How does a young farmer get going?

[harvestboy11]

I just graduated college and nothing in my mind is telling me to find work off the farm. I enjoy farming. Now currently we have a very small farm and dad works in town. We also have a small beef herd. While I was in college, I helped my neigbours out who plant and harvest 3,500 acres and spray about 10,000. They also have about 600 steers. It is very tuff to see my neighbours sons (my age) growing and getting bigger every year. Their dad helps them progress and mine really can't help me much. I do believe that at one time it was an excellent way of life, but not sustainable in the future. What should a person like myself try to do?

[silverback]

Go back to college and learn how to be anything but a farmer.

I would suggest plumbing, electricians, carpenters, teaching?

When you get the ability to set your own hours and not have to depend on mother nature, your life will become a lot more enjoyable. Especially when you eventually have a wife and kids looking for your presence.

Unless you either get huge help from previous generations or get extremely lucky in life, starting up from a very small farm is incredibly difficult these days.

It is hard to get farming out of your head so good luck whatever you choose.

[ado089]

Step one is to get the hell out of agriculture for 5 years and get a job that pays damn good. Step two is to forget about having any toys/holidays for those 5 years and save every penny you make. Step 3 is to start helping/working for a neighbor with more machinery than land. Step 4 is to take all the money you have saved and buy a piece of land. Step 5 Continue to have no money, work your butt off and help said neighbor in exchange for use of machinery. You'll either get lucky and get a good crop and be set or lose it all having learnt a lesson and try over again or realize that always being busy and broke is not for you and go back to your good paying job and buy toys instead of farm land.

The moral of the story is that you will need help with either the land or the equipment and you should lean towards help on the equipment side. It depreciates and can be rented short term where as once you have land you can build equity and continue to borrow against it.

[may-be]

In my opinion and being in the same shoes 25 years ago my 1'st advice would be to get an off farm job. Give up either your cattle or grain. Concentrateing and doing well on one is better. Do not get big fast. A bad year or two could bring hardship. Haveing extra income and putting everything you make on farm back in will establish you in farming as long as you spend wisely. I think the oppertunity is better now than when i started farming. Prices were poor and there was a bigger hunger for land from the guys that are soon to retire.

[tipsy]

Here is my advice for you harvestboy11.No doubt there are very good career choices out there if you so choice and it would not be a mistake to go that route but if you enjoy or want farm then you should.You can work off farm in the winter for a couple of years then decide which career you want.If you try farming I would choice either cows or farming.Although i've never had cattle, from what I see of my neighbours cows are alot of work for one person, a 340 day a year job, so my personal preference would be farming.Farming will give you a good life style,some time for yourself-family and you can work off the farm if you so choose and you probable will have to,to start with,or you should if you a good manger.With farming you have a couple of choices,as you and your dad have land already you can continue to grow and expaned from this base.This will take a few years and some borrowed money.It may seem that you are not gaining but after a few years things will start to come together IF you manage in businesslike manner.The other option is,and the one I would choice is to find a farmer in your area that is looking for spring to fall help and work out a realationship/business plan where you help him farm and in turn he sees that your land is seeded sprayed and combined with his equipment.This will allow you to expaned your land base as land becomes available and you see the opportunity,this will also allow you to delay the burdensome high capital cost with buying todays equipment.You can always buy equipment when your business plan allows but land is selldom available.Hopefully by clicking on a couple crops and a bit of good fortune this would see you in your farm in a few years with not to much debt.If you choose a working relationship with a farmer don't expect your work done first but make sure your not last also.Ofcoarse communication will be the key to making this sucussful.FYI I farm in ne.sask and in a ten year average our farm would see 1-2 real good profitable years 5-6 years where you make some money, break even or lose money,1-2-3 years where you are going to lose lots of money and you are wondering how you will manage and what the heck you are doing.If you choice grain farming digging in the ground and growing grain is 50% of farming marketing is the other 50%I could go on but I think you get picture. Best wishes in what ever endeavour you choice.

[Hopperbin]

First off congradulations for graduating.
So farming is in your blood. If someone told me not to farm I likely would still be where I am that is farming my fathers land or some other career connected to ag. I would suggest looking to Earth One which is farming the native lands. Also there are some big investors in lands these days looking for managers and general workers(Parkland Ag). Play your card right, look into investing in a crop sprayer to work for these investors if you don't mind that work(100,000 plus profit can be had). Or a combine or whatever if the numbers work. There are opportunities, if not right on the farm perhaps for the many crop genetics companies out there. I think ag has entered a new era of prosperity, after years of stagnation. 30 plus dollars per hour can be had as temporary work anyway durring busy season. Good luck to you,

[Hopperbin]

Thank you hopper for commenting the first positive contribution.

I agree with the comments about become part of a farm in a labor or mgt position. Especially if you are not able to take over a family operation. The livestock has been tough for all and in now way fair to those operators still trying to make a go of it. Grain tends to be more consistent and generally profitable in all areas. The nice thing about grain opp's is you can find a few weeks here and there where you can have a life off the farm. Livestock is every day.

The capital requirements to start up a farm today are high, especially if you need to buy or rent good land. There is lots of equipment options that will do the task at whatever price range you choose to invest at.

