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Farmettes In Lancaster County
You are ready to disconnect from a fast-track career. Ready to try your hand at serious gardening or raising animals. Want to start a business that helps people eat better. Looking to slow the pace way down and start over. There are as many reasons to take over or start a farmette as there are people, but a few things around here are constants...
Lancaster County farmettes offer some of the best soils in the continental US. The weather conditions are ideal for growing a wide variety of crops, and the area is home to animal husbandry of all kinds. Be it dairy production, organic vegetables, horse training or any other usage, Lancaster County is hard to beat!Â
Here you will discover lush rolling hills covered with pristine farmland, a bustling downtown with one of the premier regional country markets, gleaming new homes and properties intertwined with babbling brooks, Amish buggies and children at play.Â
If you are looking to live within driving distance of major metro areas but just far enough away to enjoy the seclusion and fresh air of the country, the Lancaster County area may just be the place for you. There are always a number of nice farmette properties for sale, so be sure to browse the available listings at the link below:Â
Search Lancaster PA Farmettes For Sale
Farmette lots typically range from just under 2 acres to upwards of 20 acres. To properly house horses, it's best to look for at least 3 acres with a good percentage being devoted to pasture and/or training areas. Lancaster County is made up of several micro-environments, which could be broken up as follows:
- North of the PA Turnpike - Hilly, many sloped lots, shaded hollows
- From Route 322 to Lancaster City (central county) - mostly level ground, dotted with towns, larger farms
- East County from Terre Hill to Strasburg - heavy large farm region, dairy farms, very flat terrain, Amish influence
- West County from Lebanon to Marietta - mostly level terrain, many farms and open space, some towns
- South County from Route 30 to Maryland line - level just of Lancaster City to hollows along the Susquehanna River
- Southeast County from Strasburg to Oxford - mixed terrain at a higher elevation with many large farms
Depending on what you plan to use your farmette for will help determine your choice of location within Lancaster County. If you're hoping to raise cows for organic dairy to sell a Central Market in downtown Lancaster, for example, you might want to be located in central county or the northern portion of south county such as the Willow Street area. If you are planning to have horses and get involved in riding clubs, south county would perhaps be ideal as there are active clubs and a number of working horse farms to network with.Â
The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group can help you search for farmettes and keep an eye on new listings as they happen, so you don't miss anything. When it comes time to get out and look, we'll arrange the trip and have answers to your questions.Â
One Buyer's Experience:
"I'm originally from Pennsylvania, but moved away after college for work. For the past five years, my husband and I have been looking at real estate listings in Lancaster County with the idea that we would move there 'someday'. In September 2010, we moved into our 21.5 acre farmette in Lancaster County.
Initially we looked at smaller properties, but on each one I thought 'I guess you could put a chicken coop there, but that's not much room' or 'there's a little space for a garden there, but it's so close to the neighbors'. Finally, after a lot of soul-searching, I realized that what I really wanted was a small farm.
Our reasons for deciding on a farm are many. We wanted to be more self-sufficient, to be able to raise some of our own food, have a wood stove and solar, and basically be more independent of 'the system' than we have ever been in our lives. The economy and job market worries are part of that. I think people just trust less these days that things will continue to always be cheap and easy to get. We also wanted more control over our food so that we could raise organic produce, milk and eggs and know exactly where they came from. Plus, home-grown just tastes better!Â
Another bit motivation for us was our love of animals and a desire to have a place where we can have a variety of farm animals and know we were giving them a good and loving home. But perhaps the core reason was that I truly felt a calling to farm.  We hear so much bad news about the environment and it can lead to a sense of hopelessness. How can one family make a difference? But it is no small act to take stewardship of a piece of land and be committed to organic, sustainable practices.Â
We've only been here a short time, but I still look around every day and I'm thankful for our good fortune. There's no place else in the world I'd rather be."
- Mount Joy PA Farmette buyer
