You can purchase agricultural land without spending a lot of money. However, most of the people who buy agricultural land wonder whether it is possible for them to go ahead with constructing a house on it. This can be tricky. That’s why we are sharing a comprehensive guide on whether it is possible for you to build a home on an agricultural land or not. Read this article and make sure that you take the right decision for constructing your home on agricultural land.
Table of Contents
What exactly is agricultural zoning?
As you go ahead with constructing your home in an agricultural land¸ you need to make sure that you have a solid understanding on what agricultural zoning is all about. Agricultural zoning is also called as agricultural preservation zoning. This is one of the popular land management tools being used out there in the world. This land management tool would encourage farming activities on land. On the other hand, it would discourage the use of land for non-agricultural purposes, such as constructing homes.
Can you build a home on agricultural zoning land?
If the land is classified as an agricultural land, you will not be able to construct a land. However, there can be certain exceptions. You can continue to read and get to know about those exceptions. Based on that, you will be able to start using land for your needs.
What type of a structure can you build on agricultural land?
If the land is considered as agricultural land, you will not be able to build a house. However, there are certain accepted structures, which you can construct on it. Here’s a quick overview of the structures that you will be able to construct on the land.
Farmhouses are a must in a residential farm. That’s because farmhouse would act as the centralized hub in a residential farm. Farmhouses are usually constructed near the barn. However, there are instances where the farmhouses are constructed near the road and other similar structures as well. When you take a look at the multigenerational farms, you will even notice that there is more than one farmhouse available. That’s because extra dwellings available at the property can be used by multiple staff members for getting their needs catered.
- Barns
Barns can be constructed on agricultural land as well. When you imagine a barn, the picture of a large red barn would come to your mind. However, there can be different types of barns. You can get the best type of barn out of them based on your requirements. No matter what, you will be allowed to construct a barn on top of your agricultural land.
In a dairy farm, you will be able to find larger barns that come along with stalls. You will be able to use them for cattle raising. On the other hand, horse farms can contain barns that are equipped with large stalls. These stalls are ideal for horses to spend their time. You will also be able to get more than one barn, so that you can have different types of livestock in the property.
- Poultry coops
If you are planning to go ahead with raising chickens, you will need to take a look at creating poultry coops at agricultural land. You will be able to do that without encountering any major problems. These are the specific barns that are designed for the purpose of raising chickens. In a poultry coop, chicken will be able to find space to roam around feely. If you have fully growing chickens, you will be able to have broiler barns in your agricultural land.
- Livestock shelters
It is possible for you to construct livestock shelters as permanent structures or portable structures on your land. The portal structures are not usually having four walls. No matter what, you can go ahead with constructing livestock shelters at your agricultural land.
One of the best things about livestock shelters is that you will be able to use them for many different purposes. For example, you will be able to use livestock shelters and enhance protection from wind, cold, snow, and heat. On the other hand, you will be able to use livestock shelters to provide protection to surface waters from all sorts of pathogens out there. On top of that, you will even be able to use them for nutrient loading.
If there are wooden areas, you will be able to use livestock shelters to overcome erosion, while ensuring nutrient deposition.
- Loafing sheds
Loafing are the three sided sheds, which you can often find on top of agricultural land. They are made within the training or paddock area with the objective of providing excellent protection to the horses. If you are planning to go ahead with raising horses on your agricultural land, this is something that you should consider. Since the loafing sheds are often being used as places where horses can unwind and relax, these areas will not usually get lots of foot traffic.
The loafing sheds are in a position to deliver convenient access to the horses at all times. It is even possible for the horses to stay out of them.
- Silos
Silos are another structure that you can build on agricultural land. There is no need to obtain special permissions as you go ahead with constructing a silo. Silos will be the structures that you will be using in order to store grain in bulk. You will also be able to use them and provide enhanced protection to grain. People are usually using silos for the process of storing grain. However, you will still have the freedom to use many other related things on the silo.
