As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently bought a 20 acre farm in Graves County, Kentucky.  I thought some might find it interesting to know why we did such.  We thought through the decision over a period of time and continue to establish our goals and aims with the purchase.  This post is a way of helping me put my thoughts on “paper” and record them for future reference.

The Google Maps View of Our Property

What we Bought:

We bought approximately 20 acres just outside of the city limit in Mayfield, Kentucky.  The land has some rolling elevation, includes a 2+ acre pond, some wildlife area, an old 5 stall barn, small block building, and some fencing.  It is located less than 1.5 miles from Amanda’s sister’s home.

Our Plans

We plan on raising some livestock for our own food and hopefully to sell as well.  We would like to raise grass-fed beef and sheep.  We will likely have some equine for pleasure and the kid’s experience.  If the cows work out, in the future, we would like to add some pigs for our own consumption.  We will have some chickens for eggs.  On the front of the property we hope to grow a few acres of sweet corn to sell locally.  Of course we will have a garden and desire to plant some fruit trees, berries, and nuts.

Reasons We Bought a Farm

1. We want to give the kids a farm experience.  We have three boys who love to be outside and one girl who loves animals.  We have really enjoyed living on a golf course in a subdivision, but this will give us lots of space and freedom.  Though the farm will involve work, and more than we can ever get caught up on, we enjoy working together as a family and believe it strengthens our family.    
2. We want to teach our children the value of work, food, and money.  We grew up working on the farm and believe in the experiences gained.  We are currently homeschooling our children and believe that the farm environment will go well with these studies.
3. We are connecting with our own rural, farming background.  We both grew up on farms in Southest Missouri.  Though they were larger and much different, there is a sense of connecting with your own history and childhood that still comes through.
4. We want to seek a simple, non-materialistic life.  It is not that living in the country will produce this goal, but we believe it will help.  The simple life of faith and family with enough time to strengthen both is what we desire.
5. We are excited about building our own home in Mayfield.  While it already seems challenging, we are excited to plan and build a home.  Buying land and building a house are ways that tie us to this community and to the Seven Oaks church.
6. We believe and hope that this will further our  ministry aims and desires.  Preachers are often viewed as outsiders and their children often bounce from one place to another.  Mayfield is the only home our children have known.  We are committed to the growth of the kingdom in Mayfield.  We hope this will work to further our outreach and respect in the community.    
7. We are excited about living so close to family.  We are thankful that Ashley, Amanda’s younger sister, married a fine young man from Graves County.  Her and her husband, Wes Hays, bought a home and farm land earlier this year.  Our property is very close.  Much of our farming and gardening will likely be a shared enterprise with them.  It is a real blessing, for our entire family, to have relatives so close.
8. We also bought the land as a financial investment.  We believe this will be a way of diversifying our investments which are primarily in the stock market.
9. We want to learn and grow.  We look forward to learning and educating our kids about animals, farming, and home construction.

Concerns In Buying the Farm

While we have several reasons for buying the farm, we also had various concerns.  We haven’t overcome most of these, but are still and will still be managing and negotiating our way through these challenges.

1. Financial risk and stress.  One of the primary concerns we have is not incurring a tremendous load of debt.  We want to build a nice home, but do not want to overdue its cost so that is hinders our future.  We hope the farm can produce some income in the future, but know it will not be that significant and will be several years down the road.  We are not going to build our new home until we sell our present home.  We are going to let the farm build slowly.
2. Too much work.  We are also concerned that we will have too much work to do and that this could hinder our family.  It could also hinder our work with the church and family life if we do not guard against it.  We recognize that we must balance this issue and keep reasonable expectations.
3. We don’t know what we are doing!  Another area of concern is that we are newbies at livestock farming.  I grew up with horses, but that was it.  We have never built a house.  We haven’t fenced or maintained a pond or this much property.  Ignorance is a concern, but we are listening to others, reading, and going to start slow.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you found this helpful and interesting.