Want A 13-Acre Organic Farm? All You Have To Do Is Write An Essay - Modern Farmer

Want A 13-Acre Organic Farm? All You Have To Do Is Write An Essay

A beautiful organic farm, for a simple 200-word essay.

Bluebird Hill Farm

Norma Burns, an architect-turned-farmer, has owned and operated Bluebird Hill Farm in North Carolina for nearly 18 years. After all that time, she’s decided she’s ready to pass it on to someone new – but her selection process isn’t limited to, say, kids or employees. She’s holding an essay contest to determine who’ll be Bluebird Hill’s next owner.

Bluebird Hill Farm is located about three hours east of Asheville. It is a USDA-certified 13-acre organic farm on which she grows lavender, specialty vegetables, herbs, and native plants, and the pictures make it look absolutely gorgeous: rolling hills, fields of lavender, picturesque barns. OurState has some more information on Burns and her farm, if you’re interested.

The contest is simple, or as simple as giving away a farm valued at $450,000 can be: a 200-word essay laying out why you and your partner want to own the farm. Yep, partner: “experience has shown that Bluebird Hill Farm can’t be operated successfully by a single individual,” she writes. Aspirants must commit to keeping the farm organic, at least one of the partners must be between the ages of 25 and 50 (“to ensure that the winning couple has the life experience and physical stamina that active farming requires”), will pay the closing taxes and fees, and must chip in a $300 entry fee. That’s…about it, really. Oh, and the application is extremely clear that anyone entering the contest should not, under any circumstances, attempt to contact Burns via any method besides Facebook. (“Entrants who attempt to contact Bluebird Hill Farm directly will be DISQUALIFIED and your entry fee will NOT BE REFUNDED,” she writes. Caps lock is hers.)

The deadline to enter is June 1st, so you can while away the winter hours hammering out your 200-word essay. Make sure each one of those words is perfect. Your future might depend on it.

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