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Before You Buy Land — Full Course
Avoid Costly Mistakes and Build Your Farm the Right Way from Day One — Larry & Theresa Brown, Keevy's Farms LLC
Thanks for unlocking the full course! Modules 2–9 are below. (Module 1 — The Foundation — is on the free preview page.)
Module 2: Finding Your Land
Lesson 2.1: How to Search for Land — Beyond Zillow
The limitations of big listing sites — the best deals are often not there. Local land-specialist realtors know the rural market. "Driving for dollars" — physically driving rural roads looking for for-sale signs. Network with locals: neighbors, feed stores, county extension offices. Try specialty sites: LandWatch, Land.com, Land and Farm, Facebook Marketplace. The best deals are found through relationships, not algorithms.
Add Your First Property to Groundwork →
Lesson 2.2: The "Huge Acreage" Myth
You do not need 50+ acres to be a "real" farmer. More acreage means more taxes, more maintenance, more fencing, more things to go wrong. A well-managed 10 acres will outperform a neglected 50 acres every time. Keevy's Farms runs on just under 11 acres — animals, garden, buildings, and all. Start small, do it right, and build from there.
Define Your Farm Vision in Groundwork →
Module 3: Boots on the Ground
Lesson 3.1: The Land Evaluation System — From Emotion to Logic
Score any property across 8 categories, 40 points total. 35–40 is excellent, 25–34 needs a closer look, below 25 is high-risk. A low score doesn't always mean "no" — but it means "know what you're getting into." Watch for visual red flags: overgrazed pasture, rocky pale soil, standing water, muddy roads. Good signs: lush healthy pasture, dark rich soil, a solid gravel road, clear drainage. You can't see how water moves until it rains — the drainage story matters. It takes discipline to walk away when the red flags are real.
Score a Property Now with Groundwork's 40-Point Scorecard →
Module 4: The Paperwork
Lesson 4.1: Deeds, Easements, and Surveys
"If it's not on paper, it doesn't exist." Always hire a local real estate attorney, not just a title company. A Deed transfers ownership — always verify it's a Warranty Deed, not a Quitclaim Deed. An Easement gives another party a legal right to use part of your land — utility easements can run right through your planned homesite. A Survey is a professional measurement of exact boundaries — never skip this step. Zoning determines what you can and cannot do on the land. A neighbor dispute over an unsurveyed boundary confirmed why this step must happen before closing.
Open the Due Diligence Checklist in Groundwork →
Module 5: The Invisible Costs
Lesson 5.1: Power, Water, and Septic — The Real Numbers
Infrastructure can easily add $50,000–$100,000 or more on top of the land price. Online estimators are useless — soil types, rock ledges, and local labor rates vary dramatically by county. Well drilling costs vary widely with depth and rock; ask locally about typical depth. Septic requires a soil percolation (perc) test first — if the soil fails, you can't install a standard system. Power hookup gets more expensive the further you are from the nearest line — get a quote before making an offer. Land clearing is budgeted per acre, not per property. A long gravel driveway costs more than most buyers expect. Plan for your long-term electrical needs on day one, not just the starting point.
Calculate Your Setup Costs in Groundwork →
Module 6: The Blank Canvas
Lesson 6.1: Designing Your Farm for Flow — The Kitchen Work Triangle Principle
Think of house, barn, and garden like a kitchen work triangle — a functional, efficient layout. Minimize the distance between daily tasks: feeding animals, collecting eggs, watering the garden, storing equipment. Plan water access for every zone. Put compost and manure downwind from the house. Gardens need full sun — plan for the path of the sun. For fencing: woven wire is the best all-around choice, high-tensile electric works well for rotational grazing, and an H-brace corner post is the foundation of any lasting fence. Do at least three drafts of your layout — the first draft is always wrong. Playing it by ear leads to inefficiencies you'll deal with for years.
Sketch Your Farm Vision in Groundwork →
Module 7: Bringing on the Animals
Lesson 7.1: The Right Animals for Your Land and Goals — Start Small, Build Right
The "start small" rule always applies. Carrying capacity is how many animals your pasture can actually support per acre without overgrazing — and overgrazing destroys a pasture quickly and is expensive to repair. Chickens are the best beginner animal: low startup cost, easy daily care, consistent return through eggs and meat — start with 6–12 birds. Goats are excellent for brush clearing but are escape artists, so your fencing must be excellent first — start with 2–4. Cattle require the most land (1–2 acres per animal), the strongest fences, and the largest feed budget — don't start with cattle until you've mastered the basics. Pigs are efficient meat producers but need strong fencing and a lot of feed — not a beginner animal. Not knowing feed costs is one of the top reasons new farmers give up in year two.
Build Your Year 1 Budget in Groundwork →
Module 8: The Tools of the Trade
Lesson 8.1: The Tractor — Your Most Important Purchase
The number that matters for daily farm work is the loader's lift capacity, not the horsepower on the sticker — and know the difference between PTO horsepower and engine horsepower. The three most important attachments are a front-end loader (moving material), a box blade (grading and road maintenance), and a brush hog/rotary cutter (maintaining pastures). A compact tractor with a loader is worth buying since you'll use it every week; a heavy excavator for a one-time clearing job is worth renting instead. Know what to look for mechanically when buying used. The First-Year Farm Budget is the most important worksheet in the entire course, and the Contingency Fund — 20% of the subtotal — is not optional.
Build Your Year 1 Master Budget in Groundwork →
Module 9: The First Year
Lesson 9.1: Your 12-Month Farm Start-Up Timeline — Phase by Phase, Step by Step
Months 1–3, The Foundation: land purchase, legal close, initial site assessment, utility quotes in hand. Months 4–6, The Build-Out: driveway, clearing, perimeter fencing, power and water installation. Months 7–9, The Green-Up: pasture seeding, garden establishment, interior fencing, shelter building. Months 10–12, The Launch: bring on first livestock, establish daily routines, track all expenses carefully. The sequence is intentional — you can't put animals on land that has no fencing. The timeline is a guide, not a contract, so give yourself grace to adjust. Every experienced farmer you admire had a messy first year — you are not alone. Keep a Resource & Supplier Tracker, a Farm Project Tracker, and a Farm Journal: the best farmers are always students of their own land.
Follow the Full Trail Map in Groundwork →
Your Workbook & Teacher Manual
The full Student Workbook (all worksheets referenced above) and Teacher Manual PDFs are attached to your order confirmation email. If you can't find them, contact Larry & Theresa directly.
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