Any like minded people, want to buy land?

Marc, I wasn't trying to be snarky or hijack your thread. I guess I just couldn't help myself, because as you said, there are a lot of negative posts here about Amish and Mennonites. I don't understand it either, but it seems that in so many threads about them, the threads go straight downhill.

Having said that, I would LOVE to have one of those places, but alas, we already have two properties here, and it's too far away from where we want to stay.

I've always been intrigued by the idea of an intentional community, which is what Amish/Mennos have, but they have a fairly strict set of rules they live by, which is what creates the cohesion we see within their communities. I've read a lot over the years about intentional communities and the problems with them and some that have come and gone because no one can agree on a set of rules to abide by. Unfortunately, if you take a group of people, say farmers or even homesteaders, at some point there will be friction and issues. Not saying it can't be done or isn't done somewhere. It would be wonderful to hear about groups of like minded people living in close proximity and working together for mutual financial and social support.

We'd love to live near / around like minded folk. Can't see us moving to Iowa though.

If folks are looking -- land is real reasonable round these parts. Raw land seems to be going for about $500 / acre right now.

Course you got to be ok with a "little" wind now and again.

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Patrick Harris
http://ByExample.com

There are other ICs in Ohio that accept men. We visited it. We liked the people ok but it wouldn't have worked out well for my woodworking business. We visited another in a different state and we didn't feel that one was for us either.

HT may just be a great place for like-minded people to get to know enough about each other to decide to meet in person to come up with a plan. Just showing up to an IC to see if it will work out for you is probably not the way I would go about it. Here, at least, you can learn a little bit about the person's demeanor, intelligence, skills, and have some good dialog to help determine compatibility.

I've also thought that attending a large church would be a good method but most folks going to big churches aren't into small intimate intentional communities.

It may just take some SHTF events for people to lower their expectations enough to make it all happen.

one caveat ..do they have electricity? a lot of amish familys do not use it..and it might be very expensive to move electricity to the property.

I have seen several things lately about people going together to buy land..say 20 families each throwing in $5,000 you can buy a $100,000 piece of land and share it or whatever..like a commune..

or if it is farmland that has no home on it..several families could go together to buy shares in a farm and go there throughout the week or on weekends and plant and harvest their own shares..

I am almost positive there is no electric to these homes and farms. As long as the electric runs by or near by it wouldn`t cost alot to hook up electric, but you would also have to wire any building that you would run it to. We have thought about buying an amish farm and we would more than likely go off grid with a solar and/or wind generator for what ever electric we would need. Then we thought about haveing an area or room on the first level that would have electric in it to run computer and the like, but leave the rest of the house the way it was. Isn`t it the whole idea to start doing away with some of the electric gadgets. Anyway this is cool you all writing in with your take on this , >Thanks Marc

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There are also the Amish and Mennonite people in South America and I've seen pictures of kids riding bikes with guns!

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

FYI - Lots of Amish have been moving to the plains of Canada, Belize, Bolivia. ldc

I see nobody responded to my post?

Do u people realize how much money you would need, individually, in order to farm say 120 acres>

Most of u would have to work off farm to support yourselves. Whats the job market like there?

How many u people know how to set up/run a combine. Time and thread a bailer/binder, How to put on a corn picker if mounted 2 row, not to stick their hands in one while running to clean it. Yes, yes, I know how smart u all think you are. MANY many real farmers lived their lives with only one hand cause they thought they were smart too, AND they were. Fate just caught up with them.

