Kids In The Business

[FarmerSmuck]

I have 3 daughters and zero intrest in the farm. When I decide to retire, the farm will be rented out or sold. A new colony has established itself within 30km of me. At least there will be someone to buy my land. Like my neighbours there is nobody to take over its a common theme in our area.

[LEP]

Four kids.

Girl 1. She raises goats, loves the animals and I can see her being a stock lady.

Boy 1. He would be the farmer, but like jazz, it is just not possible for it to happen, at least right now, nor would I really encourage him. He raises chickens and has honey bee hives. He is passionate about the bees. I DO encourage him in that. I can see him play farming a few hundred acres and selling honey.

Girl 2. She raises turkeys, and is much like girl one. She is a hunter, a grand young lass and loves animals. Like girl one, I can totally see her raising animals for a living.

Boy two. He is the pig raiser. So far he is the only one who I can see not really farming. He likes his pigs, but does it for the money, not for the love so much! Lol

I do think one or more may well keep the land and use it to make a living. Certainly not grain farming, but they all have outside the box thinking, and passions.

I hope they do.

Some of the best farmers that I have seen were female. They can multitask better and usually have better attention to detail than men.

As far as Boy one don't discount the potential of tending bees for a living. Like livestock can grow slowly not be all in right off the bat.

Boy 2 may well be a great pig farmer because imo it is only about the money with them...just kidding, I have a neice that manages a pig farm. She just plain loves animals. I think cattle ranching is where she would like to end up.

I think the biggest mistake is to pigeonhole them. Let them find their own path.

[grassfarmer]

A relative of mine had 3 daughters so decided fairly early to sell the farm and do other things as with them being girls they obviously wouldn't want to farm. Roll on a few years and two are married, one engaged - all to people involved in agriculture, two of them work farm jobs. I think it's unfortunate that the opportunity to take over the family farm was denied them.
I know quite a few "farm daughters" that have married and taken over the family farm with their husbands, some times it works out better than the son taking over - usually less butting heads than the father:son dynamic.

[Bowerpower]

Kids are too young to know yet if they will be farmers. But I certainly hope the farm continues and I will be giving them the opportunity to take over a viable farm. Just like my parents did for me and my grandparents did for them.

[Radical]

Our boy is thinking about it and it would work pretty good. Machinery is cheap , good 2188 or 1680 under 30000, air drill 45 feet under 20000, good sprayer under 10000, etc. My coverage for wheat is 330 dollars, agristbility works here cause I don’t have mnp and no cwb. So with 1200 acres he could do well but this is Manitoba and looks like things are a lot better here. Plus I have heated shop so we can fix lots and parts are at least a third of the price in the states.

[fjlip]

Kids are too young to know yet if they will be farmers. But I certainly hope the farm continues and I will be giving them the opportunity to take over a viable farm. Just like my parents did for me and my grandparents did for them.

Grandparents came over on the boat with NOTHING, to bush, no roads, no services, no social programs. Much of the time parents wondered why they stayed, the WET 50's, 70's DRY 80's. Crazy interest rates did most neighbors in in the 80's. Lots left for AB, jobs etc, 70% of farms quit. Old neighbor said "farmers will NEVER be paid fairly for work/investment/efforts". Still true, society in Canada could give a shit! So how is this what my kids should do? Viable? Every publication I read holds up 10-40,000 acres as ideal/viable? Sure as hell not us, kids said NOWAY. Neighbor trying hard at 6000 says way to stressful, always busy no free time. We are simply at a DUMB LUCK time when land prices increased, real price for inflation is robbery. Best prices were in 70's when I started. With out land values farmers worth SFA. Don't hope for a crash, all need equity even to BORROW.

Good luck to young/aggressive fellows, go for it, volume will be the only way. We only need a few HUGE farms anyway. Banks/FCC just love 50 million dollar farms. They will never foreclose.

[the big wheel]

Grandparents came over on the boat with NOTHING, to bush, no roads, no services, no social programs. Much of the time parents wondered why they stayed, the WET 50's, 70's DRY 80's. Crazy interest rates did most neighbors in in the 80's. Lots left for AB, jobs etc, 70% of farms quit. Old neighbor said "farmers will NEVER be paid fairly for work/investment/efforts". Still true, society in Canada could give a shit! So how is this what my kids should do? Viable? Every publication I read holds up 10-40,000 acres as ideal/viable? Sure as hell not us, kids said NOWAY. Neighbor trying hard at 6000 says way to stressful, always busy no free time. We are simply at a DUMB LUCK time when land prices increased, real price for inflation is robbery. Best prices were in 70's when I started. With out land values farmers worth SFA. Don't hope for a crash, all need equity even to BORROW.

Good luck to young/aggressive fellows, go for it, volume will be the only way. We only need a few HUGE farms anyway. Banks/FCC just love 50 million dollar farms. They will never foreclose.

Very true post. Banks and fcc are a problem for smaller farms and when I say smaller I don’t mean half section farmer. I mean less than 3 or 4 thousand acres. They will pull the plug on smaller farms right away. It he bigger ones that many times are beyond stupid and reckless they support.

[bucket]

Very true post. Banks and fcc are a problem for smaller farms and when I say smaller I don’t mean half section farmer. I mean less than 3c or 4 thousand acres. They will pull the plug on smaller farms right away. It he bigger ones that many times are beyond stupid and reckless they support.

Equity is the only thing that will make the financial industry look good....they will force a lot of farm sales....to make their wreckless lending look good. ...

[Partners]

Smaller farms are usually paid for. NO DEBT..so if you pass it on your kid will do fine..
Mega farms here have mega debt..
Here you go kid..your tooth brush has payments.lol..

[chuckChuck]

Very true post. Banks and fcc are a problem for smaller farms and when I say smaller I don’t mean half section farmer. I mean less than 3 or 4 thousand acres. They will pull the plug on smaller farms right away. It he bigger ones that many times are beyond stupid and reckless they support.

FCC has helped shape agriculture policy in this country by favoring larger farms and has sped up the loss of smaller farms. Access to credit for smaller enterprises to build something is difficult to find. Instead FCC takes on enormous risk with large enterprises that gobble up the neighbors making it impossible for smaller enterprises to compete.

I am not sure why there isn't more support for medium and small farms and less for large corporate farms in this country? Why are we subsidizing and supporting large enterprises that don't need much help and letting small farms struggle?