Tenants show up today

Our tenants showed up today and doesn't look like it will take long to get corn planted here

yep , big boys planting 300 ac a day -- done in 10 days - go fishing

Dont know many that go fishing most are tractor pullers LOL

1.3illion in equipment?

Dang - BTO's. Anybody I would know?

Jim

PS: Good thing you got the plowing done for them!

Nope, they'll plant up all their ground, and if they get done in time to plant more, they'll concentrate on getting more ground for next year, so they don't have any down time.

You'd be hard pressed to find any BTO who has gone fishin' since he was old enough to start tying up ground.

They aren't really BTO's, compared to some around here. Last time i talked to them they only farmed about 4,000 acres

Timed a neighbor last year plant across a quarter mile long field here. He had a Kinze 16 row, took him bout 3.5-4 minutes to go across the field. Figured he had planted about an acre in those minutes. Back in the day if Dad got 20 acres in one day with the JD 494 he thought he had a darn good day. Don't see any tender wagons, bet that guy is loaded and will roll em at sunrise.

Yeah its really sad, nothing to celebrate or marvel at. People wonder why we have such unemployment and obesity. 100 years ago most of the population farmed. I seriously doubt that man was ever intended to plant an acre in 4 minutes. I myself run a 4 row narrow 7000 John Deere planter. Great little planter, does a good job. 10' wide. It is sad that farming has gotten that big and even sadder that people are impressed by it.

The only farmers I ever saw with fishing poles were Amish.... and their idea of big time was a 6 horse hitch....

Been reading the responses. I kinda agree America would be better if more manual labor was required. We'd be thinner and more of us would be working. Then again that's human evolution. The pilgrims wouldn't even recognize what we call corn these days. All the selective pollination and now genetic modifications and it isn't the same. Today tractors follow rows themselves, control speed automatically based on crop yield while logging the GPS locations in the field producing the best for automated fertilizer distribution to be done later. And yet so much of the world is starving because humans can't figure out or agree how to work together. In 20 years the tractor will be started up by a human at the corner of the field and set loose to plow by itself while the farmer heads off to do something else--but you can bet for the price of that equipment he'll still be working but perhaps one of his farm hands lost a job to the robotic tractor. On the up side there will be more jobs for computer techs to figure out why the tractor runs only long enough for the farmer to get out of sight and then stops with an error code--those will probably be filled in India however.

agreed ,,.those guyz will crowd a little farmer out and laf at his demise

It is the ruination of the world all those guys that size and bigger and they make it impossible for a guy to get started or a small farmer pick up a few more acres, i look at it this way if equipment hadnt gotten any bigger than say 8 rows every thing would be alot better there would be more farmers on the land more equipment would have to be made more dealers employing more people, more co-ops ect its a chain

Gordo, the guys with a million dollars worth of planting equipment have a heck of a lot more headaches than we do. In order to support that size equipment they have to cover big acres which means satisfying many landlords and farm managers wanting big rents. They have to push the limits and plant when conditions aren't right to keep the landlords satisfied. And when they fall they fall farther and harder.

I used to plant my farm with a 6 row. Then I had it custom planted by a neighbor with a 16 row. Then he went to 24, then 36 rows. The ground was prepared with a 60 foot field cultivator pulled by Deere's biggest. The 36 row was impressive, but HEAVY, and if it skipped, there was a 90 foot bare spot with no crops. Now I'm back to doing it myself with a 'little' $15,000 12 row, pulled by a 33 year-old tractor and I'm doing a better job than the big monster did, and I'm happier. Jim

Try hiring people to do manual labor. There's a reason why its cheaper to have a huge investment in equipment and with no hired hands.

A farm where I hung out as kid was operated by Seth and his son Mickey and a full time hired hand. I expect that they were milking approx. 100 around 1965. Now the farm supports probably 25 families, milking approx. 1,200. It takes not only a lot more equipment but also a lot more cattle. Pretty much all of the equipment is equipped with plenty of lights now too, so the days are longer.

I was surprised to see the markers on that planter. I thought most of the bigger planters were all GPS-based. Are markers now optional equipment?

Last fall I had 5 guys who said they would help cut tobacco one Saturday. One 63 year old man was all that showed. The two of us did what we could. While take'n a water break at the truck and wait'n for what we had cut to wilt so we could get it up we turned on the radio. Unemployment numbers had just came out and they were talk'n about how many millions couldn't find work durring the news. Old Darrel looked at me and said "them million ain't look'n here are they?" I'd have laughed if it were not so sad.

Dave

Saw on the news where 80% of the work force do no manual labor. That is amazing!

The farmer across the the fence from Dad told him to buy his fish cause it was cheaper that going fishing and losing time on the farm. Dad took his two sons fishing about anytime not working and still remember the days setting a row boat at the local state park in Keosauqua, Ia. in the 50's. Also remember throwing 80 pound round bails for days.

That's humanity. If, and I'm not a doomsdayer but if the power grid collapsed, an emp took out our computerized tractors and cars. Many people would no longer be able to work. People wouldn't be able to get food and farmers could only supply it by manual labor. Cost of food would go up and pay to farm workers would go up. We would suddenly need people to farm and it'd be back to the 20s for humanity but remember even then we had a great depression with thousands out of work. Society is not perfect but you can't blame the unemployed. It is hard to find a job for a lot of people. You can't blame the accountant for wanting to spend his time looking for a new accounting job vs cutting tobacco--would you even hire a guy that showed up saying he was a tax accountant and didn't know what tobacco looked like? Would you hire a 23 year old single mother that worked as a receptionist? How about a car mechanic? Most employers want somebody that has done that job before many times and recently and if you haven't they say your wasting my time go away. Frankly a dollar store probably wouldn't hire a tax accountant as a cashier because he hasn't worked in retail or as a cashier since high school, 30 years ago and they have 30, 50, 60 or more other applicants wanting that $10 an hour. Frankly you can't blame the laid off farm worker in Nebraska for not moving to NC to cut tobacco. The cost of the move would set him back terribly. Frankly in humanity everyone is ------ that they have it tough right now. That just how we are. If we all saw the light and thought more about others than ourselves then we'd have to wonder if it's life or heaven. And don't think for a moment I don't fit right in with everyone else. I can't get past thinking I have it bad and why does it cost me so much to have things done when everyone is supposed to need money--even when I know I have it well. I recently had the opportunity to take a hard look at finances and I can't figure out how anyone manages to keep their head above water on minimum wage any more even living on the bare minimums. Oh, and no I'm not an accountant or a farmer.

As for people who say they'll do something and don't show--that's really sad and I have no respect for them either.

I remember getting called out of class when in the 8th grade in 1947. My dad was going to plant corn and needed me to use the 10-20 tractor pulling the spring tooth harrow and roller. They used mules and horses on the corn planters. Hal

I"ve been square baling hay on 20 acres for about 25 years. I sell to folks with 2-3 horses. Thats my market, and it works just fine.

I have planted 50 acres of corn in one day with a 7000, but it was a big day. We are out of farming now.

Amen to that. You lifted my spirit with the 36 row story. Theres a lot of truth that the bigger equipment isn't better. I would probably lose 10 acres of tillable ground if I had to try to use a 24 row on my rolling narrow fields.