This hub mostly covers sources for finding rural property (including legitimate free property) for micro farming and small scale farming, but there are some tips for aspiring urban micro farmers as well.

We'll also lead you to a great resource for small-scale farming structure plans (barns, cold frames, cottages) once you have that rural property of your dreams. There's also a resource for people thinking about starting up a rural B&B.

First off, watch out for very low-cost or free property scams: The USA really did once have a Homestead Act. U.S. citizens could secure up to 160 acres of open land if it was continuously lived on and cultivated for five consecutive years. The homesteader had the option to buy the land after six months from the government for $1.25 per acre. After a successful five-year residency and a $15 filing fee, the homesteader received clear title to the land. The Homestead Act was finally repealed in 1976 except for Alaska (1986). Don't pay for publications that will tell you about this "secret." It's over. And it was never a secret.

Also beware of purchasing "listings" of foreclosures: That tragic situation is legitimate, but there's a competitive process that trained real estate investors go through to purchase the property (bidding at a certain time and location, having cash on hand…). There are many high priced real estate courses that focus on foreclosures. We've checked a few out ourselves and found that while you will always learn "something," many operate on a system to get you excited about quick sales, with plans to get you to invest more and more money on more and more courses and mentoring.

Legitimate free or almost free rural property: Because of the many scams, you'll find sites that understandably state there is no free property. But things do change. The non-profit Center for Rural Affairs - started by farmers and operated for farmers -- has announced that small towns and counties in rural areas of the country have started programs offering free or almost free rural property in an effort to reverse rural depopulation. (This article copyrighted & written for www.MicroEcoFarming.com. Share legally by linking back to this page)

They are trying to entice people to relocate to rural properties in a variety of ways. While some only offer rural lots, which can be ideal for micro eco-farming, others offer rural acreage which may be usable for small scale farming ventures. More rural property offerings are coming in regularly, we'll keep this page up to date. Here's what we have so far (The state, the town, and if available the entity/person you should search for online. Contact the town's website if there's no person or entity, or go straight to the Center for Rural Affairs):

• Texas: La Villa, South Texas Economic Development Corporation
• North Dakota, Hazelton, Hazelton Development Corporation
• Nebraska:
  - Burwell, Burwell Economic Development/City of Burwell, David Sawyer
  - Callaway (only considering offering lots)
  - Central City (only considering offering lots) , Chris Anderson, city administrator
  - Curtis, (want you to build a single family house or a house overlooking a golf course), Ed Cole or Jerry Wilcox
  - Elwood, Todd Wilson or Jim Varvel
  - Giltner, Marlene Hinrich home or Greg Ashby home
  - Kenesaw
  - Loup City, Annette Galloway
  - Reynolds, Jerry Ginn
  
• Minnesota, New Richland
• Alaska, Alaska State Land Offerings
• Iowa, Marne
• Kansas
  - Atwood
  - Ellsworth Country, Ellsworth County Economic Development
  - Kansas Free Land
  - Marquette

Farmlink - a unique opportunity for finding farmland and rural property: Check out your state's Farmlink program (search "farmlink" & "your state"). Farmlink keeps track of generational farmers and ranchers who are ready to pass their farms on to the next generation to new farmers who don't have land, and they either don't have children to pass it on to, or their children aren't interested in farming and the farmers want to keep their land as farmland.

Here's how Mary Embleton of the Washington State Farmlink describes the program, "We don't carry out transactions, just help do the linking. Many of the properties enrolled in our program are for lease or other type of tenure arrangement. We have worked with some realtors in the past that were representing farm properties. We have also had farmland owners looking to sell to aspiring farmers. They all take care of their own transactions. We do provide a variety of lease templates and are available to help foster those relationships."

Finding acreage or a farm for sale via real estate listings: Two well-known places to find rural property or farms for sale are Ruralpropertyfinder.com and Landandfarm.com. The print publications Small Farm Journal and AcresUSA sometimes have listings in their classifieds.

Relocate and rent first: If you know you want to move to a specific new location and eventually own a farm, long-time farmers often caution new farmers about rushing in to buying land in new territory and acquiring debt right off. Some suggest you first just relocate and rent, and seek a position on another farm while you get to know the location better. Once there, start looking through local classifieds, local Craigslist, local farm store and cooperative extension bulletin boards for acreage or farm for sale listings, and ask around as you get to know and trust people.

Land trusts, private estates, land-owning organizations: One of the micro goat dairies profiled on this site owned just 3/4 of a rural acre which included their home and non-farmed front yard. They ended up leasing another half acre right next door from an absent wealthy land owner who wanted to hold onto the property, but wasn't using it for farming. The dairy owner sealed this deal on her own by letting the landowner know how well her goats would build up the fertility of her land.

But many counties also have farmland trusts where rural property owners secure their land because don't want it to ever be developed. To see if any trusts have farmland leads in your area, search "farmland trust" (or "rural land trust," rural acreage trust," etc.) and "your county."

There is also the possibility of stewarding a piece of land on schools, camp grounds, and for landowners who only show up on their land for the occasional holiday. This would either be a lease situation or a possible trade: You providing growing organic fertility for the land and a working farm for students, camp attendees, or the landowners' grandkids.

Finding urban farmland: Urban farmers can also look into stewarding land from schools, churches, and so forth. Besides that, the two main ways urban and backyard farmers find farmland beyond their own property are to either work with the city government on securing vacant lots, or to do yard-share programs where the urban farmers farm the yards of various local residents, giving them a percentage of the produce while they get the rest to sell as an urban farm business. The best current method to learn about this may be to study two successful models.

The Capital District Community Garden in New York began in 1975 and oversees nearly 50 urban gardens. Search for their story. Bkfarmyards.com is a great model for using yard sharing, schools and other under-utilized parcels of land in urban settings for farmland. While they have a volunteer segment, they have also created a program meant to bring profit to urban micro farmers.

Further affiliate resources of interest:

Favorite resource for farm structure building plans: Don't let the title of My Shed Plans fool you. Ryan Henderson of Osterville, MA, is a veteran woodworker who offers downloadable plans for hundreds of structures suitable for micro farming and small-scale farming (barns, composters, cold frames, farmshops, potting sheds, nursery wagon). Some are his own designs, and he gives instructions that the ordinary person can understand. Plus he shows how to build them without waste, so people can save a lot of money on their projects.

Look here, too, for his huge collection of 100s of other hard to find small farm project plans, some basic, some detailed (foot bridges, picnic tables, classic barns, outdoor fireplaces, wishing well). At this link, there's a fun video showing a shed being built from start to finish.

Downloadable resource for starting a rural B&B: Starting a Bed & Breakfast is very detailed, taking you from start to finish in starting and succeeding with a B&B from legalities and forms to the human side of things.

See rural properties in our own beautiful
Pacific Northwest bio-region!