WTB: Land to Tend, With Water

We want to buy our own space, and develop a teaching center - a commercial/licensed teaching kitchen, a teaching/experimental garden, and offer various food and education events and programs. We are fairly open to the exact parameters, and intend on taking our time to learn the needs and wants of the land prior to implementing our will. We are shopping for 1 - 50 acres of undeveloped or minimally developed land, or land in need of restoration. Our number 1 desire/requirement is access to adequate/clean water for irrigation/small animals.

Through this post I would like to introduce ourselves (My wife, Sarah, and me, Aaron) and our small business, Star Mountain Kitchen, a Private and Personal Chef Service, currently in Big Sky and Bozeman, Montana. We are a chef team of two - myself, Aaron, and my wife/partner, Sarah. We are both passionate about offering unique culinary experiences and we go through extensive efforts to showcase the freshest local ingredients the region provides (SW Montana). We are also advocates and strong supporters of our local food systems, and we take pride in establishing meaningful and long-lasting relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and family-owned businesses - they are the sources and stories behind our food. In addition, we love to grow our own organic fruits and vegetables.

This is a general post because it helps to let others know what we are looking for in the case that they have or know the right opportunity. We would be open to up ~$500k, but obviously to lower the better. We aren't tied to any specific location, but would like to be close to some combination or small town locals/tourists. Currently we are the Gallatin Valley in SW Montana, and we love it here but land prices have run away. We would be interested in anything from the Rockies west (keeping some proximity to family). So far we love it here along the Gallatin River. We are VERY drawn to Taos, NM and surrounding areas. We would consider Northern California/Oregon/Utah/Nevada/Arizona/Colorado.

Our dream is to find an ideal location to purchase agricultural land and to build an ecology center where people can come to learn and share the passion we have for vibrant food and healthy living! This is why I was inquiring about land opportunities, we would also love to connect with a realtor who knows/specializes in raw land acquisition. Please let us know if you have any guidance or suggestions, Thanks!

Hello Aaron and Sarah, I've never posted on this website, although I read it occasionally --  well here goes.  You may be interested in my place,  in the far northeast corner of California (in sight of both Nevada and Oregon).  I  have been ever so slowly planning to move back to remaining family 350 miles away. I've lived here about 7 years.
 
My place is 40 acres, up against 1,000s of acres of BLM/Nat'l forest. It's about 4900 ft elevation, USDA Zone 5.  
  I paid $270,000 for it, before I did upgrades, and would sell it for that. Not interested in profit. I would also sell my tractor, a Kubota L5201 with 72 hours, for $15,000.

I wanted to make a food forest and all sorts of other permaculture things, but as a (baby boomer) woman alone, it has not been easy. There are a number of mature apricot, apple and pear trees on a fenced acre or so, which I terraced.  There's a seasonal stream & waterfall, a spring that keeps the waterfall trickling all year.  I put a smallish pond at the top of the terraced incline, and a local installed a solar pump to run water from the spring area to the pond, thence into ABS to irrigate the terracing, with an outlet pipe to the creek.  I planted a bunch more trees and bushes. Planted a bunch of Gravensteins with pollinators, also hazels, mulberries  and some natives.

The rest of my 40 acres would be called undeveloped/in need of restoration. Although it was planted decades ago, in rye and some other grass, I've never seen any. It's gone back to sagebrush, rabbit brush, juniper and mountain mahogany. I've found Indian paintbrush in the pastures and some alliums (edible tuber lilies), yarrow, nettle, etc. Around the turn of the last century, there were a lot of orchards, planted grasses (rye, oats, wheat), and vegetable gardening (watermelon). Gradually, over the last 70 years or so, the area became a place of cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, which may have changed aspects of the area for the worse.
 
  There are a lot of hot springs. My well, in fact, is a hot well (approx 120, but it takes a half hour to get very hot, and never seems to be that hot). Although this is high desert, technically part of the Great Basin, there is a lot of water here. Hidden.

  I live in the 3 bedroom/2 bath house here; there's a barn, a sauna house. I put in a hot tub & a pergola and a generator hooked into the local utility, which comes on automatically during a power outage (not many outages). The place is fenced and cross fenced, and could use a completed fence on one side, at the very top of the property, to delineate it from the BLM.

