Although gas prices are hiking up
the cost of commuting, they're not
deterring some people from pursuing
their dreams of living in the
country and being farmers.
To
them, a small-town real estate
service that's eyeing Canada as a
potential market is providing
a Green Acres-like opportunity.
The
service, based in Kansas City,
Missouri, is called United Country
Real Estate. I was introduced
to the franchise-based company last
week at an agricultural
communications and marketing
conference. There, at a trade show
booth, company owner Dan Duffy
explained that he and his network of
4,000 agents and 700 offices across
the U.S. are helping connect what he
openly calls idyllic lifestyle
seekers with their dream properties.
Finding affordable dream homes is
what we hope all real estate
agencies will do for us, regardless
of where they're located. But
usually, potential buyers don't ask
agents to purposefully find places
for them in the middle of nowhere,
halfway across the country or the
world.
But
that's United Country's niche. Duffy
says about 50 per cent of its
clients buy properties from out of
state. Typically, they're investors,
or buyers who are tired of cities.
Like
wannabe farmer Eddie Albert of Green
Acres fame, they've bought into the
romanticized image of living in
rural America. They've also helped
keep U.S. rural property values from
following their urban counterparts
down the tube, as a result of the
sub-prime mortgage disaster.
Duffy says the same recipe could
play out in Canada. Our wilderness,
wide open spaces and pristine
landscapes have grand appeal, and he
wants to talk to small-town agencies
who might be interested in becoming
part of his network.
He's
not the first to consider this, and
he won't necessarily start a trend.
For example, Ontario has seen a 17
per cent increase in its horse
population since 2001, attributable
in part to a growing number of new
horse owners, rather than existing
farmers.
And
real estate companies that
specialize in finding commercial
farms for international buyers are
well established. But usually, those
buyers are real farmers, not idyllic
lifestyle seekers. However, rising
commodity prices make farming look
more attractive than it has for
years. Not only do buyers think
they'll get a new lifestyle, they
might actually make some money
farming, too, although
income is not their main concern.
Those of us who were raised outside
cities know the realities of rural
living are different than the
postcard image suggests. Country
life has a definite beauty. But it
also has frustrations.
Among them are government
regulations. For example, the same
deer, elk, wild turkeys and other
animals people want to find in their
camera viewfinders wreak havoc on
crops, and farmers get
little compensation.
The
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
calls this damage "hit and run."
Farmers have the right to get rid of
certain wildlife, but only if the
animals are caught in the act of
destroying a crop. Even then, an
increasing number of farms are in
no-shoot zones of cities and towns.
New
farmers may be surprised to find
compensation for such losses is
based on a quarter-century old
model. The federation has been
trying to get the province to change
that, but hasn't had any luck.
With
harvest around the corner, it's
launching a new missive, hoping
outdated compensation regulations
can be reviewed.
"Wildlife management in Ontario has
become wildlife wastefulness," says
the federation. "Ontario needs to
manage its resources for the benefit
of the species, farmers and all
Ontarians."
Indeed, that's just one of country
living's challenges, a big reason
why moving from the city needs
to be an eyes-wide-open decision.
Multiply the challenges
exponentially if farming's on your
horizon.
But
in Ontario, if you someday see
"sold" on a United Country for-sale
sign, you'll know the challenge is
continuing to be accepted by
modern-day Eddie Alberts who believe
Utopia lies somewhere down a country
road.
Owen
Roberts teaches agricultural
communications at the University of
Guelph.
