Do people still LEASE small cattle ranches/farms?

[Philip T]

For what either you or I are describing, I would recommend to stay East of I-35 - that highway connects from Dallas/Fort Worth, down to Austin, to San Antonio, and down to the border. That leaves you somewhat towards the Gulf Coast. But you want to stay inland from the Coast about 50 Miles or more, as well -- due to Hurricanes and weather.

This is kind of an Elevation thing, but that is tied to Water. While West of I-35 there is water, rivers, and springs, they become at risk due to heavy use and period dry times. When you start at the Gulf Coast (sea level, duh, huh? ) and head West and upland, things get drier and higher the further you go.

Also agree on the not-to-deep rural if you want a value growth. While the general population trend in Texas is up, the rural areas have been tending to de-populate for some decades, now. The safe growth areas are within about a 50 Mile band around San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Reasonable safe growth are: Tyler, Waco, Corpus Christi, Longview. Might have missed some in there, but that is pretty much the pattern.

[RobertFisher]

Originally Posted by Philip T

For what either you or I are describing, I would recommend to stay East of I-35 - that highway connects from Dallas/Fort Worth, down to Austin, to San Antonio, and down to the border. That leaves you somewhat towards the Gulf Coast. But you want to stay inland from the Coast about 50 Miles or more, as well -- due to Hurricanes and weather.

This is kind of an Elevation thing, but that is tied to Water. While West of I-35 there is water, rivers, and springs, they become at risk due to heavy use and period dry times. When you start at the Gulf Coast (sea level, duh, huh? ) and head West and upland, things get drier and higher the further you go.

Also agree on the not-to-deep rural if you want a value growth. While the general population trend in Texas is up, the rural areas have been tending to de-populate for some decades, now. The safe growth areas are within about a 50 Mile band around San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Reasonable safe growth are: Tyler, Waco, Corpus Christi, Longview. Might have missed some in there, but that is pretty much the pattern.

What is your agri plan and what is the ideal setup for you?

[Philip T]

Non-commodity veggies and crops.

Organic, vegan, select markets, renewable energy driven.

Creates a market preference demand, along with low costs.

Combination of Agri-Voltaics and robotics.

[jackalope48]

My friend who's family owns a 40k acre ranch run a bona fide ranching business where they lease other people's land around them to have a larger herd. In any given area there is going to be someone in some sort of business of running an operation on others land for a nominal amount. Usually on small acreage the rent is almost free because the operation is not terribly profitable and the landowner get's their return in the form of preserving the ag exemption on property taxes.

I am also aware of cases where if there is a house a landowner will work out a deal with a couple to live on the property, do the maintenance, and run some sort of ag operation. Depending on the circumstances (like whether there is a chance of the ag operation being profitable and how much work maintenance is) they can either be paid staff with free housing factoring into their pay, they pay a little rent to the property owner, or it's live here for "free" with some responsibilities. I had a friend whose parents lived for free on a ranch for twenty years after they retired in exchange for looking after the place.

You might reach out to the ag extension or local farm/ranch suppliers in the area where your looking to find people.