Message for 16 yr old Brad Wies

Posted by Steve W on December 16, 2002 at 07:57:03 from (66.66.80.36):

Brad....some points to ponder.

I live in upstate NY, which has a long tradition of Agriculture. But like many rural areas, most of the farms are not working, and land is being soled for housing, or being worked by huge farms. There aren't many small or medium sized farms left.

I had a conversation with one of the local farm oners, that runs one of the largest local farms. This farm milks over 600 head, and tills land in about a ten mile radius of where I live. This may not be a large farm out west, but here it is good sized.

I was talking with the owner at a local diner a while ago....what he said was amazing to me. He claimed farming was still about hard work, but as a manager, not a laborer. He said that he almost never ran a tractor anymore, he could hire guys for less than $15 bucks an hour for that. He leased all of his tillage equipmet from Caterpillar in the spring. "Why make payments all year when I only use the equipment a couple of months?"

Interestingly, he grows no corn on his farm, but he did grow soy, and other slightly more profitable crops, but not much feed.

I asked him about this, and he said, and I quote "There are plenty of guys who lose money farming year after year, trying to do things just like their dad did. They keep making the same mistakes, blaming it on the weather, old equipment, or some other problem, and swear this next year will be the one. So I buy my corn from those guys. It's cheaper than I can produce it."

As for old tractors, he has a few Farmalls for utility purposes, but doesn't seem to own much equipment.

It put farming in a new light for me. It would seem that maybe college might be a good idea.

I hope this helps. I think the balance lies somewhere in the middle between busines and work. Take Care and Good Luck. I admire your quest.

Sincerely
Steve

Follow Ups:

• Re: Message for 16 yr old Brad Wies Les...fortunate 08:08:57 12/17/02 (0)

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