself if you have the time. Alternatively, you could submit your documents through a reputable formation service, which is a more affordable choice. Check the regulations for LLC formation in the state where your farm is located before you get started.

 Plan Your Crops

Whether you want to plant flowers to beautify an outdoor wedding venue space or grow produce that you can use to make artisan jams, you’ll need to start planting the right crops. This takes some careful planning! Take some time to determine which crops you’ll need to grow, where you should plant them, and when you’ll rotate them. Throughout the planning process, it’s a good idea to check out online resources for detailed gardening, growing and pest control advice. Some websites provide information on how to eliminate destructive pests the natural way like using mold and introducing nematodes.

Promote Your Farm Business

You’ll need to effectively advertise your farm business to draw in your first customers. LetsPool recommends advertising your products or services with terms that appeal to niche markets, allowing people to sample your products when possible, and advertising on social media.

Monetizing your farm is a major project. But if you’re prepared to invest enough time and effort, there are plenty of ways to make a sustainable income from your farmland. By following these tips, you’ll be able to survey land before buying it, use an online formation service to set up an LLC, start planting produce, and get the word out about your farm.