Farm Shopping: The Checklist

It's officially, people. We. Are. FARM SHOPPING!

Okay, technically, I've been "farm shopping" for the past 3.5 years but now we are REALLY farm shopping. Our old house is SOLD and we've long moved out. Also, my parent's want us out of their basement by the holidays... So NOW IS THE TIME! We're anxious, excited, nervous, and not sure WHERE God is going to place us next on this journey but we're ready to follow His lead and trust in His plan.

Best case scenario... we move sometime in October so we have a few weeks to do some work outdoors before the snow comes. Worst case scenario... we end up renting through winter and waiting until spring.

If you had asked me three years ago what my "must haves" for our family farm were I would have said:

• 100 year old farmhouse with tons of character
• 5 acres
• Big, old red barn
• Within 30 minutes of our current major city.

Surprisingly... none of those items still remain on our current checklist.

In a way, I'm glad we ended up not buying our farm last time around because our knowledge has increased SO MUCH over the past three years. We've revised our lists dozens of times (even in the past month). I think when we initially envisioned farming we had a really romanticized view of what it would be. Now that we've had a few years to experience things small scale, connect with other family farms, and really pray about what our long term dreams are - our list is less superficial and - in a way - much simpler.

Main Requirements
There really are only five things we are looking for in our future forever farm.

• 20+ acres

• A mixture of open land and hardwoods (at least 5 acres of each)

• Existing House with at least 1000sf

• Existing Building(s)

• Within an hour-ish of our current city/family

We're open to anything else that fits outside of those specifics. We know God already has the perfect place picked for us! Now to remind myself that He also has the perfect TIMING planned out... 

Blessings,

Beth