Is Homesteading Profitable? [+7 Free Ways To Make Money] | Home Farm Homestead (2024)

When I first heard of homesteading, I had no idea I’d end up in it, and I surely didn’t think I could make it profitable.

Managing a farm, workshop, or off-grid home is a dream for me, but most people who are interested in it shy away from the reality because it really just seems like a lot of labor for no payoff.

So, I thought I’d answer the question that, once upon a time, made me think that my dream of homesteading was unrealistic: is it profitable?

Homesteading is profitable for a select few homesteaders. However, it is much easier to live sustainably, breaking even on your costs and profits, while homesteading.

So, let’s talk about homesteading for profit. I’ll tell you about the reality of how much money you can make from a homestead or hobby farm, give you some tips to make sure that you at least break even when homesteading, and talk a bit about some of the trades that you can use to make a profit.

How Profitable Are Hobby Farms And Homesteads?

Hobby farms and homesteads are rarely profitable enough to be a family or individual’s sole source of income. However, with some frugality and creativity, you can live on a hobby farm or homestead without spending more money than you make.

Homesteading seems like a full-time job to most people, and in many ways, it is. But, you can’t expect to make too much money on it.

In most cases, when you break down the costs of keeping livestock, repairing buildings, paying for water and property taxes, getting seeds, and vet bills, to name a few constant costs, what you can do on a homestead is break even.

Raising animals like fiber goats (as I discussed in my other article here) is a great example. When you calculate how much money you can make from cashmere or angora fiber, the costs cover a year’s worth of vet bills and food costs.

However, that “profit” doesn’t even address the upfront costs of building shelters or buying goats. Plus, you’ll also have to think about shearling and hoof trims – are you willing to do those yourself?

The same goes for any animal or crop. How much are you paying for water to keep your crops alive? How much are you paying butchers to process your animal meats? How much are you paying for electricity to refrigerate a stockpile of eggs before Framer’s Market day?

All these costs can add up, and you’ll see those “profits” go faster than you’d think, even if you spend all day working to make your hobby farm or homestead profitable.

So, instead of setting your sights on six figures, try thinking a bit more sustainably when considering starting up a farm.

How To Make Your Homestead Sustainable and Avoid Spending More Than You Make

Homesteading is all about balance. It’s about weighing out all the pros and cons and making informed decisions on everything, from picking your seeds to planning for winter.

To make your homestead sustainable and avoid spending more than you make, you must learn new techniques and keep a tight budget. When running a hobby farm or homestead for profit, recycling, scaling down, and finding ways to bargain for what you want will put your finances in the green.

Learn To Do Things The Older, More Traditional Way

Learning is what will keep your homestead or farm going, regardless of how much money you make or spend.

Long before we invented the computer or started driving cars, people found ways to make things work without financial exchanges. Remembering this fact has gotten me through so many things, and it can get you through many trials, too.

Taking a creative approach, researching older, more traditional ways of doing things, and finding sustainable ways to reuse materials can reduce your costs, helping you make a profit.

For example, if you learn to irrigate your garden using rainwater and have a well nearby, you won’t have to pay for municipal water.

If you learn to trim your animals’ hooves and shear yourself, you won’t have to pay anyone else to do that.

If you know the signs of illness in your animals, you’ll be able to catch sickness before it devastates your livestock.

The list goes on and on, but all of these skills are learnable and teachable, and they will ensure that you can avoid paying other people to do things that you could do.

Bargain, Barter, and Trade

In some ways, homesteaders are all alike – we are all making ends meet and living as sustainably as possible. As such, most of us love a good trade.

Trading materials, animals, and goods is a wonderful way to build a community while cutting costs. Trading eggs for cheese, a female animal for a male, meat for produce, or even wood for some scrap metal isn’t just a great way to save money – it’s a great way to produce less waste and make friends.

Trading labor and borrowing tools can also help a lot. If you need to repair your barn, ask to use your neighbor’s saws. If you have too much milk this week, try to trade it for someone else’s signature products. Building barter-based relationships will save you so much money, and it’s really fun!

7 Ways To Make Money Homesteading or on a Hobby Farm

To be honest, although they may have some good ideas, I’m kind of tired of reading those “40 ways to make a profit homesteading” articles.

Many ideas don’t factor in the upfront cost of starting a business, and many of the products that people recommend selling are not easy to find free materials for. For example, “Start a christmas three farm” sounds like a good idea until you realize that it’ll take years before you can harvest your first tree.

So, I thought I’d give you a real list of some free or almost free-to-make products that usually sell like hotcakes at a farmer’s market or online shop:

1. Sell eggs. I know this idea is old and used, but it’s true: eggs are one of the most profitable items to sell from a farm. Keeping chickens and ducks is already low-cost, and selling farm-fresh eggs can quickly give you enough money to fill up your feed shed and more.
2. Beauty products. Beauty products aren’t always hot sellers, but if you use things like goat milk, honey, beeswax, beetroot (for a red pigment), and herbs from your homestead, you can easily make a profit. Still, these are primarily good to sell since they have a long shelf life, allowing you to bide your time until you find a buyer.
3. Make wood products from branches. If you have a lathe, you are in luck here. Do you know all those stray branches that fall and clutter up your yard? You can (literally) turn them into pen blanks, candlesticks, shot glasses, crochet hooks, bottles, and so much more, and the wood is free. These items, in particular, sell very well, especially if you don’t charge too much for them. Another hot seller is wood rounds as coasters, which you don’t even need a lather for.
4. Make brooms. This is another (almost) free way to make money on a homestead. Broom making isn’t something you’ll perfect overnight, but it’s a fantastic skill to learn. You can use fallen branches as handles and grow your own broom corn (a tall grass) to make them for just the cost of seeds and any hardware or thread you use in the construction.
5. Sell tea and spices. Herbs such as mint, lavender, chamomile, thyme, and sage can get unwieldy over time if left to grow, which is why this product is so profitable. Adding these dried herbs to your repertoire can quickly make some money, as people are willing to pay a lot more for tea than you’d think, especially if it’s organic. Don’t tell them it cost less than a few cents per can to make – that’ll be our secret.
6. Sell seeds. You can only use so many of your plant seeds before they become infertile, and seed packaging just consists of a glued-together piece of paper. Seeds are PROFITABLE. People are very willing to take them off your hands, and although you may not be able to sell them at a high price point, they generally sell fast enough to make you some money.
7. Sell stock photos. I might be shameless – I did find this idea online. But isn’t it so good!? Selling stock photos won’t make you a fortune, but it’s a fun and easy way to learn photography skills while also documenting your farm, garden, cooking, building – or anything! So, put those photos to good use and put them out there on Alamy or another website. You’ll only get a few cents per photo, but it’s something.

These are just a few ideas to get you going. Doing things like foraging, making things from reclaimed materials, and using your assets for all they’re worth can really make some money.

Final Thoughts

Making money on a homestead is hard work, but it isn’t too difficult to break even if you are willing to get creative, learn new skills every day, and use everything you have – and that your neighbors have – to try to make a true profit.

And eventually, at the end of the day, as long as you’re making enough to keep doing it, that’s what counts. After all, if you’re interested in homesteading, you’re probably not interested in becoming a millionaire – although I’m sure none of us would mind it.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have tips and tricks for making money at homesteading or even ideas that have helped you live more sustainably! I’m so excited to learn from all of you!