Posted by paul on April 14, 2012 at 10:18:46 from (66.44.132.109):
In Reply to: BTO- Farm Question posted by tomtirediron on April 14, 2012 at 06:32:58:
> When you guys refer to a Big Time Operator generally how many acres we talking?
BTO is anyone with more acres than me.
Hobby farmer is anyone with less acres than me.
:)
But, that is kinda how it goes, really. :)
In a corn/soybean rotation here in southern MN can take care of 600-700 acres, and have a winter job (livestock, trucking, mechanic, seed/insurance sales, etc etc. You'll need some help on that for harvest - retired farmer, relative, wife, etc.
Lot of farm operations are 2-3,000 acres and have 3-4 families working it, which comes out close to the 6-700 acres a person. They can afford a bigger combine lease so get a little more efficient at harvest, can handle a little more per person.
Farming out west in wheat country, probably double the size?
Farming in the east, or southeast, smaller fields, might back off a few acres to be handled by one person.
Now, about the hardest ($$$$) farming is to be a one person operation at about the land size limit on rented ground. You are really pushed as far as labor, rent costs, risk, time available, etc.
If you are 1/2 to 3/4 that size and own a fair amount of your land, you will come out better in the long run.
If you are a BTO, you will try to rent the whole county, and always push to get bigger, hire more flunkies, and leverage yourself bigger and bigger until there is a hiccup and it ll caves in, taking a lot of people with you. (dot-com bubble, housing bubble, 1980's farm bubble, the current farm bubble we are about in the middle of....) This cycle always repeats itself.
BTO is more of a state of mind, rather than a certain farm size.
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