Farmers age

[Horse]

Small ones develop and thrive? I know a few that work 16 hr per day and manage to sell enough to survive but they are wearing themselves out with nothing to show for it , they would do better working fot Mac Donald or walmart but they are idealistic.
I have always kept my bills paid mostly by long hrs and being able to fix and run on a small budget, I can save money but I cant make anyif you know what I mean like I can buy a 30Cent hog and butcher it myself or a beef and not pay 70 cent cuting and wraping but I didnt make any money so I have to look else where to pay taxes buy gas give the kids a bit of spending money and grow a garden but who realy wants to live the sinple life? Yea academics retred profesionals that have all the money they will ever need so if they decide to grow a tomato and call that agriculture it dosent matter because they can.

[grassfarmer]

Do you think $40k profit for pasturing 40 grass cattle
for 5 months a year then selling and delivering the
beef over the winter is a poor return on your labor
and time invested? I think that's got to be pretty good
by anyones standards in modern agriculture -
considering there is no debt and no machinery to buy
or operate. I bet it compares favourably to most
operators in the beef sector - looking more like a part
time work commitment but making more than many
several hundred head outfits do.

[kato]

The ones I know seem to be doing well... As well as a lot of bigger operations are, if those were to really look at their returns.

Being bigger doesn't guarantee you'll bring home more money. And it sure doesn't guarantee that you won't work hard for nothing either.

Short of inheriting or marrying a farm, going the small farm low debt way is likely the only way someone could start in the business nowadays.

Unless of course you're living in the oil patch and want to play cowboy on the weekend. ;-)

[smcgrath76]

This is really a discussion about business strategies and polar opposites. Large farms often get
larger due to producing in a capital intensive, low margin business. eg: If I make $10 per acre,
then how many acres do I need to make a living.
The new paradigm from these young folks is based on growing margin rather than scale. As in how can
I make the most $ per acre/per animal?
The skill set is very different, the marketing is different, and I expect in the next 10-20 years you
will see some of these young folks grow their operations. Not for economies of scale, but because of
high margins being a signal for expansion.
We operate a cattle operation with pretty healthy margins, but I know the margins on our grass-
finished product far outweigh that of our commodity steers and even our F1 heifer sales. I also know
the skill set required is vastly different. It will likely become a more significant portion of our
business as we move forward.
I think that neither is right or wrong, but they certainly are different. Personally I find the
second approach more appealing and I think we will see some of this new crop working together to
achieve scale, rather than buying out their neighbours. This new, young crew is also tech savvy and
can often work from home in highly skilled jobs, as well as being low cost-high impact marketing
savvy. The new onfarm, offfarm employment program to fill their spare time. These new folks
certainly value their time highly and are looking for creative, time saving approaches as well.

[kato]

Which takes me back to the question.. are these new young farmers being included in the results of these studies? Or are they being left out because they're outside the box, as the saying goes?

Maybe agriculture isn't in quite as bad a shape regarding new upcoming operators, as much as it's in transition.

[smcgrath76]

Kato - worth noting that a lot of times when
responding to surveys, someone that is 30 may
still list their dad as a primary operator. Even
though a young person is actively farming ( or
even managing) does not necessarily mean they
are counted.