# too much land



## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

I am looking for a place and found one i really like, but it comes with 125 acres which I don't know how to do... How does one manage land they don't need? Hay growing lease? cattle grazing lease? It's a bit older, not very fancy, but really really like it anyhow...


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## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

I think I would like to have that problem! Just imagine all the things you could do. If you really like the place, go for it. Then spend the rest of your days figuring out one patch at a time. And yes, if part of it could be used for hay, or other critter food, I would definitely go for it. My Dad used to have someone come in and cut the hay for him, he got half and they got half. Everybody was happy! I wish you the best of luck, that sounds just wonderful!


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2008)

MisFitFarm said:


> I think I would like to have that problem!


Me too!!!

If nothing else, I would lease part of it out.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Wow, that would be a great problem to have.
Angie


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## fixer1958 (Dec 12, 2005)

Explore every inch of it.
When you are done, do it again.


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## Dutchie (Mar 14, 2003)

Go for it! There is no such thing as too much land.


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## TNHMSTDR (Mar 10, 2008)

I'll gladly accept however many acres of this land you wish to donate! My family leases out a good portion of our farm in NW Alabama for cattle and it works out well. The guy leasing the land even put in a new section of fence. Check the local wanted ads and see if anyone is looking for land to lease.


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## Jack T. (Feb 11, 2008)

You can never have too much land. . .well, until you can't pay the taxes on it I guess.

Get all you can, don't sell. They're not making any more of it and if you don't own it somebody is likely to move in a trailer park on it.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2008)

TNHMSTDR said:


> I'll gladly accept however many acres of this land you wish to donate!


LOL I'll take a few acres of it if he'll give it to me! I'd have to pitch a tent, though.


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## NEOhioSmiths (Sep 28, 2007)

There is absolutely no such thing as too much land - get it and figure out the rest later!


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

there absolutely is a thing as owning too much land. i would not buy it if it is too much for you to manage. 125 acres is too much in my opinion.

Ask the folks saying, "go for it," if they own any sizable acreage. It is naive to think you can work out the details later. You need a plan to manage that much land. Please give it careful consideration. It is your responsibility to manage the land to the best of your ability.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

We bought 120 many years ago, and ended up renting 40 acres of cropland to a responsible neighboring farmer. It is hard to say what you should do--depends on neighbors, your financial situation, your farm experience, your expectations, what all of the land is like, etc.


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

I would think with the way hay prices are you could probably find someone who would pay you to hay the fields or plant corn or some other crop. If worse came to worse you could sell some of it too. I would buy it in a heart beat!


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

goatsareus said:


> there absolutely is a thing as owning too much land. i would not buy it if it is too much for you to manage. 125 acres is too much in my opinion.
> 
> Ask the folks saying, "go for it," if they own any sizable acreage. It is naive to think you can work out the details later. You need a plan to manage that much land. Please give it careful consideration. It is your responsibility to manage the land to the best of your ability.



I do not come from an ag family. When i was in college I worked at the field crops division of the ag department of the college I attended. my job was to grease the equipment in the mornings, drive tractors and disc fields, chop alfalfa into wagons to be fed out later that day to the dairy herd, go up in the silos and level the load as it was coming out, seed occasionally, spread manure in the fields, stuff like that. I worked there about 20 hours a week for two years and loved it. However, that, does not a farmer make. I know enough to know what it takes to chop ten acres of alfalfa, much less ten times ten. My experience with cows was sometimes offloading the alfalfa chop when the dairy guys were short handed, so for me to "buy a bunch of cows and let them mow it" uhhhh... not at the present time would I do that to a bunch of cows... I mean make them be my learning curve... I would rather learn slow and kill fewer cows the wrong way. My expectation for the place- I expect to pay cash for it, so the good news is it doesn't have to support a mortgage payment. I would like to take a handful of paint and quarter horses out there, some chickens, some dogs (poodles) keep my day job, and have cheap horse upkeep and room for them to stretch their legs and have a few foals. I don't have great big aspirations of the huge hacienda, mucho dinero, just to do stuff I think i could do just as well on about a quarter of that acreage. but i like this place. I guess just cuz i like it doesn't mean i have to "get serious" with it... Thanks goatsrus. I will take your counsel seriously. I would hate to be the person that let a working ranch go to seed.


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## NEOhioSmiths (Sep 28, 2007)

Ask the folks saying, "go for it," if they own any sizable acreage. It is naive to think you can work out the details later.

