Justin Fader

I am in a similar situation.  I have approximately 15 out of the 20 acres I recently purchased completely covered in thick saplings.   Most are 5'-10' tall and were so thick in areas that I hadn't even seen over half of the property until I cleared some paths.  

So far I have rented a Bobcat with the Brush Cat attachment & cleared maybe 1/4th of the property.
I dont have a steep slope but maybe a 15° slope over a large section of the land.  

What I have accomplished so far with clearing was mostly so that I can access the land & see what I have to work with.  Im not sure if I should just continue going over it periodically hoping to eventually win the war with the saplings?   This particular acreage was burnt off in 2008 & was basically let to go after that.   Now there are 2 neighbors so I'm not too excited about a major burn off again with the volunteer Fire department.

Wish that I had some solutions for you....but I am looking for some myself.  

Thank you Dan! I will look him up, I only live a few miles from Papillion.

Is there a site with info on any if the offerings in the KC area? Not too far of a drive for some quality learning!

Thank you for the responses Tyler!

I found a few more pics of the property to share.

The general direction of the slope is facing east although there are portions that face south & a smaller area that faces north.

The small water way appears to be just past the property line..shucks...the pic was also after a fairly large rain so it may be dry during the summer months... I would imagine that I through the use of swales & dams I could capture a lot of this before it exits the property.

Hello, I am new to this site & relatively new to permaculture in general. The extent of my knowledge has been a variety of podcasts, youtube videos, & poking around this Web site.
I wasn't really sure which forum to post this in so here it goes...I can move it if someone has a better suggestion.

I currently live near Omaha, Nebraska in a housing sub division on 1/5 of an acre & my family is looking to make an escape to a more rural setting.
I have watched Geoff Lawton's video on a permaculture property checklist but I have had trouble finding a lot of resources regarding transforming a previously mono-cropped property into a food forest.
A friend of mine is in the process of purchasing a 30 ish acre parcel that was most recently a corn field. If she can, she plans to sub divide the property into 5+- acres for her house, 20+- acres for orchards/etc, & it would leave between 5-8 acres available for sale.
I plan on taking some online design courses before I get too far into the process, but I will likely have to make a decision about purchasing this prior to having that opportunity.

So I am looking to the experts for some advice.

The property is within 30 miles of Omaha. I am assuming that it has been sprayed with chemicals in a conventional farming practice. The land that would be for sale is a triangle shape that is partially flat but most of it slopes to the east towards a timber line that seperate it from the adjacent property.
My main concerns are...(not in order)

1. Residual chemicals in the soil

2. Being surrounded on 3 sides by mono cropped properties/more chemicals

3. How much slope is too much? I haven't measured the degree of slope yet but I will. I realize that slope can be a great asset but at what point does it become more work than benefit in a permaculture system?

4.What would be the ideal slope direction in zone 5b?

This property would be great from my perspective of living there...just not sure as far as the permaculture aspect.

A little more info I forgot...I plan on buying some land & equipment in 2016, maybe a bobcat &/Or back hoe...
I plan on eventually building a house on this land within 1-5 years after buying & begining development & I will live in my current house (20-45 minutes away depending) until that time.

Thanks in advance for any input...I appreciate it.

Hello, I am new to this site as I just registered...been looking around for a while though. I currently live just outside of Omaha & I have been researching more permaculture practices because we are looking to buy some land in 2016 & I want to make sure that what we buy will work well in a food forest type of system. I am 92% sure that we will end up in Northern Cass County as its close enough to commute for work yet far enough to get away from the urban life. I will most likely have a opportunity to purchase 5-8 acres from a friend who is currently purchasing a 30+ acre plot. She has many ideas similar to mine but is not yet aware of permaculture principles. The land that she is buying was previously farmed so that does give me some hesitation as it has been sprayed with who knows what chemicals.
Glad to see others in the Nebraska area....I look forward to connecting with some like minded people as my property search & subsequent design/build process begins.

-Justin