For Partnership: 21 acres in Marion County

Description

In Brief:

  • 21 acres with housing, equipment, and water.
  • For farming & business partnership in the 2025 season and beyond
    • I am seeking truly collaborative farming, with the understanding that you’ll be doing most of the day to day work, so you’ll make those decisions and get most of the profits.
    • I expect to pitch in plus or minus 20-30 hours a week. I have about 10 years of small farm experience.
    • I’m open to more than one person and more than one enterprise. Livestock and market garden would both work well here.
  • Housing available
    • No rent necessary. May discuss electricity costs in year 2 or 3.
    • Most of an older manufactured home, not the former living room.
    • I’m looking to build a business, not to be cheap housing or work trade.
  • Currently non-certified organic.
    • Shop, hoop house, propagation greenhouse
    • Water right, 5hp pump w/ VFD, risers every 300 ft
    • Tractor w/ bucket, small irrigation reel, BCS,
  • Startup money available.
    • At least $4,000, up to $8,000
    • There will be some winter costs in equipment maintenance, building out the cold room, & wash station.

The short version is that I’d rather be a farmer, but part of the cost of buying land was getting a day job.  I can’t build up the business while I keep my job and pay the mortgage.  My wife is an artist (also with a day job) and we have two young children, so we’re pretty busy these days.  I spent the last four years running a very small CSA (just under 10 boxes), but I’m taking 2024 off from sales because we had our second baby in November 2023, and I need to build out the cold room and make the housing space livable.  We have always wanted to bring in other folks, and I’m trying to make this the kind of opportunity I would have jumped at in my 20s.

This is nearly a turn-key farm business with on-site housing and an owner who is committed to both success and pitching in.  Hopefully that’s exactly what you’re looking for.

What I want to make sure to emphasize is that I’m trying to find a way to farm collaboratively.  I don’t want to be a boss, and I do want to be involved, and I recognize that whoever comes on as my farm partner will be doing most of the day-to-day and making most of those decisions.  I expect some of the first things we’ll do are change the business structure to a two member LLC, change the name of the business, and add your name to the bank account.  My biggest desire is to see the land well cared for and help develop a thriving business.

Let’s be flexible, creative, and collaborative!


Owner’s Short Term Vision for the Property

In the next few years my goal is to make enough income so that a new partner finds this arrangement attractive!
I'd like to get the property under more active and consistent management than what I'm able to do with a family and full-time job. I have been pursuing a multi-enterprise approach with pasture, garden, and attempting to establish an orchard. I think we would be well served to continue with that concept, but the passions and interests of a new partner will be a major part of driving business decisions.
I believe in the CSA/Farmshare and Farmer's Market as primary sales channels, but, again, I'm happy to be flexible with whatever a new partner's vision may be.


Owner’s Long Term Vision for the Property

A successful regenerative farm business that might be able to pay both of us a living wage is the driving goal. Inside of that, if it's possible to prepare for climate change while building community and being a positive part of the local food system I would be very excited. I really like the ideas of full diet (or everything but grains) farming, of integrating livestock and crop production, and of building communities of both farmers and customers.
The only thing I'm absolutely committed to is being hands-on with farmwork and caring for it in a sustainable/regenerative way. Beyond that, I'm happy to work with a partner on finding the right approach. Maybe I’m effectively a part time farmhand, maybe I do that work and also support marketing and business paperwork, or maybe some other approach.
The other serious consideration is that we will over the course of years need to find a way to provide any new partner with some sort of equity and permanent land tenure. The ability to do that may depend in part on the success of the business, and I'm not sure right now what approach will be best. Maybe it will mean making enough money to take advantage of the workforce housing exception to build another home here. Maybe it will mean buying into the existing property. Maybe it will mean expanding to an adjoining or nearby property. I think we have the time to be creative, and I want to note that it's important.


Current Use

The property is currently underused. Mostly in pasture/hay. I'm not selling this year because we had our second child in November 2023. There is a small garden this year, I planted some apple trees last fall, and some side pasture spaces need additional fencing.
I have a $4,000/year conservation contract with NRCS, requiring grazing and mowing of blackberries around the property.
I'm also participating in a citizen science project with the Land Institute to grow trials of perennial crop species. This takes up a very small amount of space, but I'm pleased to be part of it.


Available Water / Irrigation

There is a water right for the whole property. I installed a main line with risers approximately every 300 ft up the rough middle of the property in spring 2023. The pump is 5hp with a VFD and installed with pressure tanks so it can run a small irrigation gun and a drip system.


