FARM SURVEY

The term “farm survey” may have more than one meaning, depending on the circumstances of the job.  Farm surveys are often used to locate or determine existing boundaries of land, or to legally separate building sites from the rest of the land.

One common use of a farm survey is to locate the existing boundaries and determine the area of land which has been subdivided.  In other cases, a farm survey is used to divide larger sections into smaller ones.  In both cases, it is common that the survey will require the finding or re-establishment of several, if not all, of the section and quarter-section corners in that particular section in order to properly determine and or further subdivide the areas of land in question.

 

Why Would I Need a Farm Survey?

Surveyors use legal descriptions to create a visual outline of your property boundaries, also measuring the size or acreage. Often with rural land, tradition, and history dominate facts.  Boundaries can become historical rather than legal. For example, your great-great-grandfather may have erected a fence close to the property line but not exactly on it. Over time, the fence represents the property boundary for both you and your neighbors. A survey will either debunk or confirm those longstanding beliefs. Even if you’ve existed peacefully with neighboring landowners for years and had no property line issues, a potential buyer may find themselves with different neighbors who may not be as easygoing. A survey will avoid future conflicts and legal entanglements.