Do farmers really struggle to get by? - Page 7

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Do farmers really struggle to get by? (Page 7 of 7)

Posted: 8/12/2019 12:45:39 PM EDT

[#1]

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Yes. They picked it up at auction there was a lot more spent by the Meth head that lost it. Yes my numbers were off some. I was confusing figures from projections when Te Velde had it.

My comment was more about the supposed terrible industry in decline with thousands of dairy's failing due to market glut yet at the same time what appears to be smart qualified people dumping huge sums of money to get into the same business.

The economy of scale and labor savings must be massive at some point above 5,000 cows.

I would like to farm but at this point with equipment and land prices what they are it will.likely be a specialty crop side gig.

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You are probably talking about easterdays? They are working on putting that dairy together that just got done failing for an array of reasons.

ETA: your numbers are inflated

Yes. They picked it up at auction there was a lot more spent by the Meth head that lost it. Yes my numbers were off some. I was confusing figures from projections when Te Velde had it.

My comment was more about the supposed terrible industry in decline with thousands of dairy's failing due to market glut yet at the same time what appears to be smart qualified people dumping huge sums of money to get into the same business.

The economy of scale and labor savings must be massive at some point above 5,000 cows.

I would like to farm but at this point with equipment and land prices what they are it will.likely be a specialty crop side gig.

You forgot to add human trafficking, I'm pretty sure that guy had that going too.....lol

Probably was a good guy to party with hahahaha

Posted: 8/12/2019 12:51:43 PM EDT

[#2]

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I'm baffled that you think all dairy farmers could agree to reduce production by 15%, drive up prices, and everyone benefits.

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That's fine. But when a farmer does it willingly because of those reasons, then turns around to complain how bad it is, he can choke onna bag of cocks. You don't get to choose to be miserable then complain about it as if it is some huge struggle. This is where most farmers are.

IF IT SUCKS SO BAD, WALK AWAY AND DO SOMETHING ELSE WITH YOUR LIFE.

Farmers, the woe-is-me liberal cunts of the "conservative" party.

You are a dipshit. I do it because I love it and because I'm good at it. I have the potential to make more money if the current climate was not retarded. I've worked in IT in corporate america and in retail. I'd rather get punched in the nuts than have to go back to that crap.

Just imagine doing your job and then one day, with stuff out of your control, someone decided you were gonna make 25% gross less a year.

You also need to realize, that 99% of farmers have done nothing but farm their entire lives. They've worked for themselves and don't know how to do anything else.

Sorry that 99% of farmers are retards who can't adapt. Point proven. Thanks.

You should become a farmer and show them how to do it since it’s so easy. I’m sure there’s a simple math equation that an engineer could come up with to make it al work like a machine

I have to wonder sometimes though.

Milk has been down here for two years, and a lot of dairies are operating at a loss.

So what are most of them doing? Adding barns and cows....because further saturating the market is sure to fix it.

If they all agreed to cut production by say 15% for a year (and none of the big operations caved on it) they might actually be able to move prices back up.

You know less about economics and game theory than AOC.

I do know that if there is an oversupply of a product, that making more of it probably isn't the best way make it profitable again.

I think a lot of dairy guys though are still in that government cheese mindset, the previous generation was able to crank out as much product as possible and always have somewhere to sell the surplus.

I'm baffled that you think all dairy farmers could agree to reduce production by 15%, drive up prices, and everyone benefits.

Lol....you could probably get a handful of dairyman to agree on the fact that they'd like to see women naked, that'd be about the only thing you could get them to agree on though... All agreeing to cut back? Yeah right. You would have a better chance of figuring out cold fusion or who really killed Kennedy...

Posted: 8/12/2019 12:54:29 PM EDT

[#3]

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I read a write up from a localish guy that is milking 2000 cows and still running at a loss.

There are some larger operations in the area, but how big do you have to go to turn a profit?

I saw a 10 million dollar build a few years ago, the idea was to double current cow capacity.....their kids will inherit that debt most likely.

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So what method aside from the current model would be the solution for dairy to begin making money again?

If making more isn't cutting it, either mass failure, or cutting production is the only alternative.

Dairy is still profitable but only for those with the economy of scale and efficiency to have margin with the current prices.

The small 40-50 cow family farm that was still relatively common when I was a kid ain't that. Partly due to size and partly due to how they were operated.

I read a write up from a localish guy that is milking 2000 cows and still running at a loss.

There are some larger operations in the area, but how big do you have to go to turn a profit?

