How to find agricultural land?
Do you have all your criteria in mind but you cannot find a suitable agricultural land? There are dozens of websites on real estate sales, but never any interesting offers.
And yes, finding farmland can take several years . What to despair.
Yet there are opportunities everywhere. The means of communication have never been so easy to access and fast. You still have to know how to use them.
I will present to you in this article the different ways to find agricultural land that will allow you to carry out any project that makes you dream.
Beforehand, you must have an advanced agricultural project , and you must have made a list of the criteria that must be included in the land. If not, I invite you to:
Outline your agricultural project with the following article: " The 6 steps before leaving everything to create your micro-farm " and
Establish your list of criteria with the following article " What criteria to buy agricultural land?" (1/3) ”.
Searching for farmland can be time consuming. You have to be patient and persevere . You will have ups and downs, false hopes and I hope THE crush !
I also advise you to make a quick presentation sheet of your project with your contact details. On the one hand, this will allow you to be able to talk about your project in 2 minutes without going into details that everyone is losing but also to show it as soon as someone wants to know more (eg: town hall, associations , agriculture, etc.).
So here are the different methods to find agricultural land.
What are the methods of finding agricultural land?
Different methods are possible. I've listed them in four categories: Internet, Live, Actively Communicating, and Through Communities . Each category has advantages and disadvantages. I advise you to multiply the means employed to increase your chances of finding a plot that meets your criteria.
Find agricultural land on the Internet
Do you have all your criteria in mind but you cannot find a suitable agricultural land? There are dozens of websites on real estate sales, but never any interesting offers.
And yes, finding farmland can take several years . What to despair.
Yet there are opportunities everywhere. The means of communication have never been so easy to access and fast. You still have to know how to use them.
I will present to you in this article the different ways to find agricultural land that will allow you to carry out any project that makes you dream.
Beforehand, you must have an advanced agricultural project , and you must have made a list of the criteria that must be included in the land. If not, I invite you to:
Outline your agricultural project with the following article: " The 6 steps before leaving everything to create your micro-farm " and
Establish your list of criteria with the following article " What criteria to buy agricultural land?" (1/3) ”.
Searching for farmland can be time consuming. You have to be patient and persevere . You will have ups and downs, false hopes and I hope THE crush !
I also advise you to make a quick presentation sheet of your project with your contact details. On the one hand, this will allow you to be able to talk about your project in 2 minutes without going into details that everyone is losing but also to show it as soon as someone wants to know more (eg: town hall, associations , agriculture, etc.).
So here are the different methods to find agricultural land.
What are the methods of finding agricultural land?
Different methods are possible. I've listed them in four categories: Internet, Live, Actively Communicating, and Through Communities . Each category has advantages and disadvantages. I advise you to multiply the means employed to increase your chances of finding a plot that meets your criteria.
Find agricultural land on the Internet
1. Real estate agencies
If you are looking for a home with your land it can be a good plan. On the other hand, just for land you can forget. They are paid on commissions and given the price of agricultural land it is not viable for them. So unless they are helping an acquaintance (which can happen) you won't find any opportunities there.
2. Notaries
Contacting notaries is a good way to find land. They may even have a real estate negotiator service . Many plots are inherited to non-farmers who do not know what to do with them. It becomes more of a constraint for them. On the other hand, the price of agricultural land is not necessarily known to everyone, that is to say that a city dweller who realizes that his hectare by the sea is only worth € 4000 he There is little chance that he will sell it but will prefer to wait, hoping to speculate on it… Despite that, making you known to notaries is a very good way to advance in your research.
3. SAFER: Land development and rural establishment companies
SAFER makes goods available for sale or rental on its site: https://www.proprietes-rurales.com/
Even if there are few, you never know!
4. Installation Departure Directory (RDI), managed by the Chamber of Agriculture
You can also have an advisor. For each territory there is a dedicated person (several per department). Even if you don't see a suitable property for sale on the site, it may be a good idea to give them a call to let them know about you. Some sellers do not want their sale to be known and therefore it is not published on the RDI site. So if no one knows what you are looking for, no one will contact you!
5. Le Bon Coin
Well known platform, no need to explain it to you! There is little on it. It is especially small plots sold much more expensive than the market or houses with agricultural land. Rare gems can always happen so it's worth watching out for.
6. Real estate sites
We can cite: Agriculture land for sale in warangal. There may be opportunities, it is one to watch out for. But if an advertisement arrives there, as for the right corner for that matter, it is because no one in the entourage wanted this plot so beware too.
7. Specialized sites
Some sites specialize in agricultural goods, such as: Quatuor Transaction, rural properties, Terre de Liens (La Foncière), Confédération Paysanne.
8. Sites specific to your region or department
9. Agricultural associations
Like the FNAB (National Federation of Organic Agriculture)
Find agricultural land directly
1. Meet the actors of the territory
This involves going door-to-door to farmers nearing retirement, farmers who have a lot of plots or who have been established for a long time in the territory and to meet local associations.
Even if you can't find them directly and get a few 'no's', they can give you contact details of interested people or give you valuable information.
2. Walk around the areas you are looking for
The idea is to see if there are any “for sale” signs . Even though we are in the Internet age, the old ways still exist!
