What We've Learned on the Road to Land Ownership
Buying land is something that most young agriculturalists aspire to do, and it is very beneficial to have tools for purchasing land. The question of how to buy a ranch has probably crossed your mind several times, but have you ever heard these phrases? “Buying a ranch is impossible.” “Land is too expensive.” “No one ever sells out.” If you’ve spent any time around the agricultural world, you’ve heard these things. And if you’re anything like us, those words sting a little because you have a dream that says otherwise.
When Jared and I were first married, we had one big dream: to own land. Specifically, a ranch. I’ll be completely honest with you, we are still on that path. We haven’t crossed the finish line yet. But in nearly ten years of marriage, we have learned more than we ever expected, made real, measurable progress, and we are closer to that dream every single day. I want to share what we’ve figured out along the way, because I truly believe that if we can do it, you can too.
When we got married, I was in school, and Jared was earning less than $1,000 a month working for a rancher. We had an enormous dream and absolutely no roadmap. What follows are the most valuable lessons we’ve learned since then.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- Mindset — Why what you believe matters more than you think
- Get Specific — How to turn a big dream into a real plan
- Increase Your Income — Why a higher salary changes everything
- Know Your Options — The loan programs and financing tools most people don’t know exist
- Know Your Banker — Why relationships in banking are everything
- Skip the Savings Account — Smarter ways to grow your down payment faster
1. Mindset
The first thing I want to say is this: owning land is possible. It is possible for you. But you have to believe that before anything else will work. Starting with how to buy a ranch, to I know how I am going to do this is powerful.
If you buy into the majority opinion that land is only for those who inherit it or marry into it, then you will never own land. Not because it’s true, but because you will never take the steps required to get there. Mindset isn’t just feel-good advice. There is real science behind it.
Selective attention is a well-documented psychological phenomenon. When you consistently focus on a specific goal, your brain becomes more attuned to noticing opportunities, resources, and solutions that move you toward that goal. In other words, what you focus on, you begin to see. This is the practical backbone behind what many people call the “law of attraction,” and whether or not you believe in the spiritual side of that concept, the cognitive science is real.
Here is what this has looked like practically for us. Every year, Jared and I sit down together and create what we call an action board, pictures of specific goals for the year. Our current one includes building a shop on our property, paying off my car, purchasing land, and taking a trip to Australia. We put these goals somewhere we will see them daily, in our closet.
A few years ago, we wanted to build a house. We found house plans we loved, printed them out, slipped them into a page protector, and hung them in our shower. Every single morning, both of us saw those plans. That goal stayed fresh in our minds constantly. Somehow, even during the pandemic, when lumber and materials were priced at historic highs, we built that house. We still talk about how we pulled that off. I believe it was selective attention at work: because that goal was always in front of us, we were better at recognizing and acting on the opportunities that made it possible.
We are applying the exact same strategy to buying a ranch. Whatever your version of the shower house plans looks like, a photo on your fridge, a note on your mirror, a goal written in your phone, find a way to keep that dream in front of you every day.
2. Get Specific
“I want to buy a ranch” is a wish. A specific goal is a plan.
A 500-acre cattle operation and a 2,000-acre diversified ranch require completely different financial preparation, different loan programs, and different timelines. You cannot reverse-engineer a path to your goal if you don’t know what that goal actually looks like. How to buy a ranch that is a specific size will result in specific requirements. Getting specific is the step that turns a dream into something you can actually work toward.
Here are some questions to help you define what you’re actually working toward:
- What is the primary purpose of this land? (Ranching, farming, agritourism, recreational, a combination?)
- How much time will you realistically commit to it — full time, part time, or weekends?
- What equipment and resources will you need to operate it? (Trucks, tractors, trailers, horses, tools, infrastructure?)
- What is your minimum and maximum acreage?
- What price per acre is realistic for your target area?
- What down payment will be required, and what is your current gap to reach it?
Once you answer these questions, you can reverse-engineer them into smaller, measurable milestones. If you know you need a truck and trailer before you can run cattle, that becomes a stepping stone goal on your list. If you know your target lender requires 20% down on $800,000 of land, now you have an exact number to work toward. Specific goals give you something real to track, and that forward momentum matters more than people realize.
3. Increase Your Income
How to buy a ranch relies heavily on finances. “The only way to own land is to inherit it or marry into it.” I’ve heard this more times than I can count, and it simply is not true. What is true is that purchasing land on a low income is brutally slow. Increasing your income is one of the most powerful levers you can pull.
When Jared and I were first married, $1,000 a month was our reality. We quickly did the math and realized that at that rate, saving enough for a land down payment would take generations. Something had to change.
For us, two things shifted. I was finishing my degree and positioned to become an agricultural agent, which meaningfully increased our household income. A few years before, an opportunity emerged for Jared to become an independent insurance broker. He has the personality for sales; he worked incredibly hard to build his client base, and over time, it paid off. With that income increase, we were able to accomplish goals that once felt out of reach, like building a house, buying a truck, trailer, cattle, and horses.
