MAIN STORY:
Niche Markets and Small Farming are Types of Farming Viable to New Farmers
Simple steps to creating a niche product:
- Look up your nearest agricultural extension agent; their goal is to help you find the right niche for your enterprise, www.CSREES.usda.gov/Extension/
- Take local ag workshops and classes offered through your county’s extension office.
- Visit farms within your county/region to get a feel for what is and isn’t in production.
List of products/services that fill a niche:
- Bottled milk and ice cream
- Hay for horses
- Homestead cheese
- Pastured pork
- Free-range chickens
- Grassfed beef and lambs
- Organic vegetables
- “High-quality” (emphasis intentional) mushrooms, other than shiitakes
- Truffles
- Freshwater prawns
- In-tank (live) tilapia
- Horse boarding
- Landscape ornamentals
- Herbs
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA food shares)
- Local organic wheat
- Deer corn
- Bees and honey products
- Composting
- Vermicomposting (composting with worms)
- Growing mats (of sedum) or green roofs
- Fruit orchards (selling fresh and dried fruits and juices)
- Nuts
- Growing seed for seed companies
- Generating solar energy for urban neighbors
- Season extension and year-round production in high tunnels. Meaning you could have product to sell during under-supplied seasons.
