Most Profitable Crops to Grow This Season

Most Profitable Crops to Grow This Season

As farmers and small business owners, the bottom line is we want to have a successful business. To succeed in this competitive market we have to be creative and find and grow things that sell, pay the bills, and above all keep us doing what we love, farming!  Here is a list of some of the most profitable crops. Depending on your growing zone and your farm setup, these crops may or may not work for your farm. They are worth looking into for your small farm to see if they might be profitable.

Here are some of the top options for high-return crops to grow this season.

Growing Gourmet Mushrooms

If your climate accommodates mushrooms, you could grow mushrooms outdoors and add gourmet mushrooms to your list of items you sell. Mushrooms are one of the most profitable crops to grow. But even if you don't have the climate in your favor, you can do this in a very small space indoors and control the humidity and temperature to get a profitable harvest. From gourmet food items to medicinal purposes, mushrooms can get a great price at the market. Oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, shiitake, and reishi are all highly valued mushrooms you can produce. Not only can you sell the fresh "fruit" mushroom, but you can also pickle, make tea, make tinctures, dry, or make jerky out of the mushrooms (for vegetarians). Your crop cycles are short, and at about $12 per pound, you can make a profit quickly.

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Growing Lavender

Lavender prefers a mild winter and a warm sunny summer with low humidity. So, it's important to have the right climate to grow this fragrant and profitable crop. You can harvest about 3 times a year. After cutting the flowers and stems, you can sell lavender bundles for $6-15 USD per bundle. You can dry the flowers and sell them all winter long, along with teas, soaps, and other smell-good items.

Growing Hemp

If you can grow hemp in your state and have the space, it may be a beneficial crop to add to your list. With the legalization of hemp in over 36 states in the US, it may be time to give this crop a second look. Hemp grows very vigorously and doesn't require a lot of fertilizer, water, or other amendments. It can be used as biofuel, paper, building material, and textiles, as well as seeds and oil can be collected and used industrially for CDB, and it can also be used for culinary purposes. The profits range from roughly $130-730 USD per acre.

Growing Cut Flowers

​Growing cut flowers for market can be a very profitable venture. It's almost unlimited in what you can sell. Perennial flowers from bushes like lilacs or roses, or something more annual like sunflowers or cosmos. The greenery included in floral arrangements is also profitable. You could also choose to sell woody ornamental like willow, red twig dogwood, or pussy willows are also a great perennial crop that you harvest year after year. Not only can you sell the cute flowers, but you can also create bouquets and sell them. Reach out to restaurants, hotels, or offices. They often have a need for a reliable source.

Growing Trees and Shrubs

This is ideal for a part-time or side business. Some highly sought-after trees are maple trees, fruit trees, nut trees, Christmas trees, fruit bushes, and roses. Just putting in a few hours per week after your initial investment, you could find some reasonable profit here.

Growing Ginseng

You can sell both mature roots and young shoots to other growers and make a substantial profit. Ginseng seed is selling for about $150-200 a lb, and mature roots are selling for $400-500 USD a lb. There is a bit of a commitment for this profitable crop type. Mature roots do take a while to cultivate - 6 years, so the payoff here is an investment.

Grow Teff

Never heard of Teff? It's often used as a rotation grain; it is also an ancient grain alongside farro, quinoa, spelt, amaranth, and millet. It boasts a high amount of vitamin C, protein, and iron, and has been a big hit with the health-conscious and gluten-free crowd. It takes the award for the highest profit per acre. This might be the most profitable crop to grow this season. It averages about $1,600-1,700 USD a lb per acre.   

Growing Microgreens

Micro-greens pack a tiny punch in the produce world. You don't need a lot of space and can make up to $50 USD per pound, and depending on your space and how you set things up, you could produce roughly 20-25 crops per year.

Grow and Sell Bonsai Trees

Small trees for small spaces. If you have a small space to spare, you could start growing Bonsai trees. You can sell the starts that are untrained, to Bonsai enthusiasts and the trained trees. The trained trees are usually 2-3 years old, so they do require some time commitment. The trained trees can go for around $30- hundreds of dollars, depending on the amount of time and the specimen.

Growing Garlic

It doesn't take a large amount of money or a large space to get started in garlic. And with specialty garlic being purchased in local grocery stores, depending on your market, you can find a profitable crop to sell locally. Types of specialty garlic are Romanian Red or Carpathian. A pound of garlic seed will produce 40-60 plants, depending on the variety. Profiting about $16 USD per lb. You start garlic seed in the fall, so planting this season would depend on your zone and hemisphere.

Grow Bamboo, Ground Covers, and Drought-Tolerant plants

Droughts, fires, and dry conditions are becoming the norm. Growing bamboo, ground covers, and grasses in pots and selling them all over your local area, or selling them online. Growing drought-tolerant plants and selling them to landscapers, nurseries, and homeowners is a great way to generate a profit. 

Grow Wasabi

Wasabi is a highly sought-after root that is more like a fine wine than a horseradish. Wasabi takes about 60-80 weeks to grow to a marketable size and has highly guarded secrets on how to grow it. Wasabi also gets the award for one of the hardest plants to grow on this list, or even to get starter plants. It does offer a nice prize for all that effort. Wasabi root goes for around $100 a lb in Japan and $45 USD a lb in North America.

But First, Market Research

Before selecting crops, it's essential for farmers to conduct market research, assess their resources, and consider factors like labor, input costs, and potential profit margins. Writing a farm business plan is also a huge help.

Diversifying crops can help spread risk over multiple crop types and can ensure a steady income throughout the growing season.

When you have the right tools for the job, it makes everything go smoother. Farmbrite farm management software helps make this happen. There are many ways to grow your farm business. I hope that this list is useful and gives you a starting point to dig in and do your own research on what crops might be best for you.

As always, happy farming!