Farmers getting OLD

[furrowtickler]

If Mr Stanford thinks his "kids" will be taking over the farm at ages 43 and 44 - well that's the problem in itself. Those "kids" will have to farm till they are 90 to be able to retire.
I agree with bucket.

[grassfarmer]

I see this all around me - a totally unsustainable agriculture. Old or middle aged guys with 20 or 40 or 60 quarters riding around in big machinery, no animals, dead soil. Problem is you are not creating wealth, just circulating money around between operating loans, chemical companies, seed companies, machinery companies and grain companies.

I know some young folks that are a model to me of the future. Direct marketing, stacking enterprises on a relatively small rented landbase. They are creating wealth by their labor and knowledge - it's a basic component of holistic management that the only "free" inputs are solar, water and soil activity. That is the only way to create new wealth so that is what you should built your operation around. These guys are making real money relative to their assets - something that most farmers with established land bases have got sloppy at. It's why the future always belongs to the young and upcoming - never more so than in agriculture now.

I can see freewheat going the same way and see an irony that although he appears to be "failing" among his big grain farmer peers, failing in an unsustainable system might be a good thing if it pushes him into being a success in a more sustainable model.

[Partners]

We all know Mega Farms mean Mega Debt..most of the time..

Banker nominated them because that means more $$$ for the bank..Go hard..borrow some more money..Interest rates will never go up..

[freewheat]

grass, I am "failing" cuz I was not set up like the others around me, along with the brutal weather! If dad was here, I am pretty sure I would be singing a totally different tune. But alas we are all dealt a hand. Some are dealt a full house, some a royal flush, and some got the jokers of many decks...

[sumdumguy]

A little luck and a lot of sweat sure helped a lot of guys around us and we never forget to give thanx to the lowly lentil.

[Braveheart]

Desiderata line, "if you compare yourself to others, you will either become vain or bitter", is especially true for farming. We can seldom really know other people's business. What is sustainable for one farming operation may not be for another. There are a lot of well run farms these days that don't stack enterprises, diversify little but just crank out dollars. There are no doubt some that appear to have the world by the tail but are sinking in debt. The different styles, management, etc, make this business interesting.

I'm 59 years old and certainly have plans to advance farm succession faster than the farmer at the top of the post. IMO he's holding his sons back too long. But that's just my opinion. I don't know him or his sons. I hope their communication and planning has mutual agreement though.

[ajl]

Would be nice to get 50 basis point rise interest rates to see how good the OYF's really are. Don't all of these guys go broke? 50 basis point rise would open a lot of opportunity up for others and eliminate farm labor problems all at once. In the 80's there was all sorts of opportunities for those who did not bury themselves in debt. Today there are zero opportunities.

[seabass]

Personally I would decline any nomination to be OYF. Seems to be bad luck for a lot of them. Farmers shud nominate there own and determine the winner. After all who knows best how to be successful in this business.

[farmaholic]

".....stacking enterprises on a relatively small rented landbase."

Here is where I wish these guys could have their own landbase. I would hate to be at the mercy of a landlord. grassfarmer, you should know the perils of this with your ancestry.

By the way my balance sheet has net worth increasing, without the increase in owned land prices. We are "growing"!

[farmaholic]

Braveheart, your desiderata quote hits the nail right on the head. From time to time I still suffer from that.