For those who live in Missouri

[SuperDog]

I am thinking ahead towards early retirement, and where I should spend it. More and more I am thinking about Missouri as a good place. It seems to be affordable and I am looking for open country, and to get away from cities. My dream would be able to have 200-300 acres to raise some beef cattle. I’ve done a little looking online, but don’t know the state at all. I know that summer heat is not one of my favorite things, so I would be looking more at northern MO. Could someone tell me which counties in the northern part that are less expensive to live in, and are good for raising cattle. I noticed that land is taxed very low in MO compared to Wisconsin, but I understand that there is a personal property tax on cars, boats, livestock and other things that we in WI don’t have. What is the tax per head that you pay for cattle? Finally, what is your opinion about retiring in MO? Do you think Im nuts, or do you think its a good idea? This is something I am looking to do in about 6 years, although I may buy the land and rent it out sooner.

Thanks for your help
Mike

[ceresone]

several nice places came to mind-till I got to the N, Mo. bit--sorry, cant help, I'm in S.C. Mo.

[big rockpile]

If I was going for just Beef cattle I would go South of 50 HWY pulling towards the West.More Grain Farming North of that and more expensive land.

big rockpile

[whiskeylivewire]

I have no idea on most of what you asked, but I have a friend that lives in northern Mo that could probably answer your questions. I'll let her know about this thread.

[salmonslayer]

If your looking to beat the summer heat I dont see what you gain by limiting yourself to northern Missouri myself..you do gain colder snowier winters but not much in heat reduction.

Its a great place to retire to (we did that last year) and if you have enough money to buy 200-300 acres you can write your own ticket. Most of Missouri is rural so you can find nice deals in most parts of the state but taxes vary greatly by county. My county is entirely zoned agricultural, we have very low taxes and almost no services and there are literally zero building codes other than EPA regs for septic or lagoons..that is both a good thing and a bad thing.

If you havent already, check out the "United Country" website where they have all kinds of farm and ranch listings and you might find further specific info for a particular area at City-Data.com.

Good luck.

[MO_cows]

Rural Missouri tends to have reasonable real estate taxes. Personal property tax is paid to your county. You fill out a form listing all your "real" property and they send you an annual bill. Vehicles, I know that we pay a lot less in property taxes than relatives who live over the line in Kansas. Personal property tax is "fair" in that the people who have more stuff and newer stuff, pay more. But it still chaps my hide to pay on the same thing over and over. We have kept some of our vehicles for 6, 7, 10 years and it sure was a bummer to pay the annual tax on them so many times. Although it does go down every year as they depreciate.

There are lots of different types of land in Missouri, so I would suggest taking a week or two's vacation, come down and look them all over.

[SuperDog]

Thanks for the website United country. I hadn't seen that one, and that one has many more listings than some of the others. As far as taxes go.... here in Wisconsin I pay $5600 yr for my house with a small barn, a 36 x 72 shed, and 35 acres. I don't get charged every year for my truck or boat or livestock, but I still have income tax, and sales tax. Just too dang many taxes. I think one of the reason I was looking at the northern part, was it would still be closer to family if I wanted to come and visit. Plus growing up in Wisconsin, I still like cool weather once in a while. I am planning on coming down there early this summer for a week or so. I'll let you all know when, and maybe I can get a tour of your area.

For those who do have cattle right now, how much are you taxed per animal in your county. I have no idea if its 25 cents and animal or $100.00. Can you give me a range?

[bbigcnote]

i work highway construction all over the state of missouri and live in northeast MO. i can garuntee that the heat factor is the same no matter what part of the state you live in. But as far as winter goes i enjoy north mo better because when winter storms do hit north mo is more snow and the south have more ice storms. i perfer snow to ice. if you are wanting isolation then look at land in northwest mo. i worked around bethany and eagleville. if you want isolation that is the place.

[terri46355]

Another good website for real estate is MOREALESTATE.net. It allows you to choose a location, type of property, and price range.

[Mark Twain]

I agree with Mo cows, take a few trips at different times of the year and see where in the state you like best.
After visiting the Glade Road in October we decided to buy a farm that bordered the National Forest in Ozark County.
We are only four miles from a great canoe float river and have incredible views.
That said, its only good for pasture and raised bed gardening, the land is better at growing rocks than row crops.

[CJ]

Forget northern Missouri, southern Missouri is the best place! Douglas and Ozark counties are gorgeous, full of wonderful people and very inexpensive to live in. I'm going to be quiet now, or I'll make myself homesick.

[chrisntiff]

You are going to retire and then start a 300 acre beef ranch? I hope you have a boat load of money to spend. I plan on selling off all my cows and living the easy life when I retire. We live down here in the SW part of the state and land prices are still cheap and grow good fescue for cattle. With proper management and rotation you may be able to make a buck or two. I can't remember what the per animal rate is for taxes but it isn't too bad, i believe its in the cents per animal and not dollars. You also don't have too pay sales tax on farm related items in the store. Good luck MO is a great place to live.

[big rockpile]

One thing about Northern Missouri not only is Tillable Land keeping prices per acre up but so is Record Deer with Deer Hunters paying so much more for what Land is worth.

