Hay Farmers getting out of farming

[shooterdon]

Things change.

I see fewer small farms today than 50 years ago. One family near me has over 2000 acres in hay. They have a mix of owned and leased property. All the leased properties are smaller farms that got out of farming.

100 or 200 acre "family farms" are going to keep decreasing. If a family has two or three kids, what happens when the father passes? Most of the kids want to 'cash out'. A farm that supported one family cannot support two or three.

Even if one of the kids wanted to keep farming, how does he address the rights of his siblings? Where does he get the loan for the buyout?

With every generation it gets worse.

One of my friends lives in "The old farmhouse". It was part of a 100+ acre farm his family had at one time. It is down to three acres, and he co-owns the property with three other members of the family. It is not worth much....maybe $60k. His sister lets him live there out of charity as long as he maintains it and pays the taxes. His niece and nephew have not pushed for "their share" yet, but they own 12.5% each. My friend cannot come up with $15k to buy them out.

BTW, the rest of the 100+ acreage was split into smaller parts as people died off. None of the land is farmed today.

Of the 400-500 acres close to me that was farmed 30 years ago, less than 150 is farmed.

 

[OzarkChris]

Well, now that the push is on to make everything plant based, where is the city dweller gonna get that without farmers? Newest commercial I have noticed is how wonderful plant based eggs are How far away are they from buying Soylent green and being happy?

Wife & I were at the store the other day and saw a can called Soylent Green in the clearance section. We are both old enough that we just had to laugh.

 

[tjandrews]

To the average city dweller, farmers aren't needed at all. Milk come in plastic jugs from the store, cereals come in boxes, vegetables come in cans or frozen bags. Meat comes in cans, or Styrofoam trays with plastic wrap. Fruit comes in cans or the produce aisle along with the noncanned vegetables, Why do we need farmers at all, I can get everything I need at Walmart.

Oh, I dunno. In my experience, they simply need to be educated.
Mentioned before, we live near Syracuse, NY. We live near the suburbs, on a road that's a major route for commuters. In addition to selling horse hay retail from our barn, we've been running a farm stand since we were kids, growing and selling a variety of locally-grown vegetables and fruits for 60 years. For the last 20 years or so, we've been getting a LOT of feedback from our customers about how much better our stuff is than what the area's supermarkets sell. We are seasonal, of course, and we are constantly hearing from our customers that they don't shop for produce in the stores when we are open. More and more are expressing appreciation since we started a Facebook page.
So, we can all sit back and complain because the world isn't fair, or we can each work in our small way to make things better.

 

[OzarkChris]

Behind the curve in my area. You cant find a teenager that is willing to work retail much less outside. Yea, there’s quite a few that apply for jobs but there is a high turnover when they realize that they are expected to show up on time and actually do something. Keeping their attention away from their phone is almost impossible. See that with our weekend camping friends too. Sitting around the fire at night, they are all on their phones and “too busy” posting about their day to socialize.

We are a bit luckier out here - It helps that our cell coverage is minimal at best. We still have really active FFA & 4H groups and the schools still have farming classes for the high schoolers who want to take them. Most kids (& grownups) round here don't have a problem working hard. It's the way they were raised.

 

[MossRoad]

Wife & I were at the store the other day and saw a can called Soylent Green in the clearance section. We are both old enough that we just had to laugh.

 

[LHF2019]

Once its in your blood, you cant quit.

You're not kidding. I tried. Auctioned everything off and went to work in factory. The first time I sat on a tractor after the auction to plow snow I thought I can't quit. 3 months later had a new round baler in the driveway and never missed a season. After 8 years in the factory and doing custom I "retired" from factory life and went back at it full time cause something was going to give. Sure do miss the $$$$ but wouldn't trade it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Just cut 35 acres of conservancy land yesterday and this morning
Another 25 tomorrow

 

[JDZ735M]

I feel like I should be making more, but its an endless cycle of repairs, paying for this and that. Input prices at retail, while sales at wholesale.

The Farmer is the only one who sells at wholesale and buys at retail.

 

[Snobdds]

It's funny hearing farmers complain about this. Farmers that don't even have to use irrigation on their hay fields. Come out west, see what it's like. I know a bunch or ranchers that would gladly change places and make it a profitable endeavor.

Out west, hay fields need irrigation. Those that own the water rights, own the profitable hay fields. If you have to buy the water, well...you're just running and going nowhere.

Water rights are king and more valuable than the land in some cases. I own the water rights from the source to my ranch, and everyone wants a piece of it. It's been this way before Wyoming was a state, going back 5 generations. I've had governors and senators at my place begging for water. I give my neighbor, who worked with my grandfather and runs his cattle on my land all the free water he can handle. It drives everyone else crazy I give it to him for free, while no price can buy the excess.

Never complain, as there are other making due with less.

 

[sree251]

Behind the curve in my area. You cant find a teenager that is willing to work retail much less outside. Yea, there’s quite a few that apply for jobs but there is a high turnover when they realize that they are expected to show up on time and actually do something. Keeping their attention away from their phone is almost impossible. See that with our weekend camping friends too. Sitting around the fire at night, they are all on their phones and “too busy” posting about their day to socialize.

That's how they socialize: on their phones. Connecting with the world is a lot more savvy that brush hogging on a tractor.

We are a permissive society. Dad is no longer allowed to instill discipline. Mom is in charge. Not the mom who raises a family but the mom whose home is out on the range where mindless social issues roam. This cultural disease of the city has spread throughout the land.