The owner of a 58-acre farm and a five bedroom mansion will be giving her property to the winner of an essay contest she designed.
The property is called Newstead on the James, and will be awarded to the author of a 200 word essay detailing why he or she could and should take over the operation. The contest is open across the world to anyone over 18.
The property owner is Carol Carper, a wedding and event planner who hosts events at her farm. She said her goal was to ensure that her land was passed into the right hands.
“I love it here and I want to be sure it’s well cared for,” Carper said.
The contest winner will receive a $100,000 cash prize in addition to the house and land. Carper said she wants an essay that explains why the entrant feels he or she can successfully take on the operation.
Carper is asking a $233 entry fee for essay submissions. If she receives the 7,000 entries she expects, she will receive roughly the current market value of the $1.5 million property.
“The fee will deter people, but not enough to win a $1.5 million dollar farm,” Carper said.
Carper will read all the essays personally, then select twenty of those essays that will be read by a panel of three people whom she chooses.
The contest is not aiming to prejudge anyone, Carper said, and she does not have a specific type of person in mind to take over the farm. The contest aims to assess whether individuals are prepared for the lifestyle that winning would allow them to have.
“Some of the 18 year olds could absolutely run the farm,” she said.
The idea came from a friend and seemed like an ideal way to choose the next caregiver for the farm, Carper said.
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