Olivia Schmidt

Background

About Olivia Schmidt

My background isn't traditional. Most people don't grow up next to the beach in Southern California and dream about moving away to a place where your nearest neighbors are miles away. But that notion is what led me to becoming an animal science major at UC Davis and every post-grad career following. I've experienced everything from large animal to laboratory animal medicine, handled cattle embryos under a microscope, and managed a science laboratory for a small agricultural college in Tulare, CA. It may sound hectic, but for me, it all comes down to my two passions: animals and ag. My desire to get out of SoCal and live this lifestyle is what drew me to combine these with real estate. It began with a dream of starting a commercial flower farm. That's when I went from a casual horse property search to a borderline obsessive dive into agricultural real estate. From there, I went head on into articles about California's water crisis, the future of agriculture in our state, and the (insane) real estate market that 2020 and onwards has brought us. I was motivated by my own curiosity to compare data, problem solve, and educate myself on the economic principles needed to learn more about this field. I look back on my professional experience in medicine and science and suddenly it all makes sense. Every position has been data, analysis, problem solve, repeat. It makes sense that appraisal was my future. I'm proud to say that I am now working towards my Certified General Appraiser license with AgWest, and plan to be a licensed Agricultural Appraiser in 2025!