How To Make Money Off Of Land

As someone who lives in suburbia, it's easy to sit and daydream about all the exciting potential out there to make money from unused land or even a small farm. The freedom of self employment, the peace of seclusion and close connection to the land itself – wow. It sounds truly magical. Even without miles of acreage, there really is hidden opportunity in every corner, if you're willing to put in a little extra elbow grease.

So, for all of you enviable land owners out there, we decided to create a list of ways you can make your private land or small farm profitable, while also making your daily life more exciting. After all, the two should go hand in hand. Some of these ideas are very minute tasks, whereas others are fairly involved, full-time commitments. But sometimes you can't know you're missing out on something great, until you know it's out there. That's why we've included all the creative ideas we possibly can, great and small. Maybe you will see something that inspires you!

Let's start with the most reasonable ideas, and work our way into the more involved projects. We don't want to scare you off too fast…

Ways to Make Money Off Your Land Almost Immediately

1. Rent plots to groups looking to build a community garden
Community gardens are all the rage right now, because not everyone has the space to grow their own garden at home. If a few families get involved, they are likely to tell their friends about it, and as each family pitches in a portion of the rent for the plot of land, you'll begin profiting immediately. Plus, you're investing in the community. All you have to do is provide the land. Part of the fun for your renters will be the act of developing the garden from scratch and reaping the benefits.

Allow a community garden to use your land.

2. Start blogging about your newest farming adventures
3. Set up a beehive and allow locals to schedule tours (safely of course)

4. Make and jar local honey
Local honey has become extremely popular over the last several years. The more home-grown authenticity, the higher the price, so your margins are sure to be excellent. Once you've set up reliable beehives and can start harvesting the honey, local farmers market shoppers will eat this stuff up. You can also try selling it online, since consumers are always looking to try a new kind of local honey.

Jar local honey and sell it at farmers markets.
Sell local honey at farmers markets.

5. Grow unique flowers to sell at farmers markets

6. Make "how to" videos on Youtube, Pinterest or Instagram, and sell finished products on Etsy
If you have great light (which you probably do) and the time to spend creating beautiful photography, you can sell anything on Etsy. It's a simple place to start. Their listing fees are nominal, and they already have a large following of dedicated crafters. Put together some "how to" videos or engaging image slides and tag your products; on Instagram as well. Then hashtag all the right topics. Let's say you're posting a "how to" image slide on building the perfect bouquet of wildflowers. Look at what other similar postings have tagged, search "wildflowers" on Google and use the additional phrases that appear, then think outside the box for additional flower-related tags that someone might search. Add them all in. And you're off to the races.

Sell your crafts on Etsy.

7. Sell plant seeds online
8. Offer your services for pet sitting - This will be heaven for pets and owners will love the idea of their pets frollicking on a farm.
9. Raise chickens and sell their eggs
10. Grow fruit and sell it at farmers markets
11. Grow and sell herbs online or at farmers markets
12. Can and jar things like jellies, jams, preserves, and pickled veggies and eggs
13. Sell chopped, split and bundled firewood
14. Rent out your land maintenance equipment to people at a reasonable rate
15. Regularly sell a variety of produce at local farmers markets. If you're product is good, you'll start to grow a loyal local following!

Services You Can Offer to Make Money On Your Land

16. Offer indoor or outdoor storage
There are tons of people out there who decided to get a boat, but never thought about where they'd keep it in the offseason. Or maybe they're garage is overflowing, and they need somewhere to keep extra lawn equipment. These types of scenarios are endless. Plus, if you have the ability, providing indoor storage can be lucrative, and it will require very little maintenance from you.

Offer indoor or outdoor storage.

17. Create fishing lakes or ponds for local fisherman or groups to rent
18. Rent to motorhome travelers
19. Run an indoor/outdoor animal day care
20. Open up your land to rent as a campsite
21. Raise cows and sell the milk

22. Raise goats and sell the cheese
Goat cheese is very popular amongst the healthy, crunchy crowd these days. It's easier for the body to process, especially for people who have lactose intolerance. It contains less fat and calories with more nutrients than most cheeses, plus it's packed with calcium. Needless to say, offering fairly priced local goat cheese could be a silent winner on this list.

Raising goats to sell their cheese can be quite lucrative.

