Getting back into the Farming Life the old fashion way

I have been away from the family farm for 30 years now and want to get back into the game. Corn and milo will be the main crop, shooting for more corn then milo. But anyway, I want to farm a little different then the others in the neighborhood. I want to run all John Deere. Looking to farm a couple of quarters dryland.

What would you guys recommend for a planter? 4 and/or 6 row. Combine, I've thought about a 4400 or a 6600, heck even a 55 up would be fun.

Just looking for some input from those with experience. Are the older JD 45 up 105 combines hard to find parts for? Mostly the common wearable parts. I greatly appreciate all feed back.

Thanks
Jim
 
Oh Jim, Jim, Jim. I don't know how your finances are but do yourself a favor and get some newer equip. Get yourself a nice 1750 6 row or even 12 row. 9400 combine. 7130 fwa. for tillage and a 4050 for the planter and wagons and sprayer. You can just go out and farm then instead of fix, fix, fix.
 
Must be a Jim Disease ,,. LOL ,.. Flying Belgian is mostly right , if you can afford it,.. get up to date equipment ,,.. you should read some of my posts about the frustrations of being the only mechanic working on old stuff , trying to farm 300 acres ,.. i do like tinkering , and fixing,..i dont like being 3 weeks behind schedule ..and being broke down ...
 
That would be awesome, but based on the total acres that are being farmed why have so much expense? Maybe in time I could move up to that caliber of equipment. But cash on the barrel is my way.
 
Not to be a smart a. , but is a studebaker you?re main mode of transportation? Old equipment is okay if you have less than 50 acres. Anymore than that you want ?older? equipment. If you want all John Deere then try to go with something like a 4430. Or newer. Better hydraulics nicer cab etc. For a combine I?d point out that a ?00? or ?20? series will do a good job. But they are hard to work on. A 9400 will do a great job and handles 6 row head. Which gets us to input costs. With corn costing $300 a bag you want a planter that will do a good job of getting it in the corn and a combine that will get it all in the bin. In my opinion you have to many acres to be a hobby farmer?unless Your pockets are pretty deep. So you are going to have to strike a balance between old cheap probably well worn equipment and newer items with more life left in it.
 
Thirty years ago that size equipment would have worked for someone farming 320 acres full time, if the equipment was in good condition. If you have a full time off-farm job and need to do all your farm work on weekends and a few evenings, I think you would be very short on capacity, without any breakdowns.
 

Jim I would suggest paying attention to the others advice for the most part. I know most can spend others money a lot easier than their own. I also have experienced the pain of working on stuff all the time.

When I was a kid we farm 650 acres with a 1066 IH, 1105 MF, and a 3020 JD. Our biggest combine we ever had was a TR70 New Holland. We would work on SOMETHING EVERY MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT. It may be as little as a duct tape job on a auger. Or as major as doing injectors in the 3208 combine. Believe me it gets really old having to do something all the time.

I also understand the idea of owning everything paid for. I really understand your spot Jim I feel the same way but on a much smaller acreage. For what a 4400 that is dependable is worth you can step into a 7720 or 8820 for roughly the same price. Tractors being your choice I've seen guys farm a lot of ground with a pair of 4020's.

The biggest thing I can suggest is like someone else said some of the equipment you suggested is what guys were using to farm that kind of acreage full time. So if that isn't an option for you then I would look at newer or bigger or both.

Good look in your adventure!
 
Good luck! Sounds like you have been reading way too many Mother Earth News Mags. Also CaseIH Magnum tractors and Axial Flow combines will put John Deere to shame every time.
 
Well the game sure has changed in 30 years. Your not telling us if your going to be a full time farmer or part time with a city job. If your going to be part time then your going to need at least a six row planter and more than likely a 12 row on 320 acres. As for Combine once again it is how fast you want to harvest. If you have all fall to get in 320 acres then a smaller/older combine would work but if your splitting time then a more modern machine would be better.

Also remember that the machines you have in your "MIND" as being current are still thirty years older because that was when you where around them last. SO you more than likely need to go with a little newer than your thinking on machinery. You can buy a pretty good JD 6620 for not much money. A JD 7000 6x30 planter can be bought reasonable too. I would NOT consider a JD 105 or 55 to harvest 320 acres today. You would spend more in gas and repairs than you could hire it done for.