I saw a 10 million dollar build a few years ago, the idea was to double current cow capacity.....their kids will inherit that debt most likely.

Just 10 million? Shit....Was that for the hospital and calving barn? We're breaking well north of a hundred-million-dollar facilities in the west here like it's not a big deal anymore. In fact, you won't even get noticed if you don't have multiple delaval rotary decks in the same building....

Posted: 8/12/2019 1:02:24 PM EDT

[#4]

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So what is your suggestion? How do you enforce every farmer decrease production? If all farmers but one decrease production, the one becomes rich. How do you make all farmers decrease production?

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That's fine. But when a farmer does it willingly because of those reasons, then turns around to complain how bad it is, he can choke onna bag of cocks. You don't get to choose to be miserable then complain about it as if it is some huge struggle. This is where most farmers are.

IF IT SUCKS SO BAD, WALK AWAY AND DO SOMETHING ELSE WITH YOUR LIFE.

Farmers, the woe-is-me liberal cunts of the "conservative" party.

You are a dipshit. I do it because I love it and because I'm good at it. I have the potential to make more money if the current climate was not retarded. I've worked in IT in corporate america and in retail. I'd rather get punched in the nuts than have to go back to that crap.

Just imagine doing your job and then one day, with stuff out of your control, someone decided you were gonna make 25% gross less a year.

You also need to realize, that 99% of farmers have done nothing but farm their entire lives. They've worked for themselves and don't know how to do anything else.

Sorry that 99% of farmers are retards who can't adapt. Point proven. Thanks.

You should become a farmer and show them how to do it since it’s so easy. I’m sure there’s a simple math equation that an engineer could come up with to make it al work like a machine

I have to wonder sometimes though.

Milk has been down here for two years, and a lot of dairies are operating at a loss.

So what are most of them doing? Adding barns and cows....because further saturating the market is sure to fix it.

If they all agreed to cut production by say 15% for a year (and none of the big operations caved on it) they might actually be able to move prices back up.

You know less about economics and game theory than AOC.

I do know that if there is an oversupply of a product, that making more of it probably isn't the best way make it profitable again.

I think a lot of dairy guys though are still in that government cheese mindset, the previous generation was able to crank out as much product as possible and always have somewhere to sell the surplus.

I'm baffled that you think all dairy farmers could agree to reduce production by 15%, drive up prices, and everyone benefits.

I don't see why it wouldn't hurt to at least try it. Plenty of farms have mutual agreements set on land pricing when buying, so as not to create land wars, no reason they couldn't have the same type of agreement when it come to production for a period of time.

Obviously the method of "make more and hope the prices go up" isn't cutting it.

Milk is dirt cheap, even if the end product went up 1-2 bucks a gallon it wouldn't affect people much. My milk cost just went up $4/week.....big whoop, but it would be of great benefit to the guys producing it.

That's equivalent to saying "We could solve murder if everyone agreed to stop killing people"

It's incomprehensibly naive and ignorant, demonstrating that you simultaneously have no comprehension of the ag industry, but of basic economics and human nature.

So what method aside from the current model would be the solution for dairy to begin making money again?

If making more isn't cutting it, either mass failure, or cutting production is the only alternative.

Increasing efficiency. Hiring less work done and doing it yourself. Learning more about the industry in order to ensure each additional expense is justifiable and efficient.

Same as in every other business. But the answer certainly isn’t “if duh fermers wood jist mayk less foood thay wood mayk mowr muneys”

The big thing with new builds now is cow comfort for increased production. The idea is to get pads under their feet in feed lanes, scractching posts at each crossover, slanted curbs on the bedding areas, misters and automatic blinds to try to keep the barn as close to 60 degrees as possible, and loads of other new designs to get the cows happier and producing as much as possible.

But that still leads to the same issue, you might be getting more pounds from each cow, but you are still over producing regionally, so even if it costs a little less to produce (and that could be a wash anyway with the added costs in the barn construction) you are still operating at a loss.

Trust me, I don't want to see farmers fail, I pull a lot of work from them and if they go then so does my work. To me though, going full steam to increase production on a product that is a net loss to produce and sell does not seem like a great solution.

So what is your suggestion? How do you enforce every farmer decrease production? If all farmers but one decrease production, the one becomes rich. How do you make all farmers decrease production?

The only real answer would be to completely deregulate the milk class structure. Milk is milk and that is it. You want to trade cheese or whey protein or whatever by products that's fine, that will be the only way that solves any issues on the production side in terms of farm pay.

