Young Farmer Complainers

1. You will live forever.
2. You knew it all when you were young.
3. You never made a mistake.
4. You worked harder for what you have than anyone else.
5. You think what you know now you knew when you were young.

Dream on. I am 43, and if everyone around here has those same thoughts of the young farmers, I guess we will be starving soon.
I have kids that help me farm, they aren't dumb. They aren't stupid. They are young. I bet you OLD farmers that have all the answers had your butt's wiped once or twice.

Carry on.

Amen to that!!! We all were young and dumb once, some of us forget that tho. I'm guilty from time to time myself.

1. You will live forever. - No, they know better, and are wondering who's going to carry the torch.
2. You knew it all when you were young. - No, they can't remember that far back! LOL But at least they
knew enough to appreciate it when someone helped them out and not burn (or break) bridges!
3. You never made a mistake. - Sure they did, that's how they got smart. They learned from the ones they made, and the ones others made.
4. You worked harder for what you have than anyone else. - That may be true, or maybe they've just been working at it longer so it feels that way.
5. You think what you know now you knew when you were young. - see #2

Ever notice that people now a days read or hear a story about someone else and internalize it like they think its directed at them?

JDSeller posted about one particular person, and although it did bloom
into some "young farmer" conversations, it was about one individual.

Hopefully I won't make so many mistakes that I have to defend those of others.

I really have no dog on either side of this fight.
I'm not much older than you are, but I'm not a farmer.
I haven't truly farmed since I was a teenager, but I think I'll turn my 20 acres
into a hobby farm if I ever get to retire and kick the BTO off!

Dalet: I want to hear what you have to say when one of the kids that help you farm stabs you in the back. I wrote below about ONE individual that got me. He was just then latest one to do so. I have helped many over the years get started or to just survive. I will more than likely help some one else down the road after the current bad deal has time to fade.

As for making mistakes. Well I still do make more than my fair share. I have never deliberately taken advantage of someone that helped me do something. Have I PO people off and not realized it?? YES. That is all part of growing up.

As for the younger generation of farmers. There are some that are still starting out old school like many of us have done. These will more than likely make it someday. The ones that are starting out in the big setup that their Dad/Uncle/Grand dad owns may not make it either. It is easier to make bigger mistakes with other people's money and assets. It is better to make little ones while you are just starting out.

As for the working harder than they do today. I think we all are not working as hard as we used too. The whole country's standard of living is much higher. I don't see many doing the long hard work I did when I started out on my own. I was going to night school, farming and working a job. 3-4 hours of sleep was normal for a few years. This was kind of the way it worked back then. Now it is not that way. I don't see many of the younger generation doing this.

Also the mechanization of farming is still changing how many farmers there will be making a living farming.

I am not sure we will end up better off. Good old hard work has it place. Is having computer controlled equipment do the work better than several farmers doing that "honest' day of work??? I don't think it will be.

This goes back to a reply I left on a similar topic. Its like saying only young people don't know how to drive. I run into just as many 65 year olds who don't use turn signals as I do 20 year olds.

There are always young and foolish, and old and foolish, people.

There are always young and productive, and old and productive, people.

It's fun to contrast the differences, but in the end, we are surrounded by some productive good, and some foolish and dumb people of all ages.

It shouldn't be about age, so much as foolish & dumb folk.
Now, young folk don't have experience to fall back on, so they tend to look a little more foolish, but that is just the natural learning curve.

I've enjoyed JDSeller's stories around here, hope he continues -I assume that is what this thread is about. My only real fault with him would be that he says he's giving up on young folk. That is wrong, there are a lot of good ones out there, just because of running into a couple of the dumb and foolish ones, doesn't mean it's not worth to continue looking for the many good one's that are out there.

I suspect very little of this has changed over the generations? Only we do, as we grow a bit older.

--->Paul

Around here I'm more afraid of yuppies that drive Mercedes and BMW's than I am afraid of young drivers. Somehow they think that they don't have to obey the traffic laws.

Even knew one that parked the car in the garage @ 120 degree temps and left it idle until it overheated and seized the engine - then sued the dealer and Mercedes. I had a friend on the jury - he lost!!!!!

Dalet, you pretty much summed up the attitude many older farmers had when I started. There were also many that helped me out in numerous ways, often quietly and behind the scene so to speak. Like not buying a piece of equipment they knew I wanted to get.
JDseller went out of his way to help this young farmer. Even let him charge on his farm supply account if I remember correctly from the origional post. My own parents never let me do that nor did they ever co-sign a loan for me. I would never expected them to either.

well said.....

