BTO- Farm Question

Morning Folks, Forgive my Northern Mn woodsman ignorance. When you guys refer to a Big Time Operator generally how many acres we talking?
What can a typical "one man band" do nowdays in relation to how many acres can you effectively grow a crop on. I realize modern machinery can make that answer variable between individuals. Just looking for a ball park. Thanks in advance for the Sat A.M. education. Tom B.

Around here I'd say over 1000 acres but it is more about an attitude than acreage.

I'll go first.

I consider anyone who hires full time employees to grain farm a BTO. Most anyone who has full time employees has to have 1500 acres and more to make hiring employees work.

It is not uncommon to see one guy or husband and wife farm 500 to 1000 acres.

Gary

You got it right about attitude.

The fella who leases our farm land also farms elsewhere around the county, plus has a bunch of wheat ground up in South Dakota. Probably several thousand acres, total. He and his wife do it, with seasonal help. And he's not recognized as one of the bigger local farmers.

A guy I grew up across the road from was once one of the four largest farmers in the county, with a full time hired man. When he was approaching 60, he was up to four packs of Rolaids a day during planting season, from coordinating it all. He began thinking, "Why am I doing this?"

He dumped it all, except for 240 acres and a hog operation to keep his hired man busy. Said life was infinitely more enjoyable.

He died at age 68 of some wierd cancer, probably caused by all the chemicals he was exposed to over the years.

I'm east of Fergus Falls about 30 miles. A BTO here is 1,000 acres or more. And they are right, it's attitude!

Go west of Fergus and at BTO there can be running 3-4000 or more, the small guy is 1K.

Rick

There is one BTO around me that as I understand is farming between 10,000 & 20,000 acres, has at least 10 semi trucks and I think mo like 15. Few years ago neighbor lady passed after husband had beem gone for a few years, both in 80's. Had a renter for years that started out as hired hand and they built a new house and gave the hired hand the old one to use. They had one boy that moved several staes away. After the lady passed the boy decided to sell and contacted a local realator to sell the place, the realeator never put place up for sale but bought it himself for his buddy the BTO to farm. never told the renter the place was even going to be up for sale, he would have liked to have bought it as was his home for 30 years. When he found out it was being sold was when he was given a notice to vacate. Luckly he had ground that was his grandparents he could move machinery to. That is the BTO operators that give all a bad name. Ordinarly a big time would be 2,000 and up acres.

Interesting, what do full time employees do year round on a grain farm? If the farmer has a sideline like a trucking or repair shop business I could see it working.

Lot of em keep people years round for several reasons, #1 being good help is hard to find. 2 A lot haul their own grain so the year round help hauls grain all of off season.

Rick

Id say theres hardly no body farms alone here(nwND) other than husband and wife or son or daughter or somebody because everybody is so spread out and the moving factor plus it keeps one man running to keep up with a seeder with seed and fertilizer ..fuel and just stuff....same with harvest.
As far as aces id say a min. of about 2 thousand and not much over 10 and that would be farther and son or 2 brothers or the like...Its all no till...Spraying is the biggest deal,,,GPS and auto steer has made it all posable.....And yes..It still amazes me how it has all changed

> When you guys refer to a Big Time Operator generally how many acres we talking?

BTO is anyone with more acres than me.

Hobby farmer is anyone with less acres than me.



But, that is kinda how it goes, really.

In a corn/soybean rotation here in southern MN can take care of 600-700 acres, and have a winter job (livestock, trucking, mechanic, seed/insurance sales, etc etc. You'll need some help on that for harvest - retired farmer, relative, wife, etc.

Lot of farm operations are 2-3,000 acres and have 3-4 families working it, which comes out close to the 6-700 acres a person. They can afford a bigger combine lease so get a little more efficient at harvest, can handle a little more per person.

Farming out west in wheat country, probably double the size?

Farming in the east, or southeast, smaller fields, might back off a few acres to be handled by one person.

Now, about the hardest ($$$$) farming is to be a one person operation at about the land size limit on rented ground. You are really pushed as far as labor, rent costs, risk, time available, etc.

If you are 1/2 to 3/4 that size and own a fair amount of your land, you will come out better in the long run.

If you are a BTO, you will try to rent the whole county, and always push to get bigger, hire more flunkies, and leverage yourself bigger and bigger until there is a hiccup and it ll caves in, taking a lot of people with you. (dot-com bubble, housing bubble, 1980's farm bubble, the current farm bubble we are about in the middle of....) This cycle always repeats itself.

BTO is more of a state of mind, rather than a certain farm size.

--->Paul

a fella neighbor has land in his,2 sons,wifes name[many acres-farms]hard working people,feeds a lot of catle too. Always complaining that property taxes are to much.

Good question. Other than repair machinery, I don't know. They also may have trucks to haul grain to the terminals year around.

I would like to bring one of my Son-In-Laws into the operation so he can take over when I retire but there just isn't enough for both of us at this time to live off of.

He works for me now after hours and week ends during the planting and harvest seasons.

Maybe if I could become a BTO he could be here year around???

Gary

For here, once you are driving in with your pickup to check in with your employees work, letting your hiring man (men) run the farm in a way that you aren't needed, spending more time with bankers than with animals or equipment, you're probably a BTO.

Thanks to all for replies!

Is this in the ball park?

In fact, some Australian stations are bigger than some European countries... Take Anna Creek Station, well known as the biggest Australian cattle station: this station in the Outback of South Australia covers 6,000,000 acres, or 34,000 km2. (Belgium by comparison is just over 30,000 km2, and the biggest American ranch is about 6,000 km2.)

Why this huge size? Most of Australia's cattle stations are located in the north and the central regions of the Australian Outback. The Australian continent is so dry and the vegetation so sparse that a large amount of country is needed to support enough cattle to make a living.

This style of farming cattle is very different from what you might know, especially if you come from Europe. It is a very natural way. The animals are basically wild. They are usually born and grow up without any human contact. They are grass fed and rarely require any chemical treatment. Trust me, you can taste the difference between a steak from the Kimberley and one from a grain feed lot