City planning departments across the nation are noting a marked rise in urban dwellers who are requesting permits to raise chickens. Why? Because across the country, people are showing more and more interest in “living off the land,” whether they wish to have their own supply of fresh eggs, their own honey or their own homegrown fruits and vegetables.
In keeping with this trend, the sale of plots of land ranging from five to 15 acres has skyrocketed as the number of hobby farms has exploded. Even a property with a large garden can be used as a mini-hobby farm, with room to grow vegetables, raise a few hens and set up some beehives.
A mere acre is large enough to have milking goats or a few pigs, while two and a half acres is enough land to have a flock of free-ranging poultry or even sheep. Five acres is enough land to keep a cow and calf, and invest in a fruit orchard.
While the proliferation of homegrown products for personal consumption is one of the reasons for the recent popularity of hobby farms, another is the profit that can be made from selling products — whether at roadside stands, farmers’ markets or through cooperatives. People are increasingly willing to spend more money on fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey and even dairy products, and there is definitely a profit to be made, even for small operations.
Of course, even hobby farms need to protect important equipment, such as refrigeration machinery, heaters (both standard and solar), backup generators and deep well pumps. They may also wish to protect themselves from the small chance of liability from their products (or livestock) and from theft. While regular farm insurance in these cases might be too much of a good thing, farm insurance policies can be tailor made for hobby farms. This coverage is available for farms with less than 80 acres, which make less than $20,000 a year in profits and have as few as two outbuildings.
If self-sustainability with a little to spare is your goal, your insurance agent can help ensure that your enterprise has the protection it needs. For more information on the right policy for your hobby farm, contact us today.
Get the coverage you need. Call Loftis & Wetzel Corporation at (580) 363-3434 for more information on Oklahoma City farm insurance.
