Ritche Bros, Farm dispersal sale..... interesting?

[jazz]

But is this the kind of guy agriculture should allow to fail due to circumstances out of his control?

Well that logic was just tested. We didn't let businesses or people fail because of covid, you could probably make a case that we should let people fail because of weather either.

[grefer]

Although I don't know anyone's situation but if they had the resources to buy a bunch of land......

Farming isn't for the faint of heart or anyone who knows better!

Maybe they didn't like the RISK! ...... of actively farming it?

IMO there are still many opportunities out there in Ag guys. If your young,have an education, and can think outside the box, giver. If it doesnt work out, try something else. Too many farmers take some form of satisfaction seeing others fail who may have started or approached farming from a different angle. I have heard farmers bitch and complain about the new kid on the block putting pressure on land prices but at the end of the day it was only a good investment to step up. Hasn't always been that way but thats why you all have a head on your shoulders. How many business plans outside of farming have gone in the toilet because of Covid 19. I think farmers are doing ok through it. At least the ones in my area. Best of luck to those who arent as fortunate.

[itisfarmer]

Sorry it didn't work out for you Sheldon, we have all faced some weather extremes these past few yrs that have pushed a lot of people to the breaking point. Learning to manage that part of farming is one of its biggest challenges.

Jazz, I totally agree. Weather seems never be cooperative (sorry being so negative), although grain price, equipment issues, disease, storage, transportation, debt are not easy to deal with neither....I won't claim that I had seen it all. But after these 10 years, farmers from western Canada have my highest respect. Their working ethic, toughness, integrity and their willingness of helping will make me so proud to say I was a Canadian farmer and always be. (for LEP) I'm 50 years old now,old (save)enough to spend more time with my family. Just in case anyone notice that Global Mail newspaper, there were two little girls on that pictures. They grow up now and deeply involve in a sport that I love. I hope someday they can represent Canada and compete in world level, like Olympic. That's my next dream, which is as interesting as farming to me 10 years ago. The reason I bring this up is that I was a protester in Tianmen square in 1989. After fighting with CCP, I'm so grateful that Canada accepted us. I immigrated to Canada 13 years ago. I truly believe this is the most beautiful country in the whole world. I feel that I'm entitled to say this after I've been dealing with CCP for almost 30 years. I know it sounds weird on this forum, but I appreciated Canadian government. I won't be here without their system.
FARMAHOLIC,, thank you for your post.. give me a chance to show my appreciation.

[farmaholic]

You can contribute to any, or start your own, any time.

[GDR]

You can contribute to any, or start your own, any time.

Yes it's a shame we haven't heard from Sheldon all along, nice to hear different perspectives gives some times.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Yes it's a shame we haven't heard from Sheldon all along, nice to hear different perspectives gives some times.

I read that different, thought he had been posting all along, under a different identity, which finally explained why some of SF3's posts make it sound like English is his second language...

Just kidding, Sheldon's grasp of English is much better than SF3's.

Thanks for contributing, and sharing your story. Please continue to contribute, another perspective is always welcome.

Your can-do attitude and apparent willingness to work hard, epitomize every immigrant that I have known. But you took that to a whole new level by actually farming.

Interesting timing for this discussion, while Chuck is chastising all farmers for being racists on every other thread, meanwhile, you dispel that myth with stories of generosity and acceptance.

Edit, as this thread makes clear, be careful what you say about your neighbors on here, they may very well be lurking, or posting and you don't even know it...

[Misterjade9]

I have a question for Sheldon. With your intimate knowledge and I will wager a guess your distrust and maybe a bit of anger of the CCP, how do we as Canada deal with them? Our current administration has been doing a terrible job of it.

[Misterjade9]

This maybe wasn't the right thread to ask this question, but oh well.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

This maybe wasn't the right thread to ask this question, but oh well.

Glad you asked, I hope Sheldon will stick around and answer such questions.

I've heard that it is dangerous for Chinese immigrants to say much if they still have family in China, so I would certainly respect if he doesn't want to get too political.

[farmaholic]

If itisfarmer is the real deal, I would like to hear his opinion on Canada's position on allowing foreign investment in it's farmland and other real estate. Was there equal opportunity in other parts of the world and did political stability play a part in his and other foreign investors choices?

Maybe people who farmed here for three generations know, "generational knowledge", the risk in farming here and how much can be paid for land that needs to pay for itself or at the very least with a bit of help from paid for land. I truly feel land prices have escalated past our young people's ability to pay for it who want to farm.

I got land beside me that was bought by an investor that is carrying a mortgage on it for maybe about half it's purchase price that the tennant is, in essence, making the mortgage payment on through the rent he pays the landlord. Smart investor!

I don't want to be a serf! Or help pay for someone else's asset while I assume all the risk.

There has to be something more in it for me than saying I farm 5 acres more than my neighbor, cousin, brother, brother-in-law or Joe Farmer.......

[jazz]

I don't want to be a serf! Or help pay for someone else's asset while I assume all the risk..

