Life on the farm … Is it worth it?

[HillbillyWillie]

Reality check … we're all a bunch of nasty, cranky grain farmers. We hate the government, we hate the grain companies, we hate the railroads, we hate immigrants … ffs we even hate dairy farmers who are fortunate enough to get some help from government.
We're carrying too much hatred, too much debt, too much risk and we're not getting paid fairly for the grain we produce.
The whole world is conspiring against us, including turdo, ottawa, china, the united states, europe, chemical companies, seed companies, fertilizer companies, equipment manufacturers, the media, vegetarians, environmentalists, consumers, policy makers and climate change scientists. Even that naive and annoying 16-year-old girl from Sweden has become the target of our hatred.
Any way you dice it, it looks like we are screwed. So here's a solution. If you don't like your situation and its causing you too much stress, then sell out and let some one else deal with the misery. Most of us are sitting on hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars worth of real estate. If its so phucking bad in agriculture, then sell your land, get a job and live like the rest of the country — with a house, a mortgage, a vehicle or two, a paycheck once or twice a month, weekends off and no job security.
When I started farming, I don't remember any guarantees that everything would be perfect.
Being a happy hillbilly ain't easy nowadays. But being a miserable hillbilly for the rest of your life is even harder … it's also bad for your health and personal relationships.
So we can all make the choice. Stay in farming and make the best of it, or get out …
What's your choice?

[bigzee]

Things are about to get real interesting!!

[SASKFARMER]

Ah hillbillywilly is that you astrand or chicly cheese.


**** you!

[bigzee]

I’m taking my hundreds and thousands and heading to Florida with SKF. Hope he lives close to a golf course and likes Coors Banquet and Captain Morgan’s.

[jazz]

And therein lies the problem. This is a business not a charity anymore. This aint your fathers farming. Its high tech high risk and it serves a vital part of the economy and allows a lot of people to live a very comfortable life not having to worry about if they will have food or not.

We feed a lot of people who are grateful and understanding, we feed a lot that arent and we even feed some that hate us. I think its fair to ask that our industry get a voice and heard? If smaller groups like LGBTQT can whine and get heard well then so can we.

[the big wheel]

Reality check … we're all a bunch of nasty, cranky grain farmers. We hate the government, we hate the grain companies, we hate the railroads, we hate immigrants … ffs we even hate dairy farmers who are fortunate enough to get some help from government.
We're carrying too much hatred, too much debt, too much risk and we're not getting paid fairly for the grain we produce.
The whole world is conspiring against us, including turdo, ottawa, china, the united states, europe, chemical companies, seed companies, fertilizer companies, equipment manufacturers, the media, vegetarians, environmentalists, consumers, policy makers and climate change scientists. Even that naive and annoying 16-year-old girl from Sweden has become the target of our hatred.
Any way you dice it, it looks like we are screwed. So here's a solution. If you don't like your situation and its causing you too much stress, then sell out and let some one else deal with the misery. Most of us are sitting on hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars worth of real estate. If its so phucking bad in agriculture, then sell your land, get a job and live like the rest of the country — with a house, a mortgage, a vehicle or two, a paycheck once or twice a month, weekends off and no job security.
When I started farming, I don't remember any guarantees that everything would be perfect.
Being a happy hillbilly ain't easy nowadays. But being a miserable hillbilly for the rest of your life is even harder … it's also bad for your health and personal relationships.
So we can all make the choice. Stay in farming and make the best of it, or get out …
What's your choice?

Obviously a paid speach from sitting in mo mo s office cause I heard they’re taking some serious heat from hardline rural supporters to get off their *** paid off oil asses and do something.
These are all real issues all costing us money guaranteeing everyone else money at our expense. And we re *** done with giving our vote away.

[agstar77]

There are many reasons people farm. Treating it as a business, is probably at the bottom of the list. Treating it as a long term hedge against inflation is probably one of them. We have all heard they are not making any more land. That is the main Hutterite reason. They have diversified into other business that are money makers. Others carry on as a tradition. Some like it for independence. Others like there winters in Florida or Hawaii. I get satisfaction from growing a crop.