But see, here's the thing, we may view that as a problem, but it really isn't a problem. Yeah, it sucks if you are a broke dairyman, or the guys you owe money to, but outside of that there are no other problems. Milk is dirt cheap. And that is why you will never ever see a solution in milk pricing in the United States. Retailers win big, processors win big, American public wins even bigger. Only losers are the actual dairymen, some of their creditors, and a handful full of guys growing forage for them that get blasted in the bankruptcy.

The number of people affected is so tiny and so insignificant in the greater economy it doesn't even matter anymore.

Trying to have capitalized gains and socialized losses never works. It's been tried a million times, and it's failed a million times.

It sucks that there will never be any real solutions in Dairy going forward, but it's what it is. Get very used to the fact that there's going to be a lot less Dairy producers from now on. Just the lack of dairy threads in GD the last couple years should tell you all you need to know.

Posted: 8/12/2019 1:05:27 PM EDT

[#5]

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I did repairs on an old barn a guy bought to milk 90 additional cows. He couldn't get his current barn certified organic because of the PT lumber.

He said that the milk from those 90 organic cows paid more than the 200 at the other farm, and because all his fields were certified he fed them all the same food.

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So what is your suggestion? How do you enforce every farmer decrease production? If all farmers but one decrease production, the one becomes rich. How do you make all farmers decrease production?

Well, you could petition a governing body, or create one, to place arbitrary standards on whether or not a farm can be certified to produce a product of a particular grade. The standards would lower production per head, be expensive to implement and maintain. To further raise the barrier of entry, require that current feed land be certified years before the farm is certified. Then you'll have lower production at higher prices. The product grade would then be named something to increase public perception of its quality so a portion are willing to pay these higher prices. Let's say "organic."

I did repairs on an old barn a guy bought to milk 90 additional cows. He couldn't get his current barn certified organic because of the PT lumber.

He said that the milk from those 90 organic cows paid more than the 200 at the other farm, and because all his fields were certified he fed them all the same food.

Yeah, but even organic is turning into a losing game now too. You would shit if you knew how saturated The organic market is currently. The days of thirty-five bucks a hundredweight are long gone now.

Posted: 8/12/2019 1:15:08 PM EDT

[#6]

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Small farmers struggle. Huge agribusiness farms do fine. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of the former.

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Not always, had a farmer in my home county in Iowa go bankrupt in 2017. He was farming a range of 8-10 thousand acres.

The Sheriff's posting for the auction for the bit of land he owned/financed was just under 1000 acres.

His debt was over $6.5 million and he owed over $200k in county/sheriff/court fees.

Even the bigger farmers can fail, and when they do, it's huge numbers.

Posted: 8/12/2019 1:16:13 PM EDT

[#7]

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300 acre farmer might be stuggling, but that guy out on 3000 acres with the new 9620R not so much.

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All depends if they can run a business or not.

Posted: 8/12/2019 1:23:45 PM EDT

[#8]

And the USSRDA just sucker punched American farmers with their report out today.

Looked at the spreadsheet of FSA data and thought, the market ought to be up with all the PP acres.

Looked at local prices, they dropped the legal one-day limit, it's depressing.

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:03:58 PM EDT

[#9]

It is the many small farmers who actually struggle. Some more than others. The big grain farmers are the most hit. That can hurt if they don't find alternate markets. For China to buy from someone else means other countries end up buying from us now. Think of it as a form of musical chairs. However, they are quibbling over how much their profit line will drop, not if they will have a profit. Much of their grain is sold overseas so the tariff war is a greater issue. US small farmers are selling to the domestic market mostly. In my part of AR, hay, oats are sold for domestic use. Same for small livestock which rely more on niche marketing. Only our culls presently go directly to the meat processor. Most of our goat and sheep are sold or used as breeders.

The big guys suck up the govt. subsidies. The little guys like me never see the light of day of such things. No hard feelings though as they make up 80% of all US production. Efforts are afoot to change that but only a sucker would hold his breath. For example: despite large increases in production of domestic sheep, we are unable to scratch the surface of demand. Half of all lamb consumed in the USA is still imported and has been for decades. A friend of mine in Michigan grows soy and corn. It is all used domestically for ethanol and oil. The only subsidy he gets is to not drain a swamp he owns and leave it for wildlife habitat.

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:13:24 PM EDT

[#10]

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I think a lot of people confuse farmers with wealthy guys investing for tax breaks. Maybe inherited wealth and a big farm, run it for nostalgia and tax breaks.

