I am not driven by greed as much as a desire to be able to call farming "my job." That means I have to be driven by making money.
As I type, I have a plat map book on my lap, looking up properties on the satellite maps to see if any of them aren't in production, and why.
One of my biggest competitors is the CRP government programs, and the other biggest competitor are the coal companies who strip mine around here.
So, if I have to make an unfair offer to keep a coal company from stripping and ruining a 300 acre farm just so 2 dozer operators and a few truck drivers can be employed, then I'll do it.
I don't hate the coal companies. I respect them making money and keeping my electric turned on. (Bruce Mansfield is coal fired and nuke) However, right now there is a shortage of skilled equipment operators and truck drivers because of the gas wells. I see license plates from Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, more than I see Pennsylvania plates on some days. That means there are plenty of jobs. Don't make that an issue.
I am glad you decided not to take the CRP. I am not sure how old you are, but I'm relatively young (in my 30's) and being young, starting from nothing except 55 tillable acres and some 40 year old equipment, I can tell you that it is rough, and while the money in land is red hot, now is a good time to be in total control of your land.
Thanks for posting this thread. I live too close to Metro Pittsburgh, and strip mines, for me to have to deal with a lot of the stuff everyone else does.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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