hows your neibourhood

[Braveheart]

Farmaholic, the thing about CEOs etc is that like many of us, their day starts at 5 am or earlier, and ends long after most have gone home. Barely time to eat burgers let alone flip them.

Whether CEOs or our neighbour, it's too easy to look across the fence and judge. We can never really know what's going on with someone else.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I've worked off the farm most of the time since grade 11. As far as I know everyone younger than 70 around here works off the farm. Which makes for a much different landscape, probably more quarter section farms than all others put together.

We can complain all we want about the affordability of farming, but by subsidizing it with off farm income, we are part of the problem. land prices wouldn't be where they are without it. If none of us worked off farm, we could afford land with farming income alone since land would be so much cheaper.

Everyone has a different reason, I needed the income to buy land. Most want the income to buy shiny machinery. Some want the lifestyle the extra income provides. And many its just a necessity.

Back when I was 25, the unlimited hours of an off farm job dwarfed the farm income and bought lots of land. Went back to work in recent years after growing the farm substantially, and discovered that the off farm income isn't worth the time it takes, and doesn't contribute much to the bottom line. Land went up many times more than wages did in the mean time. Back to mostly farming again now.

[blackpowder]

I only worked away sporadically. Shouldve done and bought own land back then but........
Most farms made easier back then with one partner making household living off farm.
Have mostly farmed alone.
Today I'm probably out of touch with younger gen.
Here, multigenerational farms mostly. Smaller ish guys second income maybe, paycheck if so.
Bigger ish, off farm businesses mostly or nothing, some wives working off. Heck as long as everyone contributes. Wives drive navigators.
As farms get bigger the cost of living per acre gets smaller. Also, a winters wages logging or pulling pipe might go a long way towards modest living but wouldnt pay the seed bill. You have to be very organized with a support team to go to camp and farm. I always said that for some, 1/3 of their wages went towards missed opportunities. If not more.

[Partners]

The people that I graduated with.The ones that went farming are still farming..Guess no one wants to be the first to retire..
The other non farmers are all retired with money being a non issue for them..they travel..golf..spend lots of time with grand kids..No worries about the weather or the shitty grain prices..