You might have to have a talk with the CPP and Ontario teachers. Pension plans were and perhaps still are big owners in farmland. How does it feel to pay both someone's mortgage and their pension?

We have a tendency to slam foreign investment but what makes that worse than this? Just cause its Canadian.

[Zephyr]

There’s lots of people out there trying to destroy that narrative.

Alas it’s a narrative for a reason. It’s bloody hard to get into farming from scratch! Even if you’re an old white boy who’s decided to change your path late in life. The capital needed is the biggest factor of course, but it’s also hard to crack into the small communities.

It’s funny, the farmers around me aren’t too gung ho to rent out coulees for people for their cattle. Can’t really blame them, in lots of cases it would require a heavy investment in fencing. Had a city guy move out a couple years ago, I can rent from him and the only cost is giving him beef from the freezer.

So the generational farmers complain about big corps and Hutterites buying up land as they sell out and how nobody young wants to farm these days, but it’s the city folk coming out to acreages that have given the best in for me, personally.

It’s been my experience that established farmers like to talk the talk about helping new farmers get going. Few actually ever walk the walk. Makes it even more exceptional to find new farms succeeding despite this.

Because most "old timer white farmers" are closed minded, egotistical, and ignorant.

Much more fun to watch a neighbour fail and then fight over the pieces then to help them succeed, then go into the coffee shop and whine about how the town is dying.

We're trying to do our part...

We gave three different guys 2 acre fields for market gardens out here. They make great money off of it and offer help sometimes if we get short. Another young guy who moved out here cuts waterways and low areas for hay. Does an outstanding job... Does us a favour keeping them clean... Hay is free for him.


Lots of diversity in ag but most guys just want to run land and rent prices up and hope everyone else goes broke.

I feel karma is a thing and eventually those attitudes will come around to bite then in the behind.

Sheldon, post anytime. Farming in the prairies is a cruel exercise half the time. But it is a great place to raise a family and set down roots.

[ajl]

IMO there are still many opportunities out there in Ag guys. If your young,have an education, and can think outside the box, giver. If it doesnt work out, try something else. Too many farmers take some form of satisfaction seeing others fail who may have started or approached farming from a different angle. I have heard farmers bitch and complain about the new kid on the block putting pressure on land prices but at the end of the day it was only a good investment to step up. Hasn't always been that way but thats why you all have a head on your shoulders. How many business plans outside of farming have gone in the toilet because of Covid 19. I think farmers are doing ok through it. At least the ones in my area. Best of luck to those who arent as fortunate.

Where is the opportunity in ag today? Reality is that the industry is shrinking not growing because our export customers are going broke and that is reality for the rest of the economy which has been on life support for more than a decade now. Land speculation is great gig when government prints money but other than that there is no growth anywhere these days. Cutting waterways for hay hopefully the guys has a good off farm job. When I find enough out about what makes a guy successful it is usually not what appears on the outside. Once was asked why we were not doing as well as a neighbor who appeared to be growing a number of year back. Turns out his wife was related to a family that had 3 sections of rental land in the area. Nice boost. New kid on the block can farm until the equipment wears out. Anyways have been looking for opportunity for a long time and have not found it. We are farming marginal land and it would go except the weather has been awful here for about as long as we have been here. Locals tell us it used to be much better and yield records bear that out. Anyways if there was other opportunity, I should be following Sheldon out of the industry.

[Blaithin]

Needs to be realized that just because someone might not be interested in doing something or want to put the work in, doesn’t mean there isn’t opportunity for others who can.

For example, I think one of the biggest opportunities right now is direct marketing of products. Meat, veggies, fruits, could even do some grain on a smaller scale. Take advantage of the buy local ideals.

But....

Many don’t want to go back to livestock. Work and infrastructure involved.

Many don’t want the hassle that comes with direct marketing. Public relations and running around.

Many aren’t interested in large scale gardening.

Etc etc.

I find there are opportunities, just when people want opportunities they want to get more for what they’re already doing, or similar to what they’re already doing. They don’t want to rethink and restructure their entire management plans. They don’t even particularly want to learn new skill sets.

This is why new farmers and back to the farm farmers are being more successful. They don’t tend to have the large scale overhead costs of generational farms to lock them into ideas, they are more free to exercise new thoughts. In many cases they also aren’t chained by previous knowledge and perceptions. They have their own struggles to be sure, but there is some freedom in being small and new.

[bucket]

MNP designed the agristability program for the government of the day....

Create a bunch of numbered companies and work the system....

Government policy either monetary or agriculture policy has gotten us to this point....

Better...I don't know....but the industry is in for a rude awakening this time around....where are the farmers that will farm it when the 55 plus year olds decide to call it a day....

Government will fund a 4 billion project for 300 farmers and forget about the rest of the ag sector...

In other words ...it would take a small percentage of that 4 billion distributed to all farmers over 20 years would keep the Saskatchewan dryland farmers in better shape mentally and financially and the economy as a whole would be better off.