No worries back then

[tweety]

Pretty hard not to make expenses today Charlie, right you are.

[farmaholic]

Ok tweety, there's that sarcasm again. LOL

Note, (Charlie)my comment was seeding the crop expense, nothing to do with debt, that's why I pointed that out. Farmers were WAY more self sufficient in everyday needs back then.

[sumdumguy]

The input expense (variable cost) today changes the game for sure and a lot of farmers were mixed farmers. That was their crop insurance.

[charliep]

Perhaps my point was farming was no less difficult back then. Yes cash costs are higher magnified by the size of operations but there are a lot more tools available to manage risk today. Spend a lot of time with family in their 80s and 90s talking about their life on the farm. Remember my own childhood growing up on a farm in the 1950's and 60s. Way different than today but likely just as stressful.

[foragefarmer]

charliep

You can't compare stress level from 40s,50s,and 60s, to today's level. Not even in the same category. And, yes I have spoken to many who farmer in those decades.

[tstep]

U didn't do very good at math did u hopper. 1947 to today would be 68. Far from 80

[Klause]

I don't think a baby would remember though. .. a 14 year old might. A 20 year old would.

[cottonpicken]

We've got records,take some time.

[charliep]

Perhaps stress is an internal thing based on expectations/lifestyle. Farming has changed greatly if you look at this component. I was just finishing highschool but I can still remember the late 1960's/early 1970's when wheat inventories across the prairies/LIFT was brought in (Lower Inventories for Tomorrow). Lots of discussion about the early 1980's. Farming has always been a high risk/unforgiving business. You guys want to separate out the debt side but this has always been a factor.

[MBgrower]

Your wrong charlie. Farming likely less stressful now. Grain farming has become so simple with our modern conveniences. When is the last time any of us walked behind a plow all day, how many remember shoveling grain off a truck with a scoop. Most farmers under 30 dont even know what a grain shovel is. Can you imagine what things will look like in another 60 years? Skfarmers grandkids will be planting their 100, 000 ac via remote from hawii.