Not Every Farmer Has A Bad Attitude ... JB

[jazz]

Who says they have to start a full time grain farm from nothing? lots of other options, livestock, market garden, nursery, organic, tourism, niche native grass seed, or the best one I've met lately, organic dairy goats. And around here, lots of people that would kill for an opportunity.

I don't know if grain farming is all there is, but you just described a life of servitude with very little return. why would anyone choose to work that hard with no clear ROI instead of just hoping to land a job with the govt.

People tried that with elk and emu and all that 25 yrs ago and a lot went broke. The only real diversification is cattle, the crops we grow now and a side job for the wife.

No young people are starting out this way. They are taking dads or granddads equity, leveraging out, tripling the acres and going all BTO. Young people wont farm any other way. Show me some young farmer puttering on a half with 30yr old equipment. If they are, its a side for them.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I don't know if grain farming is all there is, but you just described a life of servitude with very little return. why would anyone choose to work that hard with no clear ROI instead of just hoping to land a job with the govt.

People tried that with elk and emu and all that 25 yrs ago and a lot went broke. The only real diversification is cattle, the crops we grow now and a side job for the wife.

No young people are starting out this way. They are taking dads or granddads equity, leveraging out, tripling the acres and going all BTO. Young people wont farm any other way. Show me some young farmer puttering on a half with 30yr old equipment. If they are, its a side for them.

I am surrounded by them. Quarter section, 20 cows, job in town.

[jazz]

I am surrounded by them. Quarter section, 20 cows, job in town.

That's a hobby farm acreage AF. Gonna have to hustle to make a buck there. The job in town is probably the kicker, live cheap in the rural, low property taxes. Its really just a version of minimalist living which is fine.

But if you want to support a family full time that would never do.

[WiltonRanch]

I am surrounded by them. Quarter section, 20 cows, job in town.

A bit of that here too. Guys with oil jobs and run a few cows and farm a bit. You need them all. Not all land is square flat treeless and well drained. These small concerns are the incubators for our future farmers. With the patch crashing more are thinking about farming. I caution them to not have too high of expectations doing what everyone else is. The lord helps those that help themselves.

[helmsdale]

I don't know if grain farming is all there is, but you just described a life of servitude with very little return. why would anyone choose to work that hard with no clear ROI instead of just hoping to land a job with the govt.

People tried that with elk and emu and all that 25 yrs ago and a lot went broke. The only real diversification is cattle, the crops we grow now and a side job for the wife.

No young people are starting out this way. They are taking dads or granddads equity, leveraging out, tripling the acres and going all BTO. Young people wont farm any other way. Show me some young farmer puttering on a half with 30yr old equipment. If they are, its a side for them.

We exist... you just dont hear much about us.

7th crop this year.
-Equity in land given or allowed to be leveraged from previous generations? 0
-Equity in land expected to be given? 0
-University educated? Yes for both me and my wife
-Bins provided by previous generations? 0
-newest piece of powered equipment on the farm? 1994 4wd with 8000+hrs
-newest implement? 2002 5000flexi
-age of combine? 31yrs with 5200hrs.
-side jobs? Currently none for me or the wife. 2 kids and a farm are full time, every day, day in day out.

House? Paid for mobile home older than I am.
Vehicles? 13 years old or older and paid for.

Land ownership is all but beyond my reach. BTO lifestyle is far too large a gamble and rather impossible without someone to back us.

It's not glamorous, but years of hard work, and seriously pared down personal expenses have made it possible for what we've built to eek out an existence doing what we love.

As for working for government, it likely would have been rewarding financially, but I refuse to sell my soul. Whatever I muster in this life will be what I make of it. And much of this life revolves around alot more than $$$.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

No young people are starting out this way. They are taking dads or granddads equity, leveraging out, tripling the acres and going all BTO. Young people wont farm any other way. Show me some young farmer puttering on a half with 30yr old equipment. If they are, its a side for them.

Congratulations Helmsdale. It certainly can be done with enough sacrifices.


As for your last statement, Jazz, I don't fit your description, because I am a young farmer puttering away on about 17 quarters with equipment with an average age of at least 40 years, not 30. And the equity came from working off farm to buy land to leverage to buy more land. And like Helmsdale, my wife and I both have University educations, not working off farm much now either. And I would far rather be doing this than a career(although there were a few days this fall when I wondered...)

4WD is about to turn 41
Most used tractor is 46
2nd most used tractor is almost 50
Pickup truck cost $3900
Never borrowed money for equipment
Never borrowed money for inputs