need advice on developing 64 acres

[Jameys18]

I am so glad I found this forum! There's so much I want to learn, but I have some specific questions and with 1,300+ pages of threads in this section alone and my two month old little girl having me up every 5 minutes I thought I'd just ask for some help as I'm sure there are some experts out there willing to help me out.

I'm in the military and have 10 years left until retirement. My father in law is giving us 64 beautiful acres in South Carolina. The land is 90% pastures that he has cattle on with woods along the edges on the property. It has a natural spring that he has ----ed into one large pond and three smaller ponds further down. Two sides of the property have road frontage and the other sides are backed up to more undeveloped land.

We plan to build a home there when I retire and I'm trying to find out what things we can do now that normally take years to pay off to make the our home all the more sweeter down the road. I'm thinking about different types of fruit trees, peach, apple, pear, fig, cherry, and also ascetic trees. We plan on having some different types of livestock like cows, bees, chickens, ducks, and I want some goats but the wife isn't hearing it (but hey, I got 10 years to talk her into it!).

There are bass and brim in the main pond now and catfish in the next largest and I've though about stocking but there are some kids that sneak in and fish it. This land is a few miles away from my father in law's house and the main track of land so he can't keep eyes on it all the time and he's afraid if he confronts them or calls DNR they might mess with his cows, which I can understand.

any advice or references to must read material are welcome!

[Gianni]

Any trees would involve fencing it off from cattle. You should have fruit from them in 4-5 years so you have 5 years to start. I would start with trees in 5+ years from retirement. [yfr=years from retirement]. Go to a foundation in 1.5 ytr, start construction in 1 ytr and move nto a home @ r. When you are living there worry about a garden, crop diversification etc. Do not mess with the cattle as that is working now.
Option two for the ponds. Go to the Sheriff's office and request to have a dedicated shooting range. They will generally need to inspect the property and the process might take 6-10 months. Post the ponds as private fishing and the property as having a private shooting range with no liability for any trespassers injured there. Have your FIL shoot a few rounds every time they are there. Problem might go away.

[bruce2288]

You got some good advice. Now concerning the kids fishing. If they are not doing any vandalism, what is the problem? Kids need a place to fish. You obviusly are not around to harvest the fish. You are providing a healthy activity for some kids in the community. I would enlist their aid in keeping an eye on the place. I would have your FIL place a sign at the ponds. Stateing that if these boys want to fish there, to come talk to him. Give them permission, ask that they keep trash cleaned up and let him know if any things looks wrong. Like a broken fence, cows out,vehicles on the place. Heck gain an ally, don't create a problem. Friends are better than enemies and we need to encourage activities like fishing in youth.

I know it seems on this board that many feel it is theirs and everyone should stay the heck off. I let most people who ask to hunt on my land. It does not hurt or cost me and I get to provide some enjoyment for other people, plus they are appreciative.

[rambler]

Trees take over pastures, so rent the place to so eone. Probably will be your dad, but just saying....

Pond and kids - yea, get your insurance in order on that. Odds are low, but if something happens, you won't own the property any more.

You can try to keep the kids out; or you can strike up a friendship with one family of them, and allow only them to have access to the pond. If they feel it is 'their' pond for a time, they may take better care of it, and work to keep others off the property for you. There are pluses and minuses to either way.....

Orchard is good to plan ahead.

Paul

[Nimrod]

Decide where you want to put the house. Plant trees now where you want a windbreak and to make the place look pretty. In 10 years they may be big enough to do some good.

Plant the orchard in a few years. They start producing in 5 years but they hit their stride a few years after that when they are full grown.

Here, in MN, if you give someone permission the hunt or fish on your land you are absolved of any liability for anything that happens to them on your land. If they are hurt while trespassing they can sue you. In 10 years they will have discovered the opposite sex and the problem will solve itself. More good reasons to let the kids fish.

[Bret]

Pitch a tent on it. Dwell on it. Go to sleep on it. Wake up on it. See the sun set and rise again from differnt spots. Make a camp fire. See what is there that you cannot see the first time or the hundredth time. See it alone. See it with a friend or friends. Listen to it. Oberve it's seasons.

It will start to become you. Some of your ideas will be born to you and cannot be imagined yet. Always forgive it. Get to know it. Every place is perfect for something. Never blame it. Always forgive it. Befriend it. Enjoy it. Share it. Help it. Respect it. Learn about its past--it's recent past and ancient past. It has much to teach you about itselt and you...and yet you will never know it all.


Start something that you will enjoy and that interests you, and see where it leads you.

--Recycled from another thread. I hope it still fits here.

[agmantoo]

Jameys18

I own tree growing land in SC and I use hunters to control the trespassers and to help maintain the properties. This has worked well for me as most of the folks have come to recognize that the hunters are very protective of their leases. The income from the hunt leases more than pays the property taxes. I am located roughly 100 miles north of Chesterfield SC and I run cattle at the home farm in NC. I would think that at your retirement from the military that you would possibly want to have the farm to produce some additional income for discretionary use. There are not many folks doing rotational grazing in SC but I would be happy for you to visit my farm to see first hand what it is about. Meanwhile on this site there is a forum on cattle and there you can see a topic in the sticky at the top of the page on rotational grazing. PS....Welcome to the site!

[joebill]

A boy on whom you have placed some responsibility has a very good chance of becoming a very good man. The nation is desperate for very good men. Please don't waste the opportunity........Joe