Wright County, MO

[Up North]

I'm interesting in learning everything I can about Wright County, MO. The good, the bad, and the ugly. There's nothing better than hearing people's experiences when they actually live in the area. I'm mostly interested in the agriculture scene. Nice area to have a dairy? How available is land to rent if needed? Is the land any good? Good veternarians? Good implement dealerships? Good milk buyers? Good place to raise a family? I'd really appreciate hearing anything anybody has to say about the area.

Thank You!
Heather

[paulaswolfpack]

http://www.thesnare.com/states/misso...pers/daily.htm
http://www.news-journal.net/publish/cover.shtml
http://www.ozarkhorsetrader.com/
http://www.ozarkregionalclassifieds.....php?a=5&b=175
http://www.kuku.com/
http://www.usnpl.com/monews.html
http://www.gebbieinc.com/Weekly/mo.htm
http://newslink.org/nonnews.html
http://www.weekly-trader.com/classif...&main=Template
http://www.mo.gov/mo/living.htm
http://www.douglascountyherald.com/testing/ hope some of those help the gas is always .12 cheaper there at least 2 collages in the area and bigger ones in westplains and springfield

[Up North]

Thanks for the links.

Heather

[paulaswolfpack]

http://www.bakerealty.com/area.htm

[caroline00]

I think Ozark Jewels has a goat milk dairy in Wright County. I am not sure where Texas County ends and Wright county begins over there. In the Ozarks... one person can have fantastic soil and the neighbor have rocks and clay. Mostly, I think it is rocky clay though.

I have noticed a lot of people settling in Ava. I'm not sure why though. We do like the Ozarks but it isnt because of the soil.

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by caroline00

I think Ozark Jewels has a goat milk dairy in Wright County. I am not sure where Texas County ends and Wright county begins over there. In the Ozarks... one person can have fantastic soil and the neighbor have rocks and clay. Mostly, I think it is rocky clay though.

I have noticed a lot of people settling in Ava. I'm not sure why though. We do like the Ozarks but it isnt because of the soil.

Hey on my place I have very good soil. Once I get past the rocks

Truth when I was in my Teens there was all kinds of Grain Farming in the Ozarks.thing about it was you had to pick rocks all Winter.Its just some of the hardest areas to Farm you could have.But most usually you have plenty of Rain.

big rockpile

[FolioMark]

I live in Laclede County but I just have to walk a bit down the road to be in Wright County. Lots of cattle and a big dairy farms near us. Soil is a bear for serious gardening but varies from place to place. Hartville is the Wright County seat and its a nice little old town with a central square. The old courthouse is gone and the new one is modern and ugly, but all the old stores still surround the square. Its on the river too. Got a couple of little cafe restaurants, a hardware and IGA, the usual selection of churches. Just a nice little town. We often go there for Sunday lunch and theres a pizza parlor there that is closer to our place than the one in Lebanon. Ozark Jewel lives between us and Hartville so perhaps they can tell you more than I did. You could certainly go to worse places than Wright county.

Heres a place for sale near Hartville. Kinda funky but interesting house and 20 acres on the Gasconade river. As the realtors say..."real potential."

http://www.morealestate.net/agencysi.../listings2.htm

[Up North]

So how are the summers, I've heard plenty about the chiggers and ticks. How many days in the summer are you just dripping sweat off your nose while you are working?

Heather

[ebook]

Wow, I looked at some of those houses ... less than $150,000 can get you 30 - 50 acres and a nice little house of 3 bedrooms or so!!! I am ready to move south!!! For $150,000 around here you might get an okay house and 5 acres or so ... maybe ten if you are lucky. So, can you get a job down there? Can I find a market for grassfed livestock? Do you know any chuches looking for youth pastors?? Hmmm... I'm with Up North though ... how hot will it get down there?