   You said you really like the Gallatin Valley, and who wouldn't love it? I was there about 15 years ago for a wedding; it was beautiful, and it looked pretty gentrified then; it must be worse now.

 It’s not gentrified yet here, but it’s inching that way. There was a rush of “refugees” who moved here during the Covid crisis; real estate prices went up, now of course, they’re static, like everywhere else, for what that info is worth.

 There is an active, large group of organic growers in this valley, all of whom use greenhouses and high tunnels and have excellent harvests. I was going to install a high tunnel or greenhouse, but the deaths of family members, along with the difficulties that came with the Covid epidemic, changed me somewhat. I haven't even thought of it for 2 years...
 
Links to locals of interest & edification:
https://modocharvest.org  ::   These are many of the organic growers in the area, and they have weekly CSA-type food pick-ups all year, as well as  farmer's markets in at least two towns through the summer and fall. There are background stories about each group on the website.  There is a couple, I think, who are trying to go back to growing wheat, as they did here 100 years ago. Leasing land. I think they're on this website.
 https://warnermtnweavers.com. This group does a lot with textiles, obviously, a store, some looms, spinning wheels, classes in town and in the field.

https://www.bidwellcanyonfarm.com ::  These people are on the Modoc Harvest website as well, but he's quite an active promoter, has a YouTube channel as well, I think.

https://uvehub.com :: These people have, I think, classes in ecological farming practices. I've seen their websites over the years, and ads for classes, but never met any of the people.

http://surprisevalleyhotsprings.com :: This is a developed hot springs hotel that's pretty nice.

http://www.modocheritagefoundation.org ::This group puts on the county fair (hasn't been doing too well), it seems to be largely the cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, but has been branching out, there's room for change.

https://the-cottage-at-winjes-farm.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pleasant, very rural B&B, run by an interesting couple.

https://whalens-pub.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pub with good food and a good atmosphere. (If you look at the photos, I'm playing the accordion...used to play with a band there)

Well, I’ve spent WAY more time than I planned to write this. I’ve noticed that many posts stay up for years and years, with sporadic responses. I’ll probably take this down in a week if I don’t hear from you (if I can figure out how!) Otherwise, if you are interested in learning more, I will send you oodles of pictures, etc. Good luck in your search.

R. Dunphy wrote:Hello Aaron and Sarah, I've never posted on this website, although I read it occasionally --  well here goes.  You may be interested in my place,  in the far northeast corner of California (in sight of both Nevada and Oregon).  I  have been ever so slowly planning to move back to remaining family 350 miles away. I've lived here about 7 years.
 
My place is 40 acres, up against 1,000s of acres of BLM/Nat'l forest. It's about 4900 ft elevation, USDA Zone 5.  
  I paid $270,000 for it, before I did upgrades, and would sell it for that. Not interested in profit. I would also sell my tractor, a Kubota L5201 with 72 hours, for $15,000.

I wanted to make a food forest and all sorts of other permaculture things, but as a (baby boomer) woman alone, it has not been easy. There are a number of mature apricot, apple and pear trees on a fenced acre or so, which I terraced.  There's a seasonal stream & waterfall, a spring that keeps the waterfall trickling all year.  I put a smallish pond at the top of the terraced incline, and a local installed a solar pump to run water from the spring area to the pond, thence into ABS to irrigate the terracing, with an outlet pipe to the creek.  I planted a bunch more trees and bushes. Planted a bunch of Gravensteins with pollinators, also hazels, mulberries  and some natives.

The rest of my 40 acres would be called undeveloped/in need of restoration. Although it was planted decades ago, in rye and some other grass, I've never seen any. It's gone back to sagebrush, rabbit brush, juniper and mountain mahogany. I've found Indian paintbrush in the pastures and some alliums (edible tuber lilies), yarrow, nettle, etc. Around the turn of the last century, there were a lot of orchards, planted grasses (rye, oats, wheat), and vegetable gardening (watermelon). Gradually, over the last 70 years or so, the area became a place of cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, which may have changed aspects of the area for the worse.
 
  There are a lot of hot springs. My well, in fact, is a hot well (approx 120, but it takes a half hour to get very hot, and never seems to be that hot). Although this is high desert, technically part of the Great Basin, there is a lot of water here. Hidden.

