More Than One Piece Of Farm Property, Issues?

bp fick · Jan 16, 2012

Ken Sweet, Thanks for the thought. A well is a good bit cheaper, but a pond is a good thought. Yes porta-gen to provide power is good idea to start through.

An Ag well. A domestic well must have a pitless adaptor, etc. An Ag well isn't really inspected nor "approved" for a home. We put in irrigation wells as DYI. But, if a guy will pop me a well for $16-$18 a foot, it would be one less thing on my to-do list. I've my hands full as it is.

The reason for power and well is that the land must be irrigated for production, so these cost have to be factored right from the get go.

Thanks for good input. Helpful to the thought process.

Larry Caldwell · Jan 16, 2012

Don't forget the well casing, or does the $18/ft price include casing?

sweettractors · Jan 16, 2012

Larry Caldwell said:
Don't forget the well casing, or does the $18/ft price include casing?

At such a inexpensive per foot rate, I can't help but believe that there would be some sort of setup fee or minimum fee or something of that nature? Ken Sweet

bp fick · Jan 16, 2012

Hey guys. :laughing: Honestly? I don't know for sure whether the casing is included, but you gotta know Crawford County soil, I guess. It's nothing but sand and a little gravel all the way down. Shoot, most of the local guys just wash pipe down. This isn't clay country like the central and southern part of the state. I've washed down 2" pipe down about as fast as you wanna push it. Seriously.

This is glacial moraine. Which is exactly why I need irrigation. That water I apply will be back down in the water table in about 5 minutes. :laughing:

Garybake · Jan 16, 2012

BP, Wife & I bought 20 acres in Kalkaska off Crawford County in 2008. In 2009 we had Great Lakes Energy run 8000 feet of electric at $12,000. Cell phones/compass did not work because of excessive loadstone so landline was run @ $700. for security. We have a 27' Coachman travel trailer we leave up there for now and I have a 2500 Avalanche that tows a 20' Wells Cargo trailer with tractor & implements & tools...
Worked on mile of drive in 2010 after electric was burried (I know - after I sunk a pole and set up meter box etc.- Makes for a nice light though) They burried for same cost as overhead as they were not busy in 2009. 2011 mom became ill and did not make it up. Hope to do a shallow well this year for non consumption use as we have been borrowing water from neighbor or church long enough. Tired of filling trailer holding tank with 8/5 gln jugs. We leave Wells Cargo and the truck up their if we have to get back to Sterling Heights for a week. She will drive her car with ATV's trailored in spring as well, leaving them up for summer. It is an adventure but worth it. Things going slower than I thought after retirement in 2009 but fixed income is a bear. Speaking of bear, they are everywhere as well as black rasberries. This is our neighbors webcam The North Troll, Webcam, Kalkaska, Michigan. Keeps us informed of snowfall in winter and when we need to jog up to remove snowload.:thumbsup:

two_bit_score · Jan 17, 2012

bp fick said:
Hey guys. :laughing: Honestly? I don't know for sure whether the casing is included, but you gotta know Crawford County soil, I guess. It's nothing but sand and a little gravel all the way down. Shoot, most of the local guys just wash pipe down. This isn't clay country like the central and southern part of the state. I've washed down 2" pipe down about as fast as you wanna push it. Seriously.

This is glacial moraine. Which is exactly why I need irrigation. That water I apply will be back down in the water table in about 5 minutes. :laughing:

Have you considered getting a soil test one o see what kind f fertilizer you might or might not need?

I guess that picture above was a shot of the property.

I may have missed it earlier but did you say how many acres it is and how much is cleared? What do you plan to cultivate on it?

In my opinion any decent land that can be bought at a reasonable cost is worth buying.

bp fick · Jan 17, 2012

I have a nephew who I take a shining to and he's been wanting a place, so eventually, as life moves along, this would be his place. So, I want him to like the property and approve of it as well. But meanwhile, there's 4 flat, cleared acres you see in the photo. 15 total.

Mind you, I'd work on an acre at a time, building up the soil and expanding our organic market gardening. I don't need to really test the soil, as I already know what the soil is. Sand. Long ago Dairy, then tree farm, thus the over grown stock you see. So, it has been farmed previously. The good news is the years of fallow with native prairie grasses growing since.

I can only produce so much organix to blend in the soil, just so fast. While this sand is pretty lacking, once the organics are blended in, it flat out grows great vegetables. I'd probably spend a year or two growing rye and other "green manure" and turning it over. We'll see. We'll see.

This is a garden behind my place that was just mowed prairie grass when we move in three years ago. Time and patience. Here's some photos that show some of the "then" and "now" of soil enhancement.

bp fick · Jan 17, 2012

Update: Sure want to thank all of you for giving me some great ideas and food for thought. Some things I hadn't thought of. I don't expect having to deal with stuff two miles away to be as easy, but I think it is going to be worth the hassle.

Talked my nephew and he is geeked as you might expect from a young man. With his nod, I've contacted the right agent and told them I am prepared to make a sober offer. Send me the offer sheet, I'll make it, sign it and scan them a signed offer as well as drop the paper offer in the mail.

We'll see how this goes. Thanks again for everyone's perspective. Helps a lot.

beppington · Jan 17, 2012

I've driven my tractor 4 miles one-way from my parents' barn to my property many, many times over the past year & a half. It takes ~25 minutes. So far I haven't dreaded it ... it's a nice, relaxing trip ... but I could see a time when I do dread it, since it's not very efficient to spend almost an hour of the day just transporting the tractor. 2 miles would be much better.