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

[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.

[RTK]

I think Sheldon’s post speaks volumes... prairie farmer are helpful folks, I can not even begin to count the times I have stopped to lead a hand to a stranger in need. As times have changed I do approach situations with caution... has nothing to do with racism, you just have to be more careful these days.

Who hasn’t helped a neighbour - the cost of doing so has to be factored in and arrangements made... I can combine a 1/2 section of canola for a little fuel and the idea that someday the favour will be returned. If that neighbour has a family or health problem I would be there no fuel let’s get this done and that worry is looked after. Can I thrash 1000 acres of flat wheat come spring time not sure I can afford to do that...

Weld something up for a neighbour sure be right there or I can come after the kids are out of school or first thing in the morning. I will get it done for you...

Sheldon was very thankful for the help and I am sure helped neighbours where he could as that’s all people want... rented his land to a couple of young farmers - I think he was trying to give them a chance, good on him.

I have some very large neighbours they have out bid me on land, that’s fair, that’s life and I guess I either have to be more aggressive next time or they will out bid me again. Great guys, I learn from them maybe they glean something from me... they ask me what I did on certain fields and they share info with me. Can I bring my equipment to help them finish harvest, no probably not, so would I expect them to help me with my harvest... ah no they need to start on fall work the moment they finish or they risk falling behind. Would they be there if they heard I had a health or family emergency and saw I was struggling. I bet they would be phoning me the moment they got done or would just start combining and bagging and send me a text on what qtrs they where working on...

Rural, conservative type folks are not what is wrong with the country... we are not the problem with the country.

[bucket]

I think Sheldon’s post speaks volumes... prairie farmer are helpful folks, I can not even begin to count the times I have stopped to lead a hand to a stranger in need. As times have changed I do approach situations with caution... has nothing to do with racism, you just have to be more careful these days.

Who hasn’t helped a neighbour - the cost of doing so has to be factored in and arrangements made... I can combine a 1/2 section of canola for a little fuel and the idea that someday the favour will be returned. If that neighbour has a family or health problem I would be there no fuel let’s get this done and that worry is looked after. Can I thrash 1000 acres of flat wheat come spring time not sure I can afford to do that...

Weld something up for a neighbour sure be right there or I can come after the kids are out of school or first thing in the morning. I will get it done for you...

Sheldon was very thankful for the help and I am sure helped neighbours where he could as that’s all people want... rented his land to a couple of young farmers - I think he was trying to give them a chance, good on him.

I have some very large neighbours they have out bid me on land, that’s fair, that’s life and I guess I either have to be more aggressive next time or they will out bid me again. Great guys, I learn from them maybe they glean something from me... they ask me what I did on certain fields and they share info with me. Can I bring my equipment to help them finish harvest, no probably not, so would I expect them to help me with my harvest... ah no they need to start on fall work the moment they finish or they risk falling behind. Would they be there if they heard I had a health or family emergency and saw I was struggling. I bet they would be phoning me the moment they got done or would just start combining and bagging and send me a text on what qtrs they where working on...

Rural, conservative type folks are not what is wrong with the country... we are not the problem with the country.

Interesting....when my dad died 10 years ago the neighbour was more interested in getting the pasture than offering his condolences.

[farmaholic]

ajl, its not always what you see on the outside that tells the whole story.

Jazz, I'm not a real fan of pension funds holding farmland either.

What I think means fück all. The last ten or so years of escalating farmland prices enabled retiring farmers to get a good payday for a life time of risk and work. Maybe not so good for young poorly leveraged guys looking to buy in though.
All I know is I'm glad I'm not at the beginning of my farming expansion and career and am closer to the end.

[jazz]

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

Wow, should have known farming is racist would eventually rear its ugly head.

How about most young farmers are aggressive, arrogant and entitled? Do you like that generalization?

Maybe try fighting for something for 30yrs before you pass your judgements.

Nobody is wishing for anybody to fail no matter what size they are and there are always people willing to help out, but at the end of the day, this a business, not a charity, and that mentality was hammered into this industry by govts and experts years ago.

[RTK]

This is my favourite story to tell... Once had a guy refuse to take a tire because he could not afford it or return it... it was 40 below that night and had a wife and young baby heading for a job in another province with very little loaded up in his worn out truck or money for that matter. I thought what a fool but obviously he needed work and was in a tough spot. We finally told him we could not let him travel without a spare tire in this weather and even wanted them to spend the night and travel in day light. He reluctantly took a poor spare tire on a rim and we found a couple of old tires that would fit his rim to toss in the back so he had options down the road to fix his flat with. I think 2 years later the tire was returned with a thank you note... wow were we impressed.

Still waiting for a good 4 way tire wrench and hydraulic jack from another situation not sure that is coming back - tire wrench should give a time frame - 15 or 20 years ago perhaps...

[RTK]

Bucket - yep probably the case - but I bet it’s the 80/20 rule... more people than not offered genuine condolences to you and your family. Best to remember those actions than the other.