[bucket]

As long as all industries are treated equal it would be alright but here is the catch....

The oil industry is subsidized by royalty holidays. Same with potash and if they don't like it they will shut down for a while ....

Machinery manufacturers have been given handouts to build absolute shit machines....imagine getting a 500000 dollar drill and having 80 hours of downtime during seeding...I have a neighbour that had that happen and he rejected the drill,.....the manufacturer has received plenty of government money...

DOT just recently was given a 5 million dollar repayable loan and they sold it out to raven...did the loan get repaid?????imagine selling your farm as was suggested and not paying it off and left it to the new owner???? Sounds like a plan to me .....

So while people talk that the right way is to sell out....how about other industries get told to sell out to make things work?

The solution won't be found by new owners or consolidation.....it will just delay the inevitable .....and lose some talented farmers in the process....

[bigzee]

$700,000, tractors, drills, sprayers and combines ....... and $6.25 wheat, $7 durum, and .19 lentils pretty much says it all.
Sorry, but I can’t get excited!!

[tweety]

....and we're not getting paid fairly for the grain we produce.....

After walking thru AgriTrade, I don't think the problem is the price of the grain. They literally can't build shit big enough, overpowered enough, over teched enough, for any farmer. 85 companies willing to "help you with your data". Grain carts with 3 foot diameter augers. Add more fertilizer, SWAT map your fields, hire Decisive or 10 others to run across every acre not having a clue what they are doing, get a couple agronomists, get VT drive like an idiot, and why not an 800,000$ planter to plant canola because you can save a pound of seed.

If the race is to become the worlds most expensive grain producer, we are rock stars. Maybe the problem is a little closer to home.

[farmaholic]

Maybe I'll post something later.
Nuts busy day today.
Getting kind of old for this.

[bigzee]

[ATTACH]5221[/ATTACH]

Maybe I'll post something later.
Nuts busy day today.
Getting kind of old for this.

Times are tough but a “little” butter wouldn’t hurt!!

[furrowtickler]

There are many reasons people farm. Treating it as a business, is probably at the bottom of the list. Treating it as a long term hedge against inflation is probably one of them. We have all heard they are not making any more land. That is the main Hutterite reason. They have diversified into other business that are money makers. Others carry on as a tradition. Some like it for independence. Others like there winters in Florida or Hawaii. I get satisfaction from growing a crop.

Ummm .... one major difference..... free labor!!
Free skilled labor , that does never have excuses not to be there and then demand higher wages ..... that is fricken huge !

[furrowtickler]

After walking thru AgriTrade, I don't think the problem is the price of the grain. They literally can't build shit big enough, overpowered enough, over teched enough, for any farmer. 85 companies willing to "help you with your data". Grain carts with 3 foot diameter augers. Add more fertilizer, SWAT map your fields, hire Decisive or 10 others to run across every acre not having a clue what they are doing, get a couple agronomists, get VT drive like an idiot, and why not an 800,000$ planter to plant canola because you can save a pound of seed.

If the race is to become the worlds most expensive grain producer, we are rock stars. Maybe the problem is a little closer to home.

Umm , our 40ft planter cost less than $300,000 , cost less than a single bid new air drill tank and can seed the same ac/hr as an 80 ft drill .
We seed canola , peas , black beans and soybeans with it .
Half the seed cost of virtually all those crops seeded with a drill .
Comes with auto individual row seed shut off and sectional liquid fert shut off .
Your a smart guy , think a bit

[grassfarmer]

Nothing free in this world furrow. If we found a worker for you that didn't want a weekly wage but required housing for life for him and his extended family, every meal and drink for the same, all their clothes, all their hydro and other bills paid, use of vehicles and transportation everywhere - and they might still run away in the middle of the night at any point leaving you shorthanded - would you still call it free labour?