  I live in the 3 bedroom/2 bath house here; there's a barn, a sauna house. I put in a hot tub & a pergola and a generator hooked into the local utility, which comes on automatically during a power outage (not many outages). The place is fenced and cross fenced, and could use a completed fence on one side, at the very top of the property, to delineate it from the BLM.

   You said you really like the Gallatin Valley, and who wouldn't love it? I was there about 15 years ago for a wedding; it was beautiful, and it looked pretty gentrified then; it must be worse now.

 It’s not gentrified yet here, but it’s inching that way. There was a rush of “refugees” who moved here during the Covid crisis; real estate prices went up, now of course, they’re static, like everywhere else, for what that info is worth.

 There is an active, large group of organic growers in this valley, all of whom use greenhouses and high tunnels and have excellent harvests. I was going to install a high tunnel or greenhouse, but the deaths of family members, along with the difficulties that came with the Covid epidemic, changed me somewhat. I haven't even thought of it for 2 years...
 
Links to locals of interest & edification:
https://modocharvest.org  ::   These are many of the organic growers in the area, and they have weekly CSA-type food pick-ups all year, as well as  farmer's markets in at least two towns through the summer and fall. There are background stories about each group on the website.  There is a couple, I think, who are trying to go back to growing wheat, as they did here 100 years ago. Leasing land. I think they're on this website.
 https://warnermtnweavers.com. This group does a lot with textiles, obviously, a store, some looms, spinning wheels, classes in town and in the field.

https://www.bidwellcanyonfarm.com ::  These people are on the Modoc Harvest website as well, but he's quite an active promoter, has a YouTube channel as well, I think.

https://uvehub.com :: These people have, I think, classes in ecological farming practices. I've seen their websites over the years, and ads for classes, but never met any of the people.

http://surprisevalleyhotsprings.com :: This is a developed hot springs hotel that's pretty nice.

http://www.modocheritagefoundation.org ::This group puts on the county fair (hasn't been doing too well), it seems to be largely the cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, but has been branching out, there's room for change.

https://the-cottage-at-winjes-farm.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pleasant, very rural B&B, run by an interesting couple.

https://whalens-pub.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pub with good food and a good atmosphere. (If you look at the photos, I'm playing the accordion...used to play with a band there)

Well, I’ve spent WAY more time than I planned to write this. I’ve noticed that many posts stay up for years and years, with sporadic responses. I’ll probably take this down in a week if I don’t hear from you (if I can figure out how!) Otherwise, if you are interested in learning more, I will send you oodles of pictures, etc. Good luck in your search.

From the beginning of your post, I suspected that you were in the Surprise Valley. I love that area so much! That was my “shortcut” up through Nevada (from New Mexico), through your little corner of California, up into Lake County, Oregon.. where I spent a few years on and off..

A smart person (with money) looking for land would snatch this up in a heartbeat.. if they only knew! Close enough (and far enough!) from Alturas, CA and Lakeview, OR for convenience and markets, the Surprise Valley is a hidden gem, and probably the only part of California that I would even consider. Best of luck to you!

I am very grateful for your kind and detailed response. I sent a private message but feel free to contact me at starmountainkitchen@gmail.com and we can get some photos and discuss. We have a lot of family in California and great friends nearby.

Thanks and look forward to our connection.

Warm wishes,
Sarah and Aaron

R. Dunphy wrote:Hello Aaron and Sarah, I've never posted on this website, although I read it occasionally --  well here goes.  You may be interested in my place,  in the far northeast corner of California (in sight of both Nevada and Oregon).  I  have been ever so slowly planning to move back to remaining family 350 miles away. I've lived here about 7 years.
 
My place is 40 acres, up against 1,000s of acres of BLM/Nat'l forest. It's about 4900 ft elevation, USDA Zone 5.  
  I paid $270,000 for it, before I did upgrades, and would sell it for that. Not interested in profit. I would also sell my tractor, a Kubota L5201 with 72 hours, for $15,000.

