who's gonna take over the farm???

Was just on facebook and the neighbor kid was whining about being unemployed.
he's got 3 brothers. His dad is one of the biggest farmers in the area and hires a guy to help him because one boy moved out and the other 2 just do enough to pay room and board. Mom and dad are in their 60's and noone to take over. How is it with you folks taht do it for a living?

Dave

Neither of the boys wanted to keep milking cows. Both went and got jobs,so I sold the dairy herd. Then,before my Dad passed away,he said something to my oldest son that I kinda wish he hadn't said. Said he always thought he would take over the farm some day. So.....now he wants it,but still doesn't want to milk. So,I'm pretty much stuck here. He has a couple of beef cows of his own here,but he works an hour away and works 10 hours a day,so he's gone for 12 hours a day. I suppose I'm gonna have to figure something out so he can quit his job and farm when I can get my rocking chair money from the gubmint.

Alot of families are like that ,the kids dont want to do anything and the parents let them get away with it.When the old folks keel over, the kids will fight over the money and then throw it away on junk.

Just me and the wife here. she has 4 kids from a previous marriage that she sees when they want something. Inheritance laws are a little screwy here so If she kicks off, the kids get half of what she has off the top. With me being American and not registered as a german citizen, everything is in her name. If I kick off and she is alive, she gets what I have. If she kicks off first, and her kids are in line for anything, I'll sell the animals, burn the place, and come back home.

I consider myself lucky as our two youngest sons are getting ready to take over here. Oldest son never had any intrest in farming. Middle son has the wholesale division of a meat business which has 3 retail outlets and serves other butcher shops and restraunts. This provides a good market for their beef and lambs. Total of 300ac crop land.

well im 20 and having earn the farm the hard way. Wish I had the opppurtunity to take over a family farm. Hopefully one day I'll have something to hand down. Right now just trying to figure out where Im headed and how to get there! Sure makes you appreciate what you got when u have to work for what you got but now and then its nice to have someone to help you along!

rrlund I've seen so much of that it's not funny maybe you should fold everything up sell out and move to the Bahamas.

How old is this oldest son living at home? How much does he pay in rent and food and utilities?
Does he pay all his expenses, car, insurance, vacations, repairs?

It may be too late for most folks, farming is hard work and livestock especially has been little more than minimum wage and no government safety net. Both of my sons have no interest in trying to make a living raising beef. My oldest is working on his masters degree and the youngest should graduate with a teaching degree next spring. The farm has been in the family well over 100 years and I have no intention of selling but I will rent it out when can no longer take care of the cows.

Farmers are very independent. Many worked hard all of their life and have difficulty leaving something that has become their way of life. Those in their 70's and 80's still farming today may be the hardest to "pry" loose inorder to "turn over the reins". They started farming in a different time. Much of the work was done by hand. They had many hardships - dirt roads, cutting fire wood, shoveling snow, digging in tile, farming with horses, etc. Farming runs deep in their bones and to quit might just mark their death. My dad was still farming at 86. He could climb bins and shovel corn at a pace with many 50 year olds. He couldn't quit. He knew that farming kept him active and heathly physically. He knew that the daily decision making kept his brain functioning properly. Honestly he was strong both mentally and physically when he died. He would request new products such as herbicides from the farm supply center. Salesmen later told me after his death that he often requested products they hadn't even started using yet. Farmers being self employed can continue working well into their upper years. I learned from dad that when you get old one of the greatest blessings is being able to "DO WHAT YOU WANT EVEN IF IT IS WORK!!!" Dad was going to farm this past year, but had dealt with colon cancer for 3 years. He finally knew he had to quit. One day he said he was going to need "help" farming. Two weeks later he said mom and I are going to rent it to you. Two weeks later they sold it to me. It was hard for him to give up. Sometimes it takes death to plan for changes. Even though everything worked out, I would recommend everyone think about farm transition. Farmers love their land and way of life. We all should be doing farm transition planning for something which has been so valuable to our life and something we want to keep in the family. At age 56, I do understand dad's resistance for "turning over the reins". I guess I want to farm until age 86 too.

Its' hard to take over a farm when there is jobs in town that pay so good. I bought my farm about 8 years ago, have since bought a second, so I quit in town. A lot harder to make ends meet, but I we are happier. Have a older brother who has a dairy, and a younger brother that took over the home farm.
Kevin

I am 27 and I'm trying to build a farm from the ground up. sure wish I could inherit a farm. But Ill get there eventually hopefully my children will inherit a working farm. I have 3 kids all very young but seem to have an interest in it so far.

I suspect that if you look at a lot of those farms where 'nobody' wants to take over... or 'work' you will find a farm not making any money and an autocrat in charge that will not change...
If you can't make a living and nothing is going to change... you might just as well go to town and get a job.
I suspect there's a lot more situations like this than many people admit or perhaps even realize.

I know I can think of several myself who were 'too lazy' to farm... but they're doing quite well for themselves running equally challenging businesses.


Rod

Well , the one who moved out and is unemployed is on his own. The other two need to be moved out and the money saved by not supporting them would pay another hired hand which would make two hired that would do the work of three relatives. Problem solved until owner dies. Then sell the farm and procedes will keep surviving spouse pretty comfortably. We had the opposite problem. Two of the 4 boys wanted to continue Dad,s farm and get larger too. Dad said you buy all the machinery at face value and rent the land and if you think you can make it under those conditions then go for it. Basically start from scratch like he did or don't do it. Pretty clear he didn't want us farming.

Well, I'm 68 years old and have a 114 acre farm that has been in my family since l876. IN 2011 my son and son in law are taking over the farming while also working off the farm full time. My son is a AG. Engineer and son in law is a surveyor, we'll see how they make out and if they can get along. Wish me luck.