23. Breed and sell animals like dogs or llamas
24. Lease portions of your land for hunting, farming, or other recreation
25. Rent your land or barn for special events like weddings or private parties
26. Plant pumpkins and offer seasonal events like pumpkin patches
27. Plant corn and offer seasonal events like corn mazes
28. Create a local dog park
29. Establish a community playground

30. Offer outdoor fitness or wellness classes like yoga or zumba
Outdoor yoga is popping up all over the place. Obviously, this would be a seasonal revenue stream (depending on the region you live), but offering these types of activities could open up interest in some of the other services or products your farm might offer, so it could serve as a dual purpose. The typical rates for these classes range from $5 - $10 per person, half going to the instructor and half to the space owner.

Offering outdoor yoga classes can bring the community together.

Make Money By Using Your Land As Your Business

31. Open up a regular children's petting zoo
32. Offer tours or classes on how to farm

33. Raise goats to rent to people looking for eco-friendly yard maintenance. This is a real thing.
Gas-powered mowers are said to be contributing 5% of the United States' air pollution. As people become more aware of the negative impact lawn mowers have on the environment, some are choosing to use push or electric mowers, both of which require more effort and tend to be more time consuming. But there is another option out there – goats, a completely natural, emission-free route for lawn care. It's no surprise why renting goats has become a popular, and if you ask us, adorable way of maintaining yards and shrubbery. As a goat owner, you will have access to multiple revenue streams, some of which we've already covered like selling their cheese or milk, or making milk-based soaps and lotions, which you'll see on the list below. Plus you'll be contributing to the preservation of our environment and ozone layer and be able to hang out with these cute faces!

Goats are an emission-free way to handle land maintenance.

34. Learn to make goat-milk-based soaps and lotions
35. Harvest animal manure for fertilizer
36. Raise pigs to butcher

37. Open up your home as a bed and breakfast
Take it from Chip and Joanna Gaines. If a little town like Waco, Texas, can have a successful Bed and Breakfast, why can't you? It's possible their celebrity status has something to do with the success of their cozy rentals, but there's no denying that people who love B&B's, really love them. So, just because you live in a remote area doesn't mean you won't have a draw for B&B regulars. If you're home is comfy with extra space for guests to have privacy, and of course, you don't mind hosting the occasional stranger, this could be a great option for steady income.

A bed and breakfast is a great business for land owners.

38. In a state where it's legal to do so, grow pot

39. Build wood furniture from the timber on your land
The Amish have really cornered this market, but who's to say you can't have a piece of the wooden pie? If you or your spouse has a knack for woodworking or craftsmanship, turn that hobby into a regular stream of income. Start by posting your pieces online and opening up your work space to customers who want to see the pieces in person and purchase on site. If you're having success, open up the market to customers who might require shipping.

Turn a furniture-building hobby into a business.

40. Raise worms for bait or for composting
41. Teach something from home: music, crafts, farming 101, anything you specialize in
42. Build a separate, rentable property or tree house

43. Allow tiny houses to rent or buy portions of your land
Tiny houses are everywhere. But the one thing these homeowners are struggling to track down is affordable land where they can put their tiny house. Renting or even selling pieces of your land to these folks is a quick way to make good money. As long as you can come to terms you both agree upon, this might be the most lucrative, simple option on our list, since each house requires such little space and literally no maintenance from you after the agreement or sale has been finalized.

Allow tiny house owners to rent or purchase portions of your land.

44. Look into the opportunity of harnessing wind energy
45. Generate solar energy
46. Sell a portion of your land

47. Plant a vineyard and bottle your own wine
How cool would it be to own your own vineyard? This will take some hard work and investment on the front end, but the result is sure to be amazing. Not only will you have a beautiful landscape for your own viewing pleasure, but once people hear about your vineyard or see pictures, they'll want to visit. Setting up a small tasting room or vineyard tours could be a long-term goal, and in the short term, provide inviting picnic tables and outdoor space for people to come with their families to purchase and sip on local wine. The type of grapes you can grow will depend on the region of the country you're in. If you do decide to open up a vineyard, please remember to send us an invite.

Growing a beautiful vineyard will attract attention and give you a great view.

48. Set up an outdoor shooting range
49. Allow the city to build through-roads
50. Show movies outdoors for your community and charge an entry free

Depending on what your financial goals are, you have options when it comes to making money off your land. And after going through this list, there should really be no question of if you can, only how you'd prefer to do it. If you're willing to get creative, you can manage to do some real good on this planet along the way. Whether that means you turn a hobby into steady revenue, become a local community leader, help to lower emissions in the U.S., or even start doing yoga outside with all of your friends, it's completely in your hands. How do you want to make money off of your land?