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Dennis Benson
10-29-2002 20:23:12
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Re: Starting own farm in reply to Jay, 10-29-2002 18:32:49
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I tried a little farming in the 1970's without any experience. I raised corn and pigs and did pretty badly, but I learned a lot. I've done some seasonal work for farmers, here in Michigan not too far from Lake Michigan I've worked on apple, grape, and asparagus farms. As as suggested before, get some experience. Also, an education is always good, with an AG degree you can get a good job as a manager even if you don't use the degree for yourself. Be sure to learn business, too. I got a business degree when I was 46, and wondered why I didn't get one earlier. The business training, even as a minor to the AG degree will help you understand the numbers, my major was accounting, but a minor in management will give you enough feel for the numbers and will touch on all the other disciplines of business like economics, marketing, finance. Mechanic knowledge is helpful, too. In 1971 I got a certificate in automotive repair and used it a lot rebuilding engines. If you work your way through college by working on a farm, you can buy a run down tractor that will be sufficient to work the farm, and take your time with the project and make a very good tractor out of it for when you are ready to use it. It will be like making payments, but only when you can afford to make payments, no lender will agree with those terms, but you will save a pile of interest. Biggest hint of all, avoid student loans.
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