I think homesteaders moveing to those farms, would be like a Civil War Veterern comeing home and going to farming, and then to move to a place say in 1940.. Where he thought a 5 acre field was a pretty good field, and he might have 2 or 3 of them, that would be about it. He might have 20 acres in pasture, and the rest in woods, or woods pasture of his 120. He would spend his life, if he stayed there, opening up his farm, so that his son, who might get it in say in 1900/1910 would have it mostly opened with just enough woodlot left to supply boards and fuel from it. Maybe 20/30 acres. Where the origional owner thought real power lied in Oxen, and thats what he plowed with, pulled out trees with, The son, might think in terms, of Belgians, Perchirons for plowing/pulling. HIS son, might inherit the farm in say 1940/1950. His idea of power is in a tractor, or 2. Where the origional owner might have kept a team of mid grade horses for lighter work, pulling wagon, hayrack, ect till up towards the 1889s when discs, steel harrows, mowers, rakes, drlls, binders, both corn and grain, planters, tredmills, and sweeps came into effect. HIS son would think of the same kind of a team for a second team for lighter stuff, like cultivating, where heavier horses would trample out alotta corn, and useing alla the impliments just mentioned. HIS son would either use another tractor, maybe a bit smaller, or keep the same kind of lighter team, for odds and ends, and out of sentimentality.

What im saying, is theres a graduation there from early day pioneer/homesteader, to modern farmer/farmer. VERY very few people can make that jump AND be successful about it.

Farmboybill: Nothing ventured... nothing gained!

Whether we'll be successful homesteaders or not we feel it's important to try. I do have a sense of nostalgia in the fact I make handcrafted wood projects and seeing my wife do things our ancestors did. It's not about money. It's about the satisfaction of doing/making things yourself and being self-reliant.

For many of us self-reliance isn't an all-or-nothing venture. It's a process of growth and degrees of success. Depending less on others and things we can't control and relying on ourselves whom we do have control over.

Kind of a bizarre post really since they are buying Amish farms........

You mean, there's a community of Amish, composed strictly of women? Or are you talking about another kind of community? I've heard of groups of individuals that have no use for men, but not whole community's of em! tell us (me) more.... Not that I'd move.

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

Well Farmboybill I will take on your worry, For one thing, once you have your land bought that is your biggest problem. then you start out with inexpensive equipment, and work your way up. If you work togeather as a group all you have to have is just one person that has done one of the things that needs done to show the rest what to do. You asked about combines and balers and pickers. All you need is one combine, maybe two balers, silage chopper, maybe a picker. Each farm could have the small equipment nessesary to do day to day work, manure spreader, wagon, a hayrack, elevator and other small things needed. The whole idea of like minded people working togeather is to work togeather, not against each other. How about back in the days, when ya used a threasher for small grain(the amish still do), A corn shreader for picking the corn out of the shocks, You all getting togeather to put up loose hay. There were farms back in the day that farmed several hundred acres with horses, had lots of hired help when they use to work for a dollar a day. As far as being smart enough to keep your hands out of a picker, well that goes along ways on your gene pool. As far as livestock there again you can help each other out. I don`t know how you grew up , but when I was young you helped each other not worked against each other(More Later)>Thanks marc

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Patt, u think thoise farms know that they were farmed by the Amish?? I moved to Okla where once it had all been range land. Then it was farmed. Do you think the land realized it wasnt inhabited by indians and cowboys anymore. Then, they discovered oil here, everywhere around. Wells every 5 acres apart. Do u think the land made mention of not being farm country anymore? THEN, after the depression, it was ranched again. Do u think the land gave any thought about it not haveing farmers on it anymore. I farm my piece of former ranch land. I havnt noticed the land feel anything good or bad about not haveing cows or oil wells on it anymore.

U guys are all like I was 30yrs ago. Im probably older than anyone thinking about going to IA. AND I LOVE IA. I COULD FINISH MY LIFE AT THE LIVING HISTORY 1860S 1900 FARM IN DUBUQUE

U say, if you have your land bought, that is the biggest problem. If you meaning paying cash for it and haveing it free and clear, then id say your right. If you mean bought as in u and the banker, Id say, thats just the beginning of your problems, and alla the rest are much harder, as you will work yourselves to the bone to accomplish them.

