Full circle ( long read and just rambling )

[Cross-7]

Had a 4 hour drive today for an early start to the work week in the morning
Many years ago I wanted to quit my job and ranch for a living.
I was broke and couldn't find a bank that'd loan on land.
I could buy a car or house easy but nobody would loan me money for land. I always thought that was stupid as a car deprecates and a house could be trashed.
I always thought land would have been a safer loan.
Anyway there came up a place for sale that was rough and sandy with poor access that nobody wanted to buy.
The guy owner financed it to me and I was in heaven for awhile.
Then it became too small and I wanted more.
I had some equity now after having this place, equipment and cattle, but nothing was available close to home.
I fiund a place a couple hours from home that I liked and sold the first place.
It wasn't but a couple years of being away from my wife and kids took its toll so I sold it and made a little on it and bought place closer to home, but it became too small.
I wanted to quit my job and ranch for a living.
I got the place bought right and prices for land in the area were on the upswing.
It was a good hunting place so I priced it pretty high.
Finally some hunters and I worked a deal lower than my list price but I come out pretty good.
I now had a little something to work with, for a poor working man that is , so I went shopping.
I still didn't have enough to buy a big place like I wanted but there was a place 7-1/2 hours away that was good sized and it'd carry more cows per acres than where I was. It had a few issues so was priced where it fit my budget.
I pretty much emptied my pockets getting the place but it was a long ways from work and home.
I partnered with my neighbor on some cows. He looked after the day to day things in exchange for grazing his share of the cows.
I liked to have wore out a pickup running back and forth.
I was gone from home all the time and felt like when I was off work I had to be at the ranch.
Things went south at home. The partner deal with my neighbor wasn't working. I couldn't look after cattle and work my job too.
Leasing wouldn't make a dent in the payment.
It needed some water improvements and to buy out a neighbor that bordered it that would connect it to a good county road.
I didn't have what it was going to take to get that done.
I had no choice but to sell it
I justified it in my mind by thinking I do the next one bigger and better.
I looked the world over and didn't find the big ranch I promised myself.
I needed a place to land as I was living pretty hard, so I got a little place with plans of flipping it when a big place came a long or putting several little places together.
Somewhere a long the way I've either become lazy, lost ambition, beat down and defeated. I don't really know.
I've got to where I enjoy not having the responsibility of cattle and making it pay.
The little place doesn't take much of anything. I can hang out, piddle with a few cows, sit in the shade and take it easy.
When it's time for work I can leave with no worries
I'm right back to the way it was when I bought my very first place
I do feel guilty that I failed or given up and quit

 

[Bigfoot]

Glad you shared that. I think most of us want to accumulate when we're young, and wish for less as we get older.

 

[melking]

Nice post. Every time I look around at some of the other places around me and I get envious of their size, I try to remember that I have the perfect setup. I don' have to prove to anybody how good I am or not. Just big enough to work by myself with an occasional man.

 

[talltimber]

I am sorry things didn't work out for you, or if they did, congratulations. I have been through some of the same things, as I'm sure most people have. I started late, due to one thing or another, and am appreciative of the opportunity to run cows where my folks did. I, too, am looking to expand and would like to be able to run enough to stay with them, but I am not bankrolled enough to make it happen if something did come open, which I don't see happening very close to me. Right now, I am satisfied that I have enough good cows to provide enough keeper heifers to grow numbers before my older cows need to go, if I don't go broke first. There are many twists and turns in life. It's hard to know when to zig or when to zag, but one thing is for sure, as long as we're on the right side of the dirt, we have hope.

To be honest, even with the trouble I've had, I welcome the challenge. I truly believe a man needs a long term goal to be satisfied. It knocks the tops off the bumps in the road on a day to day basis and lets you look forward at something you want to achieve, whatever that is. I haven't had a goal in a number of years, and it feels good to immerse myself deeply into something I am excited about again.

Good luck to you.

 

[TexasBred]

Why the infatuation with owning a "big" place??

 

[dun]

Nice post. Every time I look around at some of the other places around me and I get envious of their size, I try to remember that I have the perfect setup. I don' have to prove to anybody how good I am or not. Just big enough to work by myself with an occasional man.

It;s like the age old qustion. How is more satisfied (satisfied not happy) the guy with a dozen kids or the guy with a million dollars? The guy with the dozen kids cause he doesn;t want anymore!

Back in the day when I was working, every year I would get a pay raise. I told them that I didn;t want more money, I had adequate. What I wanted was another weeks vacation a year. I was told that They could give me more money but couldn;t give me more vacation. May have been a big share of the reason I quit and went to work for my self. Sure solved the issue of more money, but I had even less time off than I had before.

 

[Margonme]

Cross,

I curse the day I met Inyati. I was happy as a Lark panhandling. That Danm bragging windbag. He thinks he knows everything. Well, let me tell you. He is full of shyt.

He told me to go buy land. Buy land, he said. Then set it up to raise cattle. I put 10k in a handling facility. Thank goodness the CAIP program paid half. Then the cost of fences, a shop, a tractor. HeII, I will have to live to be 110 to ever get my money back.

So don't whine to us!

 

[Clodhopper]

I was told there are two ways to farm. One is to jump in and get as big as you can, don't worry about the payoff, just get it to flow and keep buying until they shut you down, hopefully making to retirement that way. The other is to be conservative, accumulate slowly, with the idea you may not have as much, but it's yours, not the bank's. What it boils down to is, what price tag do you put on peace of mind? If you're happy with what you have, no shame in that. You've not given up, just readjusted your goals. There comes a point where beating your head against the wall just gives you a headache, just maybe you're past that point. Enjoy it!

