[fantasymaker]

In IL the give notice day is 1 NOVEMBER. So he has missed it this year.
IN might be different and in any case you could probably tell him now and because he wants you happy NEXT year he would likly accepta small use like 1 to 5 acres.

 

[highlands]

I need some help with my goals. I am fortunate to have 100 acres of farmland free and clear in a life estate (mother).

Bravo. You can live on that, produce your own fuel, food and a crop to sell to pay for the taxes and store good luxuries you want. We have a bit more land than that but only use about 70 acres for our farm which pays the mortgage and all of our other expenses allowing us to work fully from our land. It is wonderful. It will take time to get to that point, building infrastructure and skills. The sooner you start doing it in small steps the better.

Tip: plant some fruit and nut trees and bushes now.

It is currently leased out to a farmer paying 270 an acre per year.

Wow. That's an excellent income for rented land. Must be very good soil. Sounds crop good. Don't get into the commodities market yourself though. You would be a small inexperienced fish. Instead start with a small portion of that land, say 5 acres and plan on a niche market and sell direct to stores, restaurants and individuals instead of distributors. A mix of fruits, truck gardening (veggies) and livestock on a small part of that could provide you with a home, food and some income.

My mother lives off that income, but will allow me to take some acreage if I want. As I sit here in the Middle East (deployed in the Army), I dream of getting home (with my daughter and wife) and starting a farm raising animals and a garden.

If you haven't already got the skills then start reading about how to raise animals and vegetables. Read about how to live frugally. Then when you return you can start putting it into practice. In the mean time save every penny you can. Live lean.

Here are my problems:
1. I currently live 100 miles away from the land.

Worth moving to.

2. The land does not have structures.

Ideal. Lower taxes that way. We built our home ourselves in two months for $7K. It is super easy to heat, cool and ultra low maintenance. See:

Cottage | Sugar Mountain Farm

3. After 8 years of active duty, I have no job. All my skills are with the Army.

But hopefully you've got gumption, stick-to-it-ness, drive. Everything else can be learned. Hit the books and any opportunity you have to learn something.

We have no debt other than our current house and have approx. 50K in savings.

Bravo. Keep living lean and saving. If you spend $7K on the house and $10K on seed stock plus tools you'll still have cash to live through the lean startup time. Our family lives on about $10K a year plus taxes.

So how do I transition? I am not lazy, just not interested in making someone else rich. The end state of my dream is to work for myself and raise meat/veggies for our self and for sale…

Read now while you have the time. Winter is a great time to plan and figure. Start honing your skills with plants and animals as soon as you can. Go slowly, not taking on too much but adding to your repertoire every year. Figure out what you want to do specifically. What niche can you fill for people that will make them want to pay a premium for your products. What can you do for them. Examine the markets in that area.

We live in a low income area and deliver our product (pastured pork) to higher income areas in about a 100 mile radius of our farm on a weekly basis. Stores and restaurants want consistent high quality product and they want it delivered. They're willing to pay for that. Value add.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Sugar Mountain Farm | All Natural Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids in the mountains of Vermont

 

[Gianni]

Here is another vote for "get your 20 in" and retire to a place that is yours.
You have skills and all skills are transferable. You need to spend the next 12 researching how you can best transition to what you want to be.

 

[Warwalk]

In my opinion, before you do anything, you're going to have to figure out what you want to do. Land used for cows is going to be different from land used for pigs vs specialty herbs vs orchards, grain, chickens, etc... All will have different land development requirements, different cost structures, etc. So, first and foremost, you'll have to have the idea firmly in your mind.

Now, it's highly possible that you're not quite sure ~what~ you actually want to do yet. To me, rather than jumping in both feet, it might be better to simply dip your toe in the proverbial pond. Take classes at the local university or junior college (I'd think this would be free or nearly so with the GI bill?), volunteer at local community gardens, get involved in any local clubs and make some friends (that could prove invaluable and would probably not mind having you watch them for a day, or even jump in and help them out). This way, you don't lose your nest egg.

 

[Maura]

Before sticking it out another 12 years, discuss with your wife. You have the GI bill, use it.