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Absolutely true for the big guys. They spend their winters in FL relaxing while the far manager takes care of the operation. Some got enough to relax year round and look out the picture window and see waves of grain and cattle grazing while sipping a cold one. The hired help do the sweating. Where I used to live you could tell the difference by the hat. Sissy feathers and he's the landed gentry. A worn hat with sweat stains and you are talking to the guys who work.

Most of the small farmers I know are part timers. Their full time jobs keep them solvent.

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:21:29 PM EDT

[#11]

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And the USSRDA just sucker punched American farmers with their report out today.

Looked at the spreadsheet of FSA data and thought, the market ought to be up with all the PP acres.

Looked at local prices, they dropped the legal one-day limit, it's depressing.

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I'm so sick and tired of any and all USDA reports. They continue to hose the US grain producer year end and year out!

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:48:02 PM EDT

[#12]

This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:51:32 PM EDT

[#13]

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This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

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have you never seen a Farming Thread before..
brutality and the lack of knowledge are nuclear.

Posted: 8/12/2019 2:53:33 PM EDT

[#14]

Back in the day, I had a customer that owned a pretty big dairy. He seemed to do pretty damn well for himself. Still, he said (paraphrased) "There are only two ways to get into this business. You're either born into it, or you marry into it. Look around. Millions of dollars in land and equipment. If I had that kind of money right now, I sure as shit wouldn't start a dairy with it".

Left an impression on me, for sure.

Posted: 8/12/2019 3:00:28 PM EDT

[#15]

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This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

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I have been called a parasite and welfare queen dozens of times on this site over the years. Guys that think they know something telling me I don't know how to run a business. Questioning my motives and my ethics. It's been fun but also why I rarely get involved with them anymore.

Posted: 8/12/2019 3:03:30 PM EDT

[#16]

Some do, some don't.

Always cracks me up when they poor mouth their situation and buy their 16 yr old kid a $70,000 pickup truck.

Posted: 8/13/2019 8:17:30 AM EDT

[#17]

Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Posted: 8/13/2019 8:28:28 AM EDT

[#18]

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Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

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Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Posted: 8/13/2019 8:38:05 AM EDT

[#19]

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Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

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In Idaho we are not as far north but higher, my farms range from 4600 ft to 6000. I do potatoes, corn, and cereals and sometimes oil seeds and sugar beets. I am harvesting dry land wheat as I type this.

Posted: 8/13/2019 9:20:41 AM EDT

[#20]

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This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

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I only read the first couple pages and I think I'm going to spend less time in GD. I don't have much to say about any of this other than I made a lot more money doing less work at my old job before I quit to help my aging parents with their farm/ranch operation. I'd probably make more working at Walmart now.

Posted: 8/13/2019 9:57:46 AM EDT

[#21]

No different results than any business really.

Good operators make money.

Bad operators loose money.

Small operations are not efficient enough to be sustainable regardless.....they eventually figure it out and sell or rent their land and/or have another job.

Annual results vary greatly ... those that blow money on stupid stuff during the good times instead of banking it, or smartly reinvesting it, are at risk.

Regardless of how it might look from the road, farming is a high investment, low ROI, long term play. Steady growth wins the race.

From a risk adjusted return standpoint ... it's freaking crazy. Great lifestyle though if you enjoy it and excel at running a business.

Bad or small operators seem to attract news crews and play the blame game.

Posted: 8/13/2019 10:06:35 AM EDT

[#22]

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A lot of 200 head or less do. Especially in this market. Beans are down, weather SUCKS, and beef is down.

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Beef may be down for the rancher but it aint down at the grocery store. Fucking CHOICE briskets are over $50.00.

Posted: 8/13/2019 11:13:46 AM EDT

[#23]

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because unlike other professions, they have no control whatsoever on pricing and profit. the world markets, futures, and the .Gov rule everything without any input from the producers.

you can set a margin, work all season for it and come harvest- momentary changes in the market are crushing.
no throw in Mother Nature and other issues.

its brutal.

I've sat inside a tractor before praying that it wouldn't rain till we got peanuts off the ground and in, because 1 rain would ruin the crop harvest.

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They have the same control any other commodity producer has over pricing.

Weather dependence is a significant differentiator from other industries.

Posted: 8/13/2019 11:51:28 AM EDT

[#24]

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I was reading a "news" story about how China is going to stop importing US agricultural products, and how already struggling farmers were going to be hurt by it. I grew up in the Central Valley of California, and I remember farmers being pretty damn well off. Do farmers really struggle? Doesn't the government pay them to NOT grow certain foods?

