The world of farming and cropping is not as simple as it used to be. Instead of selling directly to a store, many farmers rely on deals with bigger companies to guarantee profits for the farming ventures. As a consumer, not only can you be a part of the buying process, but you can work with brokers to invest in a wide range of crops that are of interest to you. These types of investments are known as soft commodities, because they are agricultural products that are grown naturally and not mined like a gold or metal.

The following five crops are not your typical commodities investment, but they could come a long way in earning you a lot of money.

Buckwheat

Buckwheat may not have a lot of relevance in the United States, but farmers all over the world grow the plant and harvest it for a number of different uses. One of the main uses comes for pasta production in Japan. The flavors and scents of buckwheat are attributed to a number of their pasta dishes and have become an essential part of farming all over the world.

When working with a commodities futures broker, the professional can help you stay organized and purchase investments in buckwheat. By following trends and growth seasons, you will be able to determine the best times to invest in the crop. It's also a good idea to look at any special diets on the rise. For example, a special buckwheat diet could cause an increase in demand and help raise the value of your investment.

Chocolate

A lot of candy may be bad for your teeth, but the growth of cocoa beans could help fill up a wallet. Chocolate is used all over the world, making this a unique and popular soft commodity to invest in. Not only will you have a piece of the chocolate pie, but each savory bite is just helping increase the amount of profits for your investment.

A majority of chocolate is grown in countries like West Africa or Asia. The food has been popular for decades and it's more of a safe investment than other crops.

Corn

Corn and other vegetables are commonly traded on the soft commodities market. When you consider investing in the small yellow vegetable, it's a good idea to consider the other uses of corn. More than just an edible food, corn and corn husks are actually used for producing a fuel known as ethanol. This means that when investing in a crop like corn, you have to consider the rise and fall of oil prices to help factor in the demand.

Honey

The bees may be working hard to produce the honey, but a small investment can help reap all the rewards of the sticky, sweet treat. When investing in honey, the product can be used multiple ways. On the consumer side, jars and bottles of honey can be sold directly at grocers and stores. Fast food chains may purchase bulk orders of honey for small sauce packets to serve with meals like chicken.

Your investment in honey will also go towards the mass purchase of honey. This is typically purchased by food producing companies who use honey in a variety of products like cereals and desserts, and as a replacement for high-fructose corn syrup.

Rapeseed

Rapeseed is produced all across the globe, but it is little known compared to other soft commodities like wheat and rice. In the United States, one of the more common names for a variety of rapeseed is canola oil. The plant is pressurized into an oil and sold directly as oil for use in a variety of cooking and baking products. Other than being used as a cooking oil, the plant is used directly as a garnish, or is turned into a meal feed for farm animals like chickens and pigs.

Like corn, rapeseed is also used as a fuel, and is commonly found in a lot of bio-diesel fuels. This means that instead of tracking oil prices, you should track bio-diesel prices to follow the various trends.

Consult with a broker from a company like SJB Futures, LLC about investing into these crops. They can help you process transactions and understand how the whole investment process works.