Information Sheet 1

AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES ENTERPRISES
FOR THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION

Steve Bogash & Jonathan Kays
Maryland Cooperative Extension

Many landowners initiate enterprises without doing the simple things first, like developing a long-term forest stewardship plan for your forest resources. After this is in place, consider the other alternative rural enterprises:

• Put Forest Stewardship into Practice - working with a professional forester to develop a forest stewardship plan to manage for wildlife, forest products, recreation, and other objectives. The harvest of forest products should be done on a sustainable basis and involve the landowner, the logger, and a forester.
• Other Rural Enterprises
  • Forest farming and forest product enterprises: Managing for a sustainable stream of forest products (firewood, high-quality sawtimber and veneer) while improving other forest benefits; producing mushrooms, maple syrup, pine straw, and medicinals such as ginseng, goldenseal; collecting native plants and materials; producing wood and native crafts; growing Christmas trees; providing custom sawmilling and kiln-drying services.
  • Recreational access and ecotourism: Offering fee hunting and fishing; hunting preserve; sporting clay; guide service; wildlife viewing; campground; outdoor sports; high-risk recreation; bed ‘n breakfast; vacation cabins, and immersion experiences such as teaching skills and crafts.
  • Traditional and alternative agriculture and horticultural enterprises: Aquaculture; growing small fruits, vegetables, and herbs; growing or renting land to grow traditional field and row crops; breeding specialty livestock, deer farming; operating greenhouses and other enterprises that use cropland and nonforest resources.

The following lists of products and services are intended as an aid in identifying some of the potential enterprises that a producer or supplier may want to explore in considering a non-traditional agriculture or natural resource business. These ideas are intended primarily for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Your particular location, experience, soils, climate, etc., will all influence any decision to begin a new venture. It is strongly recommended that all necessary business and personal matters be considered thoroughly as well before starting. As with all new ventures a marketing/business plan, enterprise budget, and cash flow analysis are necessary evaluation tools.

Call your local Cooperative Extension Service Office for assistance in any evaluation. Also, the Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service (NRAES) offers NRAES publication #32 titled "Farming Alternatives: A Guide to Evaluating the Feasibility of New Farm-Based Enterprises" as an aid in new enterprise evaluation. This is available through your local Maryland Cooperative Extension office. The cost for this publication is $8.00.

Amaranth , Black Turtle Beans, Buckwheat, Cranberry Beans, Edible Soybeans/Tofu Soybeans, Fuel Crops, Hops, Indian & other Ornamental Corn, Malting Barley, Organic Grains, Popcorn, Seed Production, Sorghum, Sunflowers, Wild Rice

FISH & GAME:

Bait Fish, Catfish, Crayfish, Deer Farming, Ducks, Eels, Grouse, Guinea Fowl, Hybrid Striped Bass, Ornamental Fish:Aquarium & Koi, Pheasant, Quai, Squab, Striped Bass, Tilapia, Trout, Wild Turkey

FRUIT:

Asian Pears, Blackberry, Blueberry, Currant, Elderberry, Gooseberries, Kiwi, Organic Fruit of all kinds, Pawpaw, Raspberry, Strawberry, Table Grapes, Wine Grapes

NATURAL RESOURCE PRODUCTS:

Butternut, Cedar Shavings, Christmas Trees, Collected Plants, Evergreen Cones, Firewood Bundles and by the Cord, Ginseng, Holly Boughs, Kindling, Maple Syrup, Morel Mushrooms, Saw timber, Custom Sawmilling, Kiln Drying Lumber, Specialty Woods, Native Crafts, Tree Seed, Walnuts, Willow Branches

Bedding Plants, Cultivated "Wild Species", Cut Flowers, Dried Flowers, Edible Flowers, Fruit Trees, Herbs, Medicinal Plants, Ornamental Grasses, Potted Flowering Plants, Specimen Plant Production, Trees & Shrubs

LIVESTOCK / ANIMALS:

Alpaca, Bees, Buffalo, Fallow Deer, Donkeys, Duck, Emus, Free Range Poultry, Geese, Goats, Heirloom Livestock, Llama, Organic Poultry, Ostriches, Rabbits, Rheas, Sheep (wool & dairy), Specialty Horses, Turkey

AGRITOURISM / RECREATION:

Bed & Breakfast Inn, Vacation Cabins, Craft Village, Campground, Clay Target Range, Farm Tours / Experiences, Fee Fishing, Game Preserve, Guided Hunts, High Risk Recreation, Hay Rides, Hunting Leases, Paint Ball Range, Sporting Clay

VEGETABLES:

Asparagus, Baby Vegetables, Bedding Plants, Ethnic Crops, Garlic, Gourmet Crops, Hydroponic Vegetables, Oriental Vegetables, Organic Vegetables, Potatoes: Colored & Baby, Salad Blends, Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes

VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS/SERVICES:

Aquaculture Products: Filets, Marinated, Precooked, Smoked
Baked Goods, Barrels, Baskets, Beeswax Products, Butchering, Canning/Preserving, Cedar Products & Shavings, Charcoal, Cheese, Cider, Cooking classes, Custom Lumber Saw Milling, Fruit Leathers, Furniture, Ground Grains, Hides & Hide Products, Ice Cream, Jams & Jellies, Packaged & Bulk Compost/Manure, Pickles
Prepared Vegetable Products: Sauerkraut, Cole Slaw, Salad Blends, Butters, Salsas, Soybean Products
Spinning & Weaving Classes, Spun Goods, Wines, Wood Pellets, Woven Products, Wreaths, Roping & Garlands

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