Are there any drawbacks living next to a farm?

[walterjay]

Water quality could wind up being your biggest issue. Nitrates and some pesticides could find its way into the water table. Lots of farm nitrates in my area. Have the water tested. There are solutions.

Buy your water or install a reverse osmosis water purifier. This is usually done at the kitchen sink with a seperate spout and a hookup to the ice maker in the fridg. A carbon filter has limitations especially for nitrates.

 

[RitcheyRch]

Dust and smell.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Water quality could wind up being your biggest issue. Nitrates and some pesticides could find its way into the water table. Lots of farm nitrates in my area. Have the water tested. There are solutions.

Buy your water or install a reverse osmosis water purifier. This is usually done at the kitchen sink with a seperate spout and a hookup to the ice maker in the fridg. A carbon filter has limitations especially for nitrates.

I've never had well water so at home water treatment is new to me. I've heard the tech exists to treat water even better than municipal. I don't know if it's cost prohibitive but it sounds possible. I'd prefer to have the entire house treated.

 

[UncleDave]

I've never had well water so at home water treatment is new to me. I've heard the tech exists to treat water even better than municipal. I don't know if it's cost prohibitive but it sounds possible. I'd prefer to have the entire house treated.

If you have an issue you can treat it right at the wellhead, thing is you are going to want to split treated from untreated water.

You dont want to irrigate with treated water - that gets expensive.

 

[Owen Lucas]

If you have an issue you can treat it right at the wellhead, thing is you are going to want to split treated from untreated water.

You dont want to irrigate with treated water - that gets expensive.

That's a good point. I'd probably only irrigate the plants around the house. I'd let nature take care of the lawn.

 

[IndyIan]

I live out in the country, and the only real deal breakers for me, is being downwind of an industrial pig farm... The big pool of liquid manure is terrible smelling and it stinks 24/7/365. Meat chicken farms aren't great either but not as bad IMO.
Actual fields may get liquid manure spread 1 or 2 days a year(unless there's lot of industrial pig farms around...), harvest and planting is also dusty 1 or 2 days, but no big deal.
The chemical sprays aren't great either, but I think the rare exposure is pretty harmless and driving in the country is far more dangerous with more hwy speed head on crashes, drunk driving. Pay attention all the time and don't drive around at 2 am and its not bad either.
Ideally, get enough land not to care what the neighbors are doing, but get some at least, living on a suburban lot in the country makes little sense to me. Also if the appeal of the place is someone else's land, think hard about what happens if the land use changes.
People whining about what their neighbor is doing on their own property is annoying and not really tolerated well.
Chemical sprays are probably among the least of a persons worries living in the country, your neighbors and community are more important IMO. Go drive around, talk to the neighbors, go to the town, grocery store, etc... Some places are lively and nice, others not so much!

 

[racer12306]

As someone who lives next to a farm. The farm is a normal crop farm and they put in two 600' barns for chicken CAFO operations. The fans blow opposite of my house, but we haven't seen any negative changes from those barns.

It stinks a few times a year. The dust isn't bad. The noise isn't bad a couple times a year.

The vegetation buffer on the right side of that is going to help minimize a lot of the dust and such. The buffer on the left side isn't as dense, but will help.

 

[doitmyself]

Sometimes thieves target low populated rural areas. You can still have poopy neighbors. Ones that stick their nose in your business. Ones that shoot guns at all hours of the day. Fire and ambulance service can take longer.

Still, I prefer rural living.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Living away from cities is no longer a detriment in my book. You get away from the hive mind mentality and can see the USA for what it really is- the land of opportunity. Buy that farm and live the rest of your life there. I did and love every minute!

 

[Owen Lucas]

I live out in the country, and the only real deal breakers for me, is being downwind of an industrial pig farm... The big pool of liquid manure is terrible smelling and it stinks 24/7/365. Meat chicken farms aren't great either but not as bad IMO.

I checked Google Maps for local livestock farms. Closest I could find was a small dairy 7 miles away.

The buffer on the left side isn't as dense, but will help.