 

[Margonme]

Starting from scratch, farming might be the toughest business to turn profitable. These are tough times to start a farm - or any business. The inputs exceed the outputs. There is only one compelling reason to do it - the benefits of the lifestyle.

 

[Cross-7]

Cross,

I curse the day I met Inyati. I was happy as a Lark panhandling. That Danm bragging windbag. He thinks he knows everything. Well, let me tell you. He is full of shyt.

He told me to go buy land. Buy land, he said. Then set it up to raise cattle. I put 10k in a handling facility. Thank goodness the CAIP program paid half. Then the cost of fences, a shop, a tractor. HeII, I will have to live to be 110 to ever get my money back.

So don't whine to us!

I have a customer that his dad started hardware store way when.
They have lots of old inventory upstairs from way back.
They found some really old Levi's and put them on eBay and they sold for a bunch.
He said my dad always told him to buy land.
He should have bought Levi's

 

[Cross-7]

Nice post. Every time I look around at some of the other places around me and I get envious of their size, I try to remember that I have the perfect setup. I don' have to prove to anybody how good I am or not. Just big enough to work by myself with an occasional man.

It;s like the age old qustion. How is more satisfied (satisfied not happy) the guy with a dozen kids or the guy with a million dollars? The guy with the dozen kids cause he doesn;t want anymore!

Back in the day when I was working, every year I would get a pay raise. I told them that I didn;t want more money, I had adequate. What I wanted was another weeks vacation a year. I was told that They could give me more money but couldn;t give me more vacation. May have been a big share of the reason I quit and went to work for my self. Sure solved the issue of more money, but I had even less time off than I had before.

I used to really hate my job but with the Internet, online catalog, online ordering, invoices, specials, seasonal promotions all online I'm just a PR guy, problem solver.
I've got to where I enjoy it and don't mind getting away since my kids are grown

 

[Cross-7]

Why the infatuation with owning a "big" place??

I don't know
Maybe a sense of accomplishment

 

[Cross-7]

I am sorry things didn't work out for you, or if they did, congratulations. I have been through some of the same things, as I'm sure most people have. I started late, due to one thing or another, and am appreciative of the opportunity to run cows where my folks did. I, too, am looking to expand and would like to be able to run enough to stay with them, but I am not bankrolled enough to make it happen if something did come open, which I don't see happening very close to me. Right now, I am satisfied that I have enough good cows to provide enough keeper heifers to grow numbers before my older cows need to go, if I don't go broke first. There are many twists and turns in life. It's hard to know when to zig or when to zag, but one thing is for sure, as long as we're on the right side of the dirt, we have hope.

To be honest, even with the trouble I've had, I welcome the challenge. I truly believe a man needs a long term goal to be satisfied. It knocks the tops off the bumps in the road on a day to day basis and lets you look forward at something you want to achieve, whatever that is. I haven't had a goal in a number of years, and it feels good to immerse myself deeply into something I am excited about again.

Good luck to you.

Exactly
Enough to stay busy and have a goal

 

[Cross-7]

I was told there are two ways to farm. One is to jump in and get as big as you can, don't worry about the payoff, just get it to flow and keep buying until they shut you down, hopefully making to retirement that way. The other is to be conservative, accumulate slowly, with the idea you may not have as much, but it's yours, not the bank's. What it boils down to is, what price tag do you put on peace of mind? If you're happy with what you have, no shame in that. You've not given up, just readjusted your goals. There comes a point where beating your head against the wall just gives you a headache, just maybe you're past that point. Enjoy it!

I have a good friend that always said if he could convince the bankers to loan him a couple/three million he'd of won and beat them
The game to him was seeing what he could get on loan.
I asked him how he sleeps with so much dept
He said it ain my money

 

[Cross-7]

Glad you shared that. I think most of us want to accumulate when we're young, and wish for less as we get older.

Sounds bout right

 

[Cross-7]

Nice post. Every time I look around at some of the other places around me and I get envious of their size, I try to remember that I have the perfect setup. I don' have to prove to anybody how good I am or not. Just big enough to work by myself with an occasional man.

That is true
All that matters is your own happiness

 

[Margonme]

Cross,

I curse the day I met Inyati. I was happy as a Lark panhandling. That Danm bragging windbag. He thinks he knows everything. Well, let me tell you. He is full of shyt.

He told me to go buy land. Buy land, he said. Then set it up to raise cattle. I put 10k in a handling facility. Thank goodness the CAIP program paid half. Then the cost of fences, a shop, a tractor. HeII, I will have to live to be 110 to ever get my money back.

So don't whine to us!

I have a customer that his dad started hardware store way when.
They have lots of old inventory upstairs from way back.
They found some really old Levi's and put them on eBay and they sold for a bunch.
He said my dad always told him to buy land.
He should have bought Levi's

That is a fact. With the depressed cattle market, it would be a challenge selling a farm right now.

 

[Clodhopper]

In my area, there have been some no sales on cropland this year. One auction last week was on some flood ground in an area with a bunch of heavy hitters, I heard the high bid was about $2500/ acre on over 300 acres worth. That's less than half what the old boy bought it for a few years ago.

 

[pdfangus]

enjoyed your post Cross-7.....

I was born into poverty and still have most of it.....

but all in all....I have enjoyed my life as a stockman....no fortune or fame but it has been a good life all the same.

 

[alisonb]

Cross - We have to stop chasing other people's definition of happiness. I have always enjoyed this little story, unsure of writer. It invites us to live the life we were born to live, not the life our neighbor is seeking to achieve. I'm by no means saying become complacent...

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. "You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman. "You should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"