Or thump out my chest....either one!
When we bought our farm in 2019 it had been part of a large dairy farm. The family that ran the dairy operation had owned the property and operated the dairy for over three generations. But, as most all of the East Tennessee dairy operations - it was met with the challenge of huge conglomerations (Walmart) buying in and driving out the smaller farms.
I first met the Smith's on a warm spring morning in March of 2019. I had been internet shopping properties in the area and connected with THE most amazing realtor, Heather Walker (with ReMax), while I was still in Florida. Through a lot of phone calls and emails, and Zillow and MLS searches, I had narrowed down a list of about ten properties to visit and walk. And, so, a plan was made for me to travel to East Tennessee in March. That day was so heartbreaking. Absolutely none of the properties I dragged my realtor to were 'the one'...on the final day of my scouting trip we stood at the last property on the list, muddy wet boots and frustration enveloping me, when she asked if there was anything else at all I wanted to look at.
I had seen a new listing on Zillow that appeared too good to be true. The fields and farmland looked amazing and the price was well below what seemed the average. But, reluctantly, I pulled it up on my phone and asked if it might be close enough that we could just do a driveby. It was about 15 minutes away.
I knew I wanted as much land as possible for what cash we had available. And, at first that seemed to be about the 20 acre mark based on most everything we had looked at. But, while enroute to this last property Heather phoned the listing agent to learn about this farm on Zillow. It was tied up in a USDA foreclosure and that meant a LOT of red tape, blue hoops, and circus clowns that would have to be dealt with if I were interested in it.
As we approached the property, it was overgrown along the little country road and only a single sign peeked above some overgrown weeds. We stopped and got out, looked around, when suddenly a young man's voice asked from a little white farm house, "Can I help you ma'am?" I apologized for any intrusion and explained how I had managed to find myself in his front yard. He smiled, asked "How much land you want?" I grinned. "How much ya got?" When he said more than 300 acres my heart skipped!
The next morning I returned to the farm to meet the owner who had just got off working the night shift. He drove me around the farm and told me it's story, his family's dairy history, and my heart broke. I knew we couldn't buy all of the land, it wasn't in our budget. But the Good Lord knows in that moment I would've fought as hard as I could to do so, just so this family's farm stayed in tact and nothing more in their lives changed. The connection between the Smith family and us was instant.
The land was neglected and in need of TLC. And shockingly to our realtor, the Smith's, and some of our family, I wanted a very specific section of the farm that offered the mountain views, fields and what had the beginnings of a nice little natural fed pond. The land on the other side of the main road made the most sense and would be the least work, but it didn't have those views!!!
We sectioned off what portion I fell in love with and put in an offer within two days. And then....the Government stepped in.
The USDA has a lot of programs that benefit a lot of farmers. And, thank goodness they do! BUT...dealing with the government, waiting on decisions, getting information from them? If you have the patience of Job you'll probably be fine. Me? Dave? Nope. Patient isn't how we do things.
We closed on the property on July 3rd, 2019. Between March 27th and that day we had sold our place in Florida and West Virginia, packed up each home and moved all the contents to a storage facility. We lived in a 600 sq. ft cabin at Nolichucky Bluffs, picked out and purchased a modular home (that we didn't own land for yet). THAT'S how we do it.
*insert an eyeroll here
We were not farmers. Or ranchers. But hard workers? Yes. We could both operate heavy equipment, run a hand dozer - for those unfamiliar, that's typically known as a shovel. We had chainsaws, logging chains, a trusty Chevy Silverado, and a Husqvarna riding lawnmower brought along from Florida. And that's how we started clearing land.
Then came Piglet!! She is a little Yanmar with a John Deere motor and came complete with a teeny tiny little bush hog. I drove to south Georgia to pick her up and boy did she ever put the work in at the farm. Cutting, pulling downed trees, and taking us on tours all over the farm!
Of course, we knew she wasn't the girl for the job and would need a big brother sooner than later. But, sooner would come sooner than we anticipated!
We rented mini-x's and machinery for the bigger stuff, cutting in driveways, installing 3600 feet of waterlines, 300 feet of underground electric, and clearing and cleaning land just to get utilities installed -- this is clearing is endless and still an ongoing project for different reasons and now on a smaller scale and a slower pace. But never-ending nonetheless
Our modular arrived at the end of August. And by Labor Day Weekend we were preparing to move our belongings from storage units in Knoxville an hour away to the farm. Our 600 square feet of cabin life went to 2200 square feet of disorganized boxes and living from a suitcase almost overnight!
We built our porches, built a garage, and before we knew it woke up to our first Tennessee snowfall.
The Christmas lights went up Thanksgiving weekend and the last day of 2019 started off with a low-lying fog in the valley and a beautiful sunset to send the year out quietly and with the promise that 2020 would be easier.
*insert a big eyeroll
2020 would be a new frontier for a lot of reasons, most we never anticipated! Thanks for joining us on this journey!
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