15 acre's, new to us!

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Maverickhawk

Maverickhawk

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May 1, 2020
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Just made a deal on 15 acre's in central Missouri. 1/4 mi off blacktop, on a hilltop. 3 acre's open grass surrounded by oaks and cedars. Well with 3 year old pump. Power with meter ( upping our solar game ).
 
Lived in tornado alley most our lives. Was too young to remember the 66 tornado. Haven't seen one since.
backlash said:
I like Missouri.
My son was stationed at Whiteman and we visited a couple of times.
Grandson still lives there. I have thought it might be a good place to relocate to but then I remember the tornado that almost got us and I rethink that.
Congratulations on the new property.
Click to expand...
 
About 15 min from nearest town. We will be surrounded by mostly cattle ranches. There are a few old structures on the property that will need to be torn down, but that will net some materials. Lot's of trash clean up, but that will be easier than land clearing.
IMG_20210103_143845708.jpg
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We have friends that moved to Anderson, Missouri and they seem really like the area, I like the idea of being on a hill top, especially if there is creek or river bottom down the hill. Any way all the best to you in this project.
 
I would think carefully before you tear down any existing structures.

Old buildings can be great for:
1) Storing equipment and gear that does not quite justify building a new structure to shelter it. That sort of gear can include all your tractor implements, any spares vehicles you get, drums, fencing supplies, hay, chemicals, firewood, building materials, etc, etc, etc
2) Keeping gear out of the way - particularly stuff that is hard to move around
3) Acting as cover, decoys, outposts, OPs, additional storage, etc, etc (in a severe crisis)

Bear in mind, some people buy land because of the historic old buildings they have.....that may not be your thing, but those buildings may add to the value of the property for some people.

General cleanup and weed control are great - bear in mind that weeds need to be replaced by something, so research pasture seed and work out how you are going to establish that on the bear ground the weeds vacate.

Apply high priority to planning out and selecting the trees you want there long term. Get the trees and plant them as soon as you can. Trees take a long time to mature and produce. The best time to start them was ten years ago - the second best time is right now.

Work out some way to protect the trees from wildlife and pests - a lot of homesteaders get high attrition among their first plantings, that can be avoided.

Get your boundary fences in good order - good fences make good neighbors.

Once you have those done, you can plan out and implement your internal fencing.

Research electric fencing - it works well in cattle areas and can work well with controlling wildlife.

Make sure you secure all your valuables well - properties that are newly sold to outsiders can be specifically targeted by local thieves. Don't let your property look like a soft target.

Set up a gun range and use it - that sends the message "We have guns - we like guns - we practice with guns". Don't think that will annoy the locals - it will actually make them more likely to accept you sooner.

Make sure your gun range keeps your bullets on your side of the fences.
 
Thank you Hardcalibres for taking the time to type up a comprehensive list of to do's.
These are the things I am obsessing over 24/7. Getting advise from anyone about anything keeps me in the right direction.
One main building on the sight at first look was to be torn down. It is a shed built over a nasty camper. I was walking around the property and came back by the shed when I noticed the roof was good, and straight. That will be a great little barn.
The wife is willing but not necessarily excited about homesteading. We will have to find a balance between function and esthetics. An example will be tearing out the camper and siding the building with new metal. Advantage, Mama's happy and it will strengthen and preserve the building.
I am a tree planter, we have some pecan trees in pots to transplant as soon as possible. Learned the hard way planting trees, lost a couple of thousand dollars worth of trees the first time we had land several years back. It's amazing how deer will ignore hundreds of trees around to get to saplings. I was pleased to see a couple of mature fruit trees already there, but I could not tell what they were because the local wildlife had stripped any sign of what they were.
One of the things I insisted on a property was a place to safely shoot on. This place is well suited for multiple types of shooting.
To everyone thanks for the feedback.
I'm on this site to gain knowledge.
Hardcalibres said:
I would think carefully before you tear down any existing structures.

Old buildings can be great for:
1) Storing equipment and gear that does not quite justify building a new structure to shelter it. That sort of gear can include all your tractor implements, any spares vehicles you get, drums, fencing supplies, hay, chemicals, firewood, building materials, etc, etc, etc
2) Keeping gear out of the way - particularly stuff that is hard to move around
3) Acting as cover, decoys, outposts, OPs, additional storage, etc, etc (in a severe crisis)

Bear in mind, some people buy land because of the historic old buildings they have.....that may not be your thing, but those buildings may add to the value of the property for some people.

General cleanup and weed control are great - bear in mind that weeds need to be replaced by something, so research pasture seed and work out how you are going to establish that on the bear ground the weeds vacate.

Apply high priority to planning out and selecting the trees you want there long term. Get the trees and plant them as soon as you can. Trees take a long time to mature and produce. The best time to start them was ten years ago - the second best time is right now.

Work out some way to protect the trees from wildlife and pests - a lot of homesteaders get high attrition among their first plantings, that can be avoided.

Get your boundary fences in good order - good fences make good neighbors.

Once you have those done, you can plan out and implement your internal fencing.

Research electric fencing - it works well in cattle areas and can work well with controlling wildlife.

Make sure you secure all your valuables well - properties that are newly sold to outsiders can be specifically targeted by local thieves. Don't let your property look like a soft target.

Set up a gun range and use it - that sends the message "We have guns - we like guns - we practice with guns". Don't think that will annoy the locals - it will actually make them more likely to accept you sooner.

Make sure your gun range keeps your bullets on your side of the fences.
Click to expand...
 
Maverickhawk said:
Just made a deal on 15 acre's in central Missouri. 1/4 mi off blacktop, on a hilltop. 3 acre's open grass surrounded by oaks and cedars. Well with 3 year old pump. Power with meter ( upping our solar game ).
Click to expand...

Congrats , sounds awesome.
If you love to work, your gonna really enjoy it.

It will also be fun.
(Dig a pond)

Jim
 
Congrats! I’ve always enjoyed that area of the country. Typically good folks too.
 
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