Soil Type / Quality

The soil is on the whole pretty good for being 4ish years away from conventional grass seed farming. There are large stones throughout, more in some areas than others. The soil test are generally good, though there seems to be consistently some excess phosphorous. I had an EPA standard residential soil screening done for persistent toxic chemicals and the soil came back with nothing of concern.

More formally, the soil is mostly Newberg Fine Sandy Loam with areas of Salem Gravely Silt Loam and McBee Silty Clay Loam, per the NRCS Web Soil Survey. Most of my gardening has been in the McBee Silty Clay Loam for no reason other than that's a little closer to the house.


Buildings and Structures Available for Farm Use

36x36 shop. Currently disorganized. In the process of building out an office, mezzanine storage, cold room, and wood shop.

Approx 12x36 homemade propagation greenhouse, with tables & shade cloth

24x96 FarmTek hoop house.

On-site housing is a 1976 double wide, and my wife uses the former living room for her art studio. That leaves a two bedroom, two bath, kitchen, and large entry room space that would be easy to make fully functional. It does currently need some attention to repair freeze damage to the water supply line, hook up the dish washer and see if it works, etc. I expect to provide that space at no cost to whoever comes on to the farm, though I may want to discuss electricity costs in future years depending on the details.


Farm Equipment Available for Use, Sale or Lease

Kubota L2550 with bucket.
Land Pride 60 inch rotary tiller.
Land Pride 60 inch brush hog.
PTO spreader.
PTO post hole digger.
Tool Bar with furrower & shaping discs.

Polaris Ranger side by side with dump bed.

Old manure/compost spreader, ground drive.

2003 Ford Ranger, manual transmission, ran summer 2023.

Approximately $4,000 in a business account available for expenses like seeds, livestock, feed, equipment, etc.

5x8 highway safe trailer
old boat trailer
old 8x12 trailer, missing deck
mobile chicken coop, needs minor repairs.

3 smallish irrigation reels. I believe two work and one is for parts or restoration.

Miscellaneous garden hand tools including hoes, shovels, etc, Earthway seeders, a wheel hoe, and a hand tine weeder.

Propagation supplies including flats, 6-packs, pots in 3 inch, 4 inch, and gallon sizes.

DIY hoop house purlins and a piece of greenhouse cover that could become another homemade hoop house.
Some pieces of black plastic, in better and worse shape.
Assorted random lumber.

Seven 160 ft sheep and goat mobile electric fence sections.
Solar fence charger system.
Two wall power fence chargers.
two 160 ft chicken fence sections.
lots of polywire fencing & metal fence strand, fiberglass posts, clips for posts.
Woven wire fence stretcher.
Miscellaneous fence tools & equipment.

Miscellaneous construction & shop tools including drills, saws, planer, miter saw, etc.

FOR USE ONLY IF YOU KNOW HOW:
Chainsaw
Battery chainsaw
22lr bolt action rifle
Arc welder
table saw


Any Restrictions That Could Limit Agricultural Production

Nothing major. There can be some standing or slowly moving water in the lower part of the main field in winter, and some of the property gets morning shade.


What are you doing as a landholder to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for everyone on your land and in your community?

My wife and I both did more social justice activism when we were younger and lived in more urban areas. We are now welcoming and supportive members of our communities and welcome all sorts of folks to our land and home.
We sometimes provided a place to stay for (mostly queer) friends who needed space from their living arrangements. A friend is currently staying in a school bus to RV conversion, who is relocating from Chicago.
With our immediate neighbors, who are kind people but have different values, we are prioritizing friendship, believing that slow and gentle conversations over many years will be safer and more effective than ideological confrontation.
We seek out opportunities, when we are welcomed, for our children to experience more diversity. We would be more than happy to have people of diverse backgrounds on our land.


Locations of land listings on map are not necessarily exact. Many are located on the nearest town or city.
County: Marion

Farm Basics

Total Acreage: 21

Acreage Available to Landseeker: 18, depending on interest and enterprise mix.

Date Property is Available: October 5, 2024

Possible Business Arrangements: Partnership

Lease Rate / Price: I expect this to be part of the partnership conversation, maybe $0.

Date when this listing was created: May 28, 2024

Farming Practices

Current Farming Practices: Organic, Not Certified, Season Extension

Farming Practices Allowed: Certified Organic, Organic, Not Certified, Biodynamic, Dry Farming, Season Extension, Other

Agriculture Types Suitable: Beans, Bees, Berries, Dairy, Flowers, Goats, Herbs, Hogs, Mushrooms, Nursery Stock, Orchard/Fruit, Pasture, Poultry, Sheep, Vegetables

Farm Details

Housing Available? Yes

Water Available? Yes

Property Fenced? Yes

Land Holder Interested in Mentoring Land Seeker? Yes


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