I love my son dearly but Im pretty sure he's not really interested in being a farmer. My mom and dad's place I hope to leave to him intact. Then its up to him to sell, farm, keep, rent, subdivide, whatever he wants to do. As to my place farm, I figure it will be swallowed up into a larger farm next door or be broken up into smaller farms by the Mennonites. I'm figuring on being here doing what Im doing for another 43 years. Then maybe I'll think about retiring. Dad was 85 when he died last winter, and he was farming until his last day.

That"s how we started in "72- no family farm to take over after voluntary military and college- nor the chance to take over an existing operating farm. Been a struggle, but well worth it. Notice that I said "we". My wife was from town, guess she didn"t know what she was getting into. Meeting people over the years, talking about "our" farm, they always asked if I farmed with a brother, assuming he was the other half of we. None of our six kids care to farm fulltime, but two are ag mechanics, two others live on their acreages on the farm, for the rural advantages. I"ve seen too many Dads force a kid to farm, and they hate it. Better to just offer the opportunity- but the kids decide what they want to be. Good luck on your farm- gotta have that "I will never quit" attitude, (got me through the paratroopers and farming)and roll with the punches. Inheriting is fine, but you"ll have more appreciation for earning yours.

Well hopefully i do. Im mid 20's wotking on the farmily farm. Must be sumthing wrong with me when you look around our local area most my age have left for the big smoke and dont think they will be back. I was told two things when i left school

1 Get a trade so you have sumthing to fall back on if things dont work out down the track. (Which didnt happen to much dirt under my finger nails)

2 You carnt come straight home go and work some where else.

I made the decision to come back home and Knew i wouldnt be on the same money as where i had been but thats not every thing at lest i get to decide what i have to do for the day or if im gunna take it off. So we will see what happens down track

We have only one child, a greedy daughter who
wants everything now, and would steal us blind if
she could. Everytime she visits she talks her
mom out of something else. If I would go first
the wife would leave everything to her! If the
wife goes first, i"d sign everything over to the
salvation army before i"d leave the daughter
anything.
(Daughter and husband make $99500 before taxes
but are always "Broke", because all they do is
spend...don"t know how to manage money..get a
new car for one or the other every other year)

He's 29 and doesn't live here. He lives a half mile north. The other boy lives in town just a mile east of me. We don't have any kids living here anymore. Just the wife and me. Oh yea,and the dog.

greygoat , that is really a sad situation. Makes me appreciate my grown son and daughter and their families all the more. I have an older brother , though, that in his 30,s-40,s would have done the same as you are saying of your daughter , though. He grew out of it but too much "dammage' was done. Hope maybe it won't be too late for you and your daughter someday.

I'm 31, had to start with nothing too. I still have some of it left! I was too young when Grandpa passed away and Dad didn't take me seriously when I said I was gonna farm. Dad had a good off farm job and wasn't going to take over the farm even though he does love it. Started senior year in high school with a Farmall H and 10 acres. Our first child is due in April and I hope to one day be able to leave it to him/her. I hope they share my love for the farm but I won't force it on them. I too wish I could inherit some land, around here it is really hard to come by. Most of it goes to developers who have deeper pockets. I have the equipment (finally) now I just need more acres so my "day job" doesn't have to support my farming habit!!!

Oldest son 24 is home with me on the dairy full time , and lives on the heifer farm. Other two sons 20 year old works at a farm repair shop , and 17 year old in last year of high school. Neither wants to commit to much of anything just yet, so I guess we will wait and see. Biggest hang up they have is that age old 'cows have to be milked twice a day thing.

I'm 26 and did inherit part of the farm (1/5 of it) when my grandma died 8 years ago. It was willed to my 4 brothers and myself, even though my parents still farm it and milk the cows.

My dad still runs the farm, and I'm there just about every weekend during the spring/summer/fall months and try to go out a couple times a month during the winter. I fix most of the equipment myself, as my day job is a machinist. The hame farm has been in the family for well over 150 years, but unfortunately it's years are numbered. I'm the only one who wants to farm, and the city is pushing against us, and all around us.

I do however have intentions of buying the farm and 80 acres where I currently live, 13 or so miles from home. My neighbor who still owns the barn and land raises beef in 2 barns, and he's in his late 70's. Hoping we can get our other finances cleaned up enough so when the day comes, we can make an honest go of it and not have to worry about another mortgage.

Can only hope that my kids will have an interest. So far I've only got my 6 month old son, but hope that he takes a shine to it like I did.

Donovan from Wisconsin

It's not always the work. I farmed with my
dad for seven years. We could never agree on anything.

I found out just a few months ago that a friend's farm is the oldest continually running family farm in the country. I asked him if that was in itself a load on his back and he said that it was. He is not real optimistic about being able to keep it going.

I have three sons and a daughter. The oldest son is an investment manager. The second has a good job at JD factory, engineer. The youngest son is working part time and does most of the day to day hard labor on the farms. The daughter lives in St. Louis she has no interest in the farm. We have covered her interest with life insurance. The sons work together very well. The oldest does the books and buys all of the imputs, the middle son likes to keep everything working and the youngest is the official grunt (his words)he loves the livestock.

So far it is working well. The daughters-in-law have been supportive too. They all are farm girls. My wife and I have given them all a parcel of ground that they have their homes on. They all know that there is not enough income for three families to make a living. It helps that there are twenty seven years between the oldest and the youngest(two wives). The older two will be retiring when the younger one hits his prime. That is their plan: the older two to retire with off farm retirements and farm/play. The youngest to be able to buy them out as they age. They have worked out the details. I not that smart. LOL