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So I just bought a farm... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tuffnutt
- Start date
El Floppo
Footballguy
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Congrats to the Op...very cool to make this kind of life change, for you and the kids. How old are they?
My mil lives on a "farm"- a lot of acreage in NoVa that they keep cows on because farm for tax purposes is much much better than a house. They eat, poop, reproduce and every now and then she sells a few. Other than the tax savings, definitely not a money maker.
Good friend bought and has been renovating a horse farm in NJ. It's been a money pit. But she's hoping it eventually starts making money (boarding).
Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
tuffnutt
Footballguy
We have seen multiple deer on back of property, plus a Coyote on a couple of occasions. Been told there are turkey as well, but haven't seen them yet. Heard people will pay to hunt your property so that may be an option ( i've never deer or turkey hunted)From what I’ve seen on the outdoor channel you should be able to live on venison
Ned
Footballguy
Kansas is the land of giant whitetails. Did the previous owner lease it at all? I’d stroll through the timber to see if there are any stands set up.
You’ll get knocks on the door looking to hunt it (although 5 acres of timber is small for deer). Talk to your neighbors to get an idea of what they’re doing with the hunters.
Ned
Footballguy
I’d be stunned if it’s not hunted. Make sure your property line is clearly marked in the timber and have a conversation with that landowner to make sure your rules are clear.
Be prepared for a shot deer to run onto your property. Up to you on how to handle but SOP is hunters should come ask permission to come into neighboring property to recover the deer.
NutterButter
Footballguy
tuffnutt
Footballguy
Been thinking about it for a while Otis. We have been looking for a place for a couple years now, but haven't found anything we liked( or could afford) This farm actually is my great aunt's and uncle's. My uncle passed away 2 years ago and my Aunt just went into assisted living. When I found out they my cousins didn't want it and they wanted to sell I called them. They said they had a list of people who had said that if they ever sold they would like an opportunity to buy it. I told my cousin to put me at the bottom of the list and if no one buys it call me. About a week later I got the call, the price was right so we jumped. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. But it feels right and I'm not getting any younger so we are going for it!
tuffnutt
Footballguy
we do have a local farmers market every Saturday so that's something we would like to do
Skipdog77
Footballguy
Dezbelief
Footballguy
Raccoons are viscous, they will kill anything they can. My Aunt shot one eating the barnyard kittens on her back porch.
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Insoxicated
As a kid who grew up on a small hobby farm in SE Massachusetts as a kid: you’re awesome for doing this. I wouldn’t have grown up any other way.
We did a few pigs cows horses rabbits chickens and a goat. It ruled. Also had some raised beds and another few rows where we grew most everything we ate.
If you’re growing stuff to sell, id see what the market needs that you can realistically expect to grow successfully.... and specialize in that.
If you’re growing to eat and maybe sell a bit at farmers markets on the weekend, then have some fun with variety. Some plants are very prolific. (Cucumbers/tomatoes/peppers) and some are sorta one and done (corn).
Learn about composting and greenhouses. Have the wife learn canning. Build a grape arbor with a tire swing.
Oh and make sure you artificially inseminate one of your cows.... that was rad to see the shoulder gloved dude going to town as a kid.
We did a few pigs cows horses rabbits chickens and a goat. It ruled. Also had some raised beds and another few rows where we grew most everything we ate.
If you’re growing stuff to sell, id see what the market needs that you can realistically expect to grow successfully.... and specialize in that.
If you’re growing to eat and maybe sell a bit at farmers markets on the weekend, then have some fun with variety. Some plants are very prolific. (Cucumbers/tomatoes/peppers) and some are sorta one and done (corn).
Learn about composting and greenhouses. Have the wife learn canning. Build a grape arbor with a tire swing.
Oh and make sure you artificially inseminate one of your cows.... that was rad to see the shoulder gloved dude going to town as a kid.
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tuffnutt
Footballguy
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
Congratulations! We bought 40 acres of farmland about 10 years ago and built our house. While we don’t have any animals we do plant about 26 acres. We have a tractor and a bunch of implements. I had my FIL to help me with everything from buying used equipment, to plowing, to fixing things, planting, getting spraying done, lining up a market for your crop, weeds, bugs, techniques, etc. I learned a ton about equipment maintenance and doing repairs myself or with help. AMA
tuffnutt
Footballguy
Thanks Johnny! We plan on building in a couple years as well. Not sure what the future holds but as questions come up I will be reaching out to you and others here! Doubt we plant crops, outside of a garden, but we will be buying farm implements I'm sure.
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
I’m no expert that’s for sure, but I’m doing the very small-time farmer thing (my wife grew up on a farm and says we don’t have a farm because we don’t have animals) on the side as my real job is a business exec. All my farm stuff is pretty old. ‘68 Ford 4000 diesel tractor. Old John Deere disk. Drag bought at auction. Cultivator and fuel barrel bought from a friend who was retiring from farming. Old sickle mower. Small stuff but heavy duty because that’s what farmers used to use. A small farm can’t support new equipment like modern combines or tractors, which can be good because it’s harder to fix stuff that is more electronic.
Random: Save your receipts related to the farm for tax purposes. Everything. Make it automatic.
Working outside my comfort zone and stretching my knowledge and problem solving is one of the best rewards.
