(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

What keeps you farming?

F

FRanch

Member
This thought has been popping into my head a lot recently. For the guys like me who farm as a hobby, what keeps you going? We put in long hours at work, then come home and do it all over again.

For me there are two reasons. First is I like working the land. My great-grandfather cleared the land our farm is on and I feel like I owe it to him to keep going. Nobody else in my family is even remotely interested in farming & taking on the hard work. My great-grandfather is the one who really put in the work in the 30's-40's. He owned an Allis-Chalmers dealership and used AC equipment up until the 60's when he retired. My grandpa loves to farm but never really took it up until I became interested, now we have a full operation going.

Second is I love the equipment (most of the time). I like running and working on the equipment. The engineering that goes into farm equipment is fascinating to watch, especially when everything is working right :)

Anyway, just curious what keeps others going as farming is not for the faint of heart and it is becoming harder and harder to make any real money at it, aside from commercial guys. I have a good day job that pays my bills and anything I make off of farming is just a bonus to buy more equipment!
 
Just the love of farming and using the old equipment is why I ever did hobby farming and now that I am retired I can put in as much time as I want. I quit selling hay so its just my regular animals and
occasional pig along with some corn and a few bales of hay and it uses most of the equipment I own. I find jobs to do with all 12 of the old Farmalls I own and its a fair amount of work just keeping up with
them. There is something about being out in a field with one of the old tractors and an implement that beats anything I can think of doing inside. I grew up on a little dairy farm in the 60's so I tell people
I'm just living my childhood again and spending my kids inheritance. At 67 years old I can still load hay and shovel corn and not be off to the doctor for a heart attack afterwards.
 
Never did , tried part time, failed miserably.
Was warned it was a career of economic slavery to be a dairy farmer.
God bless you guys that can do it
 
A whole lot of what others have said about health, love of outdoors & old equipment, keeping up what those before us worked so hard for. Then on the practical side, the property taxes would be 30X to 40X higher if not in ag use!
 
(quoted from post at 15:00:16 09/03/21) Never did , tried part time, failed miserably.
[b:a4bf8ae42e]Was warned it was a career of economic slavery to be a dairy farmer. [/b:a4bf8ae42e]
God bless you guys that can do it
Click to expand...

My neighbor down road used to run a decent sized dairy operation in the 80's. Unbelievably hard work for the little amount you get in return. I guess the trade-off is you can walk off your back porch and go to work.

Anyway, he went to congress in the 90's after a local bottling plant filed for bankruptcy. They sold all of the milk they got from the dairy's the month before and never wrote them a check. They knew bankruptcy was imminent yet still took the milk out of the small farmers hands. That put 20 dairy farms out of operation instantly. It's no wonder small dairy's are all but gone.
 
Haven't run out of money yet. Seriously,
after 30+ years of working for money now I
do what I want. Blessed to be able to do
so. I never did understand co-workers who
said they would never retire because they
didn't know what they would do.
 
I have been asking myself that for a while now. I have concluded that its just what I do, what I
grew up doing and what I'll probably keep doing till I can't anymore. Lucky for me I have a good
pension along with Social Security so I can maintain my life style with money left over to afford to
keep playing farmer. Actually when I add it all up at tax time I do make just a little money at it
but not much.
 
It's how i made my living. I had no preconceived notions, i just put profit as my main objective and it never failed. No tilling was my first big change.
It kept the fuel truck, tireman and the repair guy away from my place thru out my career. figured out what i could hire done, cheaper then i could do it
myself, was the next big step. Then the big one, working with mother nature instead of fighting with her. Then cover crops and earthworms, which meant a big
change in the way i looked at fertilizer. That led to me making sure all my topsoil stayed on my farm, no matter what mother nature tossed at me. Now i'm
reaping the benefits. Retirement with a good renter who thinks like me and share renting, so everyone shares in the expenses and the profits. I interviewed
23 guys who wanted to farm my ground, another 50 were turned away before the interview.
 