I wanted to make a food forest and all sorts of other permaculture things, but as a (baby boomer) woman alone, it has not been easy. There are a number of mature apricot, apple and pear trees on a fenced acre or so, which I terraced.  There's a seasonal stream & waterfall, a spring that keeps the waterfall trickling all year.  I put a smallish pond at the top of the terraced incline, and a local installed a solar pump to run water from the spring area to the pond, thence into ABS to irrigate the terracing, with an outlet pipe to the creek.  I planted a bunch more trees and bushes. Planted a bunch of Gravensteins with pollinators, also hazels, mulberries  and some natives.

The rest of my 40 acres would be called undeveloped/in need of restoration. Although it was planted decades ago, in rye and some other grass, I've never seen any. It's gone back to sagebrush, rabbit brush, juniper and mountain mahogany. I've found Indian paintbrush in the pastures and some alliums (edible tuber lilies), yarrow, nettle, etc. Around the turn of the last century, there were a lot of orchards, planted grasses (rye, oats, wheat), and vegetable gardening (watermelon). Gradually, over the last 70 years or so, the area became a place of cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, which may have changed aspects of the area for the worse.
 
  There are a lot of hot springs. My well, in fact, is a hot well (approx 120, but it takes a half hour to get very hot, and never seems to be that hot). Although this is high desert, technically part of the Great Basin, there is a lot of water here. Hidden.

  I live in the 3 bedroom/2 bath house here; there's a barn, a sauna house. I put in a hot tub & a pergola and a generator hooked into the local utility, which comes on automatically during a power outage (not many outages). The place is fenced and cross fenced, and could use a completed fence on one side, at the very top of the property, to delineate it from the BLM.

   You said you really like the Gallatin Valley, and who wouldn't love it? I was there about 15 years ago for a wedding; it was beautiful, and it looked pretty gentrified then; it must be worse now.

 It’s not gentrified yet here, but it’s inching that way. There was a rush of “refugees” who moved here during the Covid crisis; real estate prices went up, now of course, they’re static, like everywhere else, for what that info is worth.

 There is an active, large group of organic growers in this valley, all of whom use greenhouses and high tunnels and have excellent harvests. I was going to install a high tunnel or greenhouse, but the deaths of family members, along with the difficulties that came with the Covid epidemic, changed me somewhat. I haven't even thought of it for 2 years...
 
Links to locals of interest & edification:
https://modocharvest.org  ::   These are many of the organic growers in the area, and they have weekly CSA-type food pick-ups all year, as well as  farmer's markets in at least two towns through the summer and fall. There are background stories about each group on the website.  There is a couple, I think, who are trying to go back to growing wheat, as they did here 100 years ago. Leasing land. I think they're on this website.
 https://warnermtnweavers.com. This group does a lot with textiles, obviously, a store, some looms, spinning wheels, classes in town and in the field.

https://www.bidwellcanyonfarm.com ::  These people are on the Modoc Harvest website as well, but he's quite an active promoter, has a YouTube channel as well, I think.

https://uvehub.com :: These people have, I think, classes in ecological farming practices. I've seen their websites over the years, and ads for classes, but never met any of the people.

http://surprisevalleyhotsprings.com :: This is a developed hot springs hotel that's pretty nice.

http://www.modocheritagefoundation.org ::This group puts on the county fair (hasn't been doing too well), it seems to be largely the cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers, but has been branching out, there's room for change.

https://the-cottage-at-winjes-farm.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pleasant, very rural B&B, run by an interesting couple.

https://whalens-pub.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral  :: This is a pub with good food and a good atmosphere. (If you look at the photos, I'm playing the accordion...used to play with a band there)

Well, I’ve spent WAY more time than I planned to write this. I’ve noticed that many posts stay up for years and years, with sporadic responses. I’ll probably take this down in a week if I don’t hear from you (if I can figure out how!) Otherwise, if you are interested in learning more, I will send you oodles of pictures, etc. Good luck in your search.

Hello Aaron and Sarah, I hope your search is going well, I sent an email to your gmail address.  In case you missed it you could find it doing a search for "mistercarson".  

I have 40 acres with a private well in rural Northeastern Arizona, near Show Low.  It is an amazing piece of property, let me know if you would like more information.  It is in Navajo County, parcel 404-75-014.  

Hi all, just wanted to refresh the original post as I'm STILL/ALWAYS looking for the right place for us to set our roots. Please refer to the original post and be in touch if you are aware of anything that fits our desires.

Thanks,
Aaron & Sarah