Farming full-time for income
Updated Nov 26, 2025
Seeking
- 51-100 Total acres
- 6-10 Acres of cropland or tillable land
- 11-50 Acres of pasture
- 11-50 Acres of hayland
Desired locations
Seth and Leah Phillips grew up in Weaverville (Barnardsville/Reems Creek), and are looking for a farm in that area.
Plan
Seth- I am currently the Livestock Manager of a demonstration farm in FL, focused on sustainable tropical agriculture. We currently raise sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and pigs. I plan on raising sheep and cows for the rest of my life (as well as poultry and the occasional pig, but on a smaller scale). I am able to produce feed for my animals on-farm, including making silage to feed during the off-season.
Leah- I am the Assistant Farm Manger and am focused on crops and on-farm fertility production (compost/fertilizer). I grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and am skilled in plant propagation, including grafting. I have nursery experience.I also share Seth's love for animals
Desired infrastructure
Equipment and infrastructure details
We can make do with the basics (We need a house and a farm water source). A barn would be highly preferable. Other infrastructure (fences, equipment, greenhouse, irrigation, other facilities) would, of course, be great, but we can build any or all of what we will need if we have to.
Preferred type of opportunity
Opportunity details
We are looking for a farm whose owners want the land to continue to be farmed. This is our goal for the rest of our lives, and we will care for the land well. We are looking in Madison, Yancey, and North Buncombe counties, or very close (this is where my family is and I want to be close to them).
Farm history does not matter. We actually are attracted to the idea of regenerating land that has been degraded. The farm must have forested land as well as open fields
Our issue is that we have no money. We have spend most of our working lives working for non-profits and small businesses, and have never made much money. We do have some savings, but it doesn't add up to much when it comes to land.
Desired farming practices
Practices details
We believe in farm carrying capacity- a farm should be required to produce only what it can naturally sustain. With proper care of and focus on healthy soil, pastures, and forests, the land can produce the "products" necessary to support itself (i.e, fertilizer, livestock feed, etc can be created using what is present on the land, with minimal outside inputs). Outside inputs force land to produce more than it is capable of sustaining long-term.
Our ideal farm would consist of both fields and wooded land, because both environments are necessary for sustainable production of livestock and crops. Silvopasture will be a predominant system on our farm.
Production goals
Goals details
Our plan is to raise sheep and cows on pasture for wool and meat production, grow field crops, and grow fruit trees (apples, pears, maybe peaches, as well as blueberries, blackberries and paw paws). We will have a mixed-system approach, using silvopasture (forests and orchards), rotational grazing, and fallow periods in our livestock systems. It is highly desirable for us to have enough land to produce hay as well, and we would rotate grazing, hay production, and crop production in the fields. We will limit our animal population to what the available land can support (including letting a sizeable section of land remain fallow for one year every 5-8 years).
Farm experience
Years of experience
12 total years of experience
2 years employed as a worker (non-manager)
10 years as a manager
Education, training, and employment experience
Experience details
Seth- I managed Ox-Ford Farm in Weaverville, NC, for 8 years (2015-2023) and during that time I got my degree in Forest Management and a Certificate in Horticulture. After Ox-Ford Farm, I worked for the NPS and EcoForesters (a forestry company in AVL), before moving to Florida to work at ECHO Global Farm, where I have been Livestock Manger for 3 years.
Leah- I grew up growing fruits and vegetables, and worked part-time on the farm next door through high school and college (my degrees are in Economics and Community Development). After college, I became an intern (and subsequently assistant farm manger) of ECHO Global Farm.