Well, the Apprentice is still a good plane. It's a tad light, but still can handle mild winds (10 mph, with gusts to 13-14). Of course much more in the hands of a skilled pilot. I was training last week with it in 20+ mph winds, but landings were kind of rockin' and rollin'. You didn't mention how big the pasture is - it is a bigger plane, so will cover a much bigger area in flight. I assume from being rural you have a pretty big area you can fly over, even if it isn't your property. It needs very little for take off/landing. Light damage should generally be repairable with Foam-Tac glue. Replacement parts are readily available. Will require an investment in batteries and a good charger, if you don't have one.
While purists don't like SAFE, this is the situation it was created for. It won't stop you from crashing, but absent an instructor it is far better than the old days with planes that were essentially free flight models.