I am sure that it is the dream of most homesteaders to be able to make a decent living on their own little piece of heaven.  Reality is that I (like most people) have to commute about 30 miles each day to my job in close small city.  I am really grateful to have this job but the dream is still there to live off of the land, my family’s land.  But just because you can not make all of your living off of your place does not mean that you can’t make something off of it to pay the property taxes (the government always has to get their pound of flesh), or to pay the property mortgage, or to acquire another piece of farm equipment.  There are many ways to try to make some extra cash and here are a few of them. If you are fortunate enough to have a farm pond then you have an opportunity to produce several different products.  Many folks will plant their farm ponds with catfish to sell to restaurants, private parties, and as fishing opportunities while earning a fair return on their investment.  Other pond owners may allow people to come in and fish from their ponds for a little fee.  Often pond owners will stock them with trout or bass for their guests.  I know that many fathers have been able to take their sons and daughters to these sorts of places to get their first taste of fishing while creating life long memories in the process.  Fresh water shrimp or crayfish may be raised sell to local markets, restaurants, specialty, and bait shops.  These two forms of pond critters are easy to acquire, grow, and maintain a self sustainable size population crawdads and shrimp can also be raised along with some other pond residents.
As far as land based income goes, you can raise chickens for eggs and also for meat.  But your options for your chicken income do not end with eggs and meat you can also buy day old pullet chicks and raise them (maybe with the help of a broody hen or two); it is simple in that you buy day old pullets for about one dollar a piece and raise them to four months of age and then sell them for about eight dollars a piece.  Rabbits should also be considered as a means to raise some cash.  Rabbits can be raised for pets, meat, and fur.  Rabbits are very easy to raise and they are very prolific.  You might consider also raising goats, sheep, pigs, or steers and have several people split the cost of buying and raising the animal.  Something that many people do not consider doing is raising goats and sheep for sale around ethnic holidays, but take it one step further and provide a place for a country butcher to come out and slaughter the animal right there on your property (for an additional fee of course).  Of course you will have to check with department of health and agriculture to see what sort of health regulations you will have to comply with so that you do not run into trouble. There is always opportunity to make money growing crops or agricultural products in both the usual and the not so frequently thought of options.  Not only is it a good idea to have an organic garden for your family’s produce needs, why not sell subscriptions to your garden.  People can buy a bag of groceries which you can pick for them on a weekly basis (you could even include some eggs in that bag).  Another option is to run a “pick your own” style operation where your subscribers can come out and pick some produce.  This system might really work out for you as it would allow you to set the times that you are open for operation.  Something that you might consider is growing for potentially greater profits is seed stock.  Here you would grow plants not so much for their fruit but for their seeds.  I would find a couple of rare forms of plant seeds and grow some more for sale to seed companies and seed banks.  Of course you need to start out by getting the best seed stock or starter plants.  Please visit DirectGardening.com - Offers quality plants at great prices, come see what we mean!
There are several ways to make some cash from your piece of the family homestead, some of which were listed above.  Others which may be considered as well are firewood sales, wild nut harvesting, wild berry picking, wild mushroom hunting (know what you are doing and be careful), and hunting opportunities.  Just take a little time, study your situation,  and see what will work out for you.  Don’t overlook the small possibilities which could pay off for you in a big way!