Well after five years, I made the decision to sell the farm. I found a new place and made an offer and it was accepted. My old farm was listed by me to some friends via a text and within 48 hours it was sold. Both places were bought without a realtor and I was able to role all my money into the new farm via 1031 so no taxes. I almost made 3 times what I paid for it. The new farm is about 1.5 miles from the old one.
I recently decided after my new neighbor took a bulldozer in and decided to push out every tree along our half mile long border that let deer access new to my new food plot. There used to be 80 acres of woods we shared however my new neighbor owns the sale barn and decided his cows needed that space.
I bought my first farm 80 acres cheap. I did some select walnut tree harvesting, timber stand improvement projects, edge feathering, hinge cutting, controlled burns, battled sericia lezpedeza, put in three food plots and two ponds. I learned alot. It was a deer and turkey haven. I killed my best deer a 142 with a bow this year. It had a small hunting cabin 10x15. I revamped a shallow well (bought new pump and put in electricity.)
But with two growing kids the cabin with no plumbing was small. My neighbors constantly gave me problems, trespassing, poaching, cows and horses in my plots, three pop up blinds destroyed by cattle and property lines that cause continual issues. I also had to maintain a mile of gravel road that was my easement.
I found a place 78 acres on a state hwy that has no easements. Its clearly fenced on all sides with a Century farm on oneside and a neighbor who doesnt hunt on the other. It butts up against the Mark Twain National Forrest. It has a well maintained 1254 square foot house, 30x30 workshop and a half acre full stocked pond. The portion of the national forrest that I am up against is not easily accessible and neighbors say there is never anyone back there. I am looking forward to hunting and trapping on the national forrest. Free land to hunt. Also the place is solid timber so I will have to bulldoze some plots in. I cant close on it until October 1 so I may just hunt it this year and get the plots ready in the spring. Time will tell.
Its like a fresh canvas to take and apply everything I learned about habitat and plots and start over.