If you are serious about farming, there may be opportunities in our aging farm population. You may be able to find a farm that the owner has no successor and needs extra labor. Down the road you may be able work out a vendor finance arrangement. Its exactly what the Ontario young farmer of the year did in 2007 to start his own dairy operation.

[kenzie]

Congrats on your graduation. I personally think primary agricultural production has huge potential and is a good choice for a career. What you need to do is find a "older" farmer (with no kids)that is interested in starting you on your way and let you work toward building an equity position.

[bgmb]

Harvestboy, I would echo the advice of the last couple of posters are you looking for this fall? I may have one, I am looking for someone where are you located?

[bgmb]

Sorry meant to ask if you are looking for a job this fall we are medium-large size grain farm.

[hobbyfrmr]

I had the same dilema when I started farming. The previous posts are accurate. I would suggest to start in the work force. If you see how "real" business operates, farming may lose its luster in a year or two. Making alignments with neibhbors is a good idea. Buy one good piece of machinery that they need the extra capacity. I would recommend a combine over a sprayer because of the health issues related. Farmers always need and extra combine, most have their own sprayer. A journeyman combine will find a spot especially after this years weather. Farmers will try do harvest faster next year, although this mess was all weather related. I would strongly suggest trasition to organic farming. You can keep the basic set of equipment you already have, and yet easily triple the net income on your farm. I am haresting my third organic crop. I have plugged most financial holes I created while conventional farming. Dont worry about the neighbors objection, its your farm, your money. Many (not all of them) organic farmers are quietly doing well and are satisfied with results. You still have to apply yourself and get out there to do the work in a timely manner.You have to observe nature a little more, and think a little more. An old time farmer can help with advice. Back to machinery, a combine does not care if its chewing conventional or organic crop and can be cleaned out. If you stay with cows, alfalfa is obviously good feed,get a new field established, break the old one for organic. You will always have young,better yeilding smoother alfalfa fields for haying, and any surplus grain can be sold into the organic market for a premium over conventional grains. You may already be doing this anyway!! If the farm is small acres, plant barley and/or oats for higher yeilds plus they compete well vs. weeds. Bigger is not necessarily better, its just bigger. NET PROFIT counts. When I changed to organic,it was a straight business decision. Like changing jobs. I could use the same tools and work for $9.00/hour, or $27.00/hour. Plus, its still farming, what you want to do.

[skhadenuf]

I know some are busy combining I am just waiting for this batch of canola to cool in dryer and the snow to hopefully go, but when you have time basically the question is how much money and finance do you need to get going. You may be a part time farmer or diversified or straight grain. If we are talking straight grain and just want a living off the farm, what would be the cost to get to that point. I think this is a great topic. List how many acres to crop if land bought if rented what cost of combine and all equipment repairs taxes etc. the whole nine yards. And then to run that size of farm if you applied the risk, amount of skills you would use what would your net return be at a job ie 50,000, 75,000 100,000 a year see how this compares. It would be interesting to compare different areas of the province and diffenent provinces. I wish I had better computer skills to provide a chart where we could list all those number side by side and compare. Have to empty and reload dryer soon but here is a start.

2000 acres to rent $30 = 60,000, to purchase 12.5 quarters 55,000 to mostly 70,000 average est 65,000 x 12.5= 812,500. 20% down is 162,500 leaves 650,000 to finance over 10 years You would need down payment and 1 payment out of first crop. Assume 5% interest =32,500 interest payment, plus 65,000 principal, payment = 97500 downpayment 162500 =260,000 for the land

So to rent 30 bucks an acre to buy is about 130 bucks an acre just for land, the next 9 years land payment is about 48 bucks an acre. just using rough numbers not counting the legal fees etc. for all this to occur would be a chunk of change also.
Equipment
Combine new 300,000, used that would likely do 160,000 to 200,000. Although this year would have needed 2 combines mind you crop wasn't ready could have had 5 combines wouldn't mattered, but assume good years. $180,000
Tractor new not sure what they are 250,000? used 180,000
Air drill new ? used 80,000
Sprayer new 200,000 used 70,000
Supporting equipment, trucks, augers dryers bins etc, ?
I know this is boring most of you but there are people non farmers still out there that think you can just decide one day you're going to be a farmer, and have no idea when a farmer gets a government payment that equals a buck or 2 an acre just how far that goes. Got to get to the dryer, I'll finish later. Not likely but if someone wants to estimate supporting equipment please do, would like to get to a number in the end what it costs to buy a farm.

[hobbyfrmr]

Harvest, skhadenough is doing some good math. I hope college allowed you to do the same. He is speaking the truth. Thats why I am suggesting using the farmland that you already own, transition to organic, make better money with what you have. In the future, you can always go to conventional. If you want to chase 2000 acres and compete with the neighbors chequebooks go ahead. There is a group of very successful organic farmers in my area, and because I am the youngest in the bunch, I tease them. Its kind of a half truth, but all their money is tied up in...umm...cash. The other sentiment/joke around here is, that, if you are not driving your sprayer, you're a girl. Ultimately this is just for fun, I was a conventional farmer for 15 years before I realized my farm is just too small and "inefficient" to be conventional. I am not against conventional farming by any means, I am just not doing it that way. So, the organic thing is just a suggestion, its a free country,do whatever you want!!