Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Finding Land:
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What Do You Need?
Many backyard farmers are adopting a homesteading mind-set of leaving the city and finding a
little bit of land to call their own. The thinking is that they can move to the country and live off
the land, enjoying an idyllic country lifestyle. The truth is not quite that simple.
When you're moving with the idea of self-sufficiency, the focus becomes the land. Not the house.
Not the granite counters or refurbished hardwood floors. The land and its usability. After all, it's
a lot easier to replace the countertops than it is to change the basic composition of your soil. Or
make the rainfall average increase an additional 5 inches per year.
In this chapter, I examine the things to watch for if you are planning to move locations with a
backyard farming mind-set. Chapter 3 discusses how to adapt where you are currently living to a
more self-sufficient system without having to move. It's entirely possible that you start where you
are, making the most of what you currently have, and later decide to move to an area with more
land. It's precisely what we've done in our family and it worked for us.
Purchasing Undeveloped Land
Having trouble finding the perfect spot for your family? Sometimes it's easier, or more thrilling,
to just start from scratch. Purchasing land and then building gives you the ability to have a more
Earth-friendly home. It also means you can make it the way you want it instead of adapting what
someone else has put together.
My husband Sidney and I considered doing this. His father has 40 acres of completely undeveloped
land that we considered building on. I call it Wilderness Hill. It's more than a half mile from the
nearest road and would have been starting from scratch at the most extreme example. I will share
more of what we learned in this chapter so you'll know what to watch out for.
Location and Cost
The average cost of an acre of farmland in the United States in 2011 was $2,400. But that's the
average and most areas have a range. Having glanced through a real estate magazine recently,
I noticed two different 1-acre lots for sale. One was for sale for $8,000. One was listed at $900.
Why the difference? Location!
