Farming for a living?

[backhoeboogie]

in December and will have a regular job with ranching as my secondary job. I hope to save money and expand the ranch so that maybe when I am 40 I can strictly ranch.

That can be a double edged sword. Especially on that "when I am 40" part. I found myself having to choose between leaving here for triple the salary or sticking here where the farm at my current position. We (my family and I) chose to stay near our roots. Now I am being offered a management position near San Antone that is very tempting. It is not like I would have to move to Illinois this time.

Farming will forever interfere with your career decisions. Be prepared for it.

 

[EAT BEEF]

O ho hum. If you want security go work in town,but there are a few people that can make a living farming and ranching and a couple even started with less than you have already.If you want to farm go do it now when you don't have a family to care for and your young enough you can recover from failing a few times.Don't let fear keep you from doing what you want, let fear motivate you.You more than likey will have to carry debt,just be smart about it.

When I was twelve I decided I was born to farm and thats what I did.My grandparents did have a 120 acre farm they leased out,but no one in my family had cattle of farmed.They let me lease the farm when I was 14 and I built from that.Maybe I was to young and stupid to know any better,but somehow its worked out so far. Probabley because I started building assets when I had no bills and by the time I had to take care of myself I could.

 

[bandit80]

Farming will forever interfere with your career decisions. Be prepared for it.

Good advice. Money and job will get in the way of your farming operation. Send me a PM if you like, I've been living that situation for several years now. Also, if you get married, make sure your wife knows you will have 2 jobs, and that both are important. I am fortunate to have an understanding wife, (most of the time) but I have seen marriages ruined because the wife doesn't "get it".

There are several folks that I know of, in their mid to upper 20's doing exactly what you aim to do. Heck, I'm 27 and doing it. Raising cattle and farming, have a day job to live. The beauty of it is, I don't have to use any farm income to live off of, or vice versa. That way, any money made on the farm can go back into the farm for improvements, decrease debt, expansion, etc. Only advice I can give is to be patient, which is very hard for young people including myself. Don't get so overwhelmed with debt you can't repay, develop a plan for your operation and set some goals for yourself. Once you know where you want to go, you can get there. Otherwise, you are just aimlessly plodding along.

 

[Busterz]

I agree there is some pretty good advice already and I don't know how much I can add but maybe a few things.

I would say not only get your degree but take full advantage of college. You won't have time to study some of these things when you have a job and cattle to take care of. I would recommend getting another degree or at least a minor (or at least take some classes) in business or marketing or finance or economics (or the ag version of any of those is you college has it (I want to guess you go to Clemson from your avatar)). You won't have the time to study these things once you graduate and they will be very important if you want build something of any size.

Thats the other thing, you may need to decide what you want out of this. Are you satisfied with having 25-50 head of cows or do you want to be a larger operator, seedstock or commercial. I think the post by Aaron about how many cows you need and the kind of income you can expect if fairly accurate (probably for commercial cows at least).

Also college is the best time to learn some animal husbandry and gentics education. At least you would have a base of knowledge to work from instead of learning on the fly or trying to learn these things in your non-existent spare time.

I don't know if pure bred/seedstock or commercial is any better. Commerical is probably a little cheaper to get into and you aren't as dependent on the opinions of others as much but I think people who are doing what they love are more likely to be successful or at least feel happier and more successful.

As to land, you'll have to learn how to handle that. Sometimes renting may make sense but you can get put in bad situations because you are dependent on a landlords decisions sometimes. Buying land may be a better deal sometimes.

I think there is always going to be demand for land. It takes fewer and fewr people to operate ag land all the time. There may be fewer baby boomer / retiree types who buy in the future but I don't think we'll see the ag demand go away. I haven't ever seen land go unrented or unsold by someone who really wanted to rent or sell it.

I agree with the last post as well, find a wife who likes or at least understands what you are doing.

Luck & rain helps too.

 

[SFFarms]

I want to think everyone for so much great advise!

I dont go to clemson but go to a smaller university near clemson and i have always been a die hard a fan, but clemson requires 3 years of foregin language and to be honest i have 1 year and i barely got that. Right now im looking to future of obtaining a goal of about 50 cattle and i think that is a reachable and valueable goal.