U say, U start out with inexpensive equipment, and work your way up. Give me a TOTAL estimate of what you would need in capital in order to buy the iexpensive equipment youd need, and also, just so were on the same page, list the equipment your thinking of. I have 4 tractors here. For the first time in my life. I dont have a tractor that I can use. My Cub has something in the timeing I cant fix. Ive had 2 Cubs, and there great while they work, There he ll when they dont. I have a 48 H Farmall that im getting new brake lineings on. I have a 34 CC Case that im getting a new gas tank for, My sons 49 AC WD needs a rear tire put on it. Yes, its never happened before, but it can happen. BUT then, what if the Cub worked and the other 3 was out. It wont pull the hat offa your head without a downhill run. Its a mower, and garden tractor. I still cant farm with it. Im not a master machanic, But, I do alotta of it, and there still comes times when I cant get anything done. Im only farming 20. If it was 120. Id be going nuts. Seed corn costs $130 a bu, and thats around the cheapest op brand. A bu will plant an acre thereabouts. Its your cash crop generally in Ia, so lets say you have 50 acres at least in corn. Thats way over $6000 in seedalone. Then theres Fertilizer, and herbacide, and they dont give gas away.

Now, say alla my tractors are down, and I have a big repair bill. I have near $10 000 in seed, fert, herbacide, gas, oil, hyd fluid, ect. BUT, I got a nice crop tho. Well, now its ready to pick, at least down here. Say I dont know how to run a picker, or a bailer, or a combine, BUT, ive helped do primary tillage with the others to offset that. So, now, I get to set on my thumbs, waiting my turn to get my corn picked, and when I finally do, its Jan. 1/2 the stalks have rotted and broke over, with ice storms and what not. Now, its my turn, but snows knee deep to a tall indian and they cant get into it till spring. But then, I had to wait on getting my hay bailed, and it got rained on 8 times this year. I did get some loose straw made out of 5 acres of oats, cause it went down cause the combine man didnt get to me till we had all the rain, and knocked it to the ground. I just mowed it, raked it, raked it again with a dump rake, and piled it loose on the hay rack.MY POINT IS. ask ANY farmer how hed like to go back to waiting on the bailer man, the thresherman or the combine man to get his precious crops in, Ill go with what he says.

U mentioned how bout back in the day when they did have to wait on the thrasher, and getting enough people together at one time to thrash, they, took all that time to cut and shock corn, as binders was RARE. WELL, back in the day, corn was open pollinated, and farmers saved their own seed, so they didnt have no seedcosts. They didnt use fertilizers, so that cost was out. They didnt know what herbicide was, so no cost there, sooo, if they had to wait, At least they didnt have the weight of alla those expenditures we have today to worry about. And, if you think you can farm today without fert and herb, you wont have anything the second year but weeds. The farmers back then took all winter tween cutting wood, and doing chores, to select corn seed. They thought a 10 acre field is a pretty good field of corn. If you had to select 50bu of corn to plant that would be the equal of 5 55gal barrels at least.

U keep mentioning, back in the day. Things were way different back in the day. Everything has hyper inflated in price since then. The land you pay 2000/3000 an acre for now, isnt near the quality of ground that grandpa paid $20/30 for in 1910. Most young people back then were natural machanics. They didnt have other distractions that electricity provides, and so they could devote time to being a quality machanic. U dont have that anymore. People want to do way too many other things that electricity can provide. They dont want to be stuck on the farm for a week,/month. They want to go at least once a day somewhere, and more often if they can. Back in the day, Farmers mostly didnt work off the farm. They farmed, and they were able to cause they didnt have a high overhead. EVEN THEN, 1 out of EVERY 3 farms was sold in 1932 1934 for back taxes, or forclosure. Ive heard the storydown here, where a brother gave a piece of ground to another brother cause he couldnt pay the taxes on it. Later the second brother had to give it back cause he couldnt pay the taxes on it either.

U mention the Amish, and how they do things the old way. Yes, they do. some places. Thats why theres alotta breaking away from colonies cause people get fed up trying to make it doing things the old way. A sale I go to the first of the month here is run by the amish. I never see a buggy anymore, tho when I first came here in 80 you could see them infrequently. Nobody farms here generally, and when they do, they use rubber tired MF tractors new. I remember 20yrs ago that there was another sale run by the same man. There they only sold cows. All the amish would show up with 135 MF tractors and stock trailers. They were there pickups. If ALL the Amish were pleased to farm the old ways, do u think theyed have so many breakups??

