Posted by old fashioned farmer on February 03, 2008 at 17:43:48 from (4.131.53.217):
Howdy,
Well, it looks like the straw has finally fallen which broke the camel’s back. Ever since completing college I have been working toward taking over my grandparents’ farm. Both are now passed away and the farm is in my father and two uncle’s names. I work a regular job but only make 9.50 an hour plus commission each month. I had plans on working our farm into a decent hay operation with only minimal rotations of corn and wheat to allow the land to be rotated as need be. I planned to work my normal job and farm on the side (it is not a huge farm). But I had hopes that it could be a nice side income (or at least a break even deal that would allow me to farm). Well, the hammer came down this weekend.
I was planning the purchase of a new Holland bale wagon and planned to take the trip after work Saturday. My plan was to buy the wagon and use it along with a barn elevator system to alleviate the labor required from my father who I have partnered with on the hay to date. He was favorable to the idea when I first brought it up. Of course, my mother then got involved in the decision making process for some reason. She has no understanding of how I feel about the family farm. She thinks that I am simply “playing” and that there is no real value in it. She is also living under the idea that I should be pursuing a career in the area of study that I have a degree. That path changed for me after my grandparents passed away. Maybe it’s a dumb idea but I want to preserve my heritage and am sick of watching some “stranger” working my grandfather’s land while his house and buildings just sit there and rot. However, my mother doesn’t see eye to eye with me on this and so convinced my father to see her way. He then rejected the machinery idea and since he is part owner in the farm and I am not, I accepted his decision. While I was very unhappy I will respect his position.
This brings me to my post tonight. It’s becoming obvious that my family would rather watch the farm and our heritage rot than to let their son take care of it just because it doesn’t fit with today’s modern idea of how things should be. So, my neighbor up the road has a decent sized small farm that is up for sale. I’ve done a lot of figuring with my wages, interest rates, and his price of 6,000 per acre and have decided that going the normal route will not work for me. There is no way that I can afford it. Is there any way that I can work around this besides robbing a bank or winning the lottery? I have put hard thought into my path for the last four years and farming must be a part of it. I can’t stand the idea of moving to some city and living in an apartment just to make better money. What good would it do me? Sure, I could save up and then come back to buy the farm but by that time it would be gone, subdivided, and full of stupid houses.
I apologize for the rant but I needed to vent and since you all are ag people I figured you would understand. Thanks for listening and your advice is appreciated. God bless.
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Today's Featured Article - A Cautionary Tale - by Ian Minshull. In the early 1950s my father bought an Allis Chalmers B and I used it for all the row crop work with the mangolds and potatoes, rolling and the haymaking on our farm. The farm and the Allis were sold and I have spent a lifetime working on farms throughout the country. I promised myself that one day I would own an Allis. That time event
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