Mom and Dad had a full handfull of kids. But they made sure each had the opportunity to get university educations; and it came from a half section of farmland and 30 to 50 cows. Also kids worked baling and hauling flax straw etc. etc; had 25 cent allowances and learned to do repairs and tasks on their own.
Ended up with less than two sections of farmland each; and paid for and shared every piece of iron without any irrepairble differences. Waited till could pay in cash; or else waited some more. Maybe tyhere is a perception that such operations are "large" farmers; but do the math.
As the realization sinks in that one is not keeping up with contracting, marketing and what new generations see as being priorities 90% of the land has recently been rented out to young and "smaller" relatively young farmers and wannabees. The top ten percent who produce 80% will probably continue to do with slightly less.
Given the historical fact of financial returns (as shown by Statistics Canada, taxpayer subsidies, off farm income and and Federal Income tax returns) would the agriculture "farming industry" and society have been better off if the blue prints for four wheel drive tractor and Class 6 to 8 machinery been destroyed? But that die and many others has been cast a long time ago; and I will not waste resources refighting past battles.
My interests now lie in electronics and wireless internet communications. Now that is challenging; and fields that feww seem to be working on for the neglected rural areas.
Certainly not municipal politics which is now securely in the hands of those with solely self interests and their supporters who have basically no information outside rumours that make no logical sense. May God or rules of decency help us all.
Started farming with a half section of Land Bank Land. Otherwise would have been in different occupation. Expanded slowly and paid asking price of sellers, that others had already rejected. Thus missed being caught with debt during 24% interest period; was fortunate Mother Nature looked favorably on SE Sask except for a couple of years ago; and family members basically ponded every nail, built every bin and poured every shovel full or yard of cement.
And whether we admit it or not, Sask has recently just become a part of the rest of the world economy and its inhabitants.
Ended up with less than two sections of farmland each; and paid for and shared every piece of iron without any irrepairble differences. Waited till could pay in cash; or else waited some more. Maybe tyhere is a perception that such operations are "large" farmers; but do the math.
As the realization sinks in that one is not keeping up with contracting, marketing and what new generations see as being priorities 90% of the land has recently been rented out to young and "smaller" relatively young farmers and wannabees. The top ten percent who produce 80% will probably continue to do with slightly less.
Given the historical fact of financial returns (as shown by Statistics Canada, taxpayer subsidies, off farm income and and Federal Income tax returns) would the agriculture "farming industry" and society have been better off if the blue prints for four wheel drive tractor and Class 6 to 8 machinery been destroyed? But that die and many others has been cast a long time ago; and I will not waste resources refighting past battles.
My interests now lie in electronics and wireless internet communications. Now that is challenging; and fields that feww seem to be working on for the neglected rural areas.
Certainly not municipal politics which is now securely in the hands of those with solely self interests and their supporters who have basically no information outside rumours that make no logical sense. May God or rules of decency help us all.
Started farming with a half section of Land Bank Land. Otherwise would have been in different occupation. Expanded slowly and paid asking price of sellers, that others had already rejected. Thus missed being caught with debt during 24% interest period; was fortunate Mother Nature looked favorably on SE Sask except for a couple of years ago; and family members basically ponded every nail, built every bin and poured every shovel full or yard of cement.
And whether we admit it or not, Sask has recently just become a part of the rest of the world economy and its inhabitants.
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