[Rea]

Heather,

That would depend on what your used to as far as heat goes. I lived in Wright County for several years and few years prior to that in Texas County.
All I can say is the summers in MO are a dang site better than the ones in Texas. I know the first year I moved to MO, I kept asking if summer ever got there? LOL It gets hot, but usually no higher than the nineties and only a few days of those threw out the season.

Can't tell ya about commercial farming, but as far as growing a garden, the soil is really good. There are rocks and the garden seemed to grow back all the ones we removed, but it didn't seem to bother the garden none, so we finally just let the rocks lay and put the seeds in around them.

As to dairy farming. There are a lot of cow dairies in that county and the Amish run dairies too.

Most folks in those parts are friendly, but a little standoffish towards non-locals. Other issues, or at least for me, is that it's pretty much white mans country around there and most around like it that way, which is attitude I ain't never been beholding to or to quiet about when confronted with it.

Gas is cheaper in MO than just about anywhere else and depending on where you locate in Wright county it's only about a 50-60 mile trip in any direction to one of the larger towns/cities. The country's real pretty around those parts, with the land ranging from hilly to flat to rolling and lots of rivers and streams.

There are several homesteaders known on this forum in & around the Wright county area!

Hope this helps.

Rea

[Up North]

Originally Posted by ebook

Wow, I looked at some of those houses ... less than $150,000 can get you 30 - 50 acres and a nice little house of 3 bedrooms or so!!! I am ready to move south!!! For $150,000 around here you might get an okay house and 5 acres or so ... maybe ten if you are lucky. So, can you get a job down there? Can I find a market for grassfed livestock? Do you know any chuches looking for youth pastors?? Hmmm... I'm with Up North though ... how hot will it get down there?

Ebook,
The land prices among other things is what got us looking in this area. You get a lot for your money. I don't know if there is a good market for grassfed livestock but almost every place with acerage you look at is fenced and has water.

Heather

[HilltopDaisy]

I bought 5 acres in Wright County, 3 miles from Hartville, about 6 years ago. It's gonna be my retirement home (well, I hafta build the home, and I probably won't retire for another 14 years). Point is, I loved it there! Beautiful, beautiful area. Quaint town, nice people, quiet, just perfect. I'll be too old to farm but I figure I'll garden in raised beds. Heck, NY soil is rocky, too! I'll do just fine. My only concern is the depth of the water wells. It's about 5 times deeper than here in NY. Sometimes you can spend a gazillion dollars and still not hit water. Anyway, I enjoyed subscribing to the weekly newspaper, but I can't for the life of me remember the name (a little help,FolioMark?). Also, at that time, Wright County was the second poorest county in the state, out of well over 100 counties (I'm having a tough time remembering, is it 114?).

I don't know about farming, but I'm looking forward to getting away from deep snow and minus 30 degree temps some day...............

[ozark_jewels]

Wright County, MO is one of my very favorite areas. It is big into the dairy business, vets are decent(Sally Burd out in Graff is good and *very* reasonably priced). The people are generally *very* nice. Most are transplants from other areas drawn here for the same reasons we were, mainly, better people, lower crime rate(than Ohio where we came from), more our type of country, lower land prices. Gas is generally cheaper here than surrounding areas. Jobs aren't hard to find, but good paying jobs are harder to find than we'd like. A friend that rents land for his cattle hasn't had a problem finding it to rent.
I love it here, think its beautiful, most people are great(there ARE exceptions!! ), I like Mountain Grove, its a nice town.
We actually live right across the line in Texas county now that we moved two years ago.....but we do most of our business in Wright County.

[dale]

I live in Wright Co..
The gas is ok. better then other places.
There are not alot of big paying jobs.
You can milk.. I hear the Dairy Farmers crying they dont get much for their milk BUT they all drive new pickups and big cars. Many new houses. So it must pay pretty good. They must be thinking about per hour wages well then it may not be so hot.

Weather isnt so bad.. gets up to the 90s mostly in the summer sometimes even in the 100's but most of the state, area is too.

