As someone looking for a potential farm to take over,I would like to add a few things to this discussion that I believe are being overlooked...
1. Most older farmers are not easy to find, because they are not active on the Internet. The only real way to find them is by word of mouth- a difficult proposition if you don't live in the same area as them...
2. Location... Many who are looking for a farm to take over cannot find one in a location they desire or in one that fits their criteria... Such as States without onerous rules concerning the following: Homeschooling, off grid/ nonelectric living, building/code restrictions, Also distance from large cities and other environmental factors are at play, just to name a few things.
3. Financial burden/cost of land; Because of the prices of farms today, most would eventually have to get a
mortgage to be able to take over a farm down the road, (unless it is truly being willed to them). Which makes it not worth taking over-they would have to spend so much time making money to pay the mortgage, insurances, taxes, etc, that running the farm becomes a business, rather than just running the farm as a way of living. Even without having a mortgage, just paying property taxes and insurance on an expensive farm can be more of a burden than many of us are willing to take on. The fact is, it would be better to buy a piece of bare ground and build a cheaper living quarters that does not need 'insurance' and has low taxes. The majority of farms today are just too expensive to operate for the return given todays market conditions- seeing how most people buy Corporate processed food at the grocery store... Another factor is that most farms are simply too much of a burden these days because of all the technology required to run them...
5. Finding a farm that is being run in an organic fashion is almost impossible... Most farmers have been spraying pesticides and herbicides on their grounds making them undesirable.
The bottom line is this; Farming is a heavily regulated/financially burdening proposition, and taking one over or even finding one in a location that suits the requirements of most of us who are looking is not a simple task-even if we have all the skills to run one.
So, if you know a farm/homestead that an older person is looking to pass on-that is organic, far from a large
city, can be worked by hand, is in a home school friendly/low tax state, with few building codes/restrictions conducive to off-grid/nonelectric living, etc, I (and many others) would love to hear about it.
Best regards,
Steve