I love every minute of it. I love raising livestock and crops. I
love the seasons and each change that comes with it. I love
working with and working on my machines. I have no desire to
hunt, fish or camp or do any of the things most want to do.
This is my free time and what I enjoy so it's not work. I
probably spend about what a real enthusiastic
hunter/fisherman would spend on their hobby, but I have at
least the potential for profit. I am doing what I want to do when
I retire and enjoying every minute of it.
 
What keeps me farming? I dont want to go get a job. Been
dairy farming since I turned 20, and will be 61 in a few
months. But its the changing rules that will probably bring my
dairy career to a end, not health or inability to turn a dollar. If I
do quit dairy, I will grow crops and maybe keep some beef
cows. But what keeps me farming most of all, I can.
 
I dont do it for a living anymore but I just do it on a much
smaller scale then before because I love it and working with
my family. Up till 2 1/2 years ago we milked 60 cows with a
robot milker. Our old retrofit barn wasnt working out that
well,alleys were too narrow , barn was just too narrow at 48 to
get modern day results out of it. Building a new modern barn
was out of my reach so we stopped while it was a good time
to and didnt leave it till it was too late. I went back to school to
become an electrician and enjoy that work very much. I enjoy
putting up crops and looking after 40 beef cattle and farming
my families land now more than ever as the farms economic
strangle hold that was on us before is all gone now.
 
I grew up on a 49 JD A and an 52 8N Ford.
Still have the Ford I use all the time.
Have a 41 JD H I garden with.
Also have a 51 VAC Case I use.
And a 2004 Kubota 5030.
Son farms and has the big tractors and equipment.
Nothing like being out in the air on a good tractor.
Richard in NW SC
 
I love farming. It sure is challenging as the soil here does not compare to the deep loamy ground of the Midwest. Also, this
area has been dying economically for decades now. There are service sector jobs that are basically no win careers. I would have
loved to have been a teacher but I don't think I could have put up with 30 kids that wanted to be anyplace but in a classroom.
 
I think i do it for the exercise. I'll soon be 78 years old and throw 9 to 10,000 square bales a year (actually twice a year). If i didn't hay the land what would i do with it? Mow it twice a year? Around here in s.w. Pa land grows up in trees in just a few
years. I'm too old for raising timber. Have to admit that fighting the weather and old equipment upkeep makes retirement look attractive. Think I'll retire when i hit 92.
 
I did not get involved with any sort of farm work until about 16. But I was always interested in all aspects
of it. Especially equipment. The more I learned, the more fascinating everything became. I settled in on
growing and baling hay for horses. It is challenging to say the least. But we can put up top quality hay
when the weather cooperates. Rained on hay and equipment break downs are discouraging but
success keeps us going. I especially like farm work with family helping. Teamwork is the best part of it
after all.
cvphoto99902.jpg


cvphoto99903.jpg


cvphoto99904.jpg


cvphoto99905.jpg
 
Seems like farming is a hard thing to shake once its your life. When we sold ours in 1969 I could tell Dad missed the farming part of it - didn't miss the debt part of it or having 2 outside the farm jobs to
pay the bills.
 
Some guys go boating, some take trips, golf, bowl etc etc etc. Some guys like to go to the casino...I tell them the old joke about if you REALLY want to gamble, try farming.

Taking care of my 40ish momma cows, calves, chickens and such is what I do. Make a little money while I'm at it. It's funny, got 3 siblings, we all grew up on a small farm with Dad working in town, I'm the only one it stuck with. And no, my farm is not the home place, it got sold to settle the estate...too many yuppies around there anymore anyway.

Will say I've slowed down, having a hard time getting everything done (it never all gets done anyway) while working the town job and the daily 2.5 hour commute.

But gonna retire from the town job next spring, I'll still have plenty to do, just won't be as rushed.

