Is there such a thing as owning too much land

The Amish think that about 70 acres is a big enough farm to raise a family.

Ever how much a family has, the question for the next generation is will the land be fragmented or left remaining in one tract.

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Population keeps on breeding
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy
Life is funny, skies are sunny
Bees make honey, who needs money, monopoly
...
World pollution is no solution

When the property tax bills start arriving in fistful of letters that question always surfaces.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

I have 340 acres so, NO you cannot own too much land.

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If the grass looks greener it is probably over the septic tank. - troy n sarah tx

Our existance here is soley for the expoitation of CMG

ditto! espeacially if it adjoined mine

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Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15. - Ronald Reagan

we have over 700 ac. and we would love to add more if it conected or even if it was close

Well I recently sold a lake home and another piece of property for a hefty profit after the land in that area went up considerably. I then bought a lil over 400 acres with that money. Im ashamed to admit I have been here a couple months and there is still parts of it I havent seen. But have ample pasture and a boatload of woods. About half is reclaimed coal strip pit that was reclaimed and sown in grass. Makes excellent pasture but thats about all. The rest is pretty decent woods.

But being honest with myself had I not gotten such a great deal Id probably been just as happy with 100 acres.

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What we have here...is a failure to communicate.

Heavens no. It's impossible to have to much land.

In fact, if I ever win the lottery I know of an 18,000 acre ranch in Wyoming that will be mine.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

I'd buy it. I don't think you can ever have to much land. If I won the lottery (not likely since we never buy a lottery ticket) I'd buy as much land around me as I could. We have 96 acres and are currently negotiating on the 30 next door.

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I'm running so far behind I thought I was first!

http://hickahala.blogspot.com/

As Lady Bird Johnson once said, " All I want is my farm and the land adjacent to it."
Most of the 400 acres I bought cost under $100 an acre and is now worth well over $1000. Even with 30 years of taxes, it was a good investment. Plus I preserved the rural environment and created my own "peace and quiet".

Too general. In some areas that may be the case but for the most part in Kansas. Due to heat stress on horses, yield in an area with less rainfall, and a combination of other things the Amish in my area are allowed the use of tractors. I know of none that use only horses for their crops.

Because of the extra input cost to farm the farms are larger.

Hey.

I think Ted Turner has too much land.

Maintaining a couple hundred wooded acres can be difficult, especially if disease,beetles and borers,etc. decide to have it their way...

RF

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It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill

I would say yes and no. Too much is when you find yourself unable to properly manage and care for it. Here on the East coast that may be 400 acres, while out west it may be 4,000 acres. Around here there are numerous "big land owners" and without exception all of their properties are poorly managed, usually grown up with trash trees and plagued with cutover. It's the "take it and leave it" philosophy.

I currently manage our 123 acre farm and another neighboring farm without any problems, and I feel certain that should I purchase another 200 acres I'd be able to manage that as well. But with the more land you own and manage, the management quality goes down. I can get twice the hay yield per acre off my intensively managed (manured/reseeded/cut at proper times) fields than my neighbor's large fields, even though he still fertilizes, etc. Because I routinely walk ALL my fields and take mental note of where I need to work on it. Whereas all he does is cuts it riding a tractor, and then views the field from the cab of his truck. It looks good, but all fields have places that need work, and by intensively managing ALL your land, you can double the yield, both of hayland, pasture, and woodland. Nothing beats walking your land and constantly working to improve it. And the more you own the less you are able to properly care for it.

I would say that a good farmer/manager can make just as much off 400 acres as he would off of 600 acres, because he doesn't have time and resources to spread out. What I'm saying is that other than timberland, which can be managed over longer periods of time, an increase in farmland doesn't necessarily mean an increase in bottom line profit. In my dreams, I would have about 300 acres of farmland and then as much timberland as I can afford, because timber equipment makes possible the proper care for large tracts of timber. Just don't own more than you can care for, else you'll be losing potential productivity due to poor quality management and poor forestry practices, etc. And that amount is different for every person, and different parts of the country.

Good luck Ravenlost! I hope it works out for you.

I'm jealous! LOL

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

No doubt about it! I've always dreamed of having thousands acres.

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I have my eye on acres across from my moms place. Now I only need to win the lotto lol.
I grew up in SW Indiana where people still today can live a mile from their closest neighbor.

Is there such a thing as owning too much land? Yes. If your land is running you rather than other way around, that's too much.

I'd love to have a couple hundred acres, but realistically 25 acres is all I can handle right now, with a full-time job as well. I suppose if the 200 acres was 80 percent woods and not productive farmland, I could do that. But to produce from, and maintain, more than 25 acres I know would be just too much for me, unless I was able financially to also quit my job and leave behind all its many benefits (retirement, 401k, insurance, sick leave, etc.). Short of having one of my lottery tickets hit big, that isn't going to be viable.

The 25 acres I farm now is about all I can handle in present circumstances, and I wouldn't acquire more just to have it. Frankly, there are better investments for that amount of money than raw land, anyway.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

Provided you can afford the taxes and can enjoy it, I say the more the merrier. But you really don't own it, God gives you a temporary lease on it, so handle it with care as any good steward would.

As long as there is plenty of woods surrounding it, I would say you bet! I live on 26 mostly wooded acres and I would love more woods and more pasture. Course that would mean more animals. Hey, this keeps sounding better and better!

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Simple Rural Living
For those who enjoy rural living and the simple things in life
http://www.simpleruralliving.com/phpBB3/index.php

A Native American I know told me he bought 1 acre and was perfectly happy because he lived adjacent to thousands of acres of PA State Gamelands. Why would he want more unless he was farming it?