farms/land for sale? good sites?

[Peggy Day]

Ok, I have just about given up. I want a piece of land or a small hobby farm. I live in California (SF east bay) but would consider northern california in general. Also, I have 10 acres in southern Ohio (Gallia county)that sits right next to a landfill :(
Athens interests me.
I used to be able to access the united farm agency (many years ago), but haven't found any really good sites lately.
Any help would be appreciated.

[Champion Jack]

1. Try united country.com for ideas

northern Cal is going to be expensive IMO

[Peggy Day]

2. thank you

Ohio would probably be less expensive, but I've lived out here for >30 yrs. I love it here in northern california.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

3. I've been checking out Bed and Breakfasts

with small amounts of land. Enough room for a couple families to combine resources.
Make sure anything you look at has a well in fairly good shape.

Wish there was a thread here for ideas getting through the tough times ahead.

[Muttocracy]

4. USDA has some properties for sale

Not much in No. Cal. but maybe you could find a contact with them or with Cooperative Extension in whatever state you're seeking.

(if you page down on each state page, it lists the counties with properties so you don't have to click on each one)

http://www.resales.usda.gov/FSA/FSAPropMain.cfm

[Peggy Day]

5. I really like their county maps. It helps tremendously!

[bvar22]

6. Our hearts were set on the Pacific NW,

but we couldn't afford it. We looked through Washington & Oregon, and everything decent was out of our price range. We loved Missoula (Starkraven had lived there for a few years), but again, most everything decent was out of our range, and in most available places, Water & Winter was a problem.

We were living in Minneapolis at the time (2005), and after giving up on the Pacific NW, we began looking around the country via the InterNet.

We found what we were looking for in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.

Early Spring Promise


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979


Its not for everyone.
The area is backward. Ignorance and Poverty abound...very Conservative (though we have seen almost NO McPalin stickers or signs).
"Christian" churches everywhere.
No decent restaurants for 100 miles.
We haven't been to a Movie in 2 years.

On the UP side, beneath the cultural ignorance, most people are genuinely nice.
I haven't waited in a line for anything in two years.
There are others up in these hills who have come here for the same reasons....healthy, organic, sustainable, independent living. We went to an Obama party at a friend's cabin last Sat. night, and we also attended an Obama debate watching party at the community college. Everyday, more artists are moving into the area. One DUer lives about 10 miles away, and another DUer just bought property about 5 miles away.

The mountains here are not as dramatic at the West, but they are beautiful in their own right. The forests are hardwood (Oak, Hickory, and Walnut). The area is undeveloped and unspoiled. The rivers are unpolluted and springs abound. We are surrounded by National Forests, and wildlife is plentiful.

Good property on Hilltops with commanding views, Crystal Clear Year Round Springs, and standing Hardwood is still inexpensive, and property taxes are very low.

Today (Oct 13th) is our 2nd Anniversary of leaving Minneapolis (in a snowstorm!) to move to Arkansas.
This morning, I picked a vine ripe tomato after collecting free range eggs.
I sweetened my tea with some of our own Honey.
This afternoon, I'll be digging holes to plant more Blueberries.

Like I said above, this area is not for everybody, but we have found our home.

(many more photos in the Gardening Group.
Just look for any thread started by bvar22 over the last two years)

[murray hill farm]

8. HI bob!

I was just out in Cove for 5 weeks....and hit the road running the minute I got there and never stopped until I left.....every second was consumed with getting stuff done on the "farm". I was there for just a week when one of my little doggies got sick and died. He was almost 10 yrs old...so really not that unexpected. I still cannot really talk about it, but I buried him there..so, in a way it was better that it happened there...where I will be living asapj. I became intimately acquanted with "seed ticks" while there...nast little buggers, but got plenty of folk cures from my neighbors...and folks in my new little town of Cove (population 402)..smaller than Hatfield, even. Ha! anyway, I took a ton of pictures..and have yet to get them into my computor. I would reallly like to share them here. Can anyone walk me through that process...baby step by baby step? I did check on the "help" button, but it is all greek to me. thanks, Pat
Oh...and i wanted to say that I left all of my bumper stickers on the back of my car...and never had a problem driving through all of the southern states of Alabama, Mississippi, louisana or Arkansas. When I got to Cove and Mena area, I doubt if there was a day when I wasn't stopped in a parking lot..or just had people walk up to me just to let me know that they loved my bumper stickers..or a few times driving ,folks would give me the thumbs up..and sign "me too" to me as they passed. There are plenty of liberal folks out in Arkansas...which I was happy to discover. Great folks all around. I love my neighbors there. Sorry I didn't get to see you this time....but hopefully soon I can move out and live there and we can all be neighbors.

