Your fears are quite real - unless there's some way of knowing the farmland will be used for "Biofuel" crops. Failing that, it's a crapshoot; your idyllic property could back to a Walmart one day.

We almost did and thank God we didn't. It was so lovely and serene. We didn't buy the house because it was obvious to my husband that it was separating from the foundation. First a housing project went up on the farmland in front of the house, and now the hill in back has been bulldozed for another development and that house is just barely clinging to the hillside. Yikes! My rule now is to bury yourself deep into a development so that it would cost way too much to convert the land to something else.

In my area if you buy next to vacant land you can be assured that in no time your neighbors won't be crops or cows, but high density housing or condos. Five years ago I might have considered it (never imagining the turn our town would take) but now, never.

Depending on the housing market in your area, it could be years before home builders are ready to jump on that land, but it is always possible it could be re-zoned commercial.
Friends in CA have had an orchard behind their house. This fall the owner cut down all the trees. Hasn't been sold...yet.

My brother in law bought a home in Michigan that backed up to a very large cornfield. He lived there for 6 years, 2 years after he sold, the farmland was rezoned and doctor's offices were built shortly after that. I'm sure the value of his property would have suffered if he had waited a few years to sell.

One reason we bought our current house is that it backs up to a 400 acre county owned park and nature preserve. Even that might be put to another use someday, but it seems very unlikely.

Yes and that is why we are now moving. We lived peacefully for six years then *it* started. Even though we talked to the farmer, he said he would never consider selling it I guess the price was right!!! The land was also considered wet lands so we figured it likely couldn't be built on anyway. Doesn't matter, if you are developer you can get around that pesky little thing. I can't blame the farmer, the taxes out here will blow you away too. The developers needed city approval so they first obtain it to build houses 1 per 5 acres (which would have been GREAT!) then they revise it to 4/5 homes per acre. Once they are first approved there isn't anything really that residents can do. Our community spent thousands trying because the roads are rural, very narrow, we have a 2 lane draw bridge, 5 way traffic signal, back ups are huge but oh well. What cracked me up was watching them remove truck loads of beautiful black top soil leaving the new home owners with sand/clay. hahaha About 4 truck loads of the good stuff ended up in my yard, simply by request. :) Oh yeah, it floods pretty good too during heavy rains.

So learning our lesson we purchased 11.5 acres & put the house right smack dab in the middle.

Just my 02. At the very least I'd check your city's master plan to see if anything is a' comin'!

Good Luck!
KAT

Our last home was across the street from a cornfield. We would watch the deer and the geese out the front window. Well, the school system took the cornfield by eminent domain and now it is an elementary school. Which is better than a shopping center or factory. If you don't want anything butting up to your property, buy the property around you, or build in the middle of a subdivision where you all ready know what is there. The school was a good neighbor, some people complained about the noise from soccer games, but that was so infrequent we didn't feel it was a problem. The biggest thing was when school was starting or getting out, the traffic.
Kathy G in MI

Unless the farmland is in farmland preservation program with no expiration date (not all such programs are are forever)...or preserved as open space...and even that can be developed in some states, such as NJ...for affordable housing....anything is possible.

Last but not least, developers with DEEP pockets often get their way...whether via lawsuits, and/or greasing the palms of those who are in charge of rezoning...

Bottom line? Unless you own all of the acreage around you (and even then, there is always the possibility of eminent domain) assume nothing.

Oh goodness, I agree with the other posters here. It is a very unstable situation. Don't get attached to a view that will change. Half of every city / town/ villiage wants to live on the very edge. If I had a nickel for every time someone happily described their new home as...

"So private you just look out the kitchen window and all you see are; the deer/the mountains/fields, as far as the eye can see. And it's such a short easy drive to work/shopping/the hospital."

Then for every couple of people going around town cheerfully spouting the the above, there is a disgruntled landowner sitting in a realtor's office coffee in hand saying, "Yeah it's time to sell the place, tacky little suburburan development just went in next door."

Even if you know and expect such changes it can be hard. Right now in my neighborhood the change has just started. Myself and the neighbors on both sides have a lovely unchanging view. Behind us they have just started dense development. These houses of course look out at the view between our houses as best they can. Their view is not as nice as mine, but then that's why I paid the big bucks for my lot years ago. Right now the view is nice enough from many of those parcels however.

I am staying put, but the neighbors on both sides of me and many others along this street are very unhappy with the new density so are busy building guest houses,and additions, increasing sqare footage and (turning "home" into "estate")or splitting their parcels to maximize their resale, while the new houses behind us are selling like hotcakes and new owners are happily settling in to homes, many of which, will soon lose much of their view.

Our old subdivision backed up to a bucolic property that housed a lovely old church; the next year, the church sold the property to a developer and we suddenly had a huge strip mall in our backyards! We never thought the church would sell out, as it had been in the same location for years - but the money was good, and they were able to buy land further out in the county to expand and have more parking. We also discovered that, by the time the neighborhood finds out what development is being proposed, it usually already a "done deal;" and not only do developers have deep pockets, they also have very good lawyers....

my house is on a corner lot, the other 3 corners are nothing but corn/bean fields. when we bought we knew that the highway bypass was going thru the area, but honestly and stupidly thought it was a mile south of us. well, it will be about a half mile south of us with nothing in between to breakup the noise, jsut a big empty field. the famrer has already put 1 field up for sale, though no takers yet. the high way is supposed to start building in 3 years, so i have some time now to put in a row of evergreens to act as a screen on that side of our property. the ONLY good thing coming out of this is that our road will close basically right at our driveway. that will stop the jackasses that think a 2 mile straight shot means go 90mph!

oh, and we will probably be annexed into the city when the bypass goes in. if so i will sell and move out of this area completely.

we already owned land the next street over, and had planned on building a house there, so that was why none of these were a big deal at the time, other than the speeds onthe street.

