Do you guys have any investments outside of the farm?

[Hopperbin]

I guess you can make them practice accounts on any trading platform so try it and see how it works. I feel its adicting then again if all them guys that spend money on bingo and the slot machines and cigarretes would be investors our country would also be much better off.

[SASKFARMER3]

Cotton your right it's allot like a reserve and one
day the drug lord wants your home your done!

[wd9]

Farmland in AB has gone up 7% every year on average since 1964. Keep farming in AB but buying land in sask. Condos are great too, simple with some good renters.

[RidgeRunner]

Cool topic. Love off farm investing as I really
believe in not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Have a stock trading account, as others like
Canadian nat resource companies and related
businesses. Had a commodity trading account but
with my luck it was MF global. Would like to get
back into that as it was a great way to hedge your
pricing risk and take double advantage of rallies
or falls in the market. If anyone has a
recommendation of a replacment for MF left me
know. Cotten, your comment on shorting
VAncover ...reminds me of that fellow from Texas
that made a couple bucks on over-inflated
markets.

[cottonpicken]

That is also something,i think it was Furrow,brought
up a while back that reivesting in yourself and farm is
a very good investment,which i agree with.

Especially since times are so good now.

Food for thought,in your lifetime you would have only
had to made 4 trades over the 4 asset classes in your
life to have been horribly successful.

commodities in the 70's
bonds in the early 80's
stock market 90's
relestate market late 90's early 00's

We are now back to commodities,and should be
cycling back to bonds but current forces,which is a
whole other story,are at work.

Personally i'm in ultra risky weird stuff which most
haven't heard of so i don't bother bringing it up
much,but my problem is that it is an addiction that
eats up considerable amounts of time.

[LEP]

Cotton you are absolutely right on about the
cycles of various sectors over the years.

But it isn't as simple as investing in a sector and
being successful. Hindsight is 20 - 20.

You talk about the bond market and the forces at
work right . It has always been tough to know
exactly where an investment should be made.

If it was easy everyone would be rich.

[sumdumguy]

Anyone follow American Bulls?

[cottonpicken]

You mean in the early eighties it was a "tough" call on
making 18teenish percent on bonds?

Or buying gold at 375?

Not tough at all.

[parsley]

Cott, the best investment you can make is in the
three in that december letter you sent. It was
great. Looks like they're the future. Pars

[Hopperbin]

Cotton?? What market forces caused bonds to produce 18 percent in them years, I guess its matching interest rates. Was the market able to handle them interest rates, many farmers went broke them days or did not go broke as they had more money borrowed that no one else would farm the land taking over the loans. I remember one of the local characters from days past saying that the bank will never forclose on him cause he has too much money borrowed, actually was a true situation. The bonds of them days were they secure? Or were a lot of them declared worthless? I don't know just asking, trying to learn.

[Hopperbin]

care to share that letter :-)

[Burbert]

Condo is best, rent it or use it yourself.
Location, location, location, due your
homework, check condo association etc...
Real estate works. Figure outta way to
get outta capital gains. Nice profit ta
be made.......