[bvar22]

10. Hi, Pat. Sorry we missed you, but...

...glad you had a chance to spend some time at your new home. Sorry about your pup. :(

I was in Cove several times over the last few weeks. I buy Chicken supplies and some hardware from that place across from the gas station.
I love downtown Cove. The old stone buildings and the old well in the middle of Main St are wonderful.

To post photos:

Overview
1)You must upload your photos to a "Hosting Site". I use Freeservers (its not free), but many in the Photo Group use Photobucket. Most ISPs now provide some form of photo hosting, and there are now many sites dedicated to photos and albums. Just Google "Free Photo Hosting".

2)After uploading your photos to a Hosting Site, you simply add the hyperlink to your photo to your DU post.


Some suggestions:
1)Get a simple Photo Editor. There are many out there. Some are free. All will do the basic stuff.
There may be one included with Windows....I don't remember.
I use Corel PaintShop Pro.


Most digital photos are HUGE right out of the camera.
You will want a photo editor to:
1)Crop your photo to exclude stuff you don't want in the picture, and to frame it so that it captures and highlights the theme of the photo.

2)Resize the photo so that it is easy to upload, and will fit on DU's page.
In the Photo Contests, all photos must be under 800 pixils on the longest side.


The above steps are easy and well within the capabilities of even the most simple Photo Editors.
There will usually be a button or menu for "crop" and "resize".
You may also wish to experiment with with "Contrast" "Brighten Colors" and "Sharpen".

There is also a lot of good info on Photo Hosting and Image Editing in the Photo Group. I used to hang out there until I got on this slow dial-up.

I am anxiously awaiting your photos.
If you need more detailed info on posting photos, PM me.



Obama Rally in Mena last Saturday
(the above photo was cropped to exclude a bunch of useless sky, and resized to 850 Pixils on the horizontal)




:hi:

[murray hill farm]

11. Well...i have put in about 3 hrs...

trying to get my pics posted, but no luck...i will give up for now, but I thought I might try to lead you all to my facebook page. It is http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=867805223 so I will see if that works. These are the progress pictures of my property in Cove, Arkansas. I call it Murray Hill farm. pat

[murray hill farm]

12. Thanks, bob for the the help in learning how to do this stuff.

I am at the point where I have figured out how to it, but can only get one picture per post. Decided to go with what I can do...ha! This first picture is of the barn that was on the property before any work was done on...poor thing.<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[murray hill farm]

13. progress on redoing the barn

<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="construction on barn"></a>

[murray hill farm]

14. Barn almost done.

Loren, the builder..proud of his work.<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="barn almost done"></a>

[murray hill farm]

15. me and my brand new, state of the art...

outhouse.<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="me and my outhouse"></a>

[murray hill farm]

16. My tiny little shell of a cabin.

<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="my tiny cabin"></a>

[murray hill farm]

17. clearing the land.

I will build my little house, just beyond the wood pile fire. To give some perspective, this picture was taken from the front steps of the tiny cabin. I will post more once I can figure out how to put them all in one post. <a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="murray hill farm"></a> Pat

[bvar22]

18. You got it going on !!!

Nice job on the barn.
We are partial to Board & Batten, and hope to have it all the way around soon.

Everything is beautiful. Love your little cabin.
Great trees, and looks like plenty of room for the garden!
We're excited for you!

[joshcryer]

7. You can find huge swaths of homsteaded land in the midwest.

Google for colorado land or wyoming land, and you'll find it. (I kind of don't want to let out my favorite site because there are properties there that I want to buy, they're ridiculously cheap.)

[newfie11]

9. try realtor.com

you put in the area you want, the amount of land and the price and see all listed in the multiples.

Have fun.

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. I have five acres in in Washington.

Ready for an owner-builder. About 35 minutes from Puget Sound. Rural, quiet, wooded, river access complete with comfortable 3br 2ba mobile. Ready to move in and build. Reasonably priced, pm me if interested.