3. Walk around and find wasteland
At the same time, when you search for signs "for sale", you may come across wasteland that you like.
Once you have identified this type of plot, you can go to GĂ©oportail to record the cadastre and finally go to the town hall to find out the contact details of the owners.
In this dynamic, it may be interesting to scan the various potential locations on Google Maps or Earth beforehand. It will save you time.
Find agricultural land by posting ads
Even though it might sound a bit outdated, it still works. It can also increase the power of word of mouth, especially if your project is about short circuits or about cultivating a culture that was not previously present in a territory or looking to settle in a corner that lacks dynamism.
Several places to put announcements are possible:
Post ads in local businesses ,
Place an ad in the local newspaper or specialized newspapers (the solidarity campaign newspaper of the peasant confederation, the Village magazine, etc.),
Advertise in local associations .
Find agricultural land with communities
The town hall's urban planning department is an asset in your research.
It is good to introduce yourself and present your project to the town halls where you intend to settle. For two things,:
The first is that you will interact with them for different requests (set up greenhouses, buildings, redo an access path, provide electricity, etc.) so you might as well be in good agreement with them from the start.
The second is that they may have land that wishes to lease to a farmer who carries a project in accordance with their policy. And it is more and more common, all municipalities are looking for young farmers who sell in short circuits and who contribute to local dynamism.
On the other hand, you should not rely too much on the town hall to make the link with other farmers in the area. For most of the farmers in place, they do not want the town hall to interfere in their transactions and will have the impression of being controlled. They will then be less receptive when you see them in this way.
The town hall can also give you its feeling about the activity you are offering and what other farmers or residents may think of it. Their broader vision can be very helpful in placing your project in the local context. They can warn you about some farmers who see any newcomer as a competitor or point you to markets that are short of producers etc.
In all cases, direct contact and local research make word of mouth work. And it is certainly the best way to have the most opportunities to find a land that suits you. So do not hesitate to talk about your project around you and go meet people as soon as you are told about it.
When you have found a potential plot, it remains to be seen if it is the right one! You will have to review your criteria and ask as many questions as possible when visiting this site. I will talk about it in this next part.
What to check before entering agricultural land?
The first visit to your land
In this first visit, if it has not already been done by telephone before, it will be necessary to have all the general information on the plot. Here is a non-exhaustive list:
Owner's name,
The cadastre numbers of the plots,
The surface (UAA, cultivable area),
Why is he selling?
Are the surrounding farmers interested?
The date of departure or the date of possible start of activity (the sale can be made before the last harvest of the farmer if he wishes),
History of the plot: What culture was present? What soil work? Organic or not? Since when ?
What is the category of the plot (Natura 2000, NDS…)?
Has there been a soil test done?
What are the farmers doing nearby?
Is the agreement with the neighbors good?
Different points need to be monitored and several tests can be carried out on site:
Exposure: to the sun, to the wind,
Access paths,
Borders: hedges, paths, roads ...,
Soil: Depth (test with an auger), structure and texture (test of the sausage or jar), is there life in the soil (count of earthworms, number and diversity of insects ... ),
Fauna / flora: Identify plants in uncultivated areas (height, diversity, type), observe the surrounding fauna.
These parameters are more detailed in the article: What criteria to buy agricultural land?
You may not be able to answer all of these questions on the first visit. It may be interesting to ask him if you can come back to observe the ground under other climatic conditions without it necessarily being there (in strong wind, rain) or to redo soil analyzes.
Additional research
It is often worth doing additional field research. You will not have all the information on site or from the owner (who is not necessarily a farmer by the way). The two main entrances are the town hall planning department and the neighborhood .
1. The town planning department
The town hall's urban planning service can give you information on the category of the plot and therefore whether you can set up greenhouses, buildings, whether the connection to water and electricity is possible etc.
The town hall also has access to the cadastre and the contact details of the corresponding owners . If your plot is very divided and the acquisition of other small plots is essential to form a large one, the town hall can send you the contact details of the right people.
2. The neighborhood
Being able to talk to farmers or residents on the outskirts of the plot you are visiting can give you valuable information about the history of the plot, what people are looking for or what they are afraid of.
This also helps to reassure the locals all the more if you are an urbanite who wishes to settle in the countryside. The media have given a certain image to this type of route, which is very distasteful in the countryside. Any change disturbs!
A final word on your agricultural land research
Now that you have all the information available, that you have verified that everything matches your criteria, that you feel good on this ground and that you are able to project yourself on it. It's so important to make an offer so that it doesn't slip through your fingers.
You have several purchase / rental choices and different leases exist regarding the rental. If you are considering the purchase, different means of financing are possible depending on your situation, your capital and local initiatives. We'll cover all of these questions in a future article.
So now all you have to do is start your research! It can be okay to shortcut all the sites relevant to you on your computer with the pre-entered criteria. And by adding alerts on certain sites, you will save a lot of time and not miss out on opportunities.
Once that is done, I advise you to start by discussing your project around you. We often talk about the 6 degrees of separation, that is to say that we can access anyone in this world with less than 6 people in between. And if you are looking for land not far from where you live, this degree is reduced considerably!
Then you can tour the town halls, get to know the chamber of agriculture, SAFER, local associations and local newspapers.
Good luck with your research and stay patient!