[claire123]

Hi
Does anyone have any ideas of a small business i can set up on my land? I have to have a business running on there,I have four acres of land and at the moment i have 2 mini shetties and a pony and 2 goats on land Any ideas would be great Thanks Claire

[HesterF]

Whatever you do has to be something you enjoy doing so what would you like to do? Grow veges? Plant fruit trees and either sell the fruit or juice or cider? Or other trees for wood? Grow flowers to sell? Breed poultry or other livestock? Sell eggs? Can you craft something? Work with wool? Willow? Bees for honey or wax products? To be honest, the list is pretty endless. Does the business need to support you or can it just make a little money (the latter is much easier!)? Is it just a condition of having the land? What other facilities do you have there? How long is a piece of string?

[tizaala]

Pick your own soft fruit is always popular , but expect them to eat more than they carry to the checkout.

[renee]

That is true. Depends on the location of  course. I rember in my home village  about 20 years ago a young couple bought 4 acres. The neighbours sneered - no way one could make a business of 4 acres. They worked hard - still do- Put in various fruit for self pick. Second quality is made into jam. Added home-made cakes to the concept. Icecream to eat with the fruit. Then a coffee shop was also needed. A great concern and great people.

[the great composto]

whatever you do it will need you to add value to your product in some way.  whatever you grow you will need to make it into something that is worth more than just selling what the land produces.

How much money are you trying to create in a year  -- that would help the thought process a bit.

[plumseverywhere]

There is quite a strong market for non-halal goat meat currently, I am being asked where people can buy it all the time.

[Alistair]

See if you can rent it out per hour to dog agility clubs etc, provide storage for their equipment?

[john and helen]

depending on how big your neighbourhood is..what about takeaway roast dinners .PORK, CHICKEN, &  BEEF..all could be served in a 9 inch Yorkshire pudding.. can you imagine if you grew all the veg..and reared the meat... I would say they would be the best roast dinners around..as for packaging..(Pizza box's) gravy could be packed in those little cups, like the chinese takeaway uses ... £5 a meal

[Marches Farmer]

Got to be something you not only enjoy but are passionate about.  Native rare breeds is our thing and when we started with our Southdowns our neighbouring farmer thought we were, well, barmy.  Now we sell ewe lambs, sell and hire out rams and have a wait list for this year's crop.  Similar thing happened with our large, soft-feathered poultry and Narragansett turkeys, followed by the rarest female bloodline of GOS pigs .....

[Castle Farm]

If it's to get permission to live there you'll be hard pressed to find a living from 4 acres and get the go ahead from the council.

People have tried Alpacas, Llamas and turkeys where by you need to be there to look after them.


To be honest on that amount of ground the only thing that will make you money is cannabis

[Tala Orchard]

Take a look at this site it give 8 ideas for small scale agri businesses and shows that there is money to be made  on small acres.
http://www.ecologicalland.coop/projects-small-successful

Hopefully this will give you an idea just follow the links to read about the different businesses

Tala

[spandit]

Great link, thanks!

[hughesy]

I think you need to sit and think a bit then come back and ask the question again with a bit of background. What would be the purpose of the business? Make a living? Self sufficiency?  To satisfy occupancy conditions? Lifestyle choice?  A lot will depend on what you're prepared to put in and what you expect to get out. If you're looking for an easy answer you'll be waiting a long time.

[happygolucky]

I was thinking similar to Alister but it depends on where  you are, also, Lavender is a big money growing crop in Australia, either grow something with a high value or...you could always rent it out to those people who love to ride around dressed as a horse and pulling some one!!! Make it an assault course or training ground for humans, if you make it hilly and dippy you could have off road bike track, gun clay pigeon range or archery, and Oh, a ridding school maybe good if you are near bridle paths!!!!!

[doganjo]

You should start a business with your own ideas and not other peoples'  Do something you are familiar with and know a good bit about.

Set out a business plan, do risk assessments if you intend having people on your own land and take out insurance.