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Farm Diversification / Rural Business Start up Opportunities

Below is a list of 159 areas where opportunities may exist for farmers to generate supplementary income

Key factors to consider include:

  • Is there a demand/market?
  • Will it be profitable?
  • Capital required
  • Cash flow
  • Labour
  • Existing skills, qualifications, training, experience
  • Likes / dislikes

Many options will require additional training.

Animals

  • Organic beef, lamb, milk
  • Goats – Dairy, Angora, Cashmere
  • Dairy sheep
  • Angora rabbits, rabbits for meat
  • Deer
  • Ostriches
  • Camelids (Lhama, Alpacha – fibre)
  • Free range eggs
  • Free range poultry
  • Ducks (eggs and table)
  • Geese
  • Quail
  • Guinea fowl
  • Snail farming
  • Worm farming
  • Pedigree breeding of cattle sheep and other farm animals
  • Rare breeds
  • Cattle livery
  • Butterflies

Crops / horticulture

  • Organic vegetables
  • Organic fruit
  • Specialised vegetable growing (in tunnels)
  • Specialised fruit growing (out of season)
  • Wild fruits
  • Mushrooms
  • Wild flower seeds
  • Flowers – bulbs & stems
  • Herbs
  • Dried flowers
  • Crops for biofuel eg. rape seed for biodiesel, cereals or beet for ethanol
  • Biomass crops for electricity or heat generation
  • Crops for industrial uses
  • Cut foliage
  • Straw for thatching
  • Hard nursery stock
  • Turfgrass sod production
  • Garden centre

Horses

  • Horse livery services
  • Blacksmith / farrier
  • Horse riding
  • Pony trekking
  • Cross country courses
  • Sport horse production

Fish / Marine

  • Fish farming
  • Shellfish
  • Live bait – maggots for angling
  • Seaweed, Carrageen moss, dulse
  • Smoked fish

Dogs/Cats/Pets

  • Dog breeding
  • Dog kennels
  • Greyhounds
  • Sheepdog training
  • Cattery
  • Breeding pets eg. rabbits, hamsters etc.

Food

  • Honey
  • Cheese, yoghurts, ice cream, chocolates etc
  • Home made bread, cakes, traditional recipes
  • Speciality food e.g. gluten free bread
  • Drinks – fruit drinks, milk shakes etc
  • Preserves, jams
  • Spring water
  • Christmas hampers

Forestry

  • Commercial forestry
  • Christmas trees
  • Planting, maintenance, harvesting
  • Woodland clearing / management
  • Fencing
  • Saw doctor
  • Ash for hurleys

Food providing a service

  • Farmers markets
  • Farm shop
  • Caterer
  • Food distribution

Environment / Energy

  • Stone wall building / maintenance
  • Hedgerow maintenance - planting, laying, coppicing, trimming, cutting
  • Recycling
  • Composting
  • Wind Farm
  • Small scale hydroelectricity generation
  • Biomass

Gardening

  • Laying new lawns, landscaping
  • Mowing lawns, garden maintenance
  • Paving, patios, paths
  • Installing garden decking
  • Erecting fences, railings, gates
  • Stone wall building
  • Mulch making
  • Hedge cutting / removal

Tourism / Sport

  • B&B
  • Self catering
  • Camping
  • Health Farms
  • Fishing
  • Shooting / production of game
  • Clay pigeon shooting
  • Hill walking
  • Educational e.g. Nature trails, guided tours of local flora and fauna, archaeological / historical sites
  • Heritage / language centres
  • Open farms
  • Adventure sports e.g. Rallying, ATVs, Paintball
  • Speciality holidays e.g. Working on the bog?
  • Traditional skills – shearing, turf cutting
  • Cycling
  • Boating
  • Golf / pitch & putt /driving range
  • Coffee shop / restaurant

Arts / Crafts

  • Wood
  • Metalwork
  • Pottery
  • Glass
  • Souvenirs
  • Painting
  • Sculpture
  • Music
  • Candles
  • Photography
  • Wool, Crochet, Lace
  • Dried flowers
  • Floristry
  • Greeting cards
  • Wreaths – Christmas, holly etc.

Farm relief type work

  • Milking
  • Feeding cattle
  • Small scale agricultural contracting – specialising in one / two particular services e.g. hedge cutting, reseeding, emptying septic tanks, ATV work
  • Sheep shearing
  • Hoof paring
  • Fencing
  • REPS contract work
  • Farm work on stud farms
  • Maintaining ‘hobby’ farms

Transport / Driving

  • Taxi driver especially in remote rural areas
  • School bus driver
  • Digger operator for local contractor
  • Fork lift, lorry, tractor, machine driver/operator for local factory
  • Small-scale haulage – cattle, straw, hay, gravel, stone, topsoil etc.
  • Delivery van
  • Limousine service
  • Furniture / house removal service

Manufacturing / Sales

  • Light engineering e.g. Gates, trailers, fences, cubicles
  • Carpentry e.g. Garden furniture
  • Franchising ideas
  • Agricultural spares
  • Fishing tackle retail

Building construction & maintenance

  • Labourer
  • Specialise in particular area e.g. Restoration, thatching, old style rendering, pebble dashing, stonework
  • Painting & decorating
  • General maintenance – basic carpentry, plumbing etc.
  • Welding
  • Antique furniture restoration
  • Agricultural and Construction machinery repairs

Leasing

  • Renting / leasing farm building to other farmers
  • Letting or leasing buildings etc. for offices, small businesses, commercial storage
  • Letting or leasing small areas of land for purposes other than farming e.g. Communications mast, advertising bill board

Caring / Education

  • Child care – playschool, crθche, minding children for period after school etc.
  • Care of disabled or those with special needs
  • Care of the elderly
  • Teachers assistant
  • Grinds

Other possible services

  • Beauty therapy
  • Hairdressing
  • Alternative therapies e.g. reflexology, aromatherapy, massage etc.
  • Dressmaking, alterations, curtains etc.
  • Knitting
  • Secretarial / computer based work
  • Bookkeeping
  • Car valeting
  • Contract cleaning
  • Power washing
  • Sand blasting
  • Quarry – stone products
  • Driving instructor
  • Auctioneering
  • Security
  • Skip hire