Woods or Pasture land for Homestead?

[virtualco]

In April I fly to SW MO to purchase a 5-10 acres homestead. As per an agreement with my wife, we will be doing six months at new homestead and six months at our home here in FL.

From this board I have learned that I need to find a place far enough out for privacy/future development but close enough to a highway/interstate (I-44) or town for a 20-25 minute commute.

I know it is a personal preference, but what kind of land do you prefer or have? All woods, all pasture, or a mix of both.

I like the solitude of the forest, but I like the idea that when the time is right down the road, I will want some chickens and a garden.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[ailsaek]

If it has to be all one or all the other, I'd go for all pasture (assuming decent soil and drainage), because I do not have sufficient physical strength or financial means to clear woods to create pasture, and for me it's about the gardening.

[linn]

Who's going to take care of the chickens while you are in Florida? With livestock comes responsiblity. I would probably choose pasture because I would want chickens and a cow. But as you plan to spend half the time in Florida I think it would be whatever suits your preference.

[Ravenlost]

Mix

[rambler]

Trees offer protection from nature.

I would not want a bare, treeless plot.

Mixed would seem to be best.

--->Paul

Definitely a mix. If you want the most out of homesteading then you need a little bit of pasture to raise some of your own meat and vegetables. But you need a some wooded land also to provide wood heat. Plus, if you become much of a woodsperson you will learn that there is plenty of food in the forrest also. Critters, nuts, berries, and fungus just to name a few.

I think that if a person had a somewhat sizable acreage that person could just pretty much supply all of his own food if they had to.

[FourDeuce]

If you buy cleared land, but don't get something out there grazing on it for a few years, it'll soon start growing back. You didn't say how long you planned on doing the 6 months Florida/6 months Missouri thing, so that might not be a problem, but it is something to keep in mind if you don't get to live on it permanently right away.

[virtualco]

FourDeuce, my hope is when I turn 55 in five years dw will want to join me in retirement and settle down in SW MO. For dw wants to keep the FL home for our 'real' retirement when we get into our 70's, when warm winters will pay off.

I have made a commitment to live in SW MO for one year. My dw, for this first time, will be doing the snowbird routine. So depending, it may work for me to stay in MO year round and let the dw do the traveling.

We'll see after the first year.

I see what you mean about land being reclaimed by nature to a wilder state. I will keep that in mind.

Thank you all for your responses.

[Beeman]

Cleared land is good for a pasture, hayfield or lawn do you have a nees for any of these? What would you do with pasture if you had it besides mow it and try to keep it from growing up? Pasture introduces you to the wonderful world of fencing.

[homebirtha]

Mixed would be my first preference, but if it had to be all or nothing, I would choose wooded over pasture. You can always clear a little space for a garden. Chickens don't need pasture. They would do find in a lightly wooded area. Goats and pigs too. Our land is probably 75% wooded and while I would like more pasture, the wooded land is easier to care for. We don't have to fence it all. We don't have to mow. We have wood for heat. The goats like the woods, so do the chickens. The garden is more tricky. The first two years, we were still figuring what stayed sunny most of the day. But overall, it's easier to clear a little extra space for pasture then it is to wait 20 years for trees to go to give you shade, firewood, etc.

BTW, our last place was 3 acres of all cleared land. I HATED it! It felt very exposed and open, very windy, no sun protection. I wouldn't ever buy a place like that again.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

With a small holding of 5-10 acres, I'll take pasture with trees planted around the edges for both shade, windbreak and firewood.

[stanb999]

I say mix to all wooded. If you buy a wooded lot you can get a field by clearing. If you by pasture and want trees. You can plant but you won't get to see any real size. Trees take 20-30 years to grow to mid-size (6"-10" /30 to 40 ft) and 50-60 years to get average (12"-16" 60-80 ft) and well over 80 years to get something worth looking at (18"-24" 100 ft). Forest is slow pasture can be had in a season with the right equipment.