I wouldn't have a problem planting some privacy trees or whatever can help with reducing dust.

 

[brianl703]

Ones that shoot guns at all hours of the day.

And some that use street signs for target practice. I'm not sure how many chromosomes one has to be missing before they're stupid enough to think that's a good idea..

 

[Owen Lucas]

And some that use street signs for target practice. I'm not sure how many chromosomes one has to be missing before they're stupid enough to think that's a good idea..

I'll make sure to pay attention to the local signs, I've only seen this once but when I was travelling.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I would go ask the farmer. There generally pretty friendly. When you only have a couple neighbors within a mile or so, you generally don't want them mad at you.

I would add this from someone who grew up near it and married the farmers daughter. If you have never lived in a farming community you may want to rent somewhere nearby for a while and see if you like it. Some hate it, some wouldn't live anywhere else, there seldom is an in between.

 

[SC Maintenance]

That's a good point. I'd probably only irrigate the plants around the house. I'd let nature take care of the lawn.

Typically you come into the house from the wellhead, and then you put your outdoor spigot first, then the rest of the water goes into the pre filter/ iron filter / water softener and whatever else you need. Even after all that you may not like the way it tastes and still want to haul drinking water - depends on what your starting with.

 

[dlundblad]

We have a similar setup. The family who farms 3 of our 4 sides has been here since the late 1800’s. No negatives minus dust in the spring and fall from planting and harvest. I can live with the tractor and farm related noise a few times a year. Corn makes an excellent neighbor.

Our neighbor doesnt have large amounts of livestock so manure isn’t an issue. We have a massive hog farm up north that injects it into their soil. Just from driving by, the smell is gone in a day or so. We have family friends who also own hogs. No smell inside whatsoever.

They do crop dust and spray with “sprayer tractors” (count that as more noise), but the pilots are very good at what they do and the chemicals stay 30-50’ off the property line. Field spray also has a “dropping agent” that keeps it from drifting too far. The trees in your photo are proof that much isn’t getting beyond the property line. I will say some farmers spray when it’s too windy and that can create an issue with drift. Mainly plant and tree kills. Your big trees are proof that isn’t an issue.

You’d be a fool to pass that property down for having a farmer as a neighbor.

 

[MacManus99]

I live next to a small farm, and their barn is right by the property line. My property is 3.5 acres, and I have fields pretty much surrounding me.

Mice are pretty much a year round battle. There are many hawks, owls, and cats around, and they certainly don't go hungry. Still, the dang things seem to proliferate.
We also see lots of wasps and horsefly's, as one would expect.

I still wouldn't trade it.

 

[wemay]

Not knowing what chemicals are used for pest control.

 

[JohnnyG]

ALL of the above, unless its a PIG farm manure!

 

[doitmyself]

Not knowing what chemicals are used for pest control.

"Technically", EPA laws do not allow off site airborn pesticide drift. Pesticide movement in soil/water erosion is different . http://npic.orst.edu/reg/drift.html ..............As already stated, some areas have problems with nitrates and other chemicals in ground water.

The Right To Farm Act protects farmers from nuisance lawsuits while conducting standard farming procedures: https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/right-to-farm/

 

[Creekside]

If I were to live next to a farm or even in between two farm fields, is there anything I should be concerned about?

Is it common for crop dusting, fertilizers, and or chemicals to blow over onto the example property below? If so I can see it eventually getting into the house. I don't know what crops are being grown here. Are farms usually noisy? I assume the tractors come out only a few times a year. I'm mainly worried about chemical exposure though.

View attachment 119862

The tire tracks in the field to the right are sprayer tracks. With that said, I wouldn't be too concerned about chemical drift, we can barely afford chemical as it is so every precaution is made to ensure it gets to the plants where it is intended. My recommendation would be to go knock on the farmers door and ask these questions. Most of us are reasonable people and actually enjoy teaching the general public about different aspects of it. It's hard to say what crop that is without knowing your geographic location. It almost looks like alfalfa or some kind of forage crop as I don't see any drill lines. In that case you'll likely only see equipment a few times a year.