I need some American help with this. One of my characters is looking to buy a farm and it turns out that I can't even tell the difference between a ranch, a farm or an empty plot of land, if I'm to go by the realtor sites. On one end there a picture of a forest with 40 acres at a $149, at the other end there's 10 acres of desert for $100,000,000. Seeing as I have trouble comprehending buying a regular house in my own damn street, I'll have to put this to you. My character is looking at: - 3 acres? Is that enough to keep, like, two horses? - One main house, of average size, nothing notable - Maybe a shed, of American size. Or barn, I guess would be a better word. - I can see, in my head, there's a grassy field, framed by a tree and woodlands to the other side. The path to the front door is muddy. Location doesn't really come up in the story, but if it matters for this question, let's say Nebraska. Anywhere green and rural will do. But not in the south. And it's not really a working farm. It's just for living in. So, what would something like that cost? As it stands now, it doesn't look like I can write around an actual number, so I need something believable.
Some generalities: A farm is essentially land dedicated to providing an agricultural product. Could be crops, animals, or a mixture of the two. A ranch is technically a type of farm with a specific focus on raising animals to provide meat. In general, a ranch will also be considerably larger than a farm. Some, like the King Ranch in South Texas, cover multiple counties. For two horses you would probably want ten acres at a minimum. This isn't to say you can't keep them on a smaller plot - you just won't be able to much with them and you'll spend more on feed. Horses tend to strip grass as they pull it up by the roots, whereas other forms of livestock tend to crop it even with the ground. If forage is going to be a large part of you horses' diet you'll want to divide your land into smaller pastures and control their grazing access. You'll also probably have to shell out for bagged feed and nutrient supplements, depending on what you want your horses to do. Average size for a farmhouse varies. Old houses will be smaller. Past the 1970s or thereabout you start getting more sprawl and changes in style. You may also find that an extant farmhouse has been expanded considerably throughout its life; if the family in residence needed to expand, they built extra rooms as needed. Going way back, you'll often find mail-order houses (such as those sold through the Sears and Roebuck catalogue) modified well beyond their advertised floorplan. Same for barn. Some barns are just solid enough to store machinery and tools and put a roof over your critters. Some, depending on the value of the animals inside, may be nicer than the house where the people sleep. Lately it's not terribly uncommon to find a synthesis of the two, with accommodations for the stock on the ground floor and apartment/condo-style living quarters above. Eastern Nebraska's alright if you want hills and grass. The trees tend to be further east, nearer the Missouri River. The satellite view in Google Maps can give you a passable estimate for the terrain you want. Cost is something harder to set. Usually it's based on a couple of factors; water quality and availability, infrastructure, distance to the nearest town of appreciable size, general attractiveness of the land, mineral rights, arable qualities, and so forth. Weather figures in, too - a lot of people won't stand the kind of winters you get in the northern half of the Mid-West, and they get colder as you push into the Rockies. The Northwest US and upper Great Plains also have fun phenomena like the Chinook winds. If I had to spitball a figure...fifteen to twenty acres could conceivably run you anywhere from $75K (middle of nowhere, unimproved, with MurderWinters) into the millions (if you like to see people sometimes and eat food that doesn't come from cans, and maybe want some scenery). You've got a pretty broad range to work with.
You could call that a hobby farm, but you may be better off just calling it a plot of land in the country. Big enough for maybe an outbuilding and a small pasture, but not much more. Of course that depends on the type of farm; a marijuana farm is probably smaller than that, so if illegal drugs are your character's thing he could do it but he will need a tall fence. 'Round these parts in this mechanized age, farmers need to be farming a lot of acres to make a go of it (wheat, garbanzos, etc.); the family farm has been dice and sliced over the years and is now at ~600 acres, which is not enough to make the sort of money that anyone is evidently inclined to accept as a living. I don't have any specific figures, but the big outfits around here are farming thousands of acres. None of what I've said is really relevant to your case, though, so whatever. As for cost, the average cost per acre of farmland in Nebraska as of 2018 was $2745. If your character wanted to buy land and build a house that's a thing; just add the cost of land and the cost of the house. Keep in mind that land for development would probably be sold for more. However, if there's a house already on the property and the land is already developed, then it depends on how nice the farm is, I guess. Say it's $3500 an acre (just pulling that out of my ass) and $150,000-$250,000 for the house if it's a decent house--median house price in Nebraska according to Zillow is $178,000, so idk.
Holy fecal matter. A long time ago I used to travel to school by train and near the end it passed by a 26'x13' patch of grass with a horse on it. I used to work on a university on about three acres of land, seemed large enough to start a city on. All in all, pretty thorough information you're providing though. Thanks. Good tip. If I need to name a location in my story, this'll help. That explains the 'mini' farms I saw offered on the sites. American conceptions of mini differ from Dutch... Like, fit Netherlands into a minifarm different. I think the farm I have in mind, considering all your information, would probably go for 50k tops. Guess I'll aim the actual number at the low six figure mark.
Missed your post. I figure you hit the nail on the head here. Hobby farm is what I'm talking about. For the purpose of the story, anyway. Judging by the police helicopters passing over at regular intervals, I'm guessing at least one guy managed to fit a pot farm into the attic. Honestly, I'm baffled by these numbers. I mean, I'm bad with judging size, but over here 600 acres is probably 200 farms. I've been doing that since chapter one, so this kind of info is exactly what I'm looking for. ;o)
I would start with what your character wants to do with this 'farm' and whether or not you intend him to succeed with it. If you intend for him to fail, you've got lots of scope! He can fail almost anywhere, for almost any reason. If you intend for him to succeed, then you'll need to get realistic. Do you want a 'farm' containing enough good land and water and climate to support a productive subsistence garden plus a few chickens for eggs and meat, and maybe a goat or two for milk etc? Or do you want a 'farm' consisting of enough good land, water and climate to support crops your character can make a financial living from? And also support a herd of—or even two individual—horses, or cattle, or sheep? Decide what you want to happen first. That will certainly help you narrow your research.
I think the farm can be considered a McGuffin, if I'm using the term correctly. Owning it is the end game. The character had to leave the farm behind as a child and now has a chance to buy it, ending this character's arc. Currently my plan is to stay with the remaining characters, finishing their arcs, not focusing on the farm in a significant way anymore. I just don't see a possibility of writing around the numbers involved without making it look like I'm trying to write around it. The main reason I want it to have space for two horses is because of a callback-joke of sorts, that's only funny if you know the story. I suppose, if we would come back to the farm at some point, we would find it's just for living in and the only work that gets done there is upkeep.
Also keep in mind that the farther west you go, the more acreage needed to support the animals. In the south plains, like Texas Panhandle, you need 3 acres per cow unless you have underground irrigation to grow feed. A horse is probably about the same.