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It is pretty easy to gross 500,000 and and keep 20k. Land rich and dirt poor come to mind. This is why there will only be mega farms left. The”farmer” will never leave the office.

Posted: 8/13/2019 11:53:26 AM EDT

[#25]

Attached File

Posted: 8/13/2019 11:57:35 AM EDT

[#26]

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I only read the first couple pages and I think I'm going to spend less time in GD. I don't have much to say about any of this other than I made a lot more money doing less work at my old job before I quit to help my aging parents with their farm/ranch operation. I'd probably make more working at Walmart now.

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This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

I only read the first couple pages and I think I'm going to spend less time in GD. I don't have much to say about any of this other than I made a lot more money doing less work at my old job before I quit to help my aging parents with their farm/ranch operation. I'd probably make more working at Walmart now.

You better let these folks use your land to shoot and hunt on.

Posted: 8/13/2019 12:12:23 PM EDT

[#27]

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This is a surprisingly nasty thread.

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Everyone lives a successful businessman. He “earned it”
But they all hate a successful farmer cause they think he somehow didn’t

Posted: 8/13/2019 12:18:29 PM EDT

[#28]

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When the input to raise a good crop exceeds the return, yeah farmers will struggle.
A large sum of farmers will be able to survive for a year or two depending on their financial standing.

There are some successful farmers that have been farming a long time who have money and new equipment.
And there are the following......
There are farmers that operate on a bank loan from year to year.
This loan covers the farm operation and living expenses for the family during the year.
This is because typically there is only cash flow one or two times a year and food bills occur more often than that.

If the year is good, the farmer may get to put some money in the bank or be able to reinvest in equipment.
If the year is bad the loan does not get paid, the unpaid portion gets rolled into next years loan and you hope that it will be a better year.
The risks of farming are high and you don’t know what the payoff will be until the crop comes in.

So for uninitiated, talk to farmer before spouting off here.

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I can't argue with this. We have struggled to get our small garden to work and even now after several years, it won't feed us for long. Farming is tough.

Posted: 8/13/2019 12:20:06 PM EDT

[#29]

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I have family that farms cattle and crop. They are the only "millionaires" in my family. It didn't happen over night. Required a shit ton of unbelievably hard work.

They have over a million in farm equipment. Long since paid off.

I couldnt do what they have done. Im not tough enough.

Im a city boy

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like a lot of things, having no debt is critical.

Posted: 8/13/2019 12:24:22 PM EDT

[#30]

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Not always, had a farmer in my home county in Iowa go bankrupt in 2017. He was farming a range of 8-10 thousand acres.

The Sheriff's posting for the auction for the bit of land he owned/financed was just under 1000 acres.

His debt was over $6.5 million and he owed over $200k in county/sheriff/court fees.

Even the bigger farmers can fail, and when they do, it's huge numbers.

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Small farmers struggle. Huge agribusiness farms do fine. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of the former.

Not always, had a farmer in my home county in Iowa go bankrupt in 2017. He was farming a range of 8-10 thousand acres.

The Sheriff's posting for the auction for the bit of land he owned/financed was just under 1000 acres.

His debt was over $6.5 million and he owed over $200k in county/sheriff/court fees.

Even the bigger farmers can fail, and when they do, it's huge numbers.

Rookie numbers.... There was a farmer in Cali a while back that was over 250 million in his bankruptcy.

Posted: 8/13/2019 12:25:40 PM EDT

[#31]

My experience in agriculture is that you don't make money every year. Yeah, we might have made an $80,000 profit this year, but we lost $90,000 over the previous last two years.

So yeah, you did good, but you're still in the hole for $10k.

Posted: 8/13/2019 1:55:39 PM EDT

[#32]

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I do know that if there is an oversupply of a product, that making more of it probably isn't the best way make it profitable again.

I think a lot of dairy guys though are still in that government cheese mindset, the previous generation was able to crank out as much product as possible and always have somewhere to sell the surplus.

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You are aware that having competitors agree to reduce production in order to fix prices is called- well, it's called "price fixing," not surprisingly, and it is illegal. Which means that all these dairy farmers have to do is engage in a large scale criminal conspiracy and all their troubles will go away...

Mike

Posted: 8/14/2019 10:11:01 PM EDT

[#33]

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Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

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Quoted:
Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

Posted: 8/14/2019 11:21:26 PM EDT

[#34]

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Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

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Quoted:
Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

Lots. Maintenance on equipment, drainage, paperwork, tillage, business, maintenance on equipment, fertilizer application, continuing education, maintenance on equipment.

