Ok boys how dry is it where you farm!

[blackpowder]

No one would want the 80s back except ad a training tool for the young.

[sumdumguy]

The 80's darn near finished our farming career. Grasshoppers, cutworms, hot, windy spring of 1981 after plowing down all wheat acres in 1980. If not for our friend , the lentil, we were hooped.

[Hopperbin]

Often wonder how we would fare today with the eighties drought with our drills but expensive machinery. Dollar per acre to farm has not gone down.

[cottonpicken]

How would we cope with 18 percent interest rates and a crash with asset prices. Hats off to the guys that did I would not have.

[ajl]

In the eighties there was only one expensive cost item: interest. Today out of control costs include seed, fert, fuel, and machinery repairs. Throw now variable weather into the mix and we now have the 80's back. (US $ index peaked in 85 and is headed higher today if you need more similarity). Saw an old sign from 82 in a shop posting a mechanics labor rate at $28 per hour. Today $120 per hour.

[seabass]

Thats exactly right about Melfort and Tisdale areas SF3. No such thing as a sure thing. Everybody and everywhere takes there share of shit times and good times. Survive it and move on.

[sumdumguy]

Round Up was expensive in th eighties.

[sumdumguy]

Ah, I forgot 22% interest lines of credit. The bank jacking us around with "errors." Seems 22% wasn't bad enough. They actually gave us back $3700 when we caught up with the overcharges.

[freewheat]

The 80's were great years on this farm. My dad was a wise old fellow ( raised by depression and old country survivor type peasant stock), and had cash in the bank, he had not borrowed a cent to buy land. ( I wish he had now, but that is another story...). Half his income was interest income, I kid you not. I have his tax returns from those heady days, where his costs were 20 or 30 bucks to grow 40 bushels of 4 dollar wheat, and a new tractor or a good used combine was bought with cash flow.

The crops were good those years too, the land was relatively newly broken, the rains were not excessive, and they were good years for this area.

So the 80's have different memories for different people.

For this area, the eighties made a lot of farms. Depends how careful or care free you were I guess.

[newguy]

80 was not as bad as the 30. Next dry spell will be different also.Far from the 80 around here yet.60 year old trees that flooded and died still under water.80s there was not hardly any surface water.my one road is still under water and at the best will be over a year to make it drive able.

[grrrr]

The Sask. NDP would like to remind all of you that all the bad things that happened in the 80's were Grant Devine's fault.

[farmaholic]

Freewheat. He either didn't farm too many acres or had a pile of cash in the bank. Better spend some of that moldy inheritance money. Well at 12-15% I guess thats where that phrase, "it takes money to make money" came from.... ;-)

[freewheat]

Farmaholic. No he never farmed much, but at the time was one of the bigger farmers around. Did the purebred cow thing as well as grain, and unfortunately died when I was 13, leaving me with a mom who needed to make a living somehow, which meant me buying her land and inheriting diddly.

Had he stayed alive, I am sure we would have made a great team and I am sure I would have been on a more level playing "field" with the neighbors who had the fortune of not having their dads die far too young...

My point is, he was a wise man, and knew when risks made sense, and when they did not. He knew when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em. There were a lot if that type around here, which is probably why I can count a dozen or more farmers under 40 within a few miles of my home, and why this country never has an exodus in those "terrible 80's". It also maybe explains why land prices here did not get stupid like other areas?

Man I miss him this time of year, I could use some wisdom and cheap labor. Maybe a bit of cosigning here, a bit of cosigning there. he he.

Inheritance. lol! You made me snort coffee all over the proverbial screen. lol

[ado089]

Things are OK. I'd like to see a rain to germinate the odd stray seed or hard patch that didn't get get deep enough. That said looking at the forecast I'm glad that I only have 40% of my N down. We've been growing canola here with air seeders before the boys out east even moved away from one ways and marquis wheat.

[blackpowder]

Making your first million the old fashioned way by inheriting it.
Didnt say a million cash or debt.
The lucky make it look easy.