What Can You Do with One Acre of Farmland?

If you’re new to land ownership or currently living in a crowded town or city, then one acre probably sounds like a lot of land for farming. After all, who wouldn’t want nearly an entire football field’s worth of arable property to call their own? But one acre is actually a relatively small amount of farmland, and could offer some challenges if you’re aiming for homesteading or profit-driven growth. 

Fortunately, while there’s a good amount you can’t do with a single acre of land, there’s also plenty that you can. We’re sharing some of the top ideas for farming on one acre below, plus putting things in perspective for a better picture of what one acre really gets you. 

How Big is an Acre of Land?

In the U.S., an acre is a unit of land measurement that covers 43,560 square feet. For reference, that’s:

• 90% of a professional football field
• 16 doubles tennis courts
• 1,300 commercial shipping containers

It’s also enough room for five average-sized homes or 242 parking spaces. That’s a lot of space, and more than enough for a wide variety of farm activities or investments you may want to pursue with a piece of property. 

How Much Does an Acre of Farmland Cost in the U.S.?

Budget is one of the primary reasons why someone might buy an acre of land for farming instead of multiple. When it comes to U.S. farmland, you can get an acre of land for an average of just $4,170, which, with a little bit of creativity, can provide you with plenty of room for homesteading or a small farm operation.

Just like other real estate markets though, the cost per acre of farmland in the United States is on the rise, increasing about 5% each year. So if you’re buying a single acre for a cheap farm, you’re better off doing it sooner rather than later. 

Average Cost of Farmland Per Acre by State

How much will one acre of farmland set you back? That depends on where you live. Here’s what the data has to say about the cost per acre for U.S. farm properties in the continental states. 

$2,200 or less - Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, 

$2,201-$3,200 - Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas

$3,201-$5,100 - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia

$5,101-$8,400 - Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin

$8,401 and up - California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island

What to Do with a One-Acre Farm Property

A single acre of land has huge farming potential, especially if it’s rich in soil quality and gets plenty of sun and rain. Get inspired for your affordable farm purchase with this non-exhaustive list of all the things you can do with an acre of farmland. 

• Homestead: An acre of land is generally sufficient for feeding up to four people. 
• Raise animals: Chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, and rabbits can all be raised on limited acreage, though you’ll need to keep the number of animals in check to ensure everyone has enough space. 
• Build a farmhouse: If you stay realistic with square footage, you can fit a house, barn, and buildings for equipment on your land while also leaving room for crops and grazing.
• Start a market garden: Grow fruits, veggies, herbs, and/or flowers to sell at your local farmer’s market – or start your own market and sell right from your property. 
• Flower farm: Speaking of flowers, you can grow thousands on one acre of land (and for some, like lisianthus, more than 100,000!).
• Solar farm: You only need about 8,500 square feet of space for enough solar panels to power a small farming operation. 
• Grow an orchard: An acre is enough for a productive, high-density orchard, with a general baseline of about 1,000 trees per acre, more for dwarf trees. 

Making the Most of an Acre of Land

Great land is great land, regardless of how much of it you buy. To maximize your acre investment, be sure to do your research on things like comps, land use potential, and zoning, and work with an experienced local land broker to make sure you don’t overpay. 

For farming, you’ll want to be sure to buy a property that is zoned for agriculture and meets your needs in terms of site conditions. It’s a good idea to spring for soil and erosion testing, and to look into the property’s history and find out how it’s been used in the past (if relevant). 

From there, it’s all about sticking with crops, animals, and activities suitable for a restricted space. Herbs, tomatoes, garlic, basil, mushrooms, and leafy greens are all perfectly at home in small gardens, while squash, cabbage, corn, and sunflowers need more space to thrive. 

Find An Acre of Land for Sale

Whether farming is the goal or not, buying an acre of land can be a fantastic investment with tons of long-term potential. To start your search, head to our listings page to narrow down by price, acreage, and location. You can search just for farm properties, or broaden the scope to include all sorts of one-acre parcels. 

Ready to begin? Explore farm land for sale today.