As for being "different" than your neighbors. That is not all bad but remember not all of them just have the BTO complex. The profit margin on an acre of corn is way less than it was 30 years ago. So more acres are needed to meet living expenses than your used to.
 
I farm around 800 acres, milk 60-70 cows and don't hire anything done and my newest piece of machinery is 1982, everything is old but I keep it up in shape, don't listen to the people telling you to get newer equipment, a 7000 6 row planter will do just as good as job as a new planter and you can pick those up for 2000, as a combine I'd look for a clean 7720, easier to work on then a 9500 because of less electrical B's, parts are cheaper because alot can be found in salvage yards. Don't underestimate older equipment it pays the bills instead of making them.
 
The JD brand is the easiest to run because of parts support, but not the cheapest.
You can find "not desirable tractors" in great shape such as Allis Chalmers 7045, "not desirable combines" such as Gleaner R70, very late Massey 860, etc, for cheap.

And for tractors if Deeres, go to the Deere 4620, 4630, 4640 (so called large frames but with same frame width than the others...). They are cheaper, stronger, better ride, parts easy to get at same price. Not the 4430 as they will be more beaten up at same price than 4630.
 
After sitting out of farming for a few years I started back up again in 1997 on 360 acres...
My two tractors were 1206 IH's,my planter was a 800 IH 6 row,and my combine was a 715 IH
and I later got a 1420 IH....I grew wheat,milo,beans,and corn...With the double crop soybeans
I got over 440 acres every year plus cut 100 acres of wheat for the neighbor...I worked a full
time job and used my vacation to farm..I got a long just fine with this size machinery as my
planting and combing season was pretty spread out..I had some break downs but always got
it done..

if you are going to raise milo you must be in Texas,Oklahoma,Colorado,or Kansas.....A 6 row
planter will work fine for only 320 acres..You need to select clean low hour machinery to make
this work..I'd go no older than a 4420- 6620-7720 JD combine..

40 years ago there were farmers in my area that farmed 800-1200 acres with a 6 row planter,15 ft drill,
and a 15 ft combine and 4 row corn head..They were full time and the machinery was bought new..
They worked lots of hours but got it done..
 
I skimmed through the comments of others and would tend to agree with a lot of what was mentioned. I am a part time farmer and cover a couple "short quarters." The tractors I use for much of the field work range in age from 1974 to 1994. The most used tractor is a 4640 with Quad-Range transmission. I picked this up 11 years ago from a retired farmer who put it up for sale on a consignment basis. It was a clean, seemed to be well kept, low hour tractor with just under 5000 hours. Since, it has had the entire rear end gone through and a complete out of frame overhaul to the engine. All of this was not cheap. There are those who might have said I should have scrapped it and bought something newer with what I stuck into it. First, I am not one to send a problem down the road for someone else to face, and secondly, I do not want to be on the receiving end of that type of situation, either. We have some pretty good ideas as to what caused these two major issues on this tractor, as everything about it clearly showed the hours were accurate. This tractor gets used more than any other one as it plants, cultivates (yes, we do still cultivate), hauls grain, gets used on the stalk chopper, and hooked up to the chisel plow from time to time. For what I cover, I have gross overkill on tractors and horsepower, but with the tractors I have, I do have one I can resort to using if another goes down in season. I have a shop I work with where most service work is done, and I try to keep everything in top notch running condition. I think I have the best kept and nicest "fleet" of older equipment around. That said, I think you may want to find a 12 row planter, as there are a ton of Max-Emerge planters out there for a reasonable price, and we still have ours, which was purchased in 1982. It has been rebuilt a few times, and it was rather inexpensive to do so. Your combine choice, I would agree a Titan series (Yellow cab top) would probably be a more suitable choice versus something earlier, as I think the parts for the older 00 series are getting harder to come by. That may also be the case with the Titan series, too. I am not advocating you "overpower" yourself like I have, but with my father's paring down his operation, and my ramping up mine, we have pooled our equipment together. I have about half of the equipment today, and he has the other half. I have been buying and upgrading for the past 12 years whenever we needed something, rather than him. I don't want to end up having to liquidate everything of his at some point in time to settle an estate, and not have something of my own. That is why I have done what I have done, and with the good times we had a few years ago and the years leading up to the peak, I was able to do it. I have scaled back my purchasing and about all I owe on now is the last installment on a new planter I financed a few years ago. We plant with our newer Kinze planter, rather than the Max-emerge, which sits in the shed. We are going to tear it down to the center 6 rows for a back up planter for filling in patches where crops may have drowned out after planting. Since I am a part time farmer, I need to have everything operational when I am at the farm. Thus far, I have been quite blessed with minimal breakdowns, and I appreciate the fact I have a well kept line of equipment without all the electrical headaches others have with this new equipment. My planter is set up for variable rate seeding and starter fertilizer, but I have not done anything with it yet. I probably will get it going in a year or two, but if I have an electrical "gremlin" hit me, I still can go back to the fixed rate seeding rate and fertilizer so I am not "dead in my tracks."
 
