If you’re a farmer, you’ve probably experienced money troubles at least once in your agricultural career. Despite what many people think, making a living as a farmer isn’t always easy. Sure, it can be a lot of fun and being outdoors is great, but the profit margins are often slim, and it only takes one thing to go wrong (weather, price drop, etc.) for your business to be in trouble.

Luckily, there are lots more ways to make money from your farm than you might think, and it is almost always possible to diversify and add new income streams. If you are looking for different ways to make money from your farm, check out these awesome ideas:

Grow Exotic Mushrooms

If you have room on the farm, using part of your land to grow exotic mushrooms is a simple way of boosting your revenue. Exotic and unusual mushrooms can be sold at a premium, especially to high-class restaurants, and they’re actually pretty easy to cultivate if you live in the right environment. Just bear in mind that you might need to call in an environmental consultancy organization to assess risks and check out the lay of the land before you change its use. It will probably be worth it though.

Offer Camping

Outdoorsy types are always looking for safe places to camp and farmland is often ideal. If you’re located in a pretty location that isn’t too close to civilization, turning some of your fields into a functioning campsite could make you a lot of money in the summer, especially if you open your own farm shop selling the essentials, like toiletries and basic foods to your new guests.

Organize a Craft Fair or Swap Meet

Fallow fields don’t make you any money, so put them to use by organizing your own craft fair, swap meet or even farm produce market. By charging each vendor a small fee, you can make a surprising amount of cash for the duration of your event, and although this might not earn you money all year round, it could help you raise enough money to buy feed for a few weeks or have a nice weekend break away.

Sell By-Products of Your Business

There are lots of by-products or life on the farm that could actually be worth something. If you farm birds, for example, their feathers can be sold on for use in clothing, craft projects, and even home furnishings, or if you farm animals, you could sell their manure to gardeners – the options are endless and could provide you with a steady stream of extra income throughout the year.

Open to the Public

Lots of farms are able to make a lot of money by opening their land up to the public for school trips, farming demonstrations for people looking to farm their own land, corporate events, team-building exercises and a whole host of other things. Just bear in mind that, when there are lots of people around, it might be more difficult to get any actual farming done. It’s certainly worth considering though.

Do you own a farm? Have you hit upon an ingenious ways of making more money from your land?