How To Find and Finance a Farm
(Page 2 of 8)
The vast majority of farms and farm tracts purchased in the
United States are bought from private owners and are
usually financed by mortgages. The acreage is usually
located through advertisements in small area newspapers,
major Sunday papers, shopping guides, farm journals and
farm real estate listings.
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Again, in case you're interested, there is private land in
Alaska available for sale or lease. To obtain information
about climate, farming conditions and markets for produce
in the areas that interest you, write to Director,
Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station, Palmer, Alaska
99645.
When you've selected the part of the country where you'd
like to settle, you're ready to begin the search for that
"perfect" farm. It's not really necessary to limit your
choice to an economically depressed or underdeveloped area,
either. Although prices are generally much lower in some
sections of the country (such as the Ozarks) than others,
you can still find a good farm at a reasonable figure
almost anywhere. Land values are skyrocketing around
Cleveland, for instance, yet—a few weeks ago—I
saw a good 31-acre farm for $11,000 . . . and it was within
an hour's drive of that city's downtown area. Bargains such
as this can be found if you consider a few important points
when looking for a farm.
The first fact to consider is that the farther you are from
a major city or suburban development, the less costly land
should be. Acreage near freeway interchanges, expressways
and important highways is generally more expensive than
less accessible land. There is little point in paying for
valuable frontage property if you intend to use it for
growing vegetables. If you want your homestead to remain a
homestead, try to locate it in the least likely path of
future suburban sprawl . . . probably at the maximum
economical distance from your job, business or market area.
Second, if you're trying to hold the cost of your land down
to a bargain level, you should not buy any more land than
you can reasonably or economically use. A small family or
parttime farm need be no larger than fifty acres. Even this
is stretching it for practical purposes. A one-acre garden,
well planned, can produce enough food for two families. One
cow will give from 10 to 20 quarts of milk per day.
Thousands of families have established abundant homesteads
on five acres or less. There is little point in passing up
a nice little farm just to obtain a lot of acreage. A
little thirty-acre homestead—too small to farm
profitably in a "traditional" manner—can supply your
basic needs and keep the suburbs from your back door. A
small outside income or—possibly—ten acres of
organically grown produce for the increasing market will
bring home the "extras" that you might desire.
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