Right now i need to pray for rain, the way it's looking ill be feeding hay in late September


Thank you Very Much,

SF-Farms

 

[TREY-L]

"Nothing is given to you in life, you have to work for something to earn something"

This statement shows me that you are already expressing wisdom beyond your years, if you adhere to this advice and pay attention to your elders you will save yourself many hard learned lessons. I am a little older than you, but I was about your age when I bought my first 40 acres of land, which I paid off in less than 5 years. I will offer you this, whatever you can dream ~ you can do. It is just a matter of time, patience, perseverance, and will power. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish something. Make it your goal in life to prove the naysayers wrong. I was always a firm believer that life meets no man half way, if you want something in life you have to be prepared to go the distance. Work hard, get through school, think things through, plan ahead, and don't be afraid to dream big.

 

[ToddFarmsInc]

"Nothing is given to you in life, you have to work for something to earn something"

This statement shows me that you are already expressing wisdom beyond your years, if you adhere to this advice and pay attention to your elders you will save yourself many hard learned lessons. ....

A smart man learns from his mistakes.... A brilliant man learns from others mistakes.

:dunce:

 

[I luv herfrds]

Rather nice to know that there are alot more younger farmers and ranchers out there.

well here is what I know about starting out.
Check your local FSA office about a Beginning Farmer loan. They offer a lower interest rate then the credit unions and banks.
Get your schooling done first though.
If you go for this starter loan, don't let them talk you into buying new equipment. better to get some older stuff that has been cared for then to get sunk buying new.
Something else to consider is alot of older farmers and ranchers want to sell their places to someone who will work them and not turn them into a development.

Just something to think about.

 

[Susie David]

Sign in the feed store...Behind every successful farmer(rancher) is a wife with a good town job.
Our small operation pays for it's self and the Bride pays for the farm. Sweet life if you can find the right gal. DMc

 

[ToddFarmsInc]

I have a neighbor friend who farms, reciently got married to a pretty young banker. You can bet I dish out as much razzing as I can when ever I have the chance. LOL :lol2:

 

[Brandonm22]

The way that the whole banking sector is collapsing marrying a cowboy may be a good financial move for the banker gal.

 

[SFFarms]

So my number two goal is find a rich gal to bring home the money.

 

[EAT BEEF]

I had a friend that was always after girls (that lets just say most weren't a 10).Once we all thought about it we figured it out, these girls all came from large farms and were only chidren or had all sisters.He ended up getting married to a doctor who's dad farms about 5 or 6 thousand acres and she isn't that bad to look at.Sometimes I still wonder how the goof ball pulled it off.

 

[Txwalt]

I had a friend that was always after girls (that lets just say most weren't a 10).Once we all thought about it we figured it out, these girls all came from large farms and were only chidren or had all sisters.He ended up getting married to a doctor who's dad farms about 5 or 6 thousand acres and she isn't that bad to look at.Sometimes I still wonder how the goof ball pulled it off.

He sounds like a genius. Tom Arnold says "Marry for money the first time then you can marry for love." I knew I had screwed up somewhere. :lol2:

Walt

 

[Angus In Texas]

i really think gentics is the way of the future and i wanna try to stick with that.

Genetics are not just the way of the future. Look into the book Angus Legends.... very good information there. But it shows that genetics and pedigree have played a huge role for a hundred plus years and most likely longer than that. It's called selective breeding, it's just a method of using more information to derive the path of the future. Sometimes the path works and sometimes it doesn't. Some people breed on the all or nothing philosphy and end up either being highly praised for their accomplishment or highly scrutinized for their failures. Some people use the tried and true which is fine but never really acheive the true potential of their cattle....... what I am trying to say is never be afraid to fail, because from failure comes your greatest successes. I am only 24 myself and have a small herd of registered Angus cattle. I would love to do it full time some day but I don't know that I will ever have the money to do it the way I'd want. Currently I work full time for a general contractor to support my cattle habit. So for now I am just keeping going and trying to improve the quality of what I have and in time increase the quantity.

Just two weeks ago I was able to sell a heifer for $15,000..... never did I dream I would sell one for that amount of money. But along with that success there have been plenty of failures too. It is all part of the learning process.

But being young, never fear failure, you have plenty of time to recover and most likely not a whole lot to lose right now if you are like me.

Good luck with whatever you chose in life.