We are still actively looking for ways to increase our income because we know it directly shortens our timeline to land ownership. Whether that means a job change, a promotion, a side business, or developing a new skill, increasing what comes in, changes what is possible.
4. Know Your Options
Most first-time land buyers don’t realize how many financing options exist outside of a traditional bank loan. Knowing what’s available before you need it puts you in a much stronger position when an opportunity comes along.
Here are some worth researching:
- FSA Beginning Farmer Loans: The USDA Farm Service Agency offers loan programs specifically designed for beginning and young producers, often at lower interest rates than conventional lenders. If you qualify, this can make a significant difference.
- Seller Financing: If you have a good relationship with a landowner who is open to selling, seller financing (also called owner financing) can be a flexible option. The seller acts as the lender, and you negotiate terms directly. This can bypass some traditional lending barriers.
- Agricultural Credit Unions and Farm Credit Lenders: These institutions specialize in agricultural lending and often understand rural property and farming operations better than a typical commercial bank.
- Traditional Banks and Local Lenders: Don’t overlook local banks with rural lending experience. Relationships matter here (more on that in the next section).
Jared and I have personally called our local FSA office, our agricultural credit union, and our banker to ask how to buy a ranch and what each needs to see from us to approve a land purchase. What experience do they want? Do they require a business plan? What percentage down? These conversations were eye-opening and gave us a very clear list of things to work toward. Don’t wait until you’re ready to buy something. Do this research now.
5. Know Your Banker
This one doesn’t get talked about enough. In rural and agricultural lending, relationships carry real weight. A banker who knows you, trusts you, and has watched you manage money responsibly over time is worth more than a perfect credit score in many situations. You can enter the relationship with the questions, “how to buy a ranch,” and I have a plan.
Don’t wait until you need a loan to introduce yourself. Walk into your local agricultural lender or Farm Credit office, introduce yourself, and tell them your goals. Ask what they look for in a land loan applicant. Ask what you can do now to put yourself in the best possible position. Most lenders are happy to have that conversation, and the relationship you build will matter when the time comes.
In our early years of marriage, we found a banker whom we really liked, let’s call him Mark. We have even followed Mark as he moved to a different bank. We have improved this relationship over time by using Mark’s bank to purchase vehicles and a new horse trailer. Jared and Mark talk on the phone once a year to discuss plans and strategies to make them happen.
In the meantime, manage your existing accounts well. Pay things on time, keep your debt-to-income ratio healthy, and let your financial history tell a good story about you. Your banker is not just evaluating your numbers, they’re evaluating you as a person and a risk. Give them good reasons to say yes.
6. Skip the Savings Account
A traditional savings account will not get you to a land down payment in any reasonable timeframe. With interest rates that rarely keep pace with inflation, let alone the pace at which land appreciates, you can save diligently for years and still feel like you’re falling behind. There are smarter ways to grow your money.
One strategy that has worked well for us is using whole life insurance as a savings and wealth-building vehicle. Because Jared works in the insurance industry, we have more knowledge of these products than most people do. Here is why this approach has been a good fit for us:
- It builds cash value over time. A portion of every premium you pay accumulates as cash value inside the policy, growing on a tax-deferred basis. Over the years, this compounds into a meaningful sum that you actually own and can access.
- You can borrow against it. Unlike a 401(k) or IRA, you can take a policy loan against your cash value without tax penalties, early withdrawal fees, or a lengthy approval process. When the right piece of land comes along, that accessible liquidity could be your down payment.
- It is stable and guaranteed. The cash value in a whole life policy does not drop when the stock market falls. For someone saving toward a specific goal over a long timeline, this stability provides real peace of mind.
- It creates financial discipline. Because premiums are fixed and regular, whole life insurance functions like a forced savings plan. The money goes in consistently, whether or not you feel motivated in a given month. That consistency adds up.
Whole life insurance is not the right fit for everyone, and we would never recommend any financial product without encouraging you to speak with a knowledgeable professional first, ideally one with experience in agricultural or rural financial planning. But for us, it has been a cornerstone of our efforts to build toward land ownership. It has been a part of answering our question of “how to buy a ranch”.
There are other options out there, but the point is to be intentional and strategic about where your money lives, not just park it somewhere and hope.
One Final Thought
Buying land takes a lot of forethought and planning. We are not going to pretend otherwise. But it is not impossible, and it is not reserved only for those who were born into it. How to buy a ranch can turn into I own a ranch.
It takes the right mindset, a specific and honest plan, consistent income growth, financial education, and relationships built long before you need them. It takes patience and persistence. But every one of those things is within your control.
We are still on this road. We are still working toward it. And we are sharing what we’ve learned because we believe more people deserve to have land under their feet. If this post helped you in any way, drop a comment below and let us know where you are in your journey.
