Farm magazine articles

[the big wheel]

No barn. Electric fences on leased pastures. I offer him land for no rent. I give him feed where I can until he can get more feed secure. He helps me with a bit of labor, traded a skidoo for some feed last year. Built corrals with bare hands out of free scrap lumber and salvaged spikes. Five hundred dollars was for two balers one for parts. Haybine was 1000. Tractor is a borrowed 3020. He bought a 4020 for 2000 bucks and is fixing it currently. Truck is an sgi salvage gmc half ton. House is a rented house in tiny town no one wants. He owns about twelve cows. One baby.

The key is his marketing and how he sells his beef at his own price. For most on here this key point goes flying over heads. Works for rm part time.

I believe in this young couple. I will support them to the hilt.

We need more farmers, not fewer. Especially we need more farmers who are not simply doing what everyone else is doing.

Sort of like us and our sheep, building a viable flock slowly and surely, building a business using our own funds. Using machinery and equipment that makes most people chuckle and poke fun. But importantly, marketing differently. Probably is why I believe in them. I see some of us in them...

Oh I see ya there’s all these pastures just waiting to be used? Your giving him all free stuff so ya I could grain farm no debt if someone gave me all the inputs free. Lmao!

As far as marketing many have tried that here and they’re right by the city also. You still need volume.
You act like this is revolutionary stuff your doing it isn’t. You had your grain farm and land paid for and now your admitting giving stuff for free. As usual there s more to your story.
The fact is to go buy land or even find all
These acres to do this rented not easy to do.
You still haven’t said where is he getting the cows and how? Building a herd? That takes time and money also. And we had a 500 dollar type baler years and years ago. When it really went to shit we could have ran a much better baler for the cost of repairs which became impossible when any of rhe main components went because you couldn’t find any parts. It’s a nice jesture what your doing maybe your doing the rev Falwell thing? Are you the reverend or rhe pool boy? Lol who knows.

[Sheepwheat]

Oh I see ya there’s all these pastures just waiting to be used? Your giving him all free stuff so ya I could grain farm no debt if someone gave me all the inputs free. Lmao!

As far as marketing many have tried that here and they’re right by the city also. You still need volume.
You act like this is revolutionary stuff your doing it isn’t. You had your grain farm and land paid for and now your admitting giving stuff for free. As usual there s more to your story.
The fact is to go buy land or even find all
These acres to do this rented not easy to do.
You still haven’t said where is he getting the cows and how? Building a herd? That takes time and money also. And we had a 500 dollar type baler years and years ago. When it really went to shit we could have ran a much better baler for the cost of repairs which became impossible when any of rhe main components went because you couldn’t find any parts. It’s a nice jesture what your doing maybe your doing the rev Falwell thing? Are you the reverend or rhe pool boy? Lol who knows.

He runs his cows on areas of land that no one currently uses. Corners, slough edges, etc. I am not the only one helping him out! There are thousands of acres of wasted land no one uses! I am giving him feed. Maybe you missed the part where he provides me with a bit of labor in return?

When you sell a product for several times more than most do because you market it well, kissing commodity agriculture goodbye, you therefore need several times less product to be viable.

He started with five cows. He is slowly building his herd. Not that hard to do if you do it slow. His balers will be just fine. We can weld, we have a salvage place fairly close that has absolutely every part one could want for two lifetimes. If you knew what we and he sell our meat for, maybe you would find it more understandable. And along with that, I can absolutely guarantee and assure you that what my wife and I do with our lamb, is not being done by anyone else.

And yeah, thanks, I am enjoying helping him out. It is rewarding to see him plan for his future as a farmer. You ought to try it sometime, helping someone out that is. When the focus becomes less on oneself, and more on others, life gets awful fun and rewarding.

Judging by your tone, I am guessing you feel that this is not doable. And that we need fewer, bigger farmers to revitalize agriculture?

Regarding the Falwell comments? I’m not a crude person generally so I’m not sure how to respond?

