Last farm inside the beltway is history

Fraxinus · July 05, 2005, 03:37:43 PM

At least that's what I heard on the radio today. Here comes another strip mall. :(
Owner says he was sick of sleeping with a loaded shotgun. Who can blame him :'( :'(

GF · July 05, 2005, 03:58:26 PM

Seems like we are seeing more and more of this. :-[

Weekend_Sawyer · July 05, 2005, 05:09:30 PM

It gets harder and harder to enjoy living in this area(DC area). I'm tryin real hard to save my pennies and retire in West Virginia but 2 people I work with have allready moved to WV and COMMUTE to work every day. :

Fla._Deadheader · July 05, 2005, 05:13:56 PM

Do the words "Car Pool" ring a bell. :

:D :D :D :D

Weekend_Sawyer · July 05, 2005, 05:21:00 PM

I'm a Hardware guy, they are Software Weeneys, don't think I could spend 3 hours a day with them.

course last time I was coming back from our cabin in WV my brother Henry was just yacking up a storm! I finally had to pretend I was asleep to get a little peace and quiet, course it didnt work on a counta I was drivin

Fla._Deadheader · July 05, 2005, 05:22:48 PM

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Fraxinus · July 05, 2005, 07:19:27 PM

Quote from: Weekend_Sawyer on July 05, 2005, 05:09:30 PM
It gets harder and harder to enjoy living in this area(DC area). I'm tryin real hard to save my pennies and retire in West Virginia but 2 people I work with have allready moved to WV and COMMUTE to work every day. :

I have been told that there are those who commute from WV. That is unbelievable to me. A few years ago when we spent a few days visiting the sights in DC, we stayed in Frederick at an Econolodge. After the wicked rush was over on 270 and 70, we would sneak in and try to find a place to park at Shady Grove and catch the Red Line into the Mall. There was NOT ONE PARKING SPOT TO BE HAD in all of those huge lots. So we drove in to the next stop in and got lucky. Thank God for the Metro.

submarinesailor · July 06, 2005, 06:35:51 AM

Fraxinus,

What makes it even worst is that Metro has been on a building spree. They have doubled the size of many of their parking lots and all ready they are filling up. At 8:00AM the other day, I tried to park at the Springfield Metro station and it was full – at 0800 in the morning. I had to park over in the mall parking lot and ride a shuttle to the Metro station. Drove me nuts. >:( >:( >:(

Bruce/subsailor

Sawyerfortyish · July 06, 2005, 06:57:59 AM

Well it isn't that bad here where I'm at in Jersey but it's comming :'(. Property taxes are getting way outta control for farms. Everyone wants open space but they also want stores and gas stations and ball parks and street lights close. It's still country here but growing quick and it won't be long before farms are taxed out or forced to sell >:( I'm the fourth generation on this farm and I fear my son may never get to farm it as I have.

Tom · July 06, 2005, 08:17:10 AM

There was an Article on a TV news show the other day that reported law suits against farmers, in Pennsylvania, hauling or spreading manure. It seems that the city folks have bought the farms that can't make it, built houses and now are confronted with the reality of living in the country. It isn't all green grass, smiling cows and little boys playing with their dog in the pasture. While these smells aren't necessarily obnoxious to a farmer, theyl apparently are to the missplaced urbanite. Zoning comes to the Farm!

The farmer's who were interviewed weren't laughing, but I think they were chuckling.

pappy · July 06, 2005, 09:12:20 AM

Up in these parts you move into an area with cows you leave your zoning laws where you came from... the farm stays !!! weather in smells or not... BUT if you try to start something new like a large cattle or pig farm, even if it's zoned farmland and there's neighbors it won't happen ... but you are aloud a few critters

I like living up here.. the only time we have a bit of a traffic snag is when there's a parade or when church services or the schools let out ;D

Bro. Noble · July 06, 2005, 01:51:27 PM

We have some of the same type of problems, only not quite so severe. Saw in the local paper that the Mountain Grove Mo. City Council voted to limit the number of cattle you can keep in the city limits :D :D :D

Tom · July 06, 2005, 02:45:15 PM

:D The next step is to expand the city limits so that the poor, illliterates in the county can be take care of by city services.

Y'all better make sure that you have some Farmers and other Rural folks in the County Government. Those city lawyers are slick.

