permaculture

["Kirby Fry" <peace@totalaccess.net>]

Hello Tom,

Abandoned pasture lands can often be some of the best lands for Pc
development.

A good deal of clearing has already been done leaving it primed for
earth-works and a perennial food system, and most likely agricultural
chemicals will not have been applied as heavily as they would have been
for plant crops.

Some brush management, a chisel plow and compost tea could quickly
reactivate those paddocks for grazing.

On the flip side, typical problems with active dairy ranches are algal
blooms in near by creeks and rivers due to manure build up and run off,
and high concentrations of ammonium nitrates in soils, air and ground
water.

I'd also look out for old silage pits that may have been back-filled
with ranch wastes and or have been used as burn pits.

Another agricultural red flag may be whether or not the land was used to
grow cotton during the first half of the last century.  Then, copper was
being used as a defoliant prior to picking.  The copper gets bound up in
the upper layers of soils and shouldn't be tilled or disturbed
afterwards.

Anywhere you go, however, there will be plenty of problems and
eventually you'll have to dig in and speak up for your community and the
lands around you.  

For information about the area I would turn to the folks with adjacent
properties, others near by, and their local associations.  

They might be able to tell you about:  where the next highway bypasses
are going to be, where the next strip mine or power plant is going to
be, where the nearest military base or prison system is, and where the
nearest active power plant, land-fill or concrete plant is.

Good luck,

Kirby Fry