NotSmart
Footballguy
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
Very jealous. We have a place up state with a ton of acreage but its mostly wooded. One thing we did do in the open space was plant a bunch of apple trees and a bunch of blueberry/huckleberry bushes.tuffnutt said:
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I haven't been thinking of going full farm, I just want a weekend place on a lake where the kids can ride four wheelers, fish, shoot, explore, swim, etc.
tuffnutt
Footballguy
tuffnutt
Footballguy
That has been our vacations for the past few years... renting cabins in the woods/mountains. Lake trips on the weekends kids love fishing swimming horse back riding etc. So we decided to live that life. The old saying live a life you don’t need a vacation from.
Warhogs
Footballguy
I think the chickens is what I miss the most. Laying hens. I tried raising and butchering one time. We raised them and butchered them ourselves. Not fun and I think I spent more on feed than what it cost to buy a cut up chicken in the store. If you get some laying hens you really only need a couple at a time. They will lay about 1 egg per day in their prime years, when they slow you may want to get a couple more to keep the cycle going. You do the math but let's say you get 4, you are looking at about 28 eggs a week.
My favorite pet on our farm was a bronze turkey named Mr. Wanda (yes we thought he was a girl when we named him so when we found out he was a boy we just put Mister in front of his name). He followed me everywhere and boy could he eat (and poop). In a couple of years he was about 45 lbs and could no longer fly off the ground to roost. He was quite the curious character though.
My favorite pet on our farm was a bronze turkey named Mr. Wanda (yes we thought he was a girl when we named him so when we found out he was a boy we just put Mister in front of his name). He followed me everywhere and boy could he eat (and poop). In a couple of years he was about 45 lbs and could no longer fly off the ground to roost. He was quite the curious character though.
tuffnutt
Footballguy
Used to pheasant and quail hunt back in my teens and early college days but that was 20 plus years ago.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
We just got back from staying in a cabin in Northern Michigan. Fishing, kayaking, swimming, roasting marshmallows, grilling out almost every night, etc. I'm with you!
Courtjester
The Town Drunk
Yeah, this wouldn't work with my family My teenage daughters believe staying in a 3 star hotel is camping 
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Same with my wife.Yeah, this wouldn't work with my family My teenage daughters believe staying in a 3 star hotel is camping
NutterButter
Footballguy
Funny you say that. I find that the most stress I experience throughout the year is when I go on vacation. I try to take my kids to interesting places where we can make some distinct memories, but boy is traveling stressful.
The Iguana
Footballguy
My aunt and uncle did that when I was about 10ish. My older cousin had started to be a bit of a hellion so they went all Green Acres on him by buying a farm from my grandmother and moving out in the middle of nowhere. I spent a chunk of many a summer there. They had chickens, cows, quail, a selection of crops. I had a ball doing all kinds of "farm hand" like things while there. It was all fun and games for me but I was only there for limited time periods. Good luck!
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
This is my thinking exactly. Our 40 acres with woods, hills (no mountains here
) and tillable land is also on a lake. I didn’t want to take my weekends to drive to a lake place to mow and do maintenance like at my house. Just live there. 
SFBayDuck
Footballguy
We raised turkeys a couple of years, and one year we ended up with a giant one that ended up being 51 lbs dressed. Had to find a roasting pan at a specialty restaurant store to fit him, and he barely fit in the oven.
Poke_4_Life
Footballguy
I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but my grandfather had a small farm/ranch and he kept separate accounts for 'ranch' part. The ranch was run as a business and he made a modest profit, but it also allowed him to expense feed, equipment, and stuff like that.
If you're starting small you could form a farm business around the chicken/livestock parts and then take those losses against your 'real job' wages to offset some tax burden. I'm not a CPA or a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure this is still a thing.
Oh, and get your kids into 4-H and/or FFA. Those are big in Kansas.
If you're starting small you could form a farm business around the chicken/livestock parts and then take those losses against your 'real job' wages to offset some tax burden. I'm not a CPA or a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure this is still a thing.
Oh, and get your kids into 4-H and/or FFA. Those are big in Kansas.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Yeah, this is heaven to me. But alas, it would be a real life Green Acres situation if I did that, resulting probably in divorce.This is my thinking exactly. Our 40 acres with woods, hills (no mountains here
tuffnutt
Footballguy
good stuff here, my wife has been looking into taxes and what we can do as far as a business
tuffnutt
Footballguy
I have 3 kids oldest daughter just graduated so shes in college but commuting for now so still in the house, My son is 15 and my youngest daughter is 10. One thing I do worry is that we are moving from a 5 bedroom Victorian with almost 3000 SQ Feet of space to roughly half the space (at least until we build)El Floppo said:
Anyway My wife is the "tax man" so she will be looking into all of the implications and contacting experts as needed
tuffnutt
Footballguy
yellowdog
Footballguy
Foosball God
Foos
I'm not jealous, sounds like too much work to me, but glad you are doing something like this. Hopefully your kids will appreciate the experiences, even if it isn't until later in their lives.
Nathan R. Jessep
Footballguy
Congrats.
If I had some acreage, and it was legal in my state, I'd seriously look into planting hemp plants (the variety for the medical industry). If it's not legal yet, it likely will be soon. There's your money-making opportunity.
If I had some acreage, and it was legal in my state, I'd seriously look into planting hemp plants (the variety for the medical industry). If it's not legal yet, it likely will be soon. There's your money-making opportunity.
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