One more point; a small development is underway in our area....the developer via the REA is advertising the homes as backing up to preserved open space...and yes..it is...however, it is municipal open space designated to be used as a ball field for the neighboring school. Can you imagine the look on the faces of those who buy without researching the property, only to have baseballs flying through the windows of their million dollar digs??

When we were choosing the lot for our new construction home, the builder tried to sell us a lot that backed up to an open field. They were charging a premium for this lot because it backed up to open space. We declined and chose a standard lot in the middle of the subdivision, because we figured something would eventually be built on the open land.

One year after we moved in, guess who started developing that land? That's right, the same builder that tried to sell us that lot at a premium. It doesn't back up to open space any more!

Thanks for the comments. People in the neighborhood we looked at told me that they spoke to the owner of the land (farmland) and he said he will never sell. I hope that is true, but we all get older and eventually we may want to sell. Money talks as they say. We chose not to go with the farmland view.

Good move. Also, you may end up with a walmart in your backyard. That happened here.

They say they may never sell, but what if they die and the kids get the land.

Also, land with agricultural zoning - tends to be "up for grabs" in that - on farm zoned properties, they can hunt, burn their garbage, turn it into a pig farm, have r00sters that crow all the time, etc. You would NOT want to be next to that!

Logic wrote:
"....the developer via the REA is advertising the homes as backing up to preserved open space...and yes..it is...however, it is municipal open space designated to be used as a ball field for the neighboring school. "

NJ gets you with 'eelemosynary' uses- charming phrase. Can't tell you how many homes we looked at which supposedly backed up to "Green Acres" - which is a designation rarely given, but often misused. Many of these empty lots have been empty for 30+ years, but are now being developed because they really are for 'eelemosynary' uses - non profit, charitable building - can be a homeless shelter, a church, or sundry other uses, not all are conducive to a residential neighborhood.

Helene

My parent's house was surrounded by fields 20 years ago, when they bought the property.

No fields today. A new subdivision and a (rather nice looking) home for adults with down syndrome replaced the fields a few years ago.

Don't blame the farmers or their heirs. The way I understand it, as the suburbs move into farm country, the taxes go up. Farmers are harrassed by the suburban drivers who did not plan for farm machinery on the roads or the smells of keeping animals. Then the farmers' property taxes go up and they can no longer afford to farm. Tax reforms often have tried to protect farmers from the tax-increase noose, but does anyone know if this works? When your neighbor farmers are gone and you feel like it is not easy to drive the tractor any time of day, you get sick of the hassle and sell out with the rest of them. Hey, money is money!

I own a field that a new subdivision backs up to. Actually, it's just 6 acres, but back when I was raised here, it was out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by open land. Now, myself and 3 other neighbors own the only fields and the subdivisions have taken over!

Initially, I didn't mind the developments as they are all very nice and upscale and I figured because of that we'd have a better quality of folks living here. However, after having our pasture fences torn down ("they're ugly!") our lands trespassed on regularly ("but we don't have a park to play in nearby") and our fields used for dumping grounds for the neighbors' brush and even trash (the local dump doesn't take brush and we're not within the city limits for any kind of pickup service,) I've realized that even trash can afford to buy higher priced homes.

I don't plan on ever moving or selling my land to a developer, but you can bet that since these new neighbors have treated us oldtimers so poorly, we won't be at all concerned with their comfort. We've already taken up target shooting right at the fenceline (aiming toward our own house so there can be no accusations of threat) and I'm already drawing up plans for a small pig sty back there. That should smell very nice in the heat of summer! Good thing my own house is located at the front of my 6 acres!

"Also, land with agricultural zoning - tends to be "up for grabs" in that - on farm zoned properties, they can hunt, burn their garbage, turn it into a pig farm, have r00sters that crow all the time, etc. You would NOT want to be next to that!"

That's WHY it's zoned agricultural. Chickens crow, pigs squeal and manure smells like s****. Tractors can't go sixty mph and you will get stuck behind them. Believe me, the farmer hates it worse than you do. Our fields also attract deer and raccoons who I guarantee will eat your landscaping in a heartbeat. I prefer to hear my roos crowing at four thirty in the morning than your dirt bikes. Trust me, five acres doesn't soundproof anything. I will hang my wet laundry up on my clothesline during your bar-b-ques too. And cows don't use kitty litter and the you bet we will spread it on the fields when we have to, whether you're having a party or not. And your McMansion blocks my view of the strip mine ponds.

This is the other side of the coin from my perspective and although it is meant to be tongue in cheek, it's still true and that's why people like me hang up warning signs on our trees (those not covered in other people's yard sale signs) that anyone who wants to build close should take those things into consideration.

I used to suggest to people that you cannot control your scenic panoramas unless you buy the land around you when you build in the country. But, even that doesn't work anymore because governmental programs are enticing industry to move out to the rural areas. When over a thousand acres of farmland is converted to an industrial park, even a mile away, you will never see a black night again, and every breath you take will smell of whatever they are producing. They cut the trees around them one would hope they'll leave as a buffer zone so you can see their miles of macadam and hear the tow motors on still nights.

My suggestion is like so many others. Better to build in an already developed area, where you have a better idea of what lies ahead in a couple years.

We own a house that backs onto a barnyard (we have a 1/6 acre lot). I'd love to buy some of the barnyard to enlarge my backyard (so our dogs would have more space to run). We already had a wooden fence installed, dividing us from the barnyard, but we'd have it moved.