I just bought 40 acres in ID, zone6. For the past somany decades, it has been a tim hay field. The farmer who planted it used all sorts of chemicals. It is a large rolling hill with a small pond in the NW corner.
(Basically a square plot)
The well is up at the top of the hill, only 3 GPM. We are putting in a large cisterne
(buried) and our house is on the south slope, an earth bermed house with the south face out and the rest buried under 2.5ft dirt.
Our plans are to raise a few cattle (3 or 4), pigs, a flock of chickens and some ducks. I am also interested in putting in a fruit orchard (trois) and hoping to do silvopasture with the animals. The main question is how to best help the land to recover from all the previous practices. Where do I start?