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Well, the OP apparently walked off in a snit a long time ago. but for anyone else with drams of Five Acres and Opportunty, a guide for wannabee gentle(wo)men farmers from a very long time ago, I sincerely hope the OP has/had friends who know the area where she settles, and a good knowedge of the demands of day-to-day farming, Start out small -- five acres, ten at most, and don't even think of livestock, paricularly a dairy cow, until you have a better picture of what things are really like. You can almost always rent farmland out for enough to pay the property taxes.
This is NOT a case of Ma and Pa Kettle on the Farm; you can lose a lot of dreams, and a fair amount of your life's savings, in a relatively short time.
I met somebody just last month in that situation in Minnesota. An artistic liberal couple from Minneapolis had purchased a run down farm house on some 30 acres and had been there about 2 years. They were over it and done, underwater on costs, and not getting along. She wanted to move back to Minneapolis immediately, he wanted to sell the place first. No dairy cows, but goats, rabbits (a lot of them) and chickens he needed to sell.
The dream of the self sustaining farm where they could paint (him) and sculpt (her) while feeding themselves and their young son turned out to be too much work without enough return.
I met somebody just last month in that situation in Minnesota. An artistic liberal couple from Minneapolis had purchased a run down farm house on some 30 acres and had been there about 2 years. They were over it and done, underwater on costs, and not getting along. She wanted to move back to Minneapolis immediately, he wanted to sell the place first. No dairy cows, but goats, rabbits (a lot of them) and chickens he needed to sell.
The dream of the self sustaining farm where they could paint (him) and sculpt (her) while feeding themselves and their young son turned out to be too much work without enough return.
Louis Bromfield also had this dream, and with the earnings from his novels, he bought 3 rundown farms in Richland county, Ohio. By the 1950s, Louis began to realize that a general farm providing most of a family's foods was no longer profitable. His farm was never profitable, and after he died, his children could not afford to continue to run it. It was eventually donated to the State of Ohio. The state continued to run it as a farm for a while, but eventually laid off the farm manager and started to replace the pastures with trees (News bulletin: there is no shortage of trees in Ohio).
I met somebody just last month in that situation in Minnesota. An artistic liberal couple from Minneapolis had purchased a run down farm house on some 30 acres and had been there about 2 years. They were over it and done, underwater on costs, and not getting along. She wanted to move back to Minneapolis immediately, he wanted to sell the place first. No dairy cows, but goats, rabbits (a lot of them) and chickens he needed to sell.
The dream of the self sustaining farm where they could paint (him) and sculpt (her) while feeding themselves and their young son turned out to be too much work without enough return.
How many similar tales of unrealistic dreams turned out like that?
Just off the top of my head, I know two right near my home. One was going to sell a few greens for which he said he had lined up (verbally and informally, of course) local customers, once he actually built the structure and grew the plants. That was after the first project, which died out within a few weeks because he stopped watering. It was only a small area to water! So Project 2 might or might not happen; the first step in making it real has not been done yet. Meanwhile, he started working on Project 3, which has been a flop. I wonder what other poorly-planned projects are being hatched. Seems like he gave up very soon on the first two, and they are better prospects than the third. But he’ll probably continue living there regardless, so no real loss.
The other couple would not surprise me if they moved out. They’ve lived there less than 2 years, after a lengthy and expensive land purchase and home build. The veggie gardens they were so excited about seem to have been left to die out, and the weed eradication efforts apparently were given up on as too much work, also only a few months after discovering how much work was required. I remember hearing the complaints and thinking, “Just wait—that kind of work never goes away!†(Every property owner here has to deal with it.)
There was also a young couple in another part of the county who bought a farm with big dreams of organic farming. Their blog reflected their surprise at how much work there was to do, and they also then had a baby on top of all that. However, although they had to scale down some things, I think they are still farming and catering. Either that, or someone else bought the place and took over. They had a little food truck and then, temporarily, a tiny eatery that made some really good food, especially homemade ice cream. I hope they are still at it.
Would appreciate recommendations on rural areas with affordable farms/land. I am looking for 50-100 acres that I can farm on. Pastures for grazing and haying, water source, ideally wooded area as well. Prefer no zoning. Currently in southern New England. Expensive, no farm land left, restrictive zoning. Would like to have more privacy, a little warmer temp, area large enough to quarantine sick animals, and neighbors far enough away that we can be civil but people stay out of my business, don't poach on my land or complain to authorities about how I operate. I was all set to move to the Knoxville, TN area but dont feel I would be welcome now due to being left of center, politically. I am a single female and don't want to be where I dont fit in or have to worry about nonsense. While i want my property to be set apart, i do plan on becoming active in church and community.
Are there any left-leaning pockets in rural America south of New England? Thinking I'm going to probably have to suck it up and go north to MA, VT, NH, maybe ME or even Canada.
Not sure OP's budget, but 50-100 acres in the KNoxville area would not be cheap. I have to also wonder if she ever actually visited Knoxville, because after electricity and flush toilets, we do actually have zoning regulations (both City and County ((two separate governments)).
While TN is a Red state, with lots of Red leaning elected officials, its still a pretty much live and let live community, where unless you have a Trump2028 poster,or a Trump is an idiot poster in your front yard, no one is likely going to know or care where you stand.
Since she hasn't been back, I'm guessing she got bored and left.
Not sure OP's budget, but 50-100 acres in the KNoxville area would not be cheap. I have to also wonder if she ever actually visited Knoxville, because after electricity and flush toilets, we do actually have zoning regulations (both City and County ((two separate governments)).
While TN is a Red state, with lots of Red leaning elected officials, its still a pretty much live and let live community, where unless you have a Trump2028 poster,or a Trump is an idiot poster in your front yard, no one is likely going to know or care where you stand.
Since she hasn't been back, I'm guessing she got bored and left.
We paid $35k a piece for two adjacent parcels. One parcel is 45 acres and river frontage. The second parcel is 105 acres. Both parcels are dense woodlot.
Whether the area is considered Conservative or Liberal is a debate, we see both. but when population density is under 10 people per square mile I do not think it really matters much.
If your nearest neighbor is a mile away, who cares how he votes?
I was commenting on the OP's comment about Knoxville. Unless you bought your property in KNoxville, those prices have no bearing on my comment.
I have no doubt there are large farm land for sale very cheap. I do have doubts about cheap farmland in Knoxville.
I was commenting on the OP's comment about Knoxville. Unless you bought your property in KNoxville, those prices have no bearing on my comment.
I have no doubt there are large farm land for sale very cheap. I do have doubts about cheap farmland in Knoxville.
And here I was trying to stay on-topic in a thread about 'Liberal-leaning rural areas with available farms/land?'
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