Southern Missouri is good for Cattle and back when I was a Kid there was Row Crops grown just harder to do.

big rockpile

[JohnP]

I'm moving back to Douglas in a couple of weeks. (sorry CJ) Here's some links I've collected recently.

www.landsofamerica.com
www.landandfarm.com
http://www.morecorders.com/CountiesMap.htm (MO recorders, the folks who collect the tangible personal property taxes and real estate taxes)
http://www.texascountymissouri.org/assessor.html (an explaination of how the taxes are calculated, in this case for Texas County)
http://www.greenecountymo.org/spane/...alproperty.htm (more tax info with links to the Mo statutes)
http://www.moga.mo.gov/STATUTES/C137.HTM (entire statute section)

Your tax is calculated by dividing the assessed value of your property by 100 and then multiplying that result by the tax levy. The formula looks like this:
(Assessed Value / 100) x Tax Levy

Assessed value is a percentage of market value. In order to calculate the assessed value, multiply the market value by the adjustment factor which applies to the item of property being considered. The adjustment factors are as follows:

• All property except that listed below 33 1/3%
• Mobile homes used as dwellings 19%
• Grain and other Agricultural Crops .05%
• Livestock and Poultry 12%
• Farm Machinery 12%
• Historic motor vehicles under 301.131 RSMO 5%
• Certain aircraft see section 137.115 RSMO 5%
• Certain business tools and equipment (see laws)
  

Greene County aka Springfield adds 3-4% to the base rate. More rural/farming Counties are 0.0**%
Same with Real Estate taxes. Some areas are as low as a dollar an acre for as much land as you're looking for. You should be able to get a pretty good idea by looking at city-data.com. They also give county info. Just type in ***** county, mo and it will give you county data including population per sq mile. Schools and colleges seem to be the big rate hikers. Might also find county population info at wikipedia.

[SuperDog]

Thanks for the info and links JohnP. That helps a lot. Chrisntiff, after looking at prices for land in MO, I could sell my place for about the same price as 250 acres there. I am amazed at how reasonable land prices are there. I was thinking about buying more land here in WI, but at $5000.00 an acre, its just too much. Then after you pay that much, you get taxes out of site. As far as retiring and then running cattle, it would be an early retirement.... around 50. I would only be looking at breaking even with the cattle. Im a workaholic... I find that walking the fields with cattle as they graze is one of the most relaxing things I do.

[Our Little Farm]

Another good place to look for land is www.landandfarm.com

Hope you find what you are looking for. I have travelled all over MO but my heart is in the Ozarks.

[silverbackMP]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

One thing about Northern Missouri not only is Tillable Land keeping prices per acre up but so is Record Deer with Deer Hunters paying so much more for what Land is worth.

Southern Missouri is good for Cattle and back when I was a Kid there was Row Crops grown just harder to do.

big rockpile

Yeah but if you play it right, you can buy some marginal row crop land (NOT bottom land) and sit back and collect 5% off of a share rent--not counting any gain in appreciation. Get some with some woods and you have other sources of income if you know what are doing (and avoid being screwed by loggers). Better than an IRA, IMHO. I think the Deer Hunter encroachment has significanyly lessened since the crash. In fact, if you don't hunt (I do) and can put up with them (I can't) the city deer hunters are another source of income as I believe they are more likely to lease hunting rights now days rather than buy.

Also marginal row crop land makes for awesome pasture if you go that route; also lots of "combination" farms in n. Missouri. These have a chunck of lower bottom (or near bottom) ground for cultivation and a chunk of pasture for grazing and no rocks to speak of.

Don't let the word out; we don't need too many people up there. I like my productive land less than $2000.00 an acre and my property taxes low. Please don't tell anybody from SOCAL (just kidding--kind of).

[Windy in Kansas]

I'll probably get my head bit off for suggesting you consider something other than you ask for but I'll stick my neck out anyway.

Have you considered the Flint Hills of Kansas? While a little further away it is excellent an cattle raising area. Sorry, can't offer you information on stocking rate but you will need to check that for any location you look at.

The Flint Hills may be a little warmer in the summertime, but I wouldn't be surprised if the comfort level is as good as Missouri because of somewhat lower humidity.

I expect you'd get a good bang for your buck for KS land.

Just a warning, according to articles I've read within the last month or so land prices have risen considerably in part due to increased receipts from grains and livestock sales from higher prices.

Since you say you are a workaholic and will be retired, you might pick up some work tending herds as a lot of them are owned by absentee owners who merely rent pasture there during the summer months.

Prior year residue is burned off each year so you would have that work or expense to consider as well as the permits for such.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimrich...hy/2990897117/

[ibcnya]

Here is a local one for ya Superdog they have some for sale in NE Mo. Better if you have some time and attend auctions in the area. http://boleyrealestate.com/

[tarbe]

Well, here is another vote for the Ozarks!

My wife and I both grew up in Wisconsin, so we understand the torment you are going through. Wisconsin is a great place....but owning land there is very expensive!

We purchased 80 acres in northern Ozark county (near Rockbridge Mill) last summer, and hope to retire on it in the next 4-5 years. Annual taxes are $30 for the unimproved land. Will be several hundred after we put a modest retirement home on it.

Our neighbor to the east has an 800 ac cow operation. The 40 directly south is a Missouri Foxtrotter ranch. All other near neighbors have kept their land more or less as unimproved woods for recreation.

The night skies are great for star gazing. We were camping out there two weeks ago and all you hear around the campfire are coyotes and cows.

We have been looking at land for 20 years, in AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR and MO. We kept coming back to MO as the best compromise of low initial cost, low taxes, good rain, good trees (we are lousy with oak), low population density and folks who generally share our values.

Best of luck to you in your search! Here are the folks we bought our land through: http://ozarkmountainsrealestate.com/

Tim