Well, it just may happen

My grandpa passed away very unexpectedly a couple months ago and his farm just may be up for sale very soon as grandma no longer wants it. The family gets first dibs and Dad wants it but I think I have a very good chance at getting it instead. It's 190 acres with 120 tillable. 12 acres would be corn-beans-corn or corn-corn-corn rotation because it is bottom ground but the rest would be corn-oats-hay-hay-hay as it is highly erodable hillside.

So I was thinking.... Would it make more sense for me to go wheat-hay-hay-hay? Call me crazy but I think I can make more money concentrating on making small squares and large rounds of hay and straw than corn. The area is SW Wisconsin so there are a lot of small dairy farmers, at least for now. Madison is an hour and a half away and all those horse people need hay too.

The farm comes with a full line of equipment -mostly Deere - except a self propelled combine. My father has a full line of farm equipment -mostly Deere- 5 miles away including a Gleaner R50. My father-in-law has a partial line of equipment -mostly Deere- 6 miles away and my wife's grandfather has a partial line of equipment -mostly IH- 7 miles away. With that much support, I may have a shot in the dark...

Unless grandma gives me a break, I'm looking at 35000 dollar-a-year payments. That the scary part. Then there's the weather and the crapshoot of keeping the equipment going....

I know I'd still hafta get an off-the-farm job but I think I could possibly make a go of it - anyone else agree?

By the way, if anyone remembers me talking about a house I was gonna buy, it fell through. They wanted too much and I didn't know at the time how close grandma was coming to selling the farm. In retrospect, maybe not getting that house was a sign.

I know life doesn't get any easier from this point....

Indy said it exactly right, though - The longer you wait, the harder it is to get started.

First off, get a GOOD off-farm job. That will provide your essentials. Food, clothing, shelter, insurance....ect.

I farm almost 1400 acres (corn-soybeans-wheat-hay. NO LIVESTOCK!) We do it with 3 of us. Me, my wife, and my 26 year old son. We all three have "day jobs". The farm has been fairly profitable the last few years. It hasn't ALWAYS been that way.

For someone with 120 acres, I'd look for a "niche market". Horse hay is a good one, but it's a sharp learning curve.

I would PLAN ON not turning a profit for a few years. It'll take a while to get yourself established. Borrow equipment, trade labor for use of equipment. Do anything to keep cost down untill you HAVE to have certain things.

Best of luck. Remember, there are a number of knowledgable folks on here that will be willing to lend a helping hand, or at the very least, lend moral support. GO FOR IT! The longer you wait, the tougher it is to get moving. John

I guess this is the reason why you are one of my favorite guys here on this board. You always give good, solid and sound advice.

Wouldn't it be nice that everyone in this world could have the opportunity to live the farming life at least once? I think this would be a better world if this were so.

Can't tell ya how I'm pullin' for this young man.

I've got a neighbor that lives just over the ridge from me a ways, who went to school with my daughter. This young man is doing the cattle thing part time, drives a cement truck in the daytime and just absolutely works his guts out.

Even though he's a third my age, he is one of the tallest standing men I've ever met. And it is all because he was raised country!

Allan