I spent some time today talking with my coworker about farming. It all stemmed from a discussion going on at http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ The topic was "least cost farming". Back when I was in high school in Wisconsin, my best friend's step dad had a small farm. He farmed about 350 acres with all the equipment. He milked, I would guess 50 head, or so. Grew corn and soybeans, raised some pigs and sheep, and cut and baled hay every year. My friend and I would have a ball during hay season, and in the winter, we would climb the silo and pitch silage. That was always fun because there wasn't a cap on the silo and there would always be several inches of snow on the silage. All we would have to do is dig down a few inches and we'd have to start shedding clothes from the heat.
Every year, it would seem, my friends dad would complain about money. The man worked hard, long days and, it seemed, for nothing. At the end of the day he would be exhausted and crash in his chair around 8 p.m. He would be up and at it again around dawn. Every day, week in and week out. His wife (my friends mom) worked at the local hospital as a surgical tech and made good money. I venture that her income floated the farm in more ways than one.
At the homesteading forum, a gentleman remarked that he does not feed hay all year, does not make hay and doesn't own any equipment. So, in my discussion today about my childhood memories on my friends farm, I was contrasting these scenarios.
On the one hand, you have a man that worked very hard, and you could tell. He had lots of "stuff" and plenty of outbuildings full of animals and equipment and hay. Yet, exhausted, he would struggle to find the next dollar. He'd fall asleep in his chair and he would not be heard from again until the next day. He was pooped and broke. All that equipment costs money in loans and maintenance and fuel. It seemed that he was going nowhere and there are many more like him. It makes young people want nothing to do with the dead end business of farming. You either get big or get out, and most can't afford to get big.
On the other hand, you have a gentleman who works hard. The difference is, he works hard with his brain. He has studied and taught himself the ways of Management Intensive Grazing and has found a way to stockpile fescue for the winter, thus feeding no hay at all. He might be in the house relaxing after dinner, watching the evening news. He makes good money because he has no overhead. He is a one man show and can do it without all the equipment. He might lean back in his chair and remark to his wife how much he loves farming, and his kids might look at him and see that farming isn't such a bad way of life. They might want to carry on the farm after dad quits.
The question is, which scenario would you rather be in? A least cost, thus, least stress operation? Or a high stress, large debt operation? The thing I find easy for myself, having never been a farmer until several years ago, is that I didn't come into it with any preconceived notions about how to do things. I can understand how those that did grow up on a farm, can bristle at the new way of thinking of farming. The things is, the new way of least cost farming isn't really new, just lost. Lost wisdom from not that long ago. Sure, the machinery is fun and will speed things up, but if you think outside the box and learn to manage the animals in a way that they do the work for you, you don't need it. What a concept, no debt! I wish I could say I didn't have any debt, but I'm working on that.
So, which scenario would you rather be in?
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