 

[springvalley]

As I said in my last post, and get out of the military ASAP, Buy a place close by with a house and acreage, learn there till you have it down. You own the most important thing you need if your going to farm, and that is LAND. And 270.00 per acre is good but not great money, I was offered 300 for mine last week, and I didn`t take it. As far as if your current farmer doesn`t want to farm it anymore, there are always other fish in the sea. There are long lines of farmers wanting more ground, and normal time to let them know they don`t get part of the farm is first of September around here, thats so they don`t do any fall field work and apply fertilizer for the next year. And There is NO REASON, NONE that you can`t make a GREAT living on that 100 acres, it will be yours, paid for free and clear. All you will have to do is pay taxes and living expenses when you are farming, Start small and work hard, and grow as you can afford to, only use what ground you need to for yourself and rent the rest out. Keep back more ground when you need it. There also may be some ground near by you could rent for livestock rather than use your good crop ground for that purpose. You have the worse part done, you own ground, that is better than gold in my book. I have never seen gold grow food, feed your family and live. And get out of the military, NOW or soon, you have your whole future ahead of you. One question, how old is your Mother and yourself ? You can start small and grow, don`t go in debt, ever. Not worth it. > Thanks Marc

 

[ryanthomas]

Lots of good suggestions given, but I'll add my two cents. If you do decide to start on the property instead of somewhere else, start with a small parcel. Don't expand until you have that parcel earning you more than $270 an acre at a bare minimum, preferably a lot more. I hope the plan is to pay rent to your mom to replace what the farmer is paying her.

 

[tnokie]

I would sure do some research on the "living Trust" aspect of the land! I thought that once the people owning the land passed thats when it became trust land no one else would be able to do anything with it. You sure need to get the deeds and stuff taken care of while your mother is still alive or you may end up with nothing but a well off lawyer!

 

[ArmyDoc]

A lot of great opinions out there. Thanks for all of them. I have had this dream for several years. The best part about this is I can't do anything for 8 months even if I wanted to. And, gives me time to study. I believe the above post made me remember to slow down and, I will make sure my lovely wife is on board.

Speaking from experience, this is the most important thing in this thread - be on the same page with your wife, even if it means waiting longer than you want. I waited about 12 years more than I wanted to, but now my wife is with me on the plan. As an added benefit, we are much better off than we were 12 years ago.

At the same time, just because you aren't ready to move, doesn't mean you can't be learning, planning, saving and preparing. Go slow, but definitely start moving. That way, when the time is right you can jump in with both feet.

 

[Common Tator]

Sometimes you can find mobile homes for cheap or even free on Craigslist.org. You may be able to get a fairly decent one for your family, and put that on the land. That would be something you could own free and clear very quickly, and later if finances allow, build a nicer place.

 

[ryanthomas]

I would sure do some research on the "living Trust" aspect of the land! I thought that once the people owning the land passed thats when it became trust land no one else would be able to do anything with it. You sure need to get the deeds and stuff taken care of while your mother is still alive or you may end up with nothing but a well off lawyer!

I think what you're thinking of is more like a conservation land trust. A life estate is usually a way for people to give (or sell) their property to their heirs (or could also be to a conservation trust, but doesn't seem to be the case here) before they die, but they maintain rights to the property for the rest of their life.

 

[wogglebug]

Find a job in the area. Put a dwelling on your land - it's a HUGE plus to own your own land, have any sort of roof over your head, and not have rental or house loan payments.

The dwelling might even be a pole barn, with a concrete-floored kitchen/family room and a washroom (shower, laundry) and a toilet built into one end. Think carefully about the placement of any leach field, so it could later be shared with a house. You could even pitch tents inside the barn, or park a travel trailer there. That's very cheap housing, and it gives you secure storage for anything else (like farm machinery, or building materials). Obviously this would be temporary while you got your permanent house built, but it buys you time and breathing space, and the facilities can always be used by workmen later.

That's the start. The money you save on rental or house loan payments is better than income. It's not just money, but it's tax-free money becaause your payments would have had to come out of money that had already been taxed. It gives you time to get to know your land, to watch it through weather and seasons, to make SURE where you want to put anything more.

 

[BamaSuzy]

Tahnk you for your service! With the way the economy is, I'd do my best to get some kind of comfortable something on the land to live in as soon as possible! best wishes! you CAN make a wonderful life there!