Every year we thing we are ready for winter. And every year we are not.

A few things to think about when it comes to winter on the farm.

1. How do you heat?
2. How long is the driveway?
3. What needs snow cleared?
4. How much water do you need?

How do you heat?

Out here On the Ranch, we heat mostly with wood. We have baseboard electric heat as well, but nothing beats the heat of a wood stove. Bonus: it continues to provide heat when the power is out like it was for 10 hours earlier this week.

So what does that mean? Firewood. I can’t tell you how much you need, but decide how much you need, then get more. Particularly if you have a shop or any other outbuildings that you heat with wood. We have a few different stoves to keep fed between the house, studio, cabin when guests visit and of course the hot tub. And let me tell you, it is a whole lot nicer to have extra than to be calling around trying to secure a load of firewood at -20 with 2 feet of snow on the ground.

If you collect wood yourself, you’re going to need a decent chainsaw, some saw chaps/pants, eye and ear protection and way to haul it.

When it comes to firewood, the rule of thumb is more, More, MORE!

How long is the driveway?

Really, this one and what needs snow cleared are part of the same. Living in the city during a big snowfall is no big deal. You have your trusty shovel or push snowblower and the city takes care of the streets. Ultimately, not a big deal.

Out on the farm, things are a bit different. Here our driveway is almost 1km long. The city isn’t coming over to clear anything. And while I did walk the whole length of the drive with the snowblower once just to get out, its not a good solution.

You also need to decide what else besides the driveway gets cleared. Do you need a path to the barn? Parking? Turn arounds? Paths for animals? Here, my bale tractor is not 4wd so I also have to clear the snow in the hay stack in order to get to it.

That being said, you can get by with a few items that make life a whole lot easier. I am going to assume you already have a tractor with 3 point hitch and PTO.

If that is the case, you can get a back blade for the tractor that can range from pretty cheap, to crazy expensive. Either way, it will push snow. The key here is to make sure you plow a wide berth. The tractor and blade solution isn’t like a truck mounted plow that can throw snow up and over the bank. Essentially, with each snowfall your driveway gets a little narrower. Too narrow and you’re hiring someone to come in and dig out those edges.

You can also step it up and get a PTO powered, 3 point hitch mounted snow blower. I got one of these a few years back at the auction for cheap, but they can get pretty pricey too. Needless to say mine is pretty bare bones and I would love a bigger one with hydraulic controls, but the price was right and it clears snow. The beauty of this snowblower is that the edges of the driveway don’t start to close in. It’s not fast driving backwards but it can move a lot of snow.

When we first moved all we had was a small John Deere lawn tractor and in a pinch you can buy a front blade for them, or for your quad. This setup has worked pretty well for us for smaller snow falls but once things get over 6 inches or if the snow is wet and heavy, forget about it. We used it as our sole method of snow removal for a season. It worked, although we did have to hire out the snow removal for a couple of larger dumps.

And of course you can always hire out but that is usually limited to the driveway and can add up pretty quickly in areas of big snow.

How much water do you need?

No big surprise here, but livestock needs water. This one can take some creativity depending upon where your farm has electricity and water hook ups. You can get some pretty fancy set ups for water, but we don’t have those. We have a couple of water tanks with heaters in them so they needed to be set up near the house within reach of taps and power.

Keep in mind, unless the cows, horses and goats are living together, you’re going to need to be set up in multiple areas. For us, the only thing we winter is cows, so the set up works.

Owning a farm can be a wildly rewarding endeavour. Maybe not financially at first, but the rewards are everywhere. There is something comforting about growing and producing your own food. In fact, we just had our fist meat entirely raised and grown on the farm. It was super cool.

Having said that, owning a farm can be challenging and is certainly not for everyone. It can be a lot of work, particularly depending on the condition of the property you buy. If you decide that owning a farm is something that you would like to pursue then one of the most important considerations that you will have is where you will buy your farm and what you should look for when you do.

Before you even start looking, start thinking about what you want to accomplish, what you want to grow or raise, where you intend to sell it, and how much you can actually make. I highly recommend doing a whole lot of research first and putting together a farm marketing plan.

Then get a realtor. One familiar with farms. It’s the best thing you will do.

