Crops

The Most Profitable Crops to Grow

Published:

January 10, 2025

Key Takeaways

The choice of the most lucrative crops depends on your local market needs, current growing conditions, the cost of production, and other factors.
Aim for year-round production to improve profitability.
The most popular cash crops for small farms include corn, soybeans, cotton, sugarcane as well as less common varieties of fruits and vegetables.
Learn more about the soil and water requirements and disease control before investing in new crops.

According to the USDA, most small family farms only have a profit margin of around 10%, and things aren't much better for mid-sized independent operations either. Typically, they are also reliant on government benefits to maintain that profit, which introduces another level of uncertainty.

That makes 2025 a great year to start looking at crop profitability and focus on cash crop farming to help improve profit margins! So, this article will cover the basics of profitability for small- and mid-sized farms, also offering specific recommendations for high-profit crops you can plant and raise easily.

Factors That Make Highly Profitable Crops

During these tough times, smaller farms that are trying to hang on have to juggle a lot of factors to ensure they actually make money on their agricultural crop yields. Research and forethought can help a farmer choose the most profitable plants to grow on their land, and these are the key aspects to consider.

Local Market Demand

Generally speaking, smaller farms will do better if they focus on providing goods to local buyers, rather than trying to ship long-distance. So, aside from the recommendations we have, do plenty of research into your local area and its needs. Farmer's markets are an obvious outlet, but don't overlook the businesses in your area. It might be worth reaching out to various grocery stores and restaurants, inquiring if there are any specific crops they have difficulty sourcing.

Growing Conditions

Another major factor will be the crops that are suitable to grow in your climate zone and on your specific soil. It's a good idea to test your soil to better understand what crops it can support, or how it might be modified — such as through fertilizers or bioactive additives — to suit other crops. Don't invest heavily into a crop unless you're certain it will grow well enough to bring substantial returns.

Cost of Production

Changing crops can require a substantial upfront investment in seeds and the materials needed to support their growth. Be sure to thoroughly research a crop's needs and work through the math on what it would cost to raise — including labor costs, materials, and other externalities. Choose high-value crops to ensure better profitability. 

In addition, there are other questions such as whether it would be more efficient in the long-term to rely on manual watering or invest in a modern irrigation system. Smart farming systems are expensive to set up, but over time, they may pay for themselves by preventing crop loss and minimizing labor costs.

Yield Per Acre

Assuming you are working on full plots of land, the key question is finding the most profitable crops per acre. This covers how many crops can be planted, their expected yield, and their growth cycle. In some cases, it could be more profitable to raise a crop that can be harvested several times per year, even if the per-harvest yield is relatively low.

Seasonality

Don't only focus on the most profitable summer crops. Ideally, your operation should be growing something year-round, if at all possible. Even if it's just growing herbs in a greenhouse during the winter. This ensures a steady flow of income and reduces your reliance on large annual harvests.

The Importance of Diversification

It's rarely a good idea to specialize in one single crop, because there's so much that can go wrong. A disease outbreak could potentially wipe out an entire season's profits, or the market could end up flooded and decrease your selling prices. There's also the toil that monoculture takes on the soil, sucking out specific nutrients without putting enough back. This often leads farms to over-rely on chemical fertilizers, which ultimately hurt the soil further in the long run. With crop diversification, you both increase the odds of higher profits and improve biodiversity necessary for regulating the ecosystem and keeping it healthy in the long run. 

Practicing good crop rotation will help maintain the soil's health and reduce the need for fertilizers. For example, legumes such as soybeans will add nitrogen back into the soil, making it available for nitrogen-heavy crops in the next season.

Profitable Crops for Smaller Farms

Again, these are generalized recommendations. Always do plenty of research into your local climate and growing conditions to ensure you'll be able to raise a crop properly.

Cash Crops

Certain crops will always be in demand, chief among them being:

Corn
Soybeans
Cotton
Sugarcane

These are absolute staples of farming, and a farm will rarely go wrong adding them to their crop rotation. There are also typical variations that will grow in almost any climate, making them easily accessible.

