I am no longer taking applications for this position, I am leaving this post up for people to see.

What I offer:
4.25 acres of property in Bevier Missouri with a three bedroom mobile home. In addition to the 4 acres around the trailer you have access to a ¼ acre of good garden land caddy corner to the main property. All utilities are on sight/connected as well as high speed internet(fiber). The property is mostly rolling and forested with about 1 acre of flat tillable land.

What I require as Payment:
10 hours a month of simple labor on my farm. Utilities and upkeep/repair will be your responsibility .

The Ideal Candidate:
Someone with the drive and desire to run a CSA or similar small farm or a small homesteader who wants to live cheaply. If someone wants to setup a CSA or sell in the local farmers markets additional money can be made on commission selling my goods which include organic grains, feeds, beef and laying hens/chicks. A teamwork/sharing system could be setup for the profit of both parties. All profits you make are yours. As long as you are maintaining the land, farm away.

Extras:
I am willing to trade labor, you work for me, I will work for you. I am mechanically inclined and have a full shop. I do everything from construction, mechanics and welding. I am willing to trade work/services for labor etc. I have every kind of machinery you will likely need from tractors, implements, a trencher, loader etc. I have spent a long time setting up my farm, and you can benefit without having the expense.

I also have the ability to supply you with chickens, other poultry, cattle, seeds, and other goods. I can also supply you with organic feed/grains/hay. If you need more ground for your farm/homestead we can work on a deal for additional ground on my 70 acre small farm.
There is an additional possibility of running hogs, pastured poultry or maybe even sheep on my farm. I am open to ideas and I am currently tapped out on time to employ many ideas or to increase the size of my current operation.
The trailer is setup for wood heat, and if you help me cut firewood we can split it and you can have heat for just some labor. Plenty of wood is available, and cheap firewood is available in the area as well.
In the ideal situation our families can work together on canning, hunting and trading. Ideally improving both of our situations. I am hoping to find someone of like mind so we can help each other. While I am not rich, I have most of what I need and do not need to make money from this property.

The catch:
Trailer has been a rent to own for five years with no maintenance or love. It will need lots of work, but is livable with some work. If you don’t have the knowledge to do the repairs needed I will trade work for the repairs. As stated there will be 10 hours of labor in exchange for rent. Labor will be done mostly on my farm, but may be elsewhere at times, for the right candidate this arrangement will be very flexible and not set in stone. Labor will be dependent on the abilities of the future tenant but could include: Cutting firewood, painting, checking on livestock, building fence, planting trees, babysitting, bucking hay, tractor work, and general labor.

More Info:

Bevier Missouri is a small town of 718 people located in northeast Missouri. Bevier has no permits needed for building a house or outbuildings and livestock are not restricted. This property is located 14 miles from my farm by highway, a little closer by gravel road. The closest larger city to Bevier is Macon (7 miles) which is also the county seat. Macon has a population of 5,500 and has a Walmart, hardware stores, grocery stores and lumber yards.

The closest large city is Columbia Missouri with a population of 115,000(55 miles). Columbia has a large farmers market and is also home to several colleges including MU. In addition to Columbia, Kirksville has a very active farmers market and is 39 miles from Bevier. Moberly also has a farmers market and is 30 miles away.
In addition to the farmers markets Clark Missouri has the

largest produce auction in the Midwest and is 40 miles from Bevier. There are also several small livestock auctions in the area as well as large swap meets.

The property offered is our old homestead, although we have not lived there in years. We had an orchard on the west end and cut trails through the woods. The woods easily supplied all the firewood we needed and our garden on the lot across the street was productive. There are two wells on the property as well as an old cistern. The forest consists of huge maple trees, many of which have died and are giving way to walnut. On top of the hill on the west is mostly black locust. The east was elm which has died and is being succeeded by a mix of hardwoods.

The Mobile home is old and in rough condition. The bathroom floor needs to be replaced and the other floors have no carpet due to the former inhabitants. While far from the best accommodations the trailer can be repaired and made livable with a little work. The trailer is 14×78 and three bedroom, all electric. When purchased the trailer came with central air, but I never used or installed it. All parts are there to have the AC portion of the central heat and air installed.
I am also open to someone building a house or moving in a newer trailer. Although the existing trailer could be fixed up without much cash and the work could be done over time.
The property would work well to run a small hog or goat operation with some chickens and about an acre of gardens. There are no fences on the property.

Drawbacks:

The largest drawback is the relative remote location with low population. Although for those willing to drive larger cities are not far, but local employment doesn’t pay well and may be harder to find. For some this is a drawback, but I consider it a benefit. I have never had a problem finding a good job here, and those with a good work ethic shouldn’t either. While pay is low, living expenses and taxes are some of the lowest in the country so it works out.
There is a large Amish population which will provide competition in the local market for vegetables and baked goods. There are benefits as well as costs. Amish sawmills provide cheap lumber and firewood. Amish grocery stores provide cheap spices and bulk goods.

Overall

I am moving away from rental properties and that is one reason I am looking at finding someone to live on this property. I am not looking to sell at this time, this property has been in my family for a long time and is paid for. For the right person it would be a good deal for both parties.
For those not from Missouri it is one of the freest states and has a pretty good climate with abundant rainfall. Ranked by freedom, Missouri is easily in the top ten. Stay away from the few big cities and crime is low with good farm ground available at some of the lowest prices in the US. Missouri has some of the lowest taxes, and does not tax land as high as most states. Missouri has been moving in the right direction for awhile as the larger cities like St. Louis have been shrinking along with their influence on a mostly rural state.
In Missouri the most onerous law is a personal property tax on things like cars. A vehicle inspection law requiring a safety inspection every two years and a helmet law for motorcycles are some of the more annoying laws to me as well. Missouri is not zoned, and property taxes are very low. In Missouri for the most part you don’t need a permit to build, repair or live.

Who we are: I am a 34 year old self employed father of a six year old daughter and a three year old son. I run a small farm and another small business. My wife works in town as an RN. While we don’t attend church regularly we would probably be best described as more conservative/christian, and libertarian leaning in politics. I am pretty open minded but value hard work, honesty and self motivation.

Who Can Apply/how: Anyone can apply who is willing to work hard and has the motivation to make use of the property and not tear it down further. For the right individual or family this could be a good bump to a better life and lower your living expenses and maybe even set you on the path for self sufficiency and independence/self employment. I don’t care what race/age or sex you are. I don’t care if you are single or married or have a life partner. I do care that you have morals, no thief’s, slackers or druggies. I don’t care if you have a criminal record as long as you learned your lesson.
If you work hard for me then do enough work to buy your needed supplies and then slack that is fine by me. As long as you are willing to do the work in exchange for the property you are good in my book, although you could gain much more by working with me and having concurrent goals with us.
If you are interested contact me through my websites contact form put Bevier Property as your subject. I will then send you a simple question form to fill out to try and pick the best candidate. Questions are welcome from those who are seriously interested. I will be looking for the ideal candidate, but in reality I will accept the best candidate who is interested. The property is available now, but it would probably be best to wait until early spring for more comfortable working conditions. I will either find a candidate or return this property to a rental by summer 2015. I would prefer to see someone using this property to its potential and ideally gaining a friend and work partner.
As already stated those interested could be a family, a couple or an individual. You must be able to move there this year, and have the ability to maintain the property and provide labor in exchange for rent. I did have the property rented for several hundred dollars a month, so it is a very good deal.