How do farmers make any money?

[ultrarunner]

North of here is wine country and grapes are big business but counties have a big say preventing farming…. or better said limiting/preventing new average cultivation.

It can be a real struggle when permits to disk and it clear arr with held.

Add that some famous names are basically foreign owned now.

 

[FERLING]

When it comes to crop failure, many farmers buy insurance.

That is just another expense that if you are lucky will pay for the seed you planted.

 

[RESINC]

I'm not a farmer, never have been, and never will be. But I'm fascinated by youtube videos of farm operations, in particular larger operation, and I can't help but wonder how they are able to survive. Maybe the answer is they aren't surviving? On the surface it looks to me like the people making money are John Deere (and others), Monsanto, and ADM. I see massive investments in equipment, and very expensive equipment at that. Multiple row crop tractors, all sorts of planters and other implements that I expect are very expensive, combines and all the different heads, specialized carts for mixing or hauling product, huge bins with auger systems to load and unload them, several tractor trailer trucks with specialized trailers, etc. Oh, and huge storage and workshop buildings, Denali trucks for everyone, few side by sides, and one or two tele-handlers. Probably a couple of skid steers too.

Can anyone help me understand how this works? What does it cost in equipment payments and operating costs plus seed, fertilizing, weed control, and proprietary seeds? How many acres typically get planted? Then what are the harvest costs, gathering, storage, and ultimate transport to a buyer? How does this break down per acre, and what is the final crop value per acre?

Without the government subsidies 90+% would not survive. Land prices, equipment, etc would tumble. Food prices would increase substantially. America's economy would tumble. The world's farm competition has caused our government to heavily subsidies the American farmers. And in many cases they have over done it
The biggest farmers know how to play the game

 

[Hay Dude]

I get no subsidies and do better than some farmers that do get them. Of course they're row crop and I'm not.


I don't want them

 

[RESINC]

I get no subsidies and do better than some farmers that do get them. Of course they're row crop and I'm not.


I don't want them

You are one of the 10%.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

So I guess the question about farming is is it successful or not? OP mentioned about surviving I believe it was stated.

What is success? Is that your opinion? At least to you it should be. Many farms are run like a business, they are able to buy groceries or grow groceries each year. Some years they can even buy X, Y or Z. Does that make it a success? If your doing it for love that in itself can make it seem successful to you. Does success include being rich? Not in my opinion, but its just that, an opinion, mine.

No one gets out of this alive. Enjoy the journey even though it may be tough at times. Keep your eye on the prize (as the apostle Paul stated the end of our journey is like winning the race).

As the Cub scouts used to preach "Do your best" daily. All ideas to help coach us to plugging away, with the end goal in mind.

 

[livemusic]

I come from a farming family. My dad and uncle were significant farmers in this area. My dad, row crops and cattle, my uncle just row crops. Both made a decent living in the 50s and 60s but the 70s were the beginning of the end and both eventually went broke. As did just about every farmer in this area. Eventually. I continue to see a continual cycle of farmers going broke. It's just brutal. If you do not own all of your land, I can't see how you can make it long-term. It seems the only ones who have survived in my lifetime are ones who inherited their land. Equipment costs are staggering. Then you are the mercy of the markets and the weather, two horrendous make-or-breakers. In my lifetime, most farms have had the land leveled and irrigation installed. All of that costs lots of money and has to be amortized. And even though most farms are now irrigated, you still have to get the crop in the ground and get a stand, and a rainy planting season can really screw you up. Tough way to make a living, very stressful.

 

[Smokeydog]

Multimillionaire on a peanut butter budget. Kids will make a killing when selling the family farm.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

You are one of the 10%.

Unless something has changed there are NO subsidies for hay, hence the reason you see most hay farmers actually try to put out a good product, ie, keeping fields weed free, waiting to cut until they feel they have a favorable weather pattern to get the hay put up dry for feed customers etc, If there were subsidies in hay good quality hay would be harder to find because a lot of people would cut when convenient for them and weather be damned because the subsidy would be in the mail, again I am for the subsidies for the true family farms when needed so they can survive until next year, I am NOT in favor of the huge corporations who got into the farming industry just for the subsidy money, and never intended to raise a quality crop.

 

[LHF2019]

Unless something has changed there are NO subsidies for hay, hence the reason you see most hay farmers actually try to put out a good product, ie, keeping fields weed free, waiting to cut until they feel they have a favorable weather pattern to get the hay put up dry for feed customers etc, If there were subsidies in hay good quality hay would be harder to find because a lot of people would cut when convenient for them and weather be damned because the subsidy would be in the mail, again I am for the subsidies for the true family farms when needed so they can survive until next year, I am NOT in favor of the huge corporations who got into the farming industry just for the subsidy money, and never intended to raise a quality crop.

There is. Wife calls it the rain lottery. I call it rain insurance. It’s helpful but if luck is not on your side the premium is expensive.