The silos are usually having a vertical construction. It is possible to use numerous construction materials to go ahead with constructing a silo. Concrete and wood will be two of the most prominent options out of them. No matter how you construct the silo, it will be a staple structure that exists in your agricultural land, which you can used to keep grain or other foods safe.
- Equipment storage
You will be using numerous equipment in the agricultural land. Therefore, you will come across the need to have a dedicated place for equipment storage as well. There is a possibility to build a place for agricultural land in your agricultural land without a problem. You will be able to treat this as a separate facility.
By building a structure for equipment storage, you can go ahead and deliver all the protection needed by them. For example, you will be having expensive machinery at your agricultural land, which you need to protect from damages. You can do that in the equipment storage facility that you build. Since you will be using these equipment to protect your livelihood, you need to make sure that you are always taking good care of them.
- Cold storages
Depending on the nature of your farm, you will need to get cold storages installed as well. This will help you to overcome post-harvest losses that could take place. You will be able to have them on agricultural land. You just need to showcase that you need cold storages for proceeding with the day to day activities of your farm. Then you can use them to get the best crops out of your farming activities as well.
Steps to construct a home in your agricultural land
Now you can see what kind of a structure that you will be able to build on your agricultural land. As you can see, all these structures are related to agricultural purposes. In fact, there is a need to construct these properties and proceed. It is not possible to engage with agricultural activities without constructing these on the land.
- Get in touch with the local planning or building department
The very first thing you should do is to get in touch with the local planning or building department. This is where you should ask for more information with related to the zoning changes that are needed as you go ahead with constructing a home in the agricultural land.
If there is no possibility to build a home on the agricultural land, they will upfront let you know about it. Hence, you will have to look for another piece of land to construct the home. However, there are situations where you can pay a fee for re-zoning and proceed with constructing a home. However, the process of changing the zone can take some time. That’s because there are numerous steps associated with this process. For example, it is important to remove your land from the conversation reserve program before you can use it for building a house.
- Take a look at the water supply
Assume that you go the approval for constructing a home on your agricultural land. This is where you should take a look at the water supply. That’s mainly because agricultural lands are usually located far away from the city. Therefore, you will not be able to get water supply. This is where you should think about drilling a well on your land. This might not be possible on some lands. In case if ground water is unpredictable or scarce, you will need to look for a way to haul water in and store them. Or else, you can look for a method where you can collect rainwater and store them.
- See how far it is from public infrastructure
You should also measure the distance to your home from public infrastructure such as roads. If there aren’t any roads, you may have to deal with multiple challenges. For example, it will not be possible for you to get the supplies delivered to your land. On the other hand, it will not be possible for you to get assistance with day to day commute. You may also have to deal with numerous challenges when you try to get a phone line and electric lines to your home. You should consider all these factors and determine whether it is worthy to build your home on agricultural land.
- Contact the local planning department
The next thing you should do is to get in touch with the local planning department. If not, you can contact the local building inspector. This is where you can get chance to kick off the building permit process. When you are constructing a home on agricultural land, you will have to go ahead with numerous additional permitting information as well. For example, you will need to showcase that you are taking measures to overcome soil erosion. On the other hand, you should also conduct soil tests. Based on the results you get on these tests; you can receive approval for having a septic system.
- Get the facilities installed
You should next go ahead and get the facilities at your home that you are going to construct in agricultural land. It is better to have the basic facilities before you proceed with construction. Then you will be able to make your life easy as you proceed with construction. For example, you should install electric supply, driveway, and all the other services that the contractor would need to help you with constructing your house. Otherwise, the house construction process would take more time and money. You need to make sure that you overcome the chances of that taking place.
Final words
You can go through these steps and check whether it is possible for you to get a home constructed on agricultural land. Always make sure that you get legal approval before you proceed with constructing anything on agricultural land. That’s because the mistakes you do can lead you to numerous struggles in the long run. To make sure that you don’t end up with any such problems, you should check and confirm the facts, so that you can have your residential property constructed on agricultural land.
0 Comments