In particular, soybeans — along with other legumes like peanuts — are great because they help replenish the soil.

Just be aware you'll be competing with the major corporate farms here. It might be best to ensure you have buyers lined up before investing too heavily, so you don't get crowded out of the market.

Popular Vegetables

Certain vegetables are always in high demand, especially by grocery stores and restaurants. A farmer with a decent-sized town nearby can almost always find a market for veggies such as:

Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Cucumbers
Leafy greens
Mushrooms

If you have a small farm, target less common varieties such as heirloom tomatoes. Most large farms don't bother with them, but they'll fetch a premium from quality restaurants and organic food buyers. The same goes for leafy greens. Rather than basic lettuce, try arugula instead, or raise shiitake mushrooms rather than normal button mushrooms. 

Microgreens like bean sprouts are another solid option here because they grow extremely quickly — often in just a couple of weeks. This allows you to have a steady flow of products ready to sell, in between larger harvests.

Specialty Herbs & Spices

Herbs and spices can be a great investment because they typically require very little space, but often fetch high prices — especially if it's a plant not commonly grown in your region. If your land supports them, you could do well with:

Lavender
Saffron
Vanilla
Basil
Mints

Garlic is another perennial favorite that will always have a market. Plus it's low-maintenance and has an extremely long shelf-life.

Fruits and Berries

Virtually any kind of fruit you can grow in your region will do well on the market. This would include products such as:

Blueberries
Strawberries
Grapes
Avocados

As with vegetables, smaller operations should try to target less-common varieties which will appeal to restaurants and health food fans.

Medicinal Plants

There's a huge — and possibly underserved — market for medicinal plants such as:

Ginseng
Ginger
Chamomile
Aloe vera
Bamboo
Lingzhi mushrooms

In particular, if you happen to have a Chinatown or Koreatown nearby, ask around and find out what their traditional pharmacists are looking for. You might find an extremely loyal market if you can grow the plants they need locally that they'd otherwise have to import.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Any major change in your crops or growing operation carries some risk. To improve your odds of successful cash crop cultivation, remember to avoid the following mistakes.

Growing Crops Without Researching Demand

Even the most reliable crops like corn won't be profitable unless you can find a nearby market for them. Never invest in a crop until you have a good idea of how you're going to sell it.

In general, for smaller operations, it's best to base your planning around demand: find out what local people want, then choose your crops to meet those needs.

Overlooking Soil and Water Requirements

What you plant should also be dictated by what your soil and climate zone can support. Do thorough research on any new crop to understand its needs, and what it takes to get a large healthy harvest from it.

In some cases, if you've found a local market that no one is currently serving, you might be able to get away with raising crops in sub-optimal conditions. However, it's generally best to optimize here.

Improper Pest and Disease Control

Know what diseases and pests your crops may be susceptible to, and take proactive steps to prevent them from being a problem.

In particular, look for ways to do pest control naturally whenever possible. For example, if you have a crop such as strawberries which are vulnerable to small rodents, try providing some nesting boxes that will be attractive to owls. If you can get nature to do your pest control, it saves money and helps prevent the overuse of pesticides.

Ignoring Modern Farming Technology

Smart farming tech is real, and it's becoming affordable enough that almost any operation can start investing. Modern farm tech can help you oversee your crops, track soil health in a reportable database, or potentially even utilize AI to detect problems early on.

If you have an irrigation system, for example, AI monitors overseeing water pressure will be able to instantly detect leaks. The faster you fix it, the less water you waste, and your plants won't go without.

Research what's available, and look for smart technology that will reduce your costs or improve crop yields.

When you have questions, we'll help you find the answers you need to take control of your fields and the harvest you care about. Contact Cropler to discover more about our products and the ways we help you proactively protect your operations from the effects of crop diseases. Learn more

Cropler Makes Farming Easier!

Cropler is a cutting-edge farm monitoring system designed to reduce costs and improve profits. We combine mobile weatherproof agri-cameras with a smart cloud-connected web platform that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time. And coming soon — soil moisture and temperature monitoring!

You can visually oversee your crops 24/7 while collecting highly valuable data to help optimize your next harvest.