My great grandpa used to farm 2 1/2 quarters with some in pasture with nothing but horses. Now people think you need 9500 and 200 hp tractor to do that. Funny how times have changed.
 
The same here..In the 1960's-70's the county that I live in was the leading milo producing
county in the state of Missouri..Now I doubt that theres 500 acres in the entire county...
Its all gone to corn which often yields 50-75 bushels more per acre...
 
In the 1930's Dad and Grandpa farmed 1800 acres in central Kansas...400 acres was tillable
and 1400 acres was in pasture..In 1929 a new 22-36 McCormick tractor replaced the horses
as all the boys had left home except for Dad...The 22-36 was used until 1939 when a new M
Farmall replaced it..Dad was down to 320 acres then as Grandpa had passed and Grandma
sold off lots of it..

In the 1950's Dad farmed 200 acres in MO with a 8N Ford,a 2 row planter,and a 6 ft combine...
The tractor was used almost every day of the year and had to be overhauled every 2 years..

I had an uncle at Caldwell Kansas whom in the 1930s'-1950's farmed 480 acres of wheat with a 22-36
McCormick and a 12 ft pull type IH combine...He used this until 1963 when he retired..

Several familes farmed 300-400 acres with a M and a H Farmall tractors as there only tractors..
Another family farmed 640 acres (not all tillable) for a couple of years with a new Super H Farmall..
There were several boys and it was run 24 hours a day only being shut off to fuel or change oil..
The ground was worked at night and the crops planted between dawn and dusk..They finally were
able to buy a M Farmall to help the Super H..This family was about 20 miles away and I thought that
this was just a wild story until a couple of their neighbors told me it was true..They said that this was
one working family..They had to hire some of the harvesting done..


In the early 1960's a neighbor farmed 960 acres with a Super 88 Oliver diesel and a 400 Case diesel...
They had a 4 row planter and a 12 ft combine...There were 2 boys at home and the tractors were run
well in to the night..They finally got a new 1850 Oliver in 1964..Another family had two 88 Olivers on
800 acres..Another neighbor farmed 320 acres with a WD-45 Allis..I could go on and on..

Yes,the times have sure changed..
 
When my dad starting farming in 1967, he bought a 1946 A JD with a 2 row cultivator to use at a sale. Three years later he bought a JD 60 and a MH 22 with a loader on it as he had more cattle and he needed a loader tractor for hauling manure... He didn't think he needed three tractors, so he sold the A, now as we look back, he says what was I thinking...
 
Good stories!! Grandpa farmed a quarter and a 80 (240 acres) with a 41 B John Deere. Had his name down for a 41 H IHC but someone else got it from the dealer instead of him so he bought the 41 B. Always said he should have waited for another H as the JD B was no way near the tractor a H was.
 
I have read most of the comments others have said, so here is my input. I have a JD 4420 combine and it works fine for my 35 acres of wheat & oats I do on my 80 acre hobby farm. But for 320 acres of corn & milo, I think that would be a bit much for a 4400 or even a 6600. The biggest problem you will have going over that many acres is to keep the machine in repair. Remember these machine are over 40 years old now.

I have a good friend who combines over 300 acres of wheat, soybeans, and corn with his JD 4420. But he has several break-downs every year. It's only because we have good mechanic that worked on combines for a JD dealer that he can keep his combine running. And he also has a JD 4400 combine that he uses for parts. But his 4420 has over 5,000 hours. I tell him it's time to move up to a newer combine but he says the 4420 is his last combine as he is 75 years old.

