Type of opportunity:

Sale (Standard), Sale (Owner Financed), Lease (1 to 5 Years), Lease (5+ Years), Lease with Option to Buy. More info: My fiancée and I are looking for a medium term lease for our goat herd.

Equipment & infrastructure:

Barn, Fencing, Well / Pond / Other water source, Livestock facilities, Farmer housing. More info: We have some hi-tensile wire for electric fence. I can use the wire to offset a hotwire off an existing barbed or woven wire fence, or I can use the wire to create a new, all electric fence. I also have a good amount of temporary electric wire for subdividing and establishing a rotational grazing program.

Current production on farm:

Flowers, Hogs, Poultry (Broiler/Layer), Sheep/Goat (Dairy/Meat), Vegetable production. More info: Currently I have a small herd of Kiko meat goats. I've raised pastured pork in the past and would like to start that again once we've settled into a location.

Current farming practices:

Ecological production but not certified. More info: I'm a proponent of Holistic Resource Management. Allan Savory, Masanobu Fukuoka, and Jim Gerrish are my biggest influences. Working to improve soil health is critical in my approach.

Previous farming experience:

Volunteer, Employee, Manager

Number of years experience:

7

Production goals:

Fallow, Flowers, Hogs, Orchard, Poultry (Broiler/Layer), Sheep/Goat (Dairy/Meat), Vegetable production. More info: Looking to produce high quality food for sale in the local markets.

Personal experience and production goals summary:

I have seven years experience in sustainable agriculture. I got into the field during my last year of college, and since graduation I have worked on and managed small farms across the US. After managing a 300 acre cattle farm in South central Missouri for 2.5 yearss I moved to the Asheville area. I produced pastured pork on a leased parcel in Leicester in 2015, and I purchased my goats in fall of 2017.

Shortly after I purchased my goats I began dating my fiancée, Ellen. I was commuting to the farm at the time, so we began a search for a home and land to lease. After a long search we landed in Old Fort. Our lease here started in April, and we've had great success rotating the goats over an abandoned pasture full of brambles and poplar saplings. Unfortunately, our landlords informed us that they are looking to sell their property, so our lease here will end in April of next year. So here we are, once again looking for a property to lease and live on. 

Ellen also has a background in sustainable agriculture. She's worked multiple seasons on small farms in WNC, and is currently a veterinary nurse at a practive in Asheville. It is our goal to find a medium-term lease so that we can focus on building our farm. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into the first couple years on a property, and we'd like to be able to reap the benefits of that early labor on our next lease. We eventually hope to have enough saved up to purchase a property of our own, but for now we're happy to manage someone else's property in the medium term.