Winter. 30s will drop to -0 sometimes.
Snow fall is min. 4-8 inches per year average but sometimes.. over 12 inches at one time but it is rare.
Seems back in the 70s-80s it snowed more here then now.

Norwood has a very good school. But no real jobs.
Mt Grove is about to do something. New Sewer Plant (Big). They are presently building 3 new banks, Remodleing others, Bought out the Nazarene Chruch to tear down to build a new bank.
To me it says something is about to give..

dale

[luckysranch]

I live in Northern Wright Co. - moved here about 4 years ago from the east coast. We bought a cattle ranch. Some land can use work to get the grass up to speed (ours does) - however - every piece of property seems to lay different here - so you really have to look at each one seperate. Plus some owners have put more "work" into their pastures with fertilizer, lime. etc. and I have seen some really nice grass grow here.

Texas co. is also nice. Both Wright and Texas will have some of the less expensive land prices and taxes.

Yes - we definately have our share of chiggers and ticks. I just use a lot of bug spray on my ankles for the chiggers (the non-chemical ones work too), the ticks you just pick off before they bite. I am surprised how well I have adapted to fighting these critters. But the trade off is nicer winter weather. You won't have to fight the snow. I don't think the summers are any more humid than the east coast and the air is cleaner here.

A good website to look at is www.morealestate.net
I guess land lease rates are affordable - I don't know what they are up where you are. I think it is around $20/acre, but I don't know of any facilities you can lease right now. There are several dairy farms for sale here. I don't want to sound like a commercial, but if you need some help finding something - I work for Kelly Real Estate in Mtn. Grove www.Kelly-Sold.com and I would be happy to help.

Kim
info@kelly-sold.com

[Up North]

Luckysranch, There is what the real estate adds are asking for land and then there is what people are actually paying. Can you give me some idea of what people are actually paying for the farmland in that area.

I can't believe I didn't ask this before. How is the swine situation in the area? Does everybody have a couple of pigs in the back yard? Would I have a market for my feeders pigs?

Heather

[Sammi]

Originally Posted by caroline00

I think Ozark Jewels has a goat milk dairy in Wright County. I am not sure where Texas County ends and Wright county begins over there. In the Ozarks... one person can have fantastic soil and the neighbor have rocks and clay. Mostly, I think it is rocky clay though.

I have noticed a lot of people settling in Ava. I'm not sure why though. We do like the Ozarks but it isnt because of the soil.

Could be because of the gay nudist colony just south of Ava.

It's not called Bugger County for nothing.



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There IS a nudist colony but I am really just teasing. I love Douglas county. Heck half my kin live there. It's beautiful country and if you don't push folks are pretty accepting for hill folks.

[ozark_jewels]

Up North, I don't have pigs and never have so I have no idea about that market. The market for goats is decent, you just gotta find the right buyers.

We looked at Ava(along with Hartville, Mountain View, Birch Tree, etc....!)we just liked the Mountain Grove area the best. Hartville area is my second favorite. Really nice feed mill there!!

[caroline00]

I know that a little north here in Texas county, 4-H'ers had trouble finding enough pigs to raise this year. Who knows what next year will bring.

Ozark Jewel.... our feed store sells the feeds from the Hartville mill. It is a lot cheaper than Tindle. Its also cheaper than Hirsch.

[Jethro]

Hey, Up North, I am a transplanted wisconsinite, born and raised in st.croix co. Hudson, wisconsin. I came to Mo. 17 yrs ago, and am old enough to think about retirement land too. I now live in St. Charles county, 40 miles west of St. Louis. I have been looking around and have a catalog by Jack Mayes Realty in the Ozarks. I think I have been accepted here even tho I am a yankee, last summer, my neightbor whom I have lived next to for 16 years said to me, you'all gonna talk like a norsky all your life, but you're ok. I took that as a compliment!! Of course that was after I helped him build a 28X40 workshop, in August, no shade either! If you are a Wi. dairy farmer, you already got a red neck, so come on down!