(This Property Has Sold)

45 Acres Fallow Land
Former Vineyard Property Includes Irrigation Well

San Rafael, Argentina, near Monte Coman
Price: US$28,000

This farm is located about 30 miles from San Rafael, and about 1.5
miles from the town of Monte Coman. It was previously in fine wine grapes
but hasn't been worked for over 20 years and is overgrown, except for a large
section that was put into pasture. Cattle have grazed there the past decade.

* The property is rectangular in shape, encompassing 18.1 hectares (just about 45
acres). It is on a dirt road with 3-phase electric, and there is also an old irrigation well on
the property with the pump still in place. I cannot attest to the well, nor if the pump
can be put back into operation, but often they can. The well would only be auxilliary since
the property has full water irrigation rights.

A soil test was done on the property and a copy is below. The engineer, who does analysis
for some of the larger vineyards and wineries in the area, said he would give a thumbs-up
to the property for most agricultural uses common here (vineyard, orchard, olives, row
crops or alfalfa). The organic matter and minerals were good, however he did note some
salinity in the section in the northeast corner. He felt the levels were tolerant, and that the
issue could be managed with irrigation to flush the soil and better maintenance of the
drainage canals which run on three sides of the property. He also liked the fact that the
farm next door with similar soil is doing well with alfalfa pasture and onion crops.

* FUTURE PLANTING
The engineer and a farm administrator I consulted with think the best way to put the farm
into production would be to first plow a fire-break around the perimeter of the land, and
then burn off the growth so plowing could be done more easily. They feel the resulting
potash from burning would also be beneficial to the soil. There is also an old adobe house
on the property that should be torn down. If plans for a future home were in the works, the
old crushed adobe clay would serve well as a base for the new home's foundation. We
have employed this method previously with good results, and this negates the need to bring
in truckloads of soil to build up the foundation.

*VIEW OF ANDES
There is a view of the snow-capped Andes, but this is only something
you can expect to see on very clear days. For example, I had to wait three days to get the
shots shown here because of overcast skies and some misty rain.

*LOCATION
This is a quiet, peaceful piece of land on a dirt road about 1.5 miles from the nearest town.
Monte Coman -- located east of San Rafael on Route 146 (the road to San Luis) -- is an
under-potentialized little town where there is talk about reviving the train station.
Monte Coman has two small supermarkets, a couple of farm-supply/hardware stores,
3 restaurants (one of which has an owner who is a singer and sometimes serenades diners),
a medical clinic, 2 pharmacies, a gas station, 2 Internet cafes and a bus station. There is
also a river and small recreational area there where local folks swim in the summer.
Monte Coman is about midway between San Rafael and General Alvear (a small city of
about 40,000) where over-night buses stop for more passengers on the trip to Buenos Aires.