Now if you can find a 4400, 4420, or 6600 with less than 2500 hours, then maybe repairs won't be that much of an issue. I bought my 4420 7 years ago with 2800 hours from my local JD dealer and I had them go totally through it. They replaced a lot of belts and other parts. So far I have had no problems with it in 7 years, but then I have only put about 125 hours on it. What ever you buy, I would make sure you have someone with a very good knowledge of JD combines inspect it. Also, a 4400 or 4420 can only handle a 4-row corn head so that would limit you to a 4-row planter.

If I was trying to combine 300+ acres, I would probably be looking at a 9500 or 9510 with low hours. But since you are just beginning to farm again, that may not be possible. I just hobby farm so I don't have to worry about making a profit. Can't give you any advice on tractors as my newest tractor is a JD 6110R. Good luck on your new venture.
Al
 
By quarters, do you mean a couple of 40 acres or a couple of 160 acres? I've heard it both ways....

320 acres is a bugger to harvest these days, we get a lot bigger yields than we did 20+ years ago.

Would never get done without a 6 row combine 'here', I'm assuming you are more in hobby mode, take a few breaks in the day, have other stuff going on, mostly just you?

The 55-105 combines and the 4400 series might struggle with today's yields, if you can't fit a full round in your hopper you just made harvest a lot longer.....

I've found you need an old 8 row combine with a 6 row head to make it work out these days. Or a 6 row combine with a 4 row head.

Planting isn't so bad, but be aware of harvest issues. Handling even just 25% more grain per acre is a world of difference from the 1960s! Dad grew 80-120bu corn, I'm growing 140-220. Dad picked with a 2 row ear picker and a 12 foot bean head on a 45. I struggle to get it done alone with a 6 row and 20 foot head on a Gleaner L3, I have 33% more acres is all, but hauling way more bushels away and keeping up with.

Paul
 
I agree that the 4400/4420 is a pretty old combine, but a four row head does not limit you to a four row planter. Any multiple of four will work. For many years I ran a Gleaner F2 four row behind a JD 7000 eight row planter. 12 or 16 would work as well.
 
That's basically what I meant. Using a 6 row planter with a 4 row combine head means you have to be very careful to keep your row spacing accurate with each pass. Had a neighbor who ran a 6-row planter with a 4-row head on his 6620 combine one year. The next year he updated to a 6-row combine head. Al
 
I work hard to make a living on 1032 acres of milo, oats, wheat, and beans as well as about 125 head of cattle. My grandparents farmed two 80's and lived very well and died with more money than I will ever have. Of course, I put about $35k into the 9500 combine this year. Probably stupid, but it's been here since it was a year old and it may very well see me to retirement. I do have a tractor from the 90's, but I also use an old 8430 for tillage. I'm too big to stay small but too conservative to jump into things like auto steer and combine lease payments.

Milo is a great crop if you have animals to feed it to. It isn't worth squat. I grind equal parts oats and milo with alfalfa thrown in the grinder for "ice cream" for the cattle. They do well on it. The last time I did well farming milo to sell I had a hog farm in Arkansas truck it down there but I had to bin 10k bushels of it and spend the winter loading semis. It's a headache because of it's higher yield (need truck drivers or cart men) and you don't make much. It's easy on a combine, though.

I've about decided I'm not changing the plates on the 12 row 1760 planter for milo any more. It's just too much work when I end up planting beans and milo about the same time - literally a day apart some years. I'll just use block off plates in the 750 drill. Grandpa drilled milo with a steel wheel drill and no block off plates, but I'm not looking to raise a thicket.

I farm nearly exclusively with green equipment but that's only due to dealer support. I grew up diehard red (and still use three red tractors around here - some daily). The green stuff is expensive to repair, expensive to buy, and breaks down as much as any other. It holds its value, though. I would never be afraid of a good IH 1440 (or the like) combine. My uncle's sold at auction a year ago dirt cheap and I should have bought it as a backup. I chickened out because of the hauling and I have kicked myself ever since. The old machines do just as good a job or better. I'm convinced the best samples I have ever seen came from our Massey super 92 combine in he early 80's.

If you have the time to spare, don't you dare be afraid to farm with smaller, older machines. Keep them in good repair and you will reap the benefits of low overhead. Sure I love my new 12 row planter with vacuum and liquid fertilizer, but I paid on it for four years. I have more fun hauling a load of grain to town in the 54 Chevy 6400 than I do in the semis that cost me taxes out the nose. When I retire I'll farm a few hundred acres and use my old machines. Then it really will be only for love. I'm envious - enjoy!
 
