farmers wanted

[mbdog]

I think this is a great topic and one that is very important to the future of farming on the Prairies. We are currently in the process of enabling another farm family getting started with their own land base.

There was an interesting article recently on young people getting into agriculture. Here is the link.

[URL="http://www.ucobserver.org/society/2017/01/new_agrarians/"]http://http://www.ucobserver.org/society/2017/01/new_agrarians/[/URL]

I know most of these folks and their potential is just outstanding. I can see it working well in the fruit/vegetable/livestock for direct marketing meat sector but not sure just what the fit is for getting into grain farming. Maybe what Klause is doing selling direct to end users to extract more value?

I agree Grass. Not all new agriculture producers need large tracts of land to "farm". Don't think grain guy helping a new grain guy is impossible.

[farmaholic]

"Passion" can mean more and have more value than money!

[ajl]

Grass the only place 80 year olds need real estate is at the cemetary. That is the problem. They are hoarding until the bitter end and younger people leave rural areas due to no opportunity and communities die. This process has been aided and abbetted by the government's financial repression scheme of artificially low interest rates. That is the problem that has been going on for some time. This process also happens in other industries too. Lots of business are going to die in the next decade because the greedy old buzzards think it is worth so much and if they don't get there price it will just close.

[newguy]

many farmers have increased their personal wealth by buying up farms in hard times. And unfortunately they actually sit back and hope the new young guns fail and they will buy up the remains.I love seeing the young farmers do well as it makes for a better local community.Think these young guns in most cases could give farming advice to the old guys.

[jamesb]

This is an interesting topic today and timely for many. As long as a business is profitable there is opportunity to have a blank slate and go in a number of directions in types of business arrangements. Funny thing for succession planning for many farmers is that they can be very successful and have a dream or expectation about the future of their farm that defies the reality of the situation.
I have seen farmers that do nothing but bitch and complain their whole lives about farming. They do this at the dinner table in front of their kids and then are devastated when the kids want nothing to do with the farm. No wonder when the kids heard negativity all those years.
On the other hand I see guys in their 70' s and 80's with no intention of ever retiring and seemingly thinking this is possible. If they do expect to transition to someone else they want to control the farm from beyond the grave.
On a brighter note, for a lot of years there has always been people bemoaning the idea of no one to farm the land in the future. I have to tell you that as a father of a recent high school graduate here in rural Sask, that every boy of the grad class is involved in farming in some way. Some farming full time , some part time. What is noticeable that the graduates of today are for the most part getting more education to improve their farms. When farming got tougher financially in the late 80's and 90's so many of us learned at the school of hard knocks to become the better managers needed to survive. The kids starting farming today have so many more resources to make better financial decisions. The idea to treat the farm as a business more than a way of life was something that was foreign to many farmers in the past. I think we have moved beyond the sense of entitlement that many farmers felt in the past.
In closing farm succession is a very long process and in truth never really ends for many. From grandparents to son to grandchildren the process can be long and challenging but vast resources in the form of consultants, lawyers, accountants, etc can make the process for successful. Above all talk.

[4GFarms]

I am a younger farmer (under 35 years of age) and I cannot justify the price of lan in our area. I have been very fortunate for the opportunities I was given. I have some great landlords that I rent from. Land just does not pencil out for me at this time. I know you can get a few good years to make it look like the land will pay but I dont think I will get 20+ good years in order to pay it off. I think if you have cash in the bank to pay for the land that is fine. It is definately hard for the young guys to get going.

[stonepicker]

Well said James B.!

[farmaholic]

jamesb.... (jokingly)with all due respect please don't confuse complaining with reality. LOL.

The older I get the crustier I get. And as I've said, I'm a much nicer guy than farming brings out in me.
Time to step aside and let the young guy get bitter, lol...

[mbdog]

Grass the only place 80 year olds need real estate is at the cemetary. That is the problem. They are hoarding until the bitter end and younger people leave rural areas due to no opportunity and communities die. This process has been aided and abbetted by the government's financial repression scheme of artificially low interest rates. That is the problem that has been going on for some time. This process also happens in other industries too. Lots of business are going to die in the next decade because the greedy old buzzards think it is worth so much and if they don't get there price it will just close.

Low interest a bit of a double edge sword...and most likely the greedy old buggers worked hard for what they have/built, so I'll point no fingers. But they, like other existing land/asset holders, usually have tax issues as well. Perhaps the bridge is a tax solution.

[newguy]

I am a younger farmer (under 35 years of age) and I cannot justify the price of lan in our area. I have been very fortunate for the opportunities I was given. I have some great landlords that I rent from. Land just does not pencil out for me at this time. I know you can get a few good years to make it look like the land will pay but I dont think I will get 20+ good years in order to pay it off. I think if you have cash in the bank to pay for the land that is fine. It is definately hard for the young guys to get going.

nothing has changed.was exactly the same issues 40 years ago.You have to be willing to drive an old truck not build a new house and take your winter vacation in town.

[farmaholic]

.....sounds like the spouse will be real excited about that lifestyle!

[foragefarmer]

Farming is a great way life and is a great business, when things go right. To put blame on the older generations that there are less and less young farmers coming up and young people leaving rural areas is nonsense. There are so many different career opportunities for young people and they move away to pursue them. If they truly want to remain in rural areas they will make it work weather it's farming or another business it all depends on the individual and the support they receive from their parents.


Don't blame others!

[Klause]

.....sounds like the spouse will be real excited about that lifestyle!

Depends on the spouse.

[GDR]

Old guys holding on to land is good and bad. Good because most farmers cannot afford to own their entire land base but can make rental land fit their business plan. What really bugs me is the farm yards with barns / quonsets and corrals that often just deteriorate to nothing over 20 years when they could have been used by someone else. Then more good farmland and resources are used to build another farmyard.

Banks turned me down buying land just out of school so rented what I could, 10yrs later land prices had doubled banks came through based on off farm income only, 10yrs after that bought land for double again at way more than can be justified to farm it and banks financed 100% and offered more. All three of those situations make no sense to me. If only I could have bought the first time!

No one should be given anything or they will not appreciate it in the same way but a little assistance in getting the ball rolling would do wonders for anyone starting out.

Vendor backed mortgages or giving the newbies a chance on some rental land would help a lot.

Lots of young farmers in our area too, no worries about that, not very many that are not generational though.

[newguy]

.....sounds like the spouse will be real excited about that lifestyle!

if the older farmer lived that life style to pay from his land how do the new farmers expect a deal to buy their land and drive a new truck live in a new house and go on a sunny vacation every year.