You are absolutely correct - we only have a couple of acres. However, I still think if you have the money to pay cash and it's a desireable place then get it. I think land is a great investment and, at least where I live, the prices continue to rise. I still maintain it's better to go ahead and get it while you can, even if you don't have all the details worked out.


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## Brisket (Sep 29, 2007)

I own only 12 acres now and when we move we plan on getting anywhere between 40 and a hundred plus, in tennesse. I will start small and build a herd over the years. I am 48 years old and my wife is 37, we have two children and will have a third and the oldest one wont be three, but if we did not move buy more land and do the things that we want to do we would regreat it the rest of our lives. The worst thing that can happen is that one can lose a little money for a little time. the best is that we will have a good inheritance to leave our children when we are worm dirt. Follow your heart and buy all the details will come automatically. its amazing how things come together when you do the things that you know that you should do. to walk on so much land is an awosome thing, me and my wife passed up buying a couple of hundred of acres but are glad because the house was a dump, we are now looking for that last move just as you are. May God be with you.

may your horses be happy may your belly be filled and may you enjoy this new land


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## CountryHaven (Jul 17, 2005)

Ditto all that said -- no such thing as too much land. If you can afford it go for it! The picture is BEAUTIFUL.


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

We started farming (cattle/goats/hay/timber) 5 years ago when we purchased 123 acres. At the time it felt HUGE, but now I'm leasing 20 acres next door and am keeping my eyes out for more land to tend nearby. I manage it all myself (with help from dad) with only one tractor, and where I once thought I had plenty, now find myself saying "if only I had another 20 acres, I could do ...." Get it if you can afford it, as finding large tracts of land is only gonna get harder.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I'd think it would be worth it if you can afford it and like it, for no other reason than to make sure it won't be a subdivision any time soon.

Angie


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## KarenCCC (Jul 27, 2004)

if I may.... Not having a mortgage is a big plus..how about annual taxes? Here in Central NY, 125 acres would have an annual tax bill starting at $5,000, not including the value of a home and other out- buildings. An annual Agriculture tax excemption is available, but the state makes sure that it benefits big farms, not small family owned farms. Has anyone leased the property for ag use before? Are they now? Would they want to continue? Do you have to keep the property clear of brush for fire reasons? Does your state have a soil or conservation group to work with? Can you or do you plan to plant some acreage with trees? I find my former dairy farm (100 acres) hard to keep up. If I was raising beef or many horses it would be different. But I lease the tillable land to a neighboring farm. I find it cheaper to buy hay then to maintain my own equipment and spend time on haying. I have let my hillside grow up to brush and trees (which upsets the neighboring farmers) but that land can't be farmed and I find more value in the wild berries and timber then running beef cattle on it. I always have hunters knocking on my door who want to hunt, but nobody offers to help pay my tax bill or help with fencing. I find a pony to be the best lawnmower! Your horses should keep quite a bit of land clear, although you will still have to brush-hog and clean pastures. Fencing, fencing! Spend on the best! Yes, I agree with goatsrus to think carefully about managing that much land, it will be a full time job. But 125 acres can be a lot of privacy, and alot can be said for that too. Good Luck!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

This may come as a shock...

but having land doesn't mean you have to manage all of it....

I have land that I might not see but every couple of years... the wildlife likes it thataway...

Yes, if you only have an acre or two, if you want to do anything, you're going to have to intensively manage it, to keep from bumping one project into another. With a couple hundred, you can do everything you want, and let some of it just 'be'.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

jeez, 125 acres would be adream come true for me. sigh...


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## Old_Trapper (Mar 17, 2008)

Cross fence 100 acres of grassland (pasture) insuring you have a water source for each 25 acre parcel. A water tank in the center would do, or you could put one in each parcel. Then seed the pasture to a good grass mixture with 1/4 of it a legume like alfalfa.

Then buy 100, or so, 200 to 300 pound calves. Put them in one parcel till they eat the grass down, then move them to another. After they graze that one down you move them on to another, and by then the first plot should be grown up again, and you buy another 100 head. Then you move the first group into the last parcel, and by then the second should be ready to move to the second parcel. After the first group has grazed down the last parcel you truck them to an auction.

Continue this rotation practice until the grass quits growing for the winter.

Doing this the calves will gain about 200 pounds, or more, and you can make about 25,000 or better a year. :happy:


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

This particular place is already established bermuda pasture, with three "tanks" which look like ponds to me, already stocked with catfish. I am not sure about the cross fencing, but there seems to be some in place. how much do 200 lb calves go for?
I have been a confirmed bachelorette my whole life, but I'm thinking this ranch would be more of a "couple's project" to tackle... I'm thinking if I want to stay sane and single I ought to look for a smaller place. Thanks all for all the input. Each and every post was appreciated.


