Matt and I have been looking at farms for over a year at this point. We know that we need about 50 open acres, and we just want a modest house. Our budget is lean, but we are willing to put up with some issues or inconveniences. We want land without a barn, ideally, so we can avoid retrofitting old dairy properties. Old wooden dairy barns are not easily adapted to a sheep operations. The concrete floors with gutters, the low ceilings and any stanchions in place are more of a liability than an asset for a sheep operation. Ever since I worked at Fat Toad Farm, I’ve been really in love with the open, bright feeling of a greenhouse-type building with plenty of clear space inside and have found that animals appreciate the dirt floors, sunlight, and copious fresh air.
Here are a few types of properties that we’ve found that are just a little off-the-mark for us.
– Nice small houses on too few acres.
– Nice small houses in the woods, on cliffs, or down by the river.
– Large, cumbersome, decrepit farmhouses on prime land.
– Trailers on tiny patches of prime land carved from a large, old dairy property.
– Plenty of gorgeous land but with a huge new mansion on it.
Even a look at Vermont Land Link, set up to help farmers find land, has a lot of huge properties and a lot of teeny properties, but no mid-scale ones. 8 acres is not very helpful to us, but 800 is more than we can sustain and manage.
We think, however, that we have found the right place, so stay tuned for updates!