Hello All,
This is my first post ever on here. I have followed the forums for several years now and have learned a ton.
We are a young family with kids that decided a couple of years ago to leave the corporate world and pursue a path of
permaculture oriented holistic farming. This decision was gradually reached as we transitioned from living in the
city while in school, to homesteading in the country, and finally wanting to pursue food production for ourselves and others full time, both as a means of providing for ourselves, and to make our 'job' be providing real food to others who appreciate it while doing something we enjoy and can include the whole family in.
We have spent time since leaving the corporate world working for a profitable holistically managed ranch and have gotten to not only see how the ranch is run and growing our own skills, but have learned a lot about the business side of the operation as well. We are looking into the option of branching out on our own but the prospect of buying
enough land to do what we want is daunting. Renting would be feasible but has drawbacks as well.
We thought that it might be worth while to poke around and see if there would be someone who currently has a farm that would like to transition the property to a like minded family in the future that would ensure that the land was cared for and loved for years down the road. We are not asking for a handout. When I say transition, I mean working out a deal that would be mutually beneficial to both parties. This could take several forms. It could be a lease to own situation, a combination of lease to own while factoring in our contributions to the upkeep and growth of the land, allowing us to pay of the farm with a portion of our profits from marketing the products, etc. The possibilities are endless.....it would just depend on the individual situation.
Us looking for this type of arrangement might seem out of the ordinary, but I know that there are aging farmers out there who hate the thought of their farm being doused with chemicals when they pass on, or being split up for a housing development. At the same time it is hard for young families such as ourselves to get a start. It might be a long shot but if we could find the right fit it seems like there
should be a mutually beneficial way to pass these farms on to eager young farmers who are willing to commit to truly caring for the land just as the owners do.
Ideally we are looking in the Midwest, but if the right situation came up would consider other locations as well. We are searching for something in the 100-300 acre range and have strong interest in pasture raised animals (
beef, sheep, pig, poultry, raw
dairy, etc). We are avid readers and are constantly learning new things and growing in our knowledge. We have
experience on a working ranch doing these same types of enterprises and have livestock of our own (200+ Katahdin Sheep), and the experience and ability to start up additional enterprises. We are hard diligent workers (our parents raised us right), do not smoke, do not drink, are debt free (thanks to good money handling skills passed down from our parents), and are laid back and easygoing and get along well with just about anyone. We garden and can, dehydrate, ferment, and freeze anything and everything we can so that we live off the land as much as possible rather then rely on the supermarket. We are totally against any pesticides or herbicides and are committed to building the soil through management and working with nature as much as possible.
If you are in a situation where you would consider an arrangement such as this, or if you know of someone who has expressed interest, or you think would be interested, in this type of arrangement, then please send me a message with your email and we can correspond through email.
I would respectfully ask that any replies stay on topic. If you think we are nuts then carry on and keep your opinion to yourself. I have heard of people looking to pass on their farm in just this type of manner both from owners themselves, and second hand through others. This does not mean that we will ever find the perfect fit, but it is worth putting out there and seeing if something might turn up.
Thanks!
P.S. If you think another forum would be a better fit for this please let me know. This one seemed to be the best fit.
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