Niche farming

brianthebard

Hi I've been on boards for a while but first time posting in this forum. I wanted to ask about you own personal experience with niche farming- stuff like wild boar, rabbit, organic(although that is obviously expanding in recent years)-stuff that isn't widely available.
Is it a more viable way to make a living from farming?

Is it more a hobby of sorts?

Good or bad stories to tell?

Any information would be appreciated, its just for general interest really, my dad's a farmer.

pjbrady1

Then maybe your Dad would be interested in rearing Organic Galloway beef cattle. Cattle that don't need to be housed and their meat sells at a premium price. They are orginally from Scotland. Guy in Tipperary rears them www.omegabeefdirect.com (might be .ie) They mature about 10-20% lighter than continental cattle.
They need less feed to produce a kg of beed and they are more disease resistant. They will eat vegetation that other cattle won't touch. To cap it all they don't need to be dehorned as they don't grow horns.

brianthebard

Wow thanks for that. they don't even have to be dehorned, they sound quite low maintenance.

The_Conductor

Not exactly mainstream- how about goat keeping?

Their milk is acknowledged to be great for asthmatics and those with dairy allergies. They're really friendly creatures too and eat literally anything (note: this includes the bark off trees which will often kill trees, and they also have a distinct liking for fruit trees- which may not be ideal. They are also almost impossible to fence in- Houdinni would be proud of some of their antics.....)

They are intelligent friendly creatures, who will run up to you and appreciate human company (most probably because they associate humans with tasty food morsals..... but hey, whos arguing).

S.

Oldtree

A man who lives near me has a herd of deer. He has had them for a number of years now. This year just 4 were culled, with the price of the culling being 2. So not a great idea or viable.

Lamas look like a good idea on the face of it for the future, can be sheared every 2 years and the wool is much sought after. They can live off of less than sheep, but have to have shelter from east/cold winds. they have to have their fighting teeth removed for obvious reasons. fencing needs to be 12foot high.

GreenHell

smccarrick wrote:

Not exactly mainstream- how about goat keeping?

Their milk is acknowledged to be great for asthmatics and those with dairy allergies. They're really friendly creatures too and eat literally anything (note: this includes the bark off trees which will often kill trees, and they also have a distinct liking for fruit trees- which may not be ideal. They are also almost impossible to fence in- Houdinni would be proud of some of their antics.....)

They are intelligent friendly creatures, who will run up to you and appreciate human company (most probably because they associate humans with tasty food morsals..... but hey, whos arguing).

S.

Your going to have issues finding a supplier for your product. You should talk to your local dairy about this.

There are plenty of niche business oppertunities for the agri sector, a lot of them come grant aided as well. What areas are you interested in?