Want to Buy Timberland to Convert to a Farm? 3 Things to Remember

Before you purchase your timberland be specific about your vision for it and make sure that the property suits your goals, whether they be to convert it to pasture land for cows, goats, or horses, or to modify it to support crops. Here are three things to remember as you conduct your search.

Make sure the property has enough acreage for your farming needs.

Map out the amount of acres you’ll need to meet your specific farming goals. For example, you might need about 10 acres to be profitable if you grew a strawberry crop using plasticulture drip irrigation, whereas 20 to 25 acres might be necessary to make a herd of 10 to 15 cows profitable. You might require more than 100 acres to grow profitable row crops.

Get a soil test

Be aware of the condition of the soil, like pH and fertility levels, before moving forward. While nurturing soil is important to grow grass for grazing, healthy soil is even more critical for growing crops. You can test the soil through the Florida Cooperative Extension Service or the USDA by sending them a soil sample. They’ll test it and return the results. The soil will likely need an application of lime and fertilizer.

You can also perform a Web Soil Survey, or WSS. The WSS is a web-based application that’s operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. It gives users access to the largest natural resource information system in the world so that they can make educated land-use and management decisions. You can retrieve information on things like crop productivity classes, soil drainage, depth to bedrock, and other geography-related data about your potential property.

Grow crops and raise livestock appropriate for the area.

Find out what does well in the region. Try talking to area farmers and visiting local farmers’ markets.

Are You Buying a Home or Land for Sale in Lake City?

If you’re moving to Lake City, we can help you find the perfect place to live. Call us at 386-243-0124 to tell us what you want from your home and we will begin searching right away.

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