I'm about 4-5 years away from retirement. I'm the type who likes to keep busy and I'm looking for something to do...
Anyone here own a small orchard/farm? I'm not really looking to make a huge profit, but if I could keep myself busy, give the grandkids someplace interesting to visit, and not lose money/earn a couple thousand dollars a year, I'd be really happy.
If you do, what do you do? How's it working out for you?
What crop do you plan to grow?
Do you know anything about it, or the business of selling it?
You could own a property with a few trees on it or a massive home garden. Might give you the fun you are looking for without requiring employees or the hassle of being a business.
I have the same idea. making an actual profit from a small farm/orchard is very difficult from what I've been told. selling your crops at a farmers market is really the only option for a small operation.
good luck
My uncle is retired and has an orchard. From what I can tell, he mostly does a U pick system because he's physically not able to do the harvesting, and he doesn't want to deal with hiring employees to take care of that.
Pick it your self type stuff like blueberries thru corn mazes and on to to Xmas tree farms,
There is a lot of cult/specialty/restaurant/foodie stuff that has a big enough market to bring in a couple of bucks can be grown with little work other than picking it (look at the former weed and now expensive salad green lambsquarters ). Friend grows some hothouse herbs and heirloom tomatoes - he contracts to a nearby farmer who sells his crops at green market.
Bee farms for honey production- too much work?
Try building mature bee colonies for sale> That might be a growing industry with the colony collapse thing still a concern but pure uneducated speculation on my part.
Check local zoning codes before you hoe!
retirement nears... wrote:
I'm about 4-5 years away from retirement. I'm the type who likes to keep busy and I'm looking for something to do...
Anyone here own a small orchard/farm? I'm not really looking to make a huge profit, but if I could keep myself busy, give the grandkids someplace interesting to visit, and not lose money/earn a couple thousand dollars a year, I'd be really happy.
If you do, what do you do? How's it working out for you?
My sister and I purchased the family farm in Wisconsin from our mother (which we have paid for). We rent out the farmland (100 plus acres) which pays the property tax and some upkeep on the buildings. We are both nearing retirement. My wife and I maintain a large garden there, which also gives me a reason to check on the property during the growing season. We don't keep any livestock, poultry, etc., because we live 75 miles away. I guess if you'll be financially secure you can just buy a small acreage, but this works out pretty good since the farmland rent provides some income. If you have even a couple acres, you'll have plenty to do. Good luck.
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