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As family farms decline and the climate heats up, farmers weigh what to do with their land (grist.org)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/climate@slrpnk.net
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[–] 5 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Humans are greedy when they're dealing with faceless numbers from people they don't know. They might care that you want to use it for farming purposes if you showed up at their door and talked to them about it, but otherwise they're just trying to sell to whoever for as much as possible.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    I'd like to agree on that, but the reality is they won't even bother talking to anyone. Everything goes through the realtor, they don't seem to ever want anyone to show up without. On the way back from an outing with the kids, we swung by one and just parked on the street and looked and talked. The owner happened to be outside, and we got "You'll have to talk to the realtor if you want to see anything" then he just straight up went inside.

    If I could find a better option for finding the sorts of farmers mentioned in the article who want people who will work the land and not just tear it up, I'd use it. I have yet to find one though.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    Going through the realtor probably wouldn't work, yeah. I'd hope some people would be more open to talking than the guy you met. My sister and I ended up selling our mom's old house to a neighbor's son, who wanted to live close by because of his mom's old age. He just walked up to us when we were doing some yard work and asked if he could talk to us about it. Not sure how polite it is to do that, but it worked out in that scenario.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    We've got friends (with no intention of selling) with farms in the area, and have them looking out for options. Unfortunately nothing through them direct to an owner yet.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    That's a good start, for sure. I'd have them talk to their neighbors and spread the word. From my experience with farm country, they often have that small-town effect where things like this can spread quickly. You don't happen to be looking in southern Minnesota, do you? If so, I know some farmers myself that I could talk to.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    Unfortunately not or I'd take you up on it!

    Our friends have been chatting with other locals, even ones who have chunks of land that aren't used to see if they'd sell a piece off or something that they aren't using. So far no bites, but we're all keeping an eye out on options.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I have heard of sellers picking a more ethical choice for a lower rate. But usually its only small amounts. Like selling a house for 230k instead of 240k because the first is a family and the second is a landlord.

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