[the big wheel]

He runs his cows on areas of land that no one currently uses. Corners, slough edges, etc. I am not the only one helping him out! There are thousands of acres of wasted land no one uses! I am giving him feed. Maybe you missed the part where he provides me with a bit of labor in return?

When you sell a product for several times more than most do because you market it well, kissing commodity agriculture goodbye, you therefore need several times less product to be viable.

He started with five cows. He is slowly building his herd. Not that hard to do if you do it slow. His balers will be just fine. We can weld, we have a salvage place fairly close that has absolutely every part one could want for two lifetimes. If you knew what we and he sell our meat for, maybe you would find it more understandable. And along with that, I can absolutely guarantee and assure you that what my wife and I do with our lamb, is not being done by anyone else.

And yeah, thanks, I am enjoying helping him out. It is rewarding to see him plan for his future as a farmer. You ought to try it sometime, helping someone out that is. When the focus becomes less on oneself, and more on others, life gets awful fun and rewarding.

Judging by your tone, I am guessing you feel that this is not doable. And that we need fewer, bigger farmers to revitalize agriculture?

Regarding the Falwell comments? I’m not a crude person generally so I’m not sure how to respond?

Not saying it’s not doable just as usual showing your not telling the whole story.
It went from anyone can do this to you having to provide all this free stuff and the guys just at the 5 cow level which is fine nothing wrong with that but really you’re saying the rest of us are the idiots and what I m saying is your thinking your scenerio is available everywhere well it’s not. You better hope more guys don’t do this because you won’t be setting any price. You ll be glad just to get rid of it. Your not understanding how the big picture and reality work. By good luck it might work for you as long as too many other don’t try it.

[ajl]

Those magazines are simply propaganda pieces for the advertisers and that stands to reason. I used to like farm magazines from year ago when they profiled innovative ideas from farmers. Today there is not much of that since the better ones are incorporated into the production methods in use today. Not much adverts in stories that you propose but it would be nice if more of them are told some how. I agree that it would be nice to fill up rural areas rather than depopulate but that is likely a pipe dream. One of the biggest drivers of depopulation is artificially low interest rates. This drives constant farm expansion and the old people to hoard their assets meaning no opportunity in rural areas. The other factor has been the phenomenal growth in government. Far too easy to move to the city and get a government job. The later is no longer the case especially for white guys so we may see some innovation in the future as a result of that. Artificially low rates are back due to covid and are here to stay unfortunately.

I have run a $500 baler but this summer ran a 15 year old baler with net wrap. Both were Deere. Leaps and bounds.

[Grahamp]

I really don’t think there is a bias against these kinds of stories Sheepwheat. There just isn’t very many of them. If we raise the bar to someone is making a living doing it (fine if they have help) there just isn’t that many. I know of 3-4 families who tried to use the Joel Salatin model and after a few years gave up because it is very hard or they couldn’t make a living. Although I am as conventional as they come I have tremendous respect for the management and execution of a guy like Joel Salatin. It takes 3 times the skill to do what he does compared to what I do. And my bookshelf has several of his books and if I see a new article or story on him I am very intrigued. But the fact of the matter is very few people have the skill to replicate what he does and I am not that interested in a story about someone who works at the mine or for the RM and sells a few halves of beef. Not because I am arrogant or think I am better than them but in order to hold my interest they need to be able make a living doing what they are doing.

[furrowtickler]

Quite a few super farms promoted in the past in those articles are done within 2 years ......

[WiltonRanch]

Quite a few super farms promoted in the past in those articles are done within 2 years ......

Same as OYF. Death sentence for the farm

[AlbertaFarmer5]

As other posters have pointed out, the farmer buying a $500 baler and used nails/fencing material is not the target demographic for any advertiser. And every magazine is dependent on advertising revenue.

And I fall in that category too. Even though I am no longer small, I still run this operation about the same as the neighbor that Sheepwheat describes. On the cattle end, still using a 30 year old baler, and a discbine that has more weight in welding rod than factory metal( although both did get an upgrade finally this year, but still in use). But not doing this on a small scale. Last year was 1500 bales, a few years ago when we were salvaging hailed crops, it was 3000 bales. Lumber, fencing material, posts etc, is all salvaged from land we buy. Main chore tractor is over 50 years old. No advertiser is wasting their efforts targeting me.