Fred
 
Free hats and all the money! On a more serious note Ive
been pushed almost to the edge a few times but what else am
I going to do. Row crop I could take it or leave but I love
cattle. Hopefully even if he doesnt want to do it I can use it to
instill a good work ethic in my two year old son in years to
come and he loves to feed the cows and hes running out
room on his carpet farming operation.
 
Three generations of my family were farmers. That family tradition stopped with me. Dad would say he never made money farming. He must have made some,
we always had good clothes, and plenty of food. Dad would buy a new Oldsmobile every few years. Like my Dad, if you grew up farming it stays with you.
Stan
 
just because it like it. my name means tiller of the soil. nobody watching your back telling you how and what and when to do stuff. can
have a beer any time of the day when hot. and at the end of the day look at what you have accomplished. its a lot of work for the little pay
at the end. my old tractors dont have cabs either its just dust sweat and beer. only the massey 850 combine has a cab plus a. c. dont work
either so there goes more sweat on the hot days and itch all night from the dust it just gets right into your skin and shower and shower
still dont help. i stay itchy for a couple weeks after harvest. doing this for years and any young guy that comes even my son is gone in 1/2
a day. i rode around with dad on his w6 since i could walk, and never once swore at him or give him hell like these young people do, just no
respect at all and i told him also i will never ask for your help anymore. if you dont feel like your interested in helping then dont even
come. thats my view and i dont need no rockin chair.
 
Farming is all I ever wanted to do. I started milking cows a few weeks after getting married and life was great. Worked every day with my
wife and she was there to raise our three children. My children learned a great work ethic that will serve them the rest of their lives
even though they have decided not to farm. We milked for 20 years and now have beef and crops. I also do repair work as well as buying
and selling some equipment on the side.Right now I am struggling some with doing everything alone as the children are gone and my wife is
having some health issues. After being my own boss for so long I doubt I could work for anyone else. Tom
 
The love of being out in the wide open spaces. Every since I was old enough to remember when dad left the breakfast table it was come son lets go. Riding on the WD, the tool box on the fender was a big seat
for me. I would ride with him all day and was having fun. Hearing that engine all day was music to my little ears. Then got a M and that was better yet. Very interesting times then. Still have cows and pushing
80. Wife says quit, but can't set in house. Have no hobbies. Not having no farm sale. My kids will have to do that when I am gone.
 
Not dead yet. Seriously, I always wanted to farm and spent my whole life working on farms in some capacity, as a boy working for a
neighbor who I helped part time till they sold out, helping a couple friends nights and weekends and finally getting into farming
for myself part time while I worked off-farm full time jobs. I did some small-scale vegetable growing for a few years along with
hay , which is what I settled on, producing square baled hay to sell. I was able to buy some land from the farm I worked at as a
boy , built a pole barn for hay/equipment and kept plugging away with the goal of retiring and having my farm to keep busy.
Unfortunately a couple years short of retiring I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and had to retire early and scale back on my
haying but still have done some the last 2 years as I fight the cancer. Many neighbors and friends are surprised I am still able to
do anything but with Gods help I am still at it.
 
so i am doing it backwards. i do the hot first then cold. even that hot water feels good and look like a lobster after, all red.
 
Henry Ford hated farming because of the drudgery. Imagine that coming from someone who later invented the continuously moving
assembly line. I have loved farming from the time I can remember. My brother (4 years younger) hated it. To each his own, I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
If you had to choose one Oliver Super 55 , Farmall Super A, Nuffield 4/65
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
Janicholson
Janicholson
Bruce from Can.
Tractor and Farm talk
Replies
8
Views
1K
SweetFeet
SweetFeet
paulsamwel
Random childhood memory
Replies
10
Views
378
CLYDE MASON
C
P
Tell me about "the 80's"
2 3
Replies
44
Views
3K
EFV
E
G
Massy Harris 22 questions on what it can do
Replies
0
Views
188
Griffthefarmer
G
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

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.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top