The developers make money through advertising and by offering users a way to pay for virtual goods in their games that could, for example, help them manage a virtual farm or defeat rival mobsters.

WSJ: Google Develops a Facebook Rival

Elements of performance have been going on at the site for years, but if the trustees manage to buy the 29 acres and derelict farm buildings, they will create a permanent centre combining music, drama, poetry, dance, and exhibitions of local craft, she said.

BBC: Land where the princes' palace is believed to have stood

What the self-described "farm kid" was less certain of was how to manage a volatile business where market price fluctuations are common, the weather is unpredictable and long-term planning at least for his parents and their parents often meant scratching out financial estimates on a yellow legal pad or the back of an envelope.

NPR: Future Heads Of Family Farms Dig Into Financials