No reason to live your life scared. No one knows what stocks, bonds, real estate, or any other investment is gonna' be worth in 5, 12, 25 or 50 years. If you have been around long enough to seen much, ask yourself how many times you have said or thought, " I wish I would have bought that, or done that years ago, I'd be worth a fortune now."
All investments are risky. If you can buy some real estate, run a few cows, have a job in town, work hard to improve it and pay for it, why wouldn't you take the chance? Then if you want to sell it for your retirement and move to town, you can. If the market goes south on you, what have you lost? Some time and hard work? Your retirement plan from work will still take care of you. It's been said many times that if someone gave you the land, you'd still go broke farming it. Doin' nothin' gets you nothin'.