If you can afford to, up grade your thinking to a 4020 or newer and combines the same way. Your not any younger and your body will thank you for that decision. Some of the comforts will go a long way to how you feel at the end of the day and the next morning when you wake up.
 
It never ceases to amaze me this "romance" people have with farming. I have city relatives who are only a couple generations from the farm and say "oh if only I had the chance to farm". I tell them "well your Dad sure wanted his money for his share of the land fast, if you want to farm that bad they sell a farm somewhere in the state everyday go buy one". I am 57 years old, grew up here, and have yet to find this romance. I am so glad I am closer to the end of life than the beginning. Between city people voting for higher property taxes and gas lines and power lines using eminent domain to do what they want on land you paid for and pay taxes on, crop prices the same they were 40 years ago yet machinery constantly going higher I am looking forward to the grave. I guess I should have gotten a factory union job out of high school and had the yearly raise and a package with paid health care then now I would want to "farm".

I will be interested to hear how you can pay living expenses with this great income you will be getting on this 320 acres. Are you making land payments or crop share on this 320? I would like to know what is backing you that is allowing you to fulfill this fantasy?

Yes I am ranting but it really pisses me off to constantly have an outsider tell me how great this life is. I want to see city people go back to wages of 40 years ago with todays expenses and "romance" about that!!!!!!
 
(quoted from post at 10:29:39 01/14/18) It never ceases to amaze me this "romance" people have with farming. I have city relatives who are only a couple generations from the farm and say "oh if only I had the chance to farm". I tell them "well your Dad sure wanted his money for his share of the land fast, if you want to farm that bad they sell a farm somewhere in the state everyday go buy one". I am 57 years old, grew up here, and have yet to find this romance. I am so glad I am closer to the end of life than the beginning. Between city people voting for higher property taxes and gas lines and power lines using eminent domain to do what they want on land you paid for and pay taxes on, crop prices the same they were 40 years ago yet machinery constantly going higher I am looking forward to the grave. I guess I should have gotten a factory union job out of high school and had the yearly raise and a package with paid health care then now I would want to "farm".

I will be interested to hear how you can pay living expenses with this great income you will be getting on this 320 acres. Are you making land payments or crop share on this 320? I would like to know what is backing you that is allowing you to fulfill this fantasy?

Yes I am ranting but it really pisses me off to constantly have an outsider tell me how great this life is. I want to see city people go back to wages of 40 years ago with todays expenses and "romance" about that!!!!!!


What he said
 
"I guess I should have gotten a factory union job out of high school and had the yearly raise and a package with paid health care then now I would want to "farm"." What's stopping
you? To use your words---there are union jobs opening up every day somewhere in the state--- go get one. Myself, I love being a full time farmer. I have made some good decisions and
done quite well. Some were luck, most were skill. My health and the health of my family has been good so far and for that I am blessed. Others have not been so fortunate with
health and I can appreciate how that would turn your life upside down no matter what your occupation. Give me the farm life any day.
 
1923 Gleaner, You come off as a very bitter person. Somehow you have placed me as a city person and a factory worker. Well I'm not, and I don't have anything against those people. A lot of those people keep you running on the farm. You sure don't drive out to the country to buy parts. We always called it, Running to town to get parts. I completely understand the high costs of everything in the farming business. Farming is the one business where you buy retail and sell wholesale. Am I looking to become rich??? No not at all, I just miss the life on the farm. If farming is treating you so bad then sell the farm and move to the city!!
 
(quoted from post at 02:39:32 01/15/18) 1923 Gleaner, You come off as a very bitter person. Somehow you have placed me as a city person and a factory worker. Well I'm not, and I don't have anything against those people. A lot of those people keep you running on the farm. You sure don't drive out to the country to buy parts. We always called it, Running to town to get parts. I completely understand the high costs of everything in the farming business. Farming is the one business where you buy retail and sell wholesale. Am I looking to become rich??? No not at all, I just miss the life on the farm. If farming is treating you so bad then sell the farm and move to the city!!

Bitter, maybe. Realistic, He11 Yes. There is no damned way you are going to make a living on 320 acres let alone give 1/3 in rent. You must have something you are not willing to tell us that is going to put food on the table and the bills paid so you can "Play" farm. Fess up, what is the magic goose you have that you are not willing to tell. You started this Alice in Wonderland Thread!
 

