Perennial Polyculture Enterprise
Ideas
NOTE: These ideas are specula8ve,
always research new enterprise ideas
carefully before inves8ng!

What is an edible forest garden?
• A consciously designed
edible ecosystem
• Low maintenance food
producing landscape
• Mimic of natural forest
• Provides the ecosystem
benefits of a natural forest
• Produces food and other
useful products

Forest farming vs. annual agriculture

Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture
J. Russell Smith, 1927
• Terrible erosion of slopes from annual crops
• Solu8on: tree crops with pasture
• For human food and for livestock fodder
“Montando” cork‐pork forests of Portugal

Contour Hedgerows

Produc8on Perennial Polycultures

Enterprise Selec8on Guidelines
Perennial farming system products:
• What can you PRODUCE
• What can you SELL
• What products complement each other
• What products fit your marke8ng plan

Direct Market vs. Wholesale
• Direct Marke8ng
– keep higher %
– work more
– limited quan88es?
– Set your own price
– Can sell new & unusual products
• Wholesaling
– lower profit per unit
– Easier!
– Can accept large quan88es
– Prices set by external businesses

Value‐Added Products
• Increase price and profitability
• Improve shelf life
• Diversify product line
• Some legal/processing issues

Pasture & Fodder System Products
Animals bring income but also manage understory with minimal human labor input.
Plant products
EQUIPMENT: coolers, slaughter
equipment or livestock trailer,
permits, commercial kitchen,
stainless steel dairy processing,
Hay bo_ling equipment, cheese cave,
farm store or market stand
Animal Products:
Live Animals Meats Eggs Dairy Products Honey

Tree Crop Products:
Wood Products
Equipment: portable sawmill,
woodworking equipment,
charcoal oven
Lumber Firewood Fenceposts
Cra`s Charcoal Furniture Bamboo Products

Tree Crop Products:
Foods
Food Products:
Fruits Nuts Vegetables Herbs, Spices, & Teas
Equipment: wash & pack,
bo_ling and sterilizing, sugar
shack, drying system, farm store
or market stand, commercial
kitchen, permits
Sweeteners Beverages Oils
Jams & Jellies Baked Goods Smoothie Stand

Understory Products: Foods
Berries Vegetables Herbs, Spices, & Teas Mushrooms
Jams & Jellies Baked Goods Smoothie Stand Annual Crops in Alley
Cropping or Early Stages

Understory Crops: Non‐Food Products
Func8onal understory more expensive to establish, must pay for itself.
Na8ve Plant Seeds Cut flowers (some trees too) Cra`s, Dyes, Soaps… Medicinal Herbs
Func8onal & Crop Seeds
Equipment: Seed cleaners, cra`
tools, 5‐gallon buckets, herb drying &
processing

Other Products
Plas8cs Industrial feedstocks Rubber (hardy sources too)
Fer8lizers,
Pes8cides
Veggie oil fuel Gasoline (!) Fiber Crops & Products
Equipment: o`en prohibi8vely expensive, these crops o`en sold to
processors. Could include oil press, bo_ler, biodiesel rig, home lab

Germplasm Sales:
Perennial Farm‐Adapted Organisms
Breeding stock Nursery Fungal spawn Seeds &
seed mixes
inc. gra`ed trees
Pre‐planted mats Brush fascines Cuhngs for living fences etc.
(erosion control fabric,
groundcover flats, etc.) Equipment: irriga8on, nursery, seed cleaning & drying,
mushroom lab

Services
Consul8ng Tours & Workshops Land management services
Equipment: laptop, experience, herd of goats

RESOURCES for FARM and NATURAL RESOURCE‐BASED The Legal Guide for Direct Farm MarkeMng
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Neil Hamilton
Excellent resource for planning the legal aspects of a farm
Exploring the Small Farm Dream : Is StarMng an Agricultural business.
Business Right for You?
The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook
www.smallfarm.org Richard Wiswall
Guide to deciding whether or not to farm as a business. Brand new guide to business aspects of organic vegetable
produc8on.
Small Farm Planner: Building Your New farm Business Around
Tilling the Soil of Opportunity
What’s Most Important to You
www.nxlevel.org
www.smallfarm.org Agricultural business planning curriculum, 12‐week course.
Helps aspiring farmers make decisions about loca8on, Other business curricula and resources include:
enterprise selec8on, marke8ng strategies, and financing. Establishing a Shared‐Use Commercial Kitchen
Going Green guide to green decision making for entrepreneurs
And many general courses and guides for business planning
You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and Succeed
in a Farm Enterprise Building a Sustainable Business
Joel Sala8n www.sare.org/publica8ons/business.htm
Interes8ng guide for new farmers, great enterprise selec8on Online publica8on for developing detailed ag‐related business
guidelines. plans.
New England Small Farm InsMtute
ATTRA www.smallfarm.org/main/for_new_farmers/
www.a_ra.org resources_by_topics
One‐stop shopping for all your farm marke8ng and enterprise Extensive resources list of resources for new farm businesses.
selec8on needs. Hundreds of fantas8c publica8ons all free
Voices of Experience: Good Advice for New Farmers
online.
www.nybeginningfarmers.org
Direct Marke8ng (10 publica8ons) Excellent video clips of start‐up advice from experienced
Value‐Added and Food Processing Businesses (12 publica8ons) farmers.
Business Planning and Management (8 publica8ons)
Plus many, many guides to enterprises from pastured pork to
bamboo produc8on.