Did I mention maintenance on equipment?

Posted: 8/14/2019 11:29:02 PM EDT

[#35]

Just run another Live Aid or two and they will be alright.

Posted: 8/14/2019 11:35:27 PM EDT

[#36]

The FIL's FIL is a ranching farmer in KS. The rains completely screwed his planting schedule, and by the time he could get a crop in the group it was too late to insure it.

Posted: 8/14/2019 11:39:34 PM EDT

[#37]

Milk is about the same price it was per hundred weight in the 80s when I was a kid. While costs have doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. Small farms are no longer feasible due to the high costs and low returns. You tell me if farmers struggle...

there is a saying, the best way to make a million farming is to start with 3....

Posted: 8/14/2019 11:45:39 PM EDT

[#38]

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Lots. Maintenance on equipment, drainage, paperwork, tillage, business, maintenance on equipment, fertilizer application, continuing education, maintenance on equipment.

Did I mention maintenance on equipment?

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Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

Lots. Maintenance on equipment, drainage, paperwork, tillage, business, maintenance on equipment, fertilizer application, continuing education, maintenance on equipment.

Did I mention maintenance on equipment?

Makes sense, I guess. Do you only get paid at harvest time and have to basically make that money last all year?

Posted: 8/15/2019 7:33:55 AM EDT

[#39]

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Makes sense, I guess. Do you only get paid at harvest time and have to basically make that money last all year?

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Quoted:
Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

Lots. Maintenance on equipment, drainage, paperwork, tillage, business, maintenance on equipment, fertilizer application, continuing education, maintenance on equipment.

Did I mention maintenance on equipment?

Makes sense, I guess. Do you only get paid at harvest time and have to basically make that money last all year?

You get paid whenever you sell grain. Harvest time tends to have the lowest prices of the year, so most people store at least some grain for several months waiting for prices to rise.

Posted: 8/15/2019 11:45:14 AM EDT

[#40]

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You get paid whenever you sell grain. Harvest time tends to have the lowest prices of the year, so most people store at least some grain for several months waiting for prices to rise.

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Quoted:
Just so I have a ballpark idea of how this works, for those who plant common crops like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. when do you typically begin planting and when is the harvest typically over?

Highly variable depending on the region.

In northern ND, we started planting wheat on May 8, and finished planting soybeans and canola in early June. We started desiccating wheat last Friday, and we'll begin harvesting it 14 days after desiccating.

Meanwhile we'll swath our canola, and harvest it in early September. Soybeans are highly variable for harvest time, and might go anywhere from late September to late November.

Do you have to do much of anything from the harvest until planting time?

Lots. Maintenance on equipment, drainage, paperwork, tillage, business, maintenance on equipment, fertilizer application, continuing education, maintenance on equipment.

Did I mention maintenance on equipment?

Makes sense, I guess. Do you only get paid at harvest time and have to basically make that money last all year?

You get paid whenever you sell grain. Harvest time tends to have the lowest prices of the year, so most people store at least some grain for several months waiting for prices to rise.

And that costs money too

Posted: 8/15/2019 11:54:04 AM EDT

[#41]

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Rookie numbers.... There was a farmer in Cali a while back that was over 250 million in his bankruptcy.

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Small farmers struggle. Huge agribusiness farms do fine. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of the former.

Not always, had a farmer in my home county in Iowa go bankrupt in 2017. He was farming a range of 8-10 thousand acres.

The Sheriff's posting for the auction for the bit of land he owned/financed was just under 1000 acres.

His debt was over $6.5 million and he owed over $200k in county/sheriff/court fees.

Even the bigger farmers can fail, and when they do, it's huge numbers.

Rookie numbers.... There was a farmer in Cali a while back that was over 250 million in his bankruptcy.

While true, that's the one I personally know. Left lots of people, including my aunt, looking to find a new tenant for their land kind of at the last min as well.

Posted: 8/15/2019 11:55:48 AM EDT

[#42]

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Quoted:
Milk is about the same price it was per hundred weight in the 80s when I was a kid. While costs have doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. Small farms are no longer feasible due to the high costs and low returns. You tell me if farmers struggle...

there is a saying, the best way to make a million farming is to start with 3....

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And over 20 years ago when I was a kid, they saying was you only had to start with 2. Dang inflation

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Do farmers really struggle to get by? (Page 7 of 7)

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