When you are planning your farm, you need to think about diversity. Mono crop farming is not being self reliant. You are growing one crop, in the desire to sell that crop and then purchase what you need. While I don't suggest the goal is financial isolation, the model of years past was not mono crop farming. It is not sustainable or self-supportive if one crop fails, or you fail to find a buyer for your one crop. The idea of independence is harmonious with diversity. Farmers of the past may have had a cash crop, but they also had a personal garden to support the variety of food needs for their families.
Diversity is good for being able to supply all of your home needs. It allows you to offer this same diverse spread of food for your customers. It protects against a complete loss with one crop failure. Diversity allows more complete crop rotation, in mini-rotation cycles, and ultimately aids in soil-development.
Currently, we are participating in four areas of farm diversity as self support and cash crop income. Our current list is: 1) full spectrum vegetable crops, 2) perennial fruit crops, 3) plant propagation and 4) animals. Items we could add in the future: medicinal herbs, essential oils, candles, wood fuel, fiber arts, crafts, flowers (fresh or dried), CSA/ASC, farmers markets, road side vegetable stand, and I am sure the list could continue to even more diversity.
Vegetable crops: are naturally diverse, and we want to offer a balanced diet with our produce. Garden development has a lot of pre-work, in amending and healing your soil to be balanced, complete and mineral rich, good organic matter content, etc. Some vegetables will grow best in your area, and we suggest planning your balance from what your climate and area supports best. For homestead use, you will want to plan on your food preservation and storage capacity. For public sales, you will want to find the best interface in your area. Some venues to consider: road-side stand, CSA/ASC, restaurant contracts, grocery wholesale, and/or farmers market. You can consider the time of picking, and quickly chilling food in the field to preserve freshness.
Some farmers we talk with enjoy the CSA/ASC repeated contacts with their customers, while others find the weekly schedule rigorous to fulfill a weekly demand. While I am suggesting diversity, you need to start only what you can handle, and this likely means you need to ramp up what ever production level you want to commit to in a sane and family friendly way.
Perennial fruit crops: these range from easy to hard depending on the types of fruit to be grown, and the climate and pest pressures around your farm. In Michigan, it was common to hear of some fruit crop failure each year.
The list would include: apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, pomegranates, nut trees, grapes, raspberries, black berries, blue berries, strawberries, etc. The advantage of the perennial fruits is that they are generally more established, and require less frequent intensive care as compared to vegetable annuals. In some areas, fruit pests are a problem, and bringing organic fruit to market is a challenge. We need to educate consumers that surface imperfections are not the problem, rather insecticide drenched fruit is the problem.
Customer contact could be similar to the vegetable markets. I have seen one organic tree farm offer a "rent a tree CSA" in which you could purchase the produce to be harvested (and even harvest it yourself) from one specific tree. This makes a direct connection between the tree and the customer, which is very satisfying.
Plant propagation: is working with trees, bushes, ornamentals, etc, where you are multiplying a plant. The focus could be on developing stock for your own orchard, or to sell as a cash crop. It can still be diversified but time is the key. Taking cuttings, allowing them to root, grafting if needed, growing to sell-able age, will in total be several years.
Find markets for plants, and focus on what these markets need. Plan to offer your product at a good price when entering a new market, but establish being local to your advantage. Avoid the rush to the bottom when it comes to price. You could sell retail to the public, and consider mail order options as well. I would think that wholesale to a store would provide more volume, especially if you are in a very remote or rural location.
Animals: are a long standing tradition for historic farms. Farm animals were used to assist with farm work, like oxen and horses to production animals such as chickens and bees. There may be interest in milk or hair products (fiber arts) from various animals. Some animals would require significant infrastructure and tools, such as dairy barns, and milk processing facilities, or bee hives and tools. Expand as your knowledge can afford and as the Lord opens the way.
So, how can you diversity? Consider the options available to you, and the income sources that may avail you a living and support your budget. I encourage diversity as long as you can effectively give adequate attention to the existing operation. The word for today: diversity.