Grain equipment is somewhat newer, and on a much bigger scale, but nearly free since the real grain farmers wouldn't touch it. Growing grain in a very very high risk area, the risk/reward for additional inputs is questionable, when snow, frost, hail, floods are almost certain, so I also have one of the lowest input costs per bushel. The only advertiser who is interested in my business is Ritchie Bros and other auctions.

But according to our accountants, our profits are in a league of their own. The attitude that was developed out of necessity, still serves us well now that we are better established, so why change it now. Frees up capital to buy land.

None of that is interesting to the average reader though. Nothing shiny, doesn't look impressive from the road. I've got part time quarter section farmer neighbors with more money invested ( and I use the term loosely)in equipment than I have.

[the big wheel]

Quite a few super farms promoted in the past in those articles are done within 2 years ......

Yes the fcc supported crowd with half the assets they required for the loans and oh how smart they are. Gone like the wind is a theme for more than a movie.

We have to keep in mind we produce way more than our population needs. I agree we should be using home grown food here first there would be opportunity on a limited level to supply that
But the reality is all these acres we have the product has to move as an export also.to do that you have to compete with the subsidized governments of the world. Unfortunately as that is it’s the fact of life here.

[Blaithin]

Honestly The Big Wheel... it's responses like yours that tend to keep smaller, new operations, quiet amongst conventional crowds.

You may not mean things in laughing, scathing, mocking terms, but that's sure how it feels from the other side.

I rent 11 acres (currently working on buying it but a pandemic kind of stepped into the middle).

I run my cows on a new neighbours 20ish acres - last year it was for limited rent, this year I only have to pay in beef. (Maybe this is being given to me as well so is unfair?)

The acreage does have an old barn although it's not used much for the cattle. Next to no corrals but I did build some feeble ones off some kijiji deal, weird cut lumber. Can't say weird sized lumber helped my fledgling fencing skills... it's not a clean looking corral but so far nobody's destroyed it Haha

My biggest cost is feed for the winter. I don't want to get feed for free so I usually trawl around for a deal that helps my costs - who doesn't. The longer I'm in this area, and now that I work closer to home, the more farmers I'm meeting so that is helping. Landlord had some hailed out barley, neighbour silage baled it, I was able to buy 40 off them and save them a couple long trips home. They nicely unloaded them in the yard for me as I don't have a hugger thing. I love silage bales for not wasting if I don't feed them all out, hate them in that I don't have the equipment to move them without wrecking them so I rely on a good samaritan close enough with a hugger. I even have a dream of trying to be organized enough that my landlords will be game for experimenting with some cover crops on a couple acres beside the acreage. They get their main crop off, my cows can go graze afterwards when their summer pasture is done, but I cringe at feeding bales yet. We can fiddle around and see how it helps or hinders the soil or crop in those few acres to the rest of the field. We were hoping to try that this year but again, pandemic chaos.

I only have about 7 mature animals. This year I have 3 yearling heifers we've also kept back. I'm over maximum capacity and this winter will probably suck because of it but maybe it will get me in gear to sell all the calves before winter (every year I say I need to, every year I somehow fail LOL) Also there is a family dynamic going on about what's kept which is a constant struggle. That has to be a necessary part of farming as well doesn't it?

My marketing is simple, sell weaned calves to private buyers who want to raise them for themselves. Nothing most beef farmers couldn't do although many of their calves are just that step more wild than mine. And while extremely hard and a make work project to find private buyers for 100+ calves, finding them for 8 isn't usually too bad. I have return buyers and new buyers that come and go. No extraordinary prices, just whatever the auction is selling for. The cows raising multiple calves helps keep the income more than the cows outcome, even more so when the few single raising cows gradually get aged out from the herd.

