Where would you put the barn?

[Goodlife]

Great idea to use google maps to post a picture of the actual property. Here are two.

The first one is somewhat the same aspect as the terrible drawing I made. The pasture (currently in CRP) is good fertile ground, hardly a rock to find. It crowns in the middle and has a slight drop on each side towards the woods. Probably a 6-8 foot drop. Just enough to drain well. Like I said, once you hit the woods it drops off very quickly. Those trails you see are deer highways. It is a deer hunters paradise. they make beds 15 foot across in the crp ground.

This second one is a bit farther out. This one shows the additional land I would like to purchase on the northwest corner of mine. There is actually about 200 acres for sale all together. I am most interested in the 10-20 acres attached to my property that includes the small pond. the ground you can see that is farmed has been in soybeans and corn alternating years. Adding 10-20 acres of this farmland would really allow me to increase to a better size herd, but asking price is $9500/acre.

These pictures also show the shared gravel drive on the west side of the property.

I will call NRCS today if anyone is there Kenny. Thanks so much for the info. By the way, the cave is in the woods between the thumb and finger. Drops down into a sinkhole probably 30 feet down with a cave at the bottom. I would like to find a cave guy to go down into it. I personally have no interest. It goes straight down.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Kenny, could his Ag agent or extension office be of help to him in this quest?

 

[Dave]

The NRCS and EQIP can be very good and very helpful. But there is a lot of variation in how the program is run from state to state and even office to office. Keep in mind that you will be entering into a contract with the federal government. When you do that you have to play by their rules. We have a saying, a elephant is a mouse built to NRCS standards. I am just saying keep both of your eyes wide open. Know what they are going to require you to do and how they want it done.

 

[Goodlife]

The NRCS and EQIP can be very good and very helpful. But there is a lot of variation in how the program is run from state to state and even office to office. Keep in mind that you will be entering into a contract with the federal government. When you do that you have to play by their rules. We have a saying, a elephant is a mouse built to NRCS standards. I am just saying keep both of your eyes wide open. Know what they are going to require you to do and how they want it done.

Thanks and well noted Dave. I know a few who did not read fine print on CRP agreements and were surprised.

Anyone have first hand (or second hand) experience with EQIP and NRCS to tell a good or bad story? I do not know anyone who has worked in these programs myself.

 

[kenny thomas]

The NRCS and EQIP can be very good and very helpful. But there is a lot of variation in how the program is run from state to state and even office to office. Keep in mind that you will be entering into a contract with the federal government. When you do that you have to play by their rules. We have a saying, a elephant is a mouse built to NRCS standards. I am just saying keep both of your eyes wide open. Know what they are going to require you to do and how they want it done.

Thanks and well noted Dave. I know a few who did not read fine print on CRP agreements and were surprised.

Anyone have first hand (or second hand) experience with EQIP and NRCS to tell a good or bad story? I do not know anyone who has worked in these programs myself.

I have both good and bad. 99% good but the 1% bad is a pain. As said know what you are agreeing to and stick to it and you will be fine.
Except for feed barns, it dont seem to matter if you are following the rules because they change the rules as they go. As Dave said there is a lot of variance from office to office so just see what they say.

 

[snickers]

9500 a acre is really high, good life you should of bought ground alittle farther south it's alot cheaper.

 

[Goodlife]

9500 a acre is really high, good life you should of bought ground alittle farther south it's alot cheaper.

I paid significantly less for the land thus far. Mostly becasue it is almost half woods. I was not going to offer 9500 for the additional pasture. It has been for sale for over two years so I am hoping when I get some $$$ together he will knock maybe up to $2k off of that price. Still high but you know what they say. Buy land, they aint making any more of it. So if I can get it for $7500 I think it will be a good investment in the long run. We'll see what he will sell if for when the time comes. The fellow who owns it got wealthy in business so is not feeling the pinch of a down economy and seems to be in no rush. He rents it to a grain farmer now.

I bought here because it was a little further south than my wife originally was willing to go, but she also thought this was a beautiful spot and relented. We both work about 45 minutes north in what is called South County (South of St. Louis). I can work from home most days though. Shes a hair stylist so she has to go to salon to work. So even though this is more than I would like to spend per acre, it is a beautiful area with several cattle ranches close by. Neighbor runs 100 mama's.

 

[Nesikep]

As long as you love where you live!