Or as Paul Harvey used to say,so soon old,so late smart.

Dont forget the old adage--------When I was 18 I was astounded at what the older people didn't know . When I was 40 I was astounded at how much they had learned.

The older we get, the better we were.

Been that way forever. . .

do you REALLY want to know where this comes from ?HONESTLY? It comes quite simply from, lots of times,young acting like they know it all! try this,honestly im being serious here. That "old guy" offers you advice ,try THANKING him instead of arguing with him. Right, wrong, dumbest thing you ever heard,doesnt matter.Simply thank him and go your way.what hes telling you probably worked for him for 70 years. and it must have worked or he wouldnt still be around. Doesnt mean you have to "DO" it,but it surely doesnt hurt to show some respect. I hear all the time,some young person saying "your disrespecting me". they dont know you got earn respect,its a not something you automatically get. Its sort of funny,I never had one single problem with those so called "old timers",big time operators,whatever. Ive been in the field broke down a few times,baling hay or trying to get a crop in,looked up and one of those old guys would be pulling in the gate with his equipment and crew to help you finish. He might rant and rave about if you had done this or that you wouldnt have these problems. He might even cuss you out for not doing like he told you, but all the time he's helping. You could run him off,or you could just say thank you when he offers his hand,buy him and his wife dinner if you see them out. its funny and hard to understand sometimes, but the old guys do respect the young folks coming up trying to farm,thats why we leave our farms to our kids or grandkids. But very few of us grew up like young folks did now days. most of us if we talked to our parents like young folks do nowdays would have been literally backhanded accross the room ,MY dad would have simply hit you between the eyes with a single tree, and walked away. We grew up in a time of real NIEGHBORS and we did things different,you cannot imagine HOW different.Did we like all those neighbors,NO WAY, but they were still nieghbors.in a lot of ways thats gone now.and folks dont even know whos living next door. think about this before you start ragging on one of those old guys at the coffee shop next time,five minutes of your time listening to the same story for the 20th time,doesnt hurt you. Might help you out though in the middle of the night sometimes,when your combine breaks and that old guy tells you to come get his. Might just save your cattle when he tells you he has some old hay you can have. OF course you COULD argue with him,get mad when he tells you how to operate,fight and fuss and holler because hes "disrespecting you" also.. maybe he'll respect you simply because you can holler louder,never can tell...

Arthur Godfrey was saying that 60 years ago.

Paul Harvey plagiarized it like he did everything else.

Perhaps the worst trait of all concerning our future young farmers is that they never had to walk up hill to school and back up hill all the way home from school, both ways, like my grand parents did. What a shame. Danged shame these young kids today, they will never amount to...what my grand parents were.

Mark

(quoted from post at 23:50:47 09/24/12) Perhaps the worst trait of all concerning our future young farmers is that they never had to walk up hill to school and back up hill all the way home from school, both ways, like my grand parents did. What a shame. Danged shame these young kids today, they will never amount to...what my grand parents were.

Mark

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ep, I tried to voice my young opinion and I got poofed, That sure does explain alot about everything...dont it??

Dalet,
I'm sorry.

(quoted from post at 03:04:51 09/25/12) Dalet,
I'm sorry.

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Sorry for what?

jac in Ok, I feel ya, but...I'm 54, so I'm an "old timer" but I live in a community of "really old timers" who also claim to have grown up in the time of "real neighbors"...but who are now in their old age as tight as a frogs sphincter. The often speak wistfully of how their kids rode horseback all over the countryside, yet pitch a fit when kids ride along the treeline across the backside of their property from one place to another. Who'll put a plastic bag blown loose across their place under a rock on your porch like its some kind of evidence while their dog runs free all over the countryside getting into trash. who complains about leaves blowing off your tree into their front yard, but never lifts a finger/says a word when their tree falls and wipes out 30 foot of 4 board fence. Sad fact- most of the "old-old-timers" flat out won't let anyone else live the way they did back in the day, much less help them to do it. I've lived in this community for over 30 years, had kids that were sports stars, prom and homecoming queens (so they ain't bad youn-uns)- but to the folks around here who are MY parents age we're still the new folks and kept at arm's legnth. By the way- I grew up 20 miles away, next high school over- so it's not like we're from another planet. Thank God for the youngsters 50 and younger that are into working in the dirt and woods or we'd be miserable! As it is...we just try to be polite and helpful, and wait for them to pass! Old don't nean neighborly!