Bro. Noble · July 06, 2005, 04:41:03 PM

A few years ago, I had an old rifle rechambered to 50-70 Govt. It packs quite a whallop and makes a lot of smoke and stink from the black powder. When I went to pick it up, the gunsmith said that sure is fun to shoot. I asked him if he took it home to try and he said no, just took it out behind the shop and shoot onto an old stump. Right behind his shop is also right behind the bank :D :D :D Ya can't beat living in a small country town except by living in the country ;D

Tom · July 06, 2005, 04:58:47 PM

Make sure those guys run the town. :D

Ron Wenrich · July 06, 2005, 05:07:15 PM

I'm not sure about the lawsuits in PA. We have a right-to-farm law which means no one is suing a farmer over the smell or other normal farming activities.

The only problem is that some corporate types are trying to start factory farming with the law. Manure disposal is the biggest problem for them. Runoff around here goes into the Chesapeake and they have restrictions on the amount.

We also have farm preservation in PA. The state and counties are buying the development rights to the farms so that the financial temptation to convert into houses is gone. I think it also reduces taxes since the value is lowered. I'm not so sure I trust the county with those rights, considereing the recent eminent domain squabble.

The DC commuters are all the way up past Gettysburg, and have been for quite some time. I'm east of Harrisburg, and the developments in my area are getting commuters from Philadelphia and New York. Why someone wants to spend an additional 3 hours on the road is beyond me.

Engineer · July 06, 2005, 06:25:33 PM

Is there anywhere in this country left where a person could buy an old rundown farm and a hundred or two hundred acres and let civilization leave him alone?

Furby · July 06, 2005, 07:31:21 PM

Nope! Not in the midwest or East!
The fellow I bought my mill from has 138 acres.
He is disabled and decided to move to SC where his brother lives.
His farm is up for auction and was supposed to be sold back in Feb.
They keep changing the date and I found out a week or two ago that the reason why is a developer has petioned the township for a zoning change on the property to allow it to go from AG to med. density residential along one of the streets the property borders.
This would be the first "subdivision" in the township, I belive. >:(

When I first saw the place I fell in love with it as the nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away or so, and there is a pretty good view of the sunsets. Not for much longer! >:(

Sawyerfortyish · July 06, 2005, 09:07:34 PM

My brother just talked to a real estate broker. There is 18 acres for sale in a small town about 6 miles away. It has been on the market for 2 yrs for 800 thousand$$ it is going up for auction next week.Minimum bid is 600 thousand. There are already 5 minimum bids entered

. This 18 acres is undeveloped and is nothing special. It just blows my mind that people will spend that much for land in the country and the sad part is it's being done all around me. I'm only a little over a hour from Manhattan. Sometimes I wish they never invented interstate highways.
Engineer if you live in VT you already have what you talk of and don't know it. Just come to N.J. for a while you'll see!!
Ron we also have right to farm laws in effect. Just found that out when we plowed a field to reseed and the county rd dept wanted us to line the roadside with haybales of an 12 acre field to prevent soil erosion. I didn't do it and I'll let you imagine where I told them they could go

Tom · July 06, 2005, 09:18:46 PM

It's easy to see why they chomp at the bit when 1/2 acre lots go for $50,000 and 3 acre lots for $200,000 to $500,000. Some of the 3 and 5 acre lots on the marshes down here are available for $500,000 tp a cool $1,000,000. Yep, a million dollars to live in low land with sand gnats. ??? .....But it's the "successful" thing to do. :D

You say, "why doesn't everybody sell out and move away?"

The reason is that it takes a developer's money to provide the infrastructure that will please the local government enough to allow the sale. Not everybody has the pocket change.

One developer close by me has promised the city to 4-lane 3 plus miles from the interstate to the entrance of his 500 acre planned development. That includes city water, sewage and power to be run that distance and installed on the 500 acres. it's crazy.

pappy · July 07, 2005, 08:57:36 AM

Quote from: Engineer on July 06, 2005, 06:25:33 PM
Is there anywhere in this country left where a person could buy an old rundown farm and a hundred or two hundred acres and let civilization leave him alone?

yup Northern Maine!!!! (northern Aroostook County that is) Potato farmers are dropping like flies and land has been going for around $500 per acer when ya buy chunks of 50 or bigger. A friend just closed on 122 acres at about 56 grand with some tillable... some wooded but no old buildings...plenty of privacy around these parts 8)

Some would say it's a dry cold though ;) :D