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## luvrulz (Feb 3, 2005)

First of all - they aren't making any more land. Even if you buy it (is it in Calif?) and end up selling it a few years down the road - you won't loss money on it probably. If you feel that you'd need some assistance in working this land, find a couple interns that will exchange work in place of a roof over their head. People here do that all the time! You do the things you do know about, and teach the interns and you can learn about other things as you have time or the inclination. 

The good thing about farming is that you can learn as you go. We started with a couple chickens, one cow, one calf (mother/son,) a couple guineas, 30 blueberry bushes, and so on. You get better as you learn more and you can stop doing things you don't like to do. 

I wouldn't trade this life for any other - and I can tell you what a calf would cost here - but it would cost more there - 

Are you 125 acres in southern Calif? How much is it going for an acre? If you can afford to do it mortgage free - go for it! It would be a winning opportunity...IMO! And the catfish might be your first money crop! LOL


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## Old_Trapper (Mar 17, 2008)

Well, you could harvest the catfish too, lol

As for the calves, and good 200 pound steer would run you about 250 in todays market. A steer would put on about 2 top 2 1/2 pounds per day if you add some alfalfa to the Bremuda grass, and maybe some good bluegrass in the mixture. One of the reasons you want to keep the mixture to 1/4 alfalfa is because green alfalfa will cause the calves to bloat if it is the primary grass. They won't bloat with this mixture.

By the time they get to the fourth section they would weigh about 450 lbs which would give you 500 to 600 dollars return.

The fencing needs to be as such so you have 4 25 acre parcels.

This method was developed in Southern Cal by UC in the late 70's.

My first degree was in dairy/livestock management. You could also consider doing sheep which if done right can make you a lot of money too. The trick with sheep is to breed them later in the year so that they will drop their lambs in April, or May. Then they are ready for the November market which is when the highest demand for lamb occurs. And if the preparation for breeding, like "flushing", is done properly you can even get a 200% lamb crop.

Another option would be to graze feeder pigs. It cuts the feed bill by 1/3, and gives you a nice lean organic grown hog.

There are many options open for you that are not so labor intensive. Others can keep the feed bunks full, and haul off the end product.


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

Well, here's my take on it, for what it's worth. If the property appeals to you, buy it. 

You do NOT have to "manage" anything more than you care to. I would just make sure the fencing was in decent shape and that's it. You cannot know what you might end up doing there, until you live on it. 

You may end up with an orchard, or grapes. You might decide to try your hand at a U pick of some sort-berries, vegetables. You might decide to go the livestock route too, who knows. 

All of these things can be done in concert with a few horses, just on different scales. Unless you have a compelling reason to earn income the very first year, I would buy it, sit tight, and wait until the inspiration leads you to a course. Once you have the idea, then you do the homework. I am pretty sure that neighbors will have thoughts about what is successful in that climate, and what is not. (For example, perhaps the pastures will only support grazing half the number of calves cited above?) 

It looks lovely to me, and I am envious like many here. I am on just five acres of densely wooded, fairly crappy soils, and would adore a large acreage. However, since every inch has to be worked to be usable, I can safely tell you that you do not have worry yourself sick "managing" all those square inches. The land will survive without human intervention, really  It takes as much time and attention as you choose to give it, or none at all. I know this goes against the grain here a little bit, but if you own it, it's not going to run off to find a new caretaker on you, lol 

I guess what I am trying to say, not very eloquently is this: It is not necessary to have a "plan" from the beginning. Allow the land to suggest to you what should be done. Sometimes that is nothing at all. 

You are fortunate to have the opportunity, best of luck to you!


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

GO FOR IT! We own 96 acres and are looking to buy the 30 acres on our south side. Even with health problems, we haven't had a problem managing it. We put 33 acres into a wetlands reclaimation project and planted it in hardwoods. Thirteen acres were fenced for our five horses and we are slowly working on fencing in some more. We have about 10-15 acres in woodlands and manage that by cutting downed trees for firewood. The remaining acreage (that isn't my garden and the yard) is hay fields that a local dairyman cuts in round bales. In exchange we get several round bales for the horses and we don't have to bush hog!

BTW, we were only looking for 30-40 acres when we found this place. Everyone was freaked about us buying so much property as they thought we were getting in over our heads. We're doing just fine!


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