The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: minibn on August 23, 2016, 05:32:26 pm
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Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas how I could make a bit of extra income from the land which we have. We currently have around 25 acres of grassland. There are currently two horses (soon to be three) and four pet sheep grazing it. I cut about six acres of it for hay every year, although I end up selling a least half of the Hay produced to cover the cost of cutting it. I actually only cut around six acres as I have nothing else to do with it.
As my mum is due to retire in 18 months, and we have also been saying it for several years 'we need to find some way of earning something off the land we have.' I don't expect to make millions, just enough so that my mum can get a little extra income.
My partner and I work full time, although if there was a new venture which took off, I could consider cutting down my hours. The obvious solution would be to graze livestock, however this is not an option, as we are vegetarian and don't want to go down that route.
This does limit the options, although if anyone has been in a similar situation, or has any ideas please get in touch.
There have been a few ideas thrown onto the table:
1. Alpacas
2. Cattery
3. Solar panels
4. Plant nursery
These are all totally different, can you claim for any government grants to help set up a business? I don't really know where to start, even if I have a good idea. Any advice welcomed
Thanks for reading
Emily
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If you'll consider alpacas, you could also consider a non-slaughter fleece flock of sheep.
There has been some interest in no-kill fleece and yarn recently, although I think it's yet to be proven that people genuinely will pay the price for this product. Anyway, there's been enough interest in it for Jane to have created a 'Wool Only Flocks' page (http://www.woolsack.org/Wool-Only) in her British Wool Products listings on the Woolsack website.
Breeds that people do seem happy to pay a premium for include Polwarth, Saxon Merino, Scottish Bowmont. Or one of the rare breeds - especially coloured fleeces of breeds that are usually white, seem to be very popular at the moment, and to fetch a premium. A really good Black Wensleydale fleece will fetch £35-£50, for instance. (And that's the regular flock price, not a no-kill flock price.). Other black longwools - Leicester, Lincoln and others - equally fetch a premium.
We recently had a farmer turn up at a wool show with an outstanding coloured Oxford Down fleece. She was swooped upon and offered £20 for it.
You could look at producing yarns and/or fibre. Ellie Stokeld does it all with her no-slaughter flock of rare breed Border Leicesters - and has a real following of very enthusiastic supporters. She works hard at it, though, keeping an active group going in Ravelry, running knits-a-long's with her yarns, going to the shows, and so on.
Anyway, something to consider. And if you liked any of the rare breeds that have nice fleeces, you could do a bit of good, too.
I suppose I ought to mention the Valais Blacknose. Personally I think the market for its fleece will be extremely short-lived - I don't know any spinners who've ordered a second! - but there will be an overpriced market for lambs for monied hobby farmers for some time to come, I would think.
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The other idea would be camping and caravanning.
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From that list I think that Alpacas will cost you money, a cattery needs planning permission and possibly change of use for the land, solar panels are the best bet if you have not missed the boat, and a plant nursery needs time and skills which you may not possess.
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A neighbour here, retired now, ran a dog and cat boarding kennels alongside her prize-winning Jersey dairy herd. She says the dairy just about broke even, the kennels and cattery made them an income.
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There has been some interest in no-kill fleece and yarn recently,
Forgive me, but wtf is "no-kill fleece and yarn"? That's that bloody woman isn't it?
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There has been some interest in no-kill fleece and yarn recently,
Forgive me, but wtf is "no-kill fleece and yarn"? That's that bloody woman isn't it?
Fleece and yarn from a flock run on a no-kill basis - ie., not producing a lamb product.
Some run wethers for fleece and ewes to produce more ewes and more wethers. It's a fact that a wether's fleece is often much thicker and better than the ewes' - he has no work to do so can put all his energy into making his fleece.
Others produce breeding sheep - ewes and tups - to sell, and take fleeces from the shearlings before they are sold to breeding homes.
If we want to talk about it some more, I think we'd be better not threadjacking Emily's thread. ;)
I started a thread about it linky (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=76471.msg611927#msg611927)
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The other idea would be camping and caravanning.
I would have thought that was your best option for maximum return with minimum effort and cost. You can start off small with a few tourers and as you get some money in, then you can improve it, expand it as much as you want.
There is nothing like the 24/7 responsibility you have with animals, and as your Mum is retiring I would imagine she'd want more free time, not less.
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The other idea would be camping and caravanning.
The downside is having to deal with the great British (and other) public day in day out. :innocent:
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The other downside is how seasonal it is. Many years ago I heard that our favourite campsite was closing down. I had SUCH a vivid dream that night that we'd bought it and re-opened it, that I did a cashflow forecast to see if that might be viable. The upshot was that it wasn't even going to pay one minimum wage, even without having to purchase the land :-\.
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Some of your initial ideas are mutually compatible. E.g solar panels and cattery. Or solar panels and sheep grazing is quite common.
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The other downside is how seasonal it is. Many years ago I heard that our favourite campsite was closing down. I had SUCH a vivid dream that night that we'd bought it and re-opened it, that I did a cashflow forecast to see if that might be viable. The upshot was that it wasn't even going to pay one minimum wage, even without having to purchase the land :-\ .
But.... we're not talking about buying land - that would be a totally different proposition with loans etc to service.
The land is already there!
Yes - it's seasonal - but that can be an advantage - you're not committed 24/7. (Isn't that the idea of retiring, so you have more time to yourself?) We've just opened up some land we've had for ages to touring caravans and tents. We've gradually improved the facilities as we got some money in. We actually started because a group of people approached us for somewhere to site their tourers as a base to stay for weekends. They live in the town and wanted a pleasant area to camp as and when they fancied a break. So we mostly get the same people all the time, who take a pride in the place, and regard it as a second home. Because of that, the admin is minimal, and pays considerably more than minimum wage for the time taken. But we had the take the highland cattle off as the campers found them intimidating. (Can't think why :thinking: ). Even so, the ride on lawn mower actually keeps the grass better than the cattle did, and you don't have to be so careful where you walk.
As for the English weather - well the caravanners come anyway as it's still a break for them. And I can stay inside in the dry instead of having to go round tending stock.