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Larry has a vivid imagination for his dream "401K" and Heritage farm.

Reality, however, might make his dream a nightmare.

Consider the following, in no particular order:

Current law requires new home owners near farms to sign a non remonstrance declaration before they are permitted to own the property. This means that they agree to never complain about any farming practices such as noisy tractors, dust, smoke, sprays, smells, night and early morning and week-end activity, delivery trucks, unsightly greenhouses or hoops, burning etc.

Larry has not mentioned that a farmer might choose to farm pigs, sheep, goats and other livestock. These make noise, smells, attract flies and other insects etc. Remember the home-owner may not complain.

Electric fences are ubiquitous on farms. Remember not to complain when junior goes to retrieve his ball and gets a jolt of electricity.

How about being woken at 5 AM on a weekend morning, to the hubbub of farm workers arriving to help with the harvest or with weeding and other farm duties?

The value of land increases when it is within the UGB. Larry believes that a 20 acre farm could be economically viable. This might be true for Larry because he probably owns the farm free and clear and only needs to pay a much reduced farm tax. 

If he were to sell his farm, the new owner would have the expense of his new mortgage as well as farm overheads to pay before they could draw anything for themselves. Small farmers have a tough time making ends meet assuming no crop failures. It is a disaster when they do have crop or storm losses. Insurance does not always cover the unexpected. For example the ice storms we had last year that collapsed so many unheated farm structures, these were excluded from the farm insurance so farmers had to bear the losses.

ETC, ETC ...

I wish Larry well, but as far as his ideas ----- "dream on"!

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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