Regulations and Tax Rebates

Where your farm is located can greatly impact both the taxes you pay as well as the tax rebates that you receive from the government. Many farmers receive some sort of tax rebate or farm subsidies and learning about which programs are available for you in your area of interest is a good place to start. The benefits will be different everywhere so do your homework. Here in B.C., farm status can drastically reduce your property taxes.

Also, make sure the land is properly zone for farm use that is appropriate to your needs. Some regions have ordinances against farm animals and even certain crops. Contact local officials to see if there are any rules that impact your plans and intentions for the farm. No use is buying property to run cattle on if livestock is forbidden. Generally, the further you go from the city, the fewer hassles of this nature you will encounter.

Access to Resources

An area that has good access to resources is important. For one, you will need a market to sell your produce in and a city is often the easiest place to sell, whether it’s through a cooperative, farmers market, or simply direct to consumer. And there are a lot more consumers in the city than the country. So being a reasonable distance from civilization might be something to consider.

Keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to fully support yourself on farm income alone. Access to a community where there are jobs available, either for you or a spouse, including seasonal work during the offseason, to help supplement your farm income should be a consideration. Proximity to small or larger cities will help here.

Resources are also needed for your farm to succeed. In particular water resources are essential to a farm and both quantity and quality of water is essential for your farm’s success. Pretty tough to grow much produce or keep animals quenched without water. As part of the buying process, have the water tested and see ensure a good flow and no hazardous pollutants. Chances are you will be out in the country and on a well so a good, deep, well with a strong flow is important.

And don’t forget about electricity. As you search for your farm, chances are you will come across a number of places that are “off grid”. It’s manageable, but before you just make sure you are up for the challenge. We were not. And frankly running things like heaters to keep livestock water in liquid form at -25 would be a great challenge on a solar power system.

Understanding your product and their prices

Before buying your farm or ranch, consider what you actually want to do. Are you looking to raise animals? Large ones like cows? Smaller ones like pigs? Really small ones like chickens? The size of the property you seek out will depend a lot on what you  want from your farm. It’s also good to explore the cost to getting into your desired product and the prices they sell for. Is it even worthwhile? Here is where a farm marketing plan comes in handy.

Consider the local conditions for the crops you are looking to produce. Not all crops are good for all locations and you should test the local soil to make sure that it has the nutrients necessary for your crops. Typically this means that the soil has sufficient minerals and nutrition and is not overly filled with clay like soil that does not retain moisture well. Consider checking with local agriculture extensions or offices for soil information for your local area before you buy farmland to see if it is suitable for the crops that you want to grow. This is an important consideration for both produce and animals. Remember, if you are looking to raise cattle, you need grass – and lots of it.

Factors that impact the soil you have include:

• depth and quality of topsoil
• the drainage of the soil
• the nutrition and content of the soil (this can be corrected with proper fertilization)
• the slope and altitude of the soil and farm

The Cost of the Farm

Finally the cost of the farmland is important as well. If the farmland is great but in a cost prohibitive area you will likely need to look for alternative options. Consider your resources available to finance your purchase and then consider the lending and financing that is available to you for your farm purchase. Check with your lender first too – not all lenders will finance farm land. I know, we went through a few trying to find one.

Also, consider if the farm income that you generate, including the farm subsidies and side seasonal income that you earn will be sufficient for you to cover your expenses or not. Cost is an important component to buying a farm and something that warrants significant consideration.

Most likely you will have to find a happy medium. Something that is out of the city, but within a few hours. The farther from large cities, the more affordable the pricing gets – but the fewer local customers you have. Get a few hours out of the city and the price of a farm drops significantly. We are more than a few hours from a major city, but we also bought our farm for less than the cost of a 1 bedroom condo in the city. You have to figure out what is right for you, but chances are half the reason you are even considering farming and ranching is to get out of the city anyhow.

State of the Farm

Finally consider how developed the farm you are buying is and what work will be needed to put your farm in working order. Are their buildings on the farm that can be used? Do they need to be fixed up? What about fences? Shops? Barns? If not, consider the cost of having them built on your farmland before you buy a farm.

That is a high level rundown on how to approach buying a farm and moving to the country. There is more to it than that, but it will be different depending on where you go so you will have to learn that for yourself. Us, we had to learn how to deal with feet upon feet of snow. It’s different, and takes some work, and equipment, but we got there.