Seeking a landless Permie in Iowa

Hello,

Okay, Here's the situation-

I have 80 acres of land in Iowa that is currently in pasture, early succession woods (20 yrs?) and, later succession woods (70-100).  It is on a loess type soil formation with a small creek and a few seeps/springs.  Some areas have erosion issues.  No crop has been grown on it in 20 years (although the previous tenant used to spray weeds)     It currently has a multitude of Mulberries, raspberries, a few wild pear and an intimidating amount of honey locust (in the early woods).  The sixteen acres of pasture is currently being hayed. 

What I would like to see here-

I am just beginning my journey into Permaculture and food Forest.  We are also considering forming an intentional community on the land.  I am seeking someone that wants to start an enterprise of gardening/ fruit & nut production/ humane animal husbandry but is lacking the land to carry out such a venture.   I would like to propose some kind of partnership- ranging from renting part of the place- to a joint venture- to a full blown collective model.

The coordinates of the land are= 41.700442,-93.287126

Please feel free to ask questions here, or contact me at farrellservices@yahoo.com

Also, PLEASE forward this information to any permaculture folks/ schools/ etc you may know.

Thanks again,
Jonathan Overlin

So, is it Iowa or a cooperative model that is scaring people away? 

In my case, it's lack of a nearby ocean! Otherwise, it's a very appealing offer.

Ok, so I looked at the coordinates and it appears you are about 10 miles outside the outskirts of Des Moines. I have to say that as far as locations go I have seen much worse. You have a large population nearby to market produce to (if you so desired) but still get to have the openness of the country life without having too much encroachment.

Iowa does have some rather oppressive taxes and regulations, especially in comparison to neighboring states (we won't even talk about Illinois... they don't count) and has the worst of both worlds in regards to climate (HOT summers and COLD winters). And for the love of God don't plant corn or you will get so much genetic drift that the Bt and roundup ready genes will proliferate throughout. Despite all that, I am certain you can find someone locally there that is used to all of the "down-sides" of the situation.

I am about two hours south of you just across the MO border but I am deeply entrenched in my own ventures. Perhaps we can get together sometime and discuss. Permies are very thin on the ground here in the midwest.

Wow, what a dream!  I lived in Des Moines for a little over a year, working for a company in West Des Moines. Coming from California it was a shock at first, the weather, etc., but then it grew on me big time. I've often since pondered about moving back to Iowa and buy some acreage in the countryside.  I was ready to buy a large parcel of land near Perry, IA and then things changed and I left that job and left Iowa too.

I'm curious about your project. I hope you continue to post about it whatever happens.  I've always thought Iowa could really use a more natural farming method since it seems everything there is Monsanto. I think Monsanto's IT HQ is in Urbandale (west side of Des Moines Metro) actually.. Something like that if my memory is good.

You should check out this example of tag-team farming. I was just up there in August.

I live a little more than 2 hours from you.. Over here in Council Bluffs. I've been a grower at my families greenhouses and turning my tiny backyard into something nice. Don't know if I'm ready to relocate and you're sort of a drive away, but if you ever needed help with some things I wouldn't mind getting my hands dirty.

I'm sorta new to some permaculture stuff. I have a good knowledge of how things work, just didn't know they were what permaculture is. I grew up in greenhouses however and have an extensive history with hydroponics and aquarium systems. Spend most of my life in a 90 acre greenhouse.

I would be interested in helping with this or hearing more about it!
I live in Ames.

I live in Des Moines. I'd definitely be interested in helping out or coming out to see what you've been up to. Maybe I could learn something.

I live in Des Moines also and am new to permaculture. I came upon the concept late last fall and was so inspired I threw together a hugelkultur bed before it got too crazy cold. Since then I have been going crazy waiting for the growing season to return. I have stockpiled a ton of seeds and developed a plan to transform my back yard. I started up a Facebook group to keep track of my ideas and concepts in development, hoard bits of information that might be useful. I got a few people from another group called Iowa Urban Chicken Farmers interested and decided to adopt a similar name and open the group. It is called Iowa Urban Permaculture and I have amassed a small group of interested individuals sharing their ideas and progress which is extremely limited by weather but spring-loaded with potential energy. I would love to come out and see this land and what's going on there and I would invite anyone here from Iowa to come check out my group and maybe join if you would like to share your experience or gain from our limited experience. We are pretty much all a group of newbies and interested parties. I wouldn't mind having anyone check mine out at some point but I have a ways to go before it evolves from the absolute mess it is now to a functioning system.

Greetings!

I am new to permaculture, have read a lot, but my family is about 2 hours South of Des Moines and there is nothing like this around us that I know of. Are there any upcoming meetups in the area to see how people are getting along with their permaculture projects and to share ideas?

Hope to hear from you. Hope you are all fairing well this Winter!

Any update on this front?  My girl friend just took a new job in Pella, Iowa and I'm looking to get involved out there.  Please let the group know if there's been an update with this property.  Additionally, are there any Permies meet ups that anyone is aware of?