There's people that work the factory jobs who romance about the easy farm life.
Those people that work the soil who romance about that high paying factory union job.
There's others that romance about having ether one, the high paying job or land they can call their own.
It's always been that way.

I grew up on a small farm, still live there, spent 30 years driving trucks supplementing the farm before building 3 poultry barns and becoming a contract grower.
Wife quit her public job to raise chickens, I retired from trucking to help maintain the equipment, clean the buildings between flocks and manage our 70 head beef cattle operation.
We operate on 180 acres of hay and pasture ground with that much more in timber, no row crops other than 8-10 acres of corn we pick on the ear and grind for cattle feed.

We're not rich but we're happy and enjoy our farm life, I'm 62 and am not looking forward to the end of life, it'll get here soon enough, I'd gladly back up 20-30 years if I could.

All of my tractors are older 40-75hp Fords, having grown up on these old tractors, to me their simple to operate and easy to work on. I try to do any major repairs during winter months and have a spare tractor should one go down during crop season, also have a couple of parts tractors laying around should I have a major component failure.
The mower and round baler are late models replacing older models that had served me well, like an old much used combine their days of continued dependable service had come to pass and any repairs done were only temporary.
I do have an old NH 270 square baler, but for 2-300 square bales per year I can't justify replacing it with a newer model.

This may sound dumb to some but I'm not a row cropper and don't live in big row crop country.
What's a quarter section?
Here we just go by acres.
 
Organic.. I am and you might as well get good equipment.. It doesn't matter if your conventional or organic when you need to get it you better get it...That's preplant, plant, spray or cultivate etc., harvest, transport, clean and maintenance everything through the year. I do 320 between mine and custom plus have a headache for a job.. But I can mysteriously leave for a couple weeks and I'm here to tell you equipment has to be "well cared for"..
 
1923 Gleaner, In my post(s) I never stated this was going to be my only source of income did I? AND why do I have to tell you anything about my finances? And I quote you "I am so glad I am closer to the end of life than the beginning" unquote, if this is truly where you"re at in life, I"ll lend you my shovel. You must be a real treat at the morning coffee.
 
Somebody sure is making a lot of empty
assumptions about someone else's life he
knows nothing about..........

The guy was looking for advice on equipment
and you jump into this. Not sure what you
are trying to prove.
 
Will I kind of was away from the farm for about 35 years when I worked for a large corporation in the Chicago area. But I never really left the farm as I came home on weekends and vacations to plant, make hay, combine, fill silo, and plow. So I do know what farming is all about. Now I just hobby farm my fathers 80 acre dairy farm for something to do in my retirement years. I don't do it to make money. I'd rather be farming than golfing. So I can understand why you would like to farm again after 30 years.

Unfortunately this is probably not the best time to get into farming with the low prices we are receiving. Corn and wheat are less than 1/2 of what they were just 4 or 5 years ago, but farm input costs are the same, except maybe for fuel. Unless you already own your land and machinery, it will be hard to just break even in the next year or two, let alone make a living. But if you are doing it for a retirement hobby like me, I think you will like it. Maybe in a couple of years farm prices will turn around and farmers will once again make a nice profit. Good luck on your new venture.
Al
 
Haters will hate. I really appreciate those that have offered some GREAT ADVICE!!!! I will answer some of the questions that you've asked.
 
(quoted from post at 04:31:14 01/15/18) Will I kind of was away from the farm for about 35 years when I worked for a large corporation in the Chicago area. But I never really left the farm as I came home on weekends and vacations to plant, make hay, combine, fill silo, and plow. So I do know what farming is all about. Now I just hobby farm my fathers 80 acre dairy farm for something to do in my retirement years. I don't do it to make money. I'd rather be farming than golfing. So I can understand why you would like to farm again after 30 years.

