Bison are hard to keep in and hard to haul. They are very rowdy/brutal animals. Something to think about....

Make money off other people's vices...

Horse boarding: Many idiot owners out there!!! Their $500.00 horse is ALWAYS worth $15,000.00 and they will always want something from you for nothing. You end up with 1/2 renters not paying and their animals (who are always the best behaved) tearing up your barns, fences, other horses, patrons.... Wife owns horses.

It can be scary expensive to take cropland into grassland and can take some time. you will need to seed and fertilize and wait and then the land will become sloppy rather easily for years since it has been continually tilled.

Bison can be scary dangerous!!!!

We have some highlands. They are frugal and low impact on the land. And they can be gentle. If you want to raise grass fed beef...

Check on what the costs will be to put in a driving pad. The land will be sloppy due to all the tilling and will require some work to harden up for driving regular vehicles on it. Store other peoples junk, give them access codes you can turn off, and have video surveillance. Expensive to get into.

Why not continue with crops? Hemp (industrial) does not have THC enough for drug use.

Best of luck!! We are playing the same game here! Hay, free range chickens, grass fed beef, veggies, and tree farming. We only have 60 acres and it is hard to make enough to make it worthwhile. I am sure others are doing better!

If you don't mind long term investments....

I know two folks that are doing good with tree farms.

Industrial hemp isn't a bad idea.... You'd just want a solid fence so the local potheads wouldn't be stealing your crop.....

GH is absolutely right. Much like renting a home, perhaps even more so, boarding horses is more about the horse owners than the horse...and no one is more annoying than a lippy horsewoman.

We are extremely selective because we can be...and we do not hesitate to ask people to leave. We post the barn rules and lay out our expectations in advance. Break the rules, buenos dias, Rustpicker.

It helps that I grew up on a ranch in California and we boarded horses. My Mom was the President of the Southern Cal Pony Club and was as firm as a nun with all our clients. If you have a desirable location and facility, there will be a waiting list. Also, once the word gets out, the right people and the right horses show up.

Again, best of luck.

Not so sure about making money. That is why people go to work in cubes and office parks. Enjoy it for what it is.

can you grow trees in that part of Alberta?

how far out onto the plains is it?

I am planning a "U-Pick 'Em" medicinal marijuana farm but I'm not sure how the Feds would react.

pheasant hunting with stocked pheasants. folks pay upwards of $20 a bird around here.

I absolutely detest it, but I know people who raise exotic animals so others can pay thousands of dollars to kill a tame beast in a five to ten acre pen. But they do make thousands of dollars, not that I think it a good thing.

Will the govt pay you or aid you to move to industrial hemp? There is a good market for the fibers.

If someone else is paying you to farm your land and take care of it for you and it is paying for the land you are already ahead of many in this game. They may be more profit in other routes but there is also more risk.

Seahawk is dead on: Figure out where you want to be and what will get you there.

I envy Seahawk's ability to run a profitable barn. I have a low tolerance for idiots (other than myself) and just cannot stomach the uppity horsewoman. (We are also a bit in the sticks and would not attract the best of people due to location.)

I think we are close enough to town that our location would be desirable. I work in town and my commute is 25 minutes.

The rent doesn't pay for the land right now. I also live out here so this is also my home but I really don't want or need a 160 acre lawn...

Trees grow here but not fast. We are in southern Alberta (about an hour and a half north of Montana).

What about some type of agritourism activity, such as a corn maze? For something like that to work you probably do need a good population base near you, and be willing to spend some money to get the word out about it.

Scott.
We could use a place to store the cars during winter, I'm pretty sure the investment is huge and will not pay for the investment in years but this could be a solid steady (unfortunately seasonal) money machine.

You could have a service bay to pay-per-use in there! (I know I'm dreaming..) but one thing is sure, I have a few tools specific to Porsche that have not seen the light in years and it's a waste when others can benefit.

I have been trying to get the car stored for the last 2 years and by late fall every place is packed.

Hima had a place in the SE that was pretty basic but did the job.


Here's an idea to collect ideas:
Organize a Porsche swap meeting that we've never had in the city. Gord can bring the sausages, etc.. It could actually be fun! ;)


I wish I had that problem with space.. :(

Here's my take. I just finished selling all my tractors,combine and accessories used on roughly 700acres. Get out while your ahead. Machinery and fuel eat up any money to be made. I was considering hemp as a last shot but you need a processing plant close. Christmas trees are a great thing if the land and weather will cooperate. Here in Ontario their are many govt programs for tree planting. If you have any wet areas look at Ducks Unlimited. They offer some good tax incentives to leave them wet. As long as we can buy food from other countries by the boatload cheaper than a farmer here can produce it it makes no sense to continue

Gaspar,

I am considering unheated but indoor car storage. My neighbor does this.

Scott.

sub=divide

call Jim Perks at Genesis Land Dev in Calgary; he can help you.

use a grader to build some hillocks for snow capture - the "timed release" runoff can help irrigate your tree farm - or you can build snow fences if you haul lumber out there