What kind of farm do you seek?
Posted by Preston Bristow on May 3rd, 2007 filed in Farm Real Estate Market
Not long ago I was invited to write a guest feature entitled “Farm Sales in Vermont” that was published in three local sister publications, the Champlain Business Journal, the Rutland Business Journal and the Valley Business Journal. A link to that article is attached below:
In that article I categorized my typical farm buyers into three groups. Those looking for:
- “Estate” farms
- “Entrepreneurial” farms and
- Cow Dairy farms (conventional and organic).
Since I wrote that article I would add a fourth group that I’m seeing more of, being those looking for a “Recreational” farm. You might find the article helpful to get a sense of the sorts of farm properties that are available and the range of what it might cost to buy a particular type of farm.
I regularly get calls from people asking if I specialize in this kind of farm or that kind of farm, or if I only deal in “working” farms or dairy farms. My answer is that anything that you can reasonably call a “farm” is my specialty!
A question I ask when talking with prospective farm buyers is, “What uses to do you hope to make of the farm?” and it’s not uncommon for there to be an awkward pause followed by something like “I’m not sure yet” or “I haven’t decided.” At that point I often say, “It’s okay for you to tell me your dream and I won’t laugh!” There’s no kind of farming that I’m going to say is a stupid idea as long as it fits within our climate and soils. I’ve talked with people with an interest in raising everything from grass-fed meat rabbits to yaks, in growing everything from lavender to Halloween pumpkins, and in producing everything from sheep milk ice cream to water buffalo yogurt. I think it’s great! The more agricultural creativity and diversity we have, the better place Vermont will be.
Be sure to check out my website, www.farmsinvermont.com and click on “Current Listings.” What kind of farm do you seek?
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