30 year old single dad seeking land for lease/rent around eugene

Land Seeker Description

Hello, I am a 30 year old single dad of two kids, 7 and 11 years old that I have half the week. Both of then are passionately into nature and are eager to help me with projects. They have a strong natural curiosity of plants, love animals and to get their hands dirty gardening.

I work as a finish/trim carpenter with a background in framing and concrete work so I have a lot of experience with tools and large equipment (ie. Forklifts, trailers,tractors,scissor lifts and escavators. I have also worked about a year on farms building greenhouses, animal pens, milking stations, setting up irrigation, seeding for starts and no-till practice establishing and maintaining beds.

I have a connection with nature and rural living and it is where I feel most driven and comfortable. I would love to raise my kids in that environment. My family came to the west coast living rurally where they raised goats (for milk and making soap),horses, chickens, bees and had a large garden which they continue to do in town. I would love to get back to those roots.

I have made the best of the smaller living situations I have had in my adult life raising chickens and ducks as well as crating large garden spaces qnd have utilized the produce making jams, hot sauce, pasta sauce, pesto and fermented foods.

I spend my time out in nature or wood working with my kids, baking, cooking, gardening and reading. I am passionate and read alot about native plants, dendrology and restorative practices to reestablishing native biodiversity to maintain watersheds and an ecosystem for pollinators

What features of the property are essential?

Water and electricity, a living space that has heating or a woodstove and ideally a shop.

Describe your farming experience

I have have made the most with the smaller spaces I have rented raising chickens, ducks and having as much garden space as I can fit.
I have worked a season on a hemp farm seeding, planting and setting up acres of irrigation.
In addition I also worked on a local organic farm in which I prepared starts, planted, harvested and prepared for CSAs, maintained and developed beds for planting and crop rotation, repaired large greenhouses, set up hoop houses and built projects to help development of the farm (long tables for trays of starts, milking stations, dry storage rooms, loft space, a freezer room and reinforced enclosures.

Are you currently farming?

What are your short term goals for the land

Establishing a garden area for produce and to make jams, sauces and jams to sell locally.
To have a flock of chickens and/or ducks for selling eggs.

What are your long term goals

I want to build up a space that can additionally accommodate goats and bees to sell goat cheese, goat milk soaps and honey.

Describe your housing needs

I would need a living space that can accommodate my kids to have private space so ideally a 2 bedroom house, cabin or larger yurt and a kitchen area.

What will you do as a farmer to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for everyone on your farm and in your community?

I firmly support having a space that is safe and supportive to people of all backgrounds and diversity (inclusive to all genders, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and disability)