However, many hobby farming operations, while taking place on personal property, are not covered by homeowners insurance. In 2013, California passed the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act to increase the amount of vacant and private land used for urban agriculture by offering reductions in property taxes and to expand its agricultural reach even further. Despite that, there are more than 80,500 farms across the state producing 400-plus commodities and nearly half of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the U.S., according to the California Department of Agriculture. With a temperate climate and growing conditions that accommodate a variety of crops and livestock, it’s no surprise that the cost of land in California averages $7,300 per acre. Other hobby farmers echo her enthusiasm: “I live in the city,” Hoeflinger said, “but when I am at home, it’s like we live in the country.”Īnd California is a hotbed for these new hobby farms and farmers.Īccording to, California is the third best state to start a farming venture, hobby or otherwise: “But I love my animals, and I never get tired of it because it always feels like Easter to me.” Johanson, who bought an additional, one-acre farm in Fillmore in 2010, has a menagerie that includes 12 goats, 9 chickens, three pigs, three tortoises and an 8-month-old Red Angus calf named Diva. Chivas has goat milk soap products in 85 stores nationwide and sold more than 25,000 bars of soap in 2014. Now she runs Chivas Skin Care, which she founded with her daughter in 2009. She bought two goats to source raw milk for her family’s six-acre home in 2004 and eventually started to experiment with goat milk soap in her kitchen. “We have definitely seen a resurgence in some forms of farming, some of it hobby farming,” said Ken Pellman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner, Weights and Measures.ĭonna Johanson, who lives in Camarillo, started out as a hobby farmer but has become something more: an entrepreneur. ![]() Some experts say hobby farms are on the rise. Hobby farming has always been an aspect of the California ag industry, but according to a recent New York Times article, experts say it’s a growing trend: A hobby farm, by definition (and for IRS purposes), is a small farm or agriculture endeavor that is run primarily for pleasure or supplemental income, rather than as a primary source of income. In the past 5-10 years there has been a huge up-tick in the number of people who are interested in trying their hand at raising their own livestock, growing their own food, or making a little money on the side with other ag endeavors. ![]() Hobby Farms On The Rise | Farm & Ranch Insurance Product Highlightīetween hipsters and hippies, millenials and retirees, stay-at-home moms and DIY-ers, America is coming back to its locally-grown, hand-made, highly agricultural roots - even in cities.
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