Im not even gonna comment on what you seem to be saying, that the oldtime people who got caught up in pickers, buzz saws, choppers, tipped over , or fell off tractors were complete idiots, cause that would make my older brother one, and I guess my dad too, as he was the cause of it

When i was young, I started outy on a rack wagon with a team of horses in a hay field. My first paying job was doing that for 25@ a hr. Everybody helped everybody out with their hay, and that was it. The thrashing, and cutting winter wood was gone by the time I knew anything about it. Ive never helped anybody other than relation, cause dad owed them, with anything buy haying, and plowing. AND I only plowed for an aunt and uncle once or twice, We never worked against anybody, and what I listed above is all that anybody did for anybody.

There is a pretty large community of Mennonites near us. Good people and well respected among the Costaricans. You can always tell when you are in the area by the construction of their barns.

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.

Bill this can be done, don`t tell me it can`t you can farm like the amish, I do most everyday. I just tweek it some and use things they don`t, you don`t need all the crap they sell to farm , trust me on this one. And you can buy rather inexpensive machinery that you can farm with. I have and do. I have farmed all my life and have learned to make do with what I had till I can get better. (More Later). >Thanks marc

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Our Diversified Stock Portfolio: cows and calves, alpacas, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cats ... and a couple of dogs...
http://springvalleyfarm.4mg.com

Bill, I want to thank you for making me feel better. I am quite the pessimist, or realist as I call it, and I think you have me beat. I think it is possible, although probably not realistic, as far as the people getting together is concerned, in a "community". Do remember though, there is more than rowcropping. I am slowly working towards making a substancial living by farming, but I know I can't raise crops, that is why I don't, and have livestock. I know I could do hay, even though at this point I couldn't time a bailer. However, if there was someone close who could show me once, I could do it the next time. I think this is more of what springvalley is talking about, but I could be wrong. I know there are ranches where the neighbors come from miles at branding time to help for a day, and the favor is returned later, a "community" of sorts. They are still independant though. I do agree though, it is expensive to start, I still borrow a tractor cause I can't afford one today, but in three more months I can buy my own and not borrow, and if needed at that point I would loan mine out to someone in need. Like I said, probably not realistic, but possible, and nice to think about.

I can't for the life of me figure out your point here. If the Amish could farm it in an old fashioned sort of way so could we was all I meant. I do wonder why you farm when it is all such a bundle of misery though.

I think it is important to realize that the most important thing is to buy what you can cash - especially if you are new to farming. You cannot expect everything will go well - it probably won't, but if you don't have a debt to the bank, you might just do okay. The problem with having a debt on the land is that you have to make enough to pay both yourself, and the bank. The Amish have been farming the land without debt - and they have a lot more experience than most on doing it on the cheap.

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Growing trees and food in Costa Rica.

I don`t know who pee-diddled in FBB`s Wheeties this morning, but he really doesn`t like the idea. I`m a realist also, and know that a community similar to the amish may not work, but it just might. Land would be the most expensive purchase, and then equipment. If you could buy these out right I have no doubt you could make this work. This is a what if work in progress, so just keep writing.>Thanks marc

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Our Diversified Stock Portfolio: cows and calves, alpacas, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cats ... and a couple of dogs...
http://springvalleyfarm.4mg.com

U got me all wong. 20/30/40yrs ago, were my situation the same as now, id be champing at the bit to go, with no doubts about it. Ive paid for that naviety. The worst mistake I made was leaving NE Kansas. The next biggest mistake was going to S Ctrl Misery. The best thing Ive did was escape there and come to NE Okla. I did the jumping from here to there in my time. Never really got anywhere from doing it, other than farther from my family, and disinhearited by my dad cause I did. Im just alot older, and can look back on those things, and seeing them for what they are, I suppose makes me wiser. But the down side, is, Being wiser either causes some people to just shut up, and im not quite that wise yet, and sometimes to whizz on other peoples parades. Hope u got an umbrella lol

I wish somebody wise and old woulda told me alla the things then, that im saying to you all now. I hopefully woulda stayed in NE Kans, and still thought that okla was covered with red dirt and indians, who threw a blanket around an oil well for a teepee to sleep in. Thats about all I knew of Okla back in the early 70s.