>>1123098Property Needs for general farming:
•Mostly flat land, some hills are fine as they can be used for various types of things. Such as installing a root cellars or planting north-side-requiring plants.
•Pond, for animals and aquaculture. If the electric is out, you need some place to water animals.
•Water well, 1 or more than don't run out from just doing laundry all day. If one exists on the property, require that it be tested for bacteria BEFORE you purchase the land.
•Barn, for equipment, feed, and animals.
•Property boundary fencing. This is a must. Have the entire property surveyed and move/build fences accordingly.
•Cross fencing. These section the land up into zones for vegetables, animals, grazing rotation, etc.
•Greenhouse, for growing plant starts more than anything else. Kicking off the season early with your own plants is essential
•Polytunnels/cold frames/hot boxes, for extending the in-field season in spring and fall.
•Trees, a forested area is great for many types of farming needs from mushroom growing to nuts, sugar bush, and biomass collection.
The types of additional structures really depends on what you'll be doing, the size of the farm, and the type of animals you'll be raising. For instance, you may need a grain silo, chicken coop, slaughterhouse, drying room, root cellars, smithy & tool storage/repair, pavilions for livestock to get out of the weather, livestock pens and chutes for loading and medical needs, and the list goes on and on. The biggest thing you can do is to look for and plan for ease of access to all of these things from your home. Don't put the barn a 5 minute walk from the house. Walking sucks in bad weather when it is 3am and you need to help birth a goat. Everything needs to be grouped together. Something as simple as improperly placing your bee hives and ending up with their flight path across your walking path can be a major pain.
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