[mowrey1999]

Well I definately would want a mixture of trees and maybe some cleared land, As people have said the trees take years to grow back to any size and around a home especially in southern missouri its nice to have shade and relief from wind , sun ect, I have about 5 acres cleared for a few animals ,garden , ect. the rest is woods with some trails around the property, The home is in the middle of the property and the woods around the house for some shade which helps in the summer and we never run the air conditioner last year with the big shade trees we have around the house,You can always get someone to clear a spot for you with a dozer, I would prefer to buy wooded property and then clear what I didnt want and make my homestead back off any road so it doesnt draw attention .As far as commuting goes we dont worry about being close to the interstate, and as long as we are 30 minutes from wallmart/home depot/menards if we need something the local store doesn,t have the wifes happy. the just my opinion.

[Corky]

It depends on where in SW MO you are talking about.
The Ozarks are mostly wooded but there is still lots of flat land in this area too.

You are talking about a very small place.
We have 11.5 acres and believe me, thats not very big.
We have a mix of meadow and woods. very hilly.

It seems to me that your top priorty will be a place with a good well and electric. Try finding a place with an old falling down homestead or maybe burned out place that has those things on it.
There are still lots of old abandoned places around here. You would have to tear down and clean up but if the well is good you will not have to pay $10,000.00 to get one put in.

If you are talking about a small farm, there are still some of those around her too but because the area is growing fast they are not as cheap as they once were.

[Corky]

We have what many think is the ideal place.
We have a river down the hill in front of us for swimming and fishing and boating.
It is a steep climb down that bank and we are not getting any younger though.
We have woods all around us but the old growth forrest is spindly and needs lots of TLC. It does have lots of different kinds of berries and nuts in it though.The meadow area is on a steep hill and we do have to keep animals on it to keep it from growing back into woods. Even with the animals we cut trees and for a few years the trees were winning. I think we have enough animals on it now. There is another , once meadow area that has gone back to nature. We have not gotten it fenced so have no animals on it. Thats ok, when we do get it fenced the goats will love clearing it for us.

The garden area is deep in rich soil that has washed down from above.
Problem with that is it was part of the barnyard and that was deep bermuda grass when we moved here.
It is a constant battle to keep the grass from reclaming the garden.
Heck, I have to have something to do in my retirement.

Make a list of what you want and buy the property that has the most of that list. You will most likely not find it all. Just make sure it is doable. Don't bite off more than you can handle.

[virtualco]

Sounds like a nice place you have Corky.

I think what I have read so far is that you can cut down trees to make pasture, but you can't take pasture and grow some trees.

It was mentioned chickens and goats do all right in woods, but would need some open space for a garden.

My goal is to become more self sufficient, less dependent on the store bought food.

I can see the need for having woods for fuel to heat and cooking if the situation called for it.

I will make a list of what I would like in property, and maybe see about upping the amount of land I will look for.

Again, all wonderful replies. Thank you for your comments.

[Corky]

UH-OH! I see a problem right from the start.

As I said I have a garden that had lots of soil in it.

That is the exception in these parts. Not the rule.
You better check out the garden area if you plan to grow your own food.
And yes, you will need more land unless you plan to live on chicken and rabbit.
Maybe goat too. That works for me but if you want beef you will need an acre of pasture for each animal and more for growing hay to feed through the winter.
We had two goats for a while and our meadow grew timothy and clover that we cut by hand, cured, raked and stored in the loft, loose. That worked for the two goats but we have more animals now and have to buy our hay.
Weeds killed out the timothy and clover too. We had no idea how to maintain it.

[Ramblin Wreck]

I like a mix, if for nothing else the firewood I use.

[CGUARDSMAN]

i would say a good mix of both. i live in sw mo between springfield and branson and absolutely love it. i have 9 acres of which 4 is pasture.

[highlands]

Mix.
Need pasture for livestock, gardens, snowboarding.
Need woods for firewood, lumber, traipsing.