When it comes to making a living, America’s small, family farms always have to be on the look-out for new sources of income.

Diversification can protect farmers from potential loss of income if the farm suffers a major disaster, whether through natural causes like severe weather or drought, non-local market impacts, or other circumstances. Mitigating the possible danger of a crop failure by investing in several types of crops provides farmers with a better financial outlook, and offers peace of mind, too.

Growing one major crop is always risky.  If the soybean market collapsed or the corn crop was decimated by an unknown pest, a one-crop farm might not be able to survive, even with some crop insurance. The loss of a major income source for any farmer is devastating. For East Tennessee farmers, though, diversifying operations prevents that from happening and offers other benefits like:

  • Spreading out your potential risks. By planting other crops, your potential for risk and loss is reduced considerably.
  • Increasing revenue with minimal investment. By planting different crops on land you already own, and using existing staff and equipment, your investment in trying something new is very low while your potential for increased income is much higher.
  • Breaking the pest cycle on repetitive crops. By planting different crops and rotating some, you can interrupt the cycle pests have come to depend on, potentially saving money on pest reduction.
  • Trying new crops that might offer better financial rewards. Farmers who diversify may find different crops to be more rewarding. Newer varieties may provide better yields and offer better income potential than they thought, making their farms more profitable.

Genera works with East Tennessee farmers to help them diversify their income sources. We recruit farmers to planting crops like switchgrass or biomass sorghum that can be harvested and used to create our biodegradable Earthable® ag-based fiber that can be used to create sustainable packaging for food and other items.

If you are a farmer and want to find out more about growing switchgrass and biomass sorghum for Genera’s Earthable® products, visit the producer and landowner page here.