Goal to help improve efficiency is to one year finally manage the AI course at Olds. I like my bulls, they've been gentlemen, but they do eat a hell of a lot for their small job requirement and I've yet to talk family into butchering them. They're old school enough they believe in bull taint and the math that a bull worth $2200 at the auction could easily be worth $4800 as hamburger hasn't been accepted yet.

Every year I also try and carry over a steer for butchering. I don't have the summer pasture to support keeping more than one to finish but one day I would like too. I have friends who buy halves if I don't need them for myself, and family in the city who's becoming interested however freezer space and large cost is an inhibitor for them. They've shown some interest in this years chicken crop though so I'm going to crunch some numbers and see if it's worth raising a handful of chickens to sell to family and friends (I do like my chickens)

Now how am I helped? My landlord plows the driveway in the winter. He helps fix things if required, like when the barn well shit the bed or when one of the hay guys took out the gate post on the driveway. But that's the benefit of renting - one that kind of makes me shudder for buying. Not that he won't come help fix a post if I need him, but bills like shitty wells will become mine. There is something to be said for less stress with renting. When butchering I line things up with borrowing his tractor so we can load the carcass. He and his brother are very helpful although I try not to ask for too much. I don't like being a pain.

Really the farm doesn't support itself. The cows can support themselves but they don't make much overhead to do many changes. So I have an off farm job that pays the bills and all other of life's necessary and unnecessary purchases. Like yesterday, we got a tractor!! Ohohoho!! Look at it, she's a beaut. I no longer have to bother the landlord to plow the snow AND she should be able to lift a round bale! Up to now we've just been dragging them around the yard with the truck. Works fine, this will be nicer. Bonus is it came with a mower so I can attack my thistle army that really loved the weather this year.




Yes, I'm extremely small scale. Yes I have high hopes for what I can manage with my small scale. Yes, many of those hopes rely on very local neighbours willing to help out. But by help out I mean let me utilize unused coulees or fenced fields once the crop is off or (before) borrow their tractor one hour a year. I'm not against payment or helping them out and I love distributing baked goods for favours.

I've been told why don't you just get a loan or a line of credit. Hahahahahahaha Well that's not that easy when you have no assets or family with assets. FCC needed you to have one or the other, haven't checked them out lately because they've never had a program before that would assist me in any way. I also don't mind building as I can. Yes it's a slow slog, but I have little debt. Many of the people who chuckle at my set up or tell me to get a loan have high large monthly payments they need to make themselves. And I must say, it's much easier to not be stressed about the fickleties of Mother Nature when I don't have a huge overhead. My monthly bills aren't that much different than someone living in town.

I get asked why do I even bother. Apparently I need to farm more to make it worthwhile?

I get asked why don't I try some other way. Well I like cows and I really can't see any other way in my current situation to do anything. You can have cows without much equipment, harder to do crops. Plus crops just seem way more stressful to me.

I get asked why don't I have a man.... Maybe they think a man would run things better? I don't know of a man ever making things easier so that can't be what the suggestion is insinuating LOL

I honestly can't think of a time someone actually offered me advice. Ok. That's a lie, a friend said he doesn't like silage bales because one year they tried it and the birds pecked holes in them everywhere. But other than that, advice is very low, judgement seems to be very high. Of course, the highest is just people who keep quiet, maybe they have advice and just don't feel comfortable offering it, who knows. But such is human nature that advice and positive support aren't easily remembered, judgement and negativity are.

The Big Wheel, your posts will be more easily remembered by myself and anyone in a similar position to me than any of Sheepwheats talking about how much he wants to help his small time friend make a go of it. While many people want to be memorable, is that something you'd want to be remembered for? Being the negative one.

[bucket]

Blaithin...

Asking is the easiest way for advice good or bad...then its still up to you to weigh the decision you make....important to remember that it is your decision based on advice from all sides....

You may not like bigly wheel's comments but somewhere within all of that is something .....never discount the way the message comes....think it through...and the printed word is tough to decipher at the best of times...especially on this forum...

[farmaholic]

[QUOTE While many people want to be memorable, is that something you'd want to be remembered for? Being the negative one./QUOTE]

Farming101 appointed me in charge of negative waves around here!