Unfortunately this is probably not the best time to get into farming with the low prices we are receiving. Corn and wheat are less than 1/2 of what they were just 4 or 5 years ago, but farm input costs are the same, except maybe for fuel. Unless you already own your land and machinery, it will be hard to just break even in the next year or two, let alone make a living. But if you are doing it for a retirement hobby like me, I think you will like it. Maybe in a couple of years farm prices will turn around and farmers will once again make a nice profit. Good luck on your new venture.
Al

Exactly what I was meaning. There is no way 320 acres of milo will make anything. Yet the pie in the sky dreamers keep on dreaming. There is no way the thing will pencil out yet the guy wants everyone to think he has the secret. Turns out the secret must be a large amount of cash from somewhere other than a farm that is going to let this guy play farmer. Sounds like he already knows the coffee shop BS route. With those jokers in the morning the first liar doesn't stand a chance. This guy will fit right in. Let us know in 2 years how much this dream has lost.
 
1923 Gleaner, Go back and read my original post, I stated more corn then milo. I'm sure you have offended many on here with your take on the morning coffee comment. You have to be losing your rear at farming since you're unable to stay on track. As you have proven post after post pertaining to my original thread. You should probably consider putting your land up for rent. Take some much needed time in therapy or find a support group for people that are unkind and not real resourceful.
 
let people be dreamers and leave their dream. If at the end of the year, this does not loose more money that what you loose every year if you bought a new F450 and caravan from depreciation, he is doing good.

I would like too to buy a farm in as well in the near future.

Being able to remove taxes for repairs and expenses on old tractors that I would have had anyway is a sure benefit + farm fuel + cash from custom work
 
Actually JD dealerships are very plentiful around my area versus all other makes. Logistically it just makes good sense to go Green.
 
I totally agree with its probably not the best time due to low prices, but its a good time to get up and going so I can roll full steam ahead when the prices do rebound.
 
Jmho. More than likely the 45-105 machines will not have many parts available thru Deere and the cost will be way out of line. That being said if you're good with a welder and torch most of the wear areas can be rebuilt ,auger flighting, chains,weldasprocket, troughs for under augers,etc. For the really tough stuff a good blacksmith can help you too.
 
(quoted from post at 13:39:28 01/15/18) Quarter section is a 160 acres, half section 320 acres and a
section is 640 acres.

Thanks, that makes since now.
One square mile = 640 acres so a section is one square mile.
Half section is half square mile = 320 acres
Quarter section is quarter square mile = 160 acres
 
Not mentioned yet is: Will you have shed space for your equipment and would you have a good shop to work on things. Keeping any equipment inside does a lot of things for stuff and those things are all good. In regards to older equipment if you get it running good and can keep it inside you will stay ahead of the game. Old belts, tires, roller chains , etc. that have to set outside deteriorate much faster. The next thing not mentioned is do you consider yourself a good mechanic? Mechanical skills make using older equipment more feasible. I wish DaveHMi would get in on this. In the last few years he has done what you?re thinking of doing. His experiences with planters, combines, etc. probably parallel what you might encounter. Also since I?m from an area 50 miles west of Sioux City I am aware that dry land farming in Nebraska is heavily dependent on the weather. The new seed is lots better than it was when my Dad moved to Iowa, but you still have to have some rain.
 
Jim,, I say to you Go for it,, its Your $$ Your plan/dream who gives a darn what some old pissy person has to say,, I used to post on these forms many times a day to help people,, I spent a Lot of time pulling out ops or service and parts books to scan the answers for people like you who was asking for a answer and or help. That has all but stopped for me due to folks acting towards me like a couple are to you here. I would see them correct my grammar, tell me I did not do on my farm what I claim I do,, you name it they have done it lol,,, its all good to me. I run all real J.I.Case equipment on my farm,, nothing cih,, newest tractor is a 1979 model,, newest combine is a 1969 model,, I do not raise the "important crops" beans or corn,, but I did raise a Lot of Wheat when I could sell it locally. Here no-till is a joke and works at a low level due to our H20 amounts, 11-14" total a year with snow included. I raise hay for cows and grow small grains,, these days I am just raising Hay barley seed and also put some of it up for hay. That is the market I have here and do well with it. All of my equipment is paid for when I buy it. I do all of my own repairs. I also do some custom work at times haying and combining is the main custom work I do. I run 800 acres of tillable ground and another 25- in hay ground. I do All of the work Alone. I make a decent living and have raised three children and two grand children doing this over the last 30 plus years, do I have tons of $$ saved away,, Nope but I am Happy and Proud of what I do. I wish you All the Best in the world in your adventure. I am saddened by some of the rude comments made here but not at all surprised..

cnt
 
Jim,
Sorry you had to hear from the negative ones. I farm much fewer acres, and have found that even the worst day farming is better than the best day working for a wage. I have a 6620, which is a great combine. It is reliable enough I have my wife run it when the truck is full. If I was going to get a different, combine. I would go with a 7720, there is more room to work on stuff. The 6620 is packed really tight. As far as planters, there is no better planter than a kinze. I have a 2500 8/15. A lot of people tell me a red combine is better, but I don?t want to change. The combine and the planter need to be good stuff, the rest just buy two of each. So when it breaks down you have a back up plan.
 
