Betting the FARM (literally)

We are the proud (I say that somewhat sarcastically) owners of a farm a mile outside the city limits of Quincy, Washington.  Can you believe it?  I can't.  Don't worry, we're not moving.  Nor will I have to get over my dislike of animals....we won't have any.  We just purchased 150 acres of "dirt" in central Washington.  Currently, our farm is farming alfalfa, but it is also perfect for growing potatoes (which is the most profitable crop to grow).

The funny thing about this land is that it's about the size of our entire neighborhood where we live now.  Oh that I owned this much land in Vancouver and could place my house smack in the middle of it.   (That would solve so many of my problems....but I can't afford to buy that much land in this county!)  This picture is the corner of the property.  Each side of the field is a half mile across, so it's a 1/2 of a square mile.

Did you know that Grant County Washington is the world's largest potato producing county?  Neither did we, but we're anxious to become part of that statistic.  Don't worry, we also will not be doing any "farming" ourselves.  We'll leave that to the experts.  We merely have to lease the land to a willing farmer, let him do all the work, keep the circle (watering device) in good repair, and collect "rent".  It's definitely a new adventure for our family, but we hope it turns out to be a great investment.

These pictures are of the circle, which (in non-farmer words) is a giant sprinkler that pivots in a circle (hence the name) around a central fixed point.  Our particular circle also has a corner machine that comes out in the corners (hence the name again) to water the corners of the field that would otherwise go unwatered, then folds back in on itself to continue around the field.

So, our land is from the hay stack to the buildings in the far distance.  The frozen waterway is an irrigation ditch that supplies water for the farm.

Just in case you are wondering where Quincy is...it's near George, Washington.  The next biggest town is  Ephrata.  If that still doesn't help, it's about 35 minutes away from Moses Lake.  Still lost?  I'm really not surprised if you are.  Here's a map of where the farm is:

It's about 5 hours away from us.  We are lucky to have family in Ephrata to help us.  Jonathan's brother has a farm about 10 miles away from ours.  (He lives on his farm, however.)  Wish us luck - we're now "farmers".