Where to buy farm land in TN??? (Knoxville, Shelbyville: homes, school)

[pacalady]

Hello from Idaho!!
We are alpaca breeders looking for acreage in TN. We've been to Knoxville, but the dirt is red with clay ..... we need to be able to raise grass hay for winter months, and have the same during the summer for our alpacas. Can anyone give us some ideas as to where to look that might have some 'scenery' (we are on the edge of the Rocky Mountains), good soils, trees for shade, and decent land prices. We need a modest house, at least an outbuilding/barn and some fencing on 40 acres or more.

We have family (son's family) in Knoxville, so it would be really nice to be within 2-3 hours drive of them. Would also like to be able to commute to a town with 15K population or more for part time work.... I am an accountant/small business management consultant.....my husband runs the farm. We also need to be somewhat close to a major airport (1-2 hours).

Here's the REAL need: a good veterinary teaching school, or camelid trained vet! I know it's a tough order..... but will sure appreciate any thoughts!

PacaLady

[alleycat]

I would probably suggest looking south of Nashville over to East Tennessee (east of I-65; south of I-24; or starting slightly north of I-24 and from there south). Some parts of that area are "horse country". You'd just want to stay within your two-hour drive to either the Nashville or Knoxville airport. Some places to start: Smithville, Sparta, maybe Crossville, Shelbyville (a bit further to Knoxville), McMinnville, Woodbury, Monterey, Manchester.

We do have clay soils here in Tennessee. I'm not that familiar with the soils of East Tennessee but around Middle Tennessee the red clay soils just shows up in pockets here and there. In any event, there is plenty of grass and trees in Tennessee.

I've heard of a few people who raise llamas and alpacas around here (they put them on segment on TV). If you could get in touch with them, they might be able to suggest a vet. I'm not sure how highly the UT vet school is rated, but Auburn University has a great vet school and they're only four hours away from the area I mentioned above.

The land in most of Middle is rolling hills to more rugged land in parts of the area, while East Tennessee has the mountains. In between there are valleys and lowlands. Of course, the Smokeys aren't the Rockies (the Appalachian Mountains are much older), so there won't be the "grand peaks" of the Rockies, still, they are beautiful mountains with plenty of scenic vistas. And I think you've find many parts of Middle Tennessee are scenic as well. As several of us have mentioned on this forum, the Fall Creek Falls State Park near Spencer is one of the most beautiful areas around. There are also numerous lakes and recreational areas in the area I mentioned.

[pacalady]

Thank you Alleycat! Great information. I'll see what I can find on the internet for the places you mentioned! We're planning a trip in July or first of August to find the 'perfect farm'!! I can hardly wait!! PacaLady

[alleycat]

You can get a lot of city specific information right here on the City-Data site. Just go to the City-Data homepage and key-in the city.

[pacalady]

Yes, I love this website. Really concise and informative. Thanks again! I'll let you know what I find!! Pacalady

[alleycat]

Oops. I meant I-40, rather than I-24, in my original post.

The area east of I-65, and south of I-40, or from somewhat north of I-40 and then south from there.

[pacalady]

Thanks Alleycat ... I did a search of just about everywhere in TN, and didn't come up with much yet. It just gives me better info so that I can decide a route to drive when we make our trip back there. We still have our hopes on KY though ...... at the same time, we're keeping our options open.
Pacalady

[alleycat]

What are you not finding?

I might have thought someplace around Smithville could work for you.

And I wouldn't scratch East Tennessee off your list offhand. I know you said there was red clay someplace you looked, but I don't think that's typical for the whole region. The airport is better in Nashville, but you can fly out of Knoxville. I'm sure there is lots of places in East Tennessee where you could raise alpacas.

[pacalady]

I haven't scratched it off my list yet!! I'm still hunting. I just meant that in my initial search for farms to buy that met our criteria I didn't come up with anything suitable.... I didn't have time to try all the searches I like to use, but get to them as I have time. I try LandandFarm, HomesandLand, ReMax, and another one from vast.com that pulls a bunch of stuff from the FSBO sites too. Thanks again!

[alleycat]

I just did a quick Google search. Apparently these are alpaca breeders all over the state. There's even one in Nashville!