Ed,you are out of line on this one...If Jim wants to farm 320 acres with horses thats his business..
The worst day of farming still beats the heck out of the best day of working a factory job....
I know because I've done both..Part time farming was therapy for me...I've got a BIL-SIL in Kansas
that some how make a living on 120 acres with hogs and cattle...They raise most of their food and owe
no money,and live frugally..
 
Case Nutty 1660, I appreciate your kind words!!! I am getting pretty excited about it. There are some really good deals on the smaller machinery. It makes it affordable to get into the business. I always said that I would never get into the business as I was not a good gambler. But, I would rather start busting my butt for myself on a farm, then for a company.
 
I am attempting the same thing on smaller scale 60 acres then maybe quarter and 80 if things work out but as of now if you dont have the cash up front its almost impossible as my banker said i just smiled and said i like them odds;) and theres other banks and ways to get the cash but i am 28 farm 1600 with my ma and pa more modern i just want to try on my own a little see what happens
I have all my own smaller older equipment for 60 acres plus i wouldnt see a problem with a couple hundred even
1070
930 Dsl
930 gusoline
830 dsl
Sc
15 foot glencoe digger
Couple case disks
Case chisel plow
Oliver and ih plow
400 cyclo air 8 row 30
620 grain drill
1660 case combine
960 case combine
1961 chevy c60

Loren S from new effington south dakota
Just a dream i want to make come true lol
 
Tom is spot on, keep your dream Jim, we look forward to your updates, and hopefully you wont have to see replies like you received
 
(reply to post at 16:51:55 01/11/18)

Hey Jim
I was not trying to be negative
I just want you to be prepared
I love farming
Giving up half my acres this year so I
Can slow up some
Have fun
Dugger
 
Does that mean you will be farming full time without an off-farm job? It makes a big difference if you have 12 hours a day available to farm for 6 or seven days a week compared to just one or two days on weekends and have to hope that the weekends have good weather.
 
Many years I worked a full time job also, then I started my own repair shop and ran it and the farm,, tat was a bit much but I did it all alone for 23 years running the repair shop at the same time,, these days I am much happier just running the farm,, I also have 1200 acres of pasture I keep the fences up on for my renter and clean parking lots in the winter, it can be done,, but takes someone not afraid to get a couple hrs sleep many times of of the year a day if that, not a job for those who cant handle Pressure either, but I can say I do not work near as hard as my grandfather did when he came here in the 20's
cnt
 
Let people spout off if they want. I work 40+ hours 3 hours from home, so I'm a weekend farmer. My wife and son-in-law help during hay season, otherwise, just me. I have 29 cows and farm 100 row crops, and 60 hay. Other than my tractors, it cost around $2500 to get equipped. I have 2 Gleaner K's and an E. One K is set for corn, but if it goes down, in about 2-3 hours I'm going with one of the others. The aggravation and tinkering are my therapy. Some stress involved, but who doesn't. Do what you want, the rest of us are.
 
Don't tell my brother that. He started out in 2000 with a teacher's job (wife teaches too) at a public school. Owned 20 acres and started renting a quarter. 17 years later he owns 340 acres and rents about 800 more. Still teaching full time with 4 kids helping with the small chores. Has his own line of machinery and trades labor with his neighbor. His equipment all has good working headlights.


Everything he makes he rolls back into his farm (along with some salary) and keep building his equity. To many guys think because they couldn't do it no one else could either.
 
Ah yes, just checking in this wonderful Sunday morning. I'm setting here in Southern Kansas living the dream life, not a care in the world. Last moisture we have had of ANY KIND was mid October 1.5" of rain in 20 minutes, had to replant 900 acres of wheat, not a drop since. Yes this is the dream life, crop dying right before my eyes. Life is FUKING GREAT on the farm! :roll:
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top