 

[GMN]

Thing with making all these plans when you are this young, is that when you get older, you change.Your interests may change, opportunities may arise that you act on, nothing is set in stone in life. Farming is more than just a job, its a way of life. You will not get rich farming, a second income will be necessary.

I think alot of what you will do depends on who you are, and what kind of life you want to live, everyone is different. Some people are risk takers, some aren't.

Its good to think about your future, but try not to plan too far ahead, because I guarantee it, something will change.

GMN

 

[Jogeephus]

I can't really add anything to the good advice that you have been given but I will make a broad statement. When you set your goals, keep them in sight but remain flexible and always treat people fairly. One of my favorite sayings is: "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered". To me this means you should not get greedy. Don't ever try to make a fortune off any one person. Always make your deals win/win. If you do this you will earn people's respect and trust. When you have earned these, you will be surprised at the doors that will be opened to you and the blessings you will receive. Good luck.

 

[CattleHand]

I asked my dad once how my grandpa did well off ranching with high input prices (especialyl reading alot of posts on here about other people struggling to make ends meet). My dad said that to do well on a cow/calf operation if was all a matter of understanding the market to a science and of course having a good eye for cattle. But I think he is probably right, a good place to get involved is your nearest sale barn. Probably alot of information to be tapped there and the best place to learn about the markets. My grandpa worked there and it helped out. I like some other poeple on here am still in school and hope after graduating and working to try out farming for myself. All the advice i read is pretty dang helpful in staying current.

 

[Beef08]

SFFarms I am here with ya brother...I just turned 18 and starting college this week.I have asked the same question since I was 13. Like everyone else has said, in today's world it is almost impossible to make it just by ranching, so make sure your other job is something you really enjoy that way you will always be happy....And hopefully it's what the Lord has planned for you.

 

[IluvABbeef]

I think I'm a bit late here, and probably the last person to post on this thread, but I have to say this, you've been given some great advice. It seems like I'm the only young woman (21) on this board that is interested in raising cattle like you, but of course I could be wrong.

I've been lucky I've been raised on a farm and have experience with cattle, and have enjoyed it since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Still do, even though things have changed with the passing of the main pillar of this family. I suggest like every one else get your degree under your belt, whatever it is, and get a day job to go with farming...nowadays its nigh impossible to be relying on farming/ranching income alone. You'll find it'll help in the long run.

With my degree in Animal Science, I know this degree, for me personally, will help me a lot with the choice of raising cow-calf pairs in the future. Not only that, but working at the vet clinic I'm at. I don't know of any veterinarians that both run a vet practice and raise cows, but the one I work for does. And boy does he ever know how to raise good stock. And I mean GOOD stock. I've been bugging him about cattle biz topics the past week, and he's taken me along to check the cows, see which calves/cows that need to be shipped, which stay, etc. (I have to brag a little: he sure raises a lot of good cows, with GREAT calves to boot) I've been thinking of making him my mentor when I start seriously thinking and researching about purchasing some livestock. Not only that, but I also get to see and learn about treating cattle for certain illnesses, doing BSE's, preg checking, C-sections, castrations, the list goes on. This is just the first few months I've been there. Everybody has different suggestions of where to work to gain more cattle experience, for me this is one of them.

It seems like having a job like working at a vet clinic with large animals in the mix can't compare with working at another person's farm/ranch, at the salebarn, etc. That's just my opinion of course. And the reason I say it cant compare is because yeah genetics is important in raising cattle to get a good share of money in your pocket, but health is even more important if you want to make sure 100% of your herd lives through another year.

(The vet said that if I'm coming back next spring/summer I can help with calving and doing preg check for calving problems. Just my right cup of tea. )

I know it'll probably take me another while to get back into farming again, at least I have the home farm and two quartersections to inherit from my folks. That's most important, and can't be replaced once sold, especially with the value of the land like it is. Not only that, but there's also corrals and other equipment for housing cattle in place already, though a bit of updating is due to be done sometime. So with good land in hand its just the matter of when a person wants to say "go".

Anyway, everyone has said most everything I wanted to say, and obviously you have already started out with what you want to do. :clap: Keep it up, and good luck with you. I've already had a sibling tell me that I'm crazy when he heard me wanting to continue on with farming, but I just pretend not to listen and don't let him get my goat, and keep on doing what I love to do and keep planning for my goals I want to reach.