Hobby Farmers

[ollie]

I had a buddie that went broke ranching.. He said if he ever hit the lottery he was going to give out free doctoring and legal advice just to pay them back.

 

[la4angus]

Texan, You couldn't have said it much better.

 

[Texan]

I had a buddie that went broke ranching.. He said if he ever hit the lottery he was going to give out free doctoring and legal advice just to pay them back.

Sounds like a good plan, ollie. Seems like all of the doctors and most of the lawyers can't wait to strike it rich so they can be "ranchers." Never seen a rancher go broke enough to want to be a doctor or lawyer.......

 

[Caustic Burno]

I figure if you don't have 250 head, you are probably a hobby farmer. That's about how many head I'd figure I'd need to eke out a living as a cow/calf producer full time.

You can make a living with a lot less than 250 head in my neighborhood. Suppose it all depends on what your inputs are costing you.

Same here. I know several people making it on less than 100 cows. Some of them also raise row crops as well, with some being fed to the cows and some being sold for extra income.

Some interesting observations can be made if you look at a lot of the old timers that are gone now, who made it on 25, 50, or 75 head. One, their obituary said that they "farmed and ranched…" Two, they did farm and ranch. Three, as has been discussed here before, they didn't make a living at it. They found a way to live off what they made. Their expectations for a reasonable standard of living were miles away from most of ours. No a/c, older model car/truck, modest house, etc. They might be mostly gone but we can all still learn a lot from them.

Craig-TX

Lot of truth in them words Craig. I was raised by a generation if you tore down an old barn you saved the lumber and straighted the nails. We did't throw anything away or buy what we didn't absolutely need. Never had to worry about the bank taking it away. I hear people talking about tractors, land, cattle they own, the bank owns them as they are in debt up to there eyeballs. Sooner or latter that debt has to be serviced.

 

[mwj]

Well I was at the sale today and watched some pretty good hobby cattle sell :lol: Good ground in this area of the world sells for 3-4000 an acre for row crops, so we do not have many real cattle raisers. Those old hobby guys in there bibs and brogans,that run cattle on those odd 40 acres of rough ground, seem to be awfully lucky. There were a lot of light calves that were passed off as good calves and went for $1.35-51 to willing buyers. I forgot to ask at the pay window wether they felt bad about driving up the input costs of the real cattle producers Give me an idea how much they owe you texas folks and I will pass the hat next week :cboy:

 

[la4angus]

Well I was at the sale today and watched some pretty good hobby cattle sell :lol: Good ground in this area of the world sells for 3-4000 an acre for row crops, so we do not have many real cattle raisers. Those old hobby guys in there bibs and brogans,that run cattle on those odd 40 acres of rough ground, seem to be awfully lucky. There were a lot of light calves that were passed off as good calves and went for $1.35-51 to willing buyers. I forgot to ask at the pay window wether they felt bad about driving up the input costs of the real cattle producers Give me an idea how much they owe you texas folks and I will pass the hat next week :cboy:

These hobby guys are buying from the real cattle producers who are willing sellers at these prices.

 

[mwj]

A lot of these old boys have been raising and feeding cattle for 50 plus years Its not been all that many years ago that those western cattle moved east to be fed :shock: Some of us are old enough to remember when Nebraska was not the meat packing hub of the world. We fed good cattle then and some still do

 

[la4angus]

Some of us are old enough to remember when Nebraska was not the meat packing hub of the world. We fed good cattle then and some still do

Nebraska has long been known as a major producer of top quality feeder cattle and one of the major ranching states in the country.

 

[mwj]

Yes Nebraska has always had some very fine cattle and I am sure they always will 8) What I was speaking of was fed cattle. The west and plains states sometimes imply they have always had the upper hand when it comes to the feeding and slaughtering cattle. If you look with older eyes you notice that was not always the case. A lot of the people that raised and shipped those good fat cattle to Chicago stock yards still raise good cattle :cboy:

 

[frenchie]

=Caustic Burro

Lot of truth in them words Craig. I was raised by a generation if you tore down an old barn you saved the lumber and straighted the nails. We did't throw anything away or buy what we didn't absolutely need. Never had to worry about the bank taking it away. I hear people talking about tractors, land, cattle they own, the bank owns them as they are in debt up to there eyeballs. Sooner or latter that debt has to be serviced.

You nailed it Caustic Burro.. those folks of my dads generation made do with what they had and for the most part seemed content with it.

 

[la4angus]

A lot of the people that raised and shipped those good fat cattle to Chicago stock yards still raise good cattle :cboy:

And a lot of Nebraska feeders shipped their fats to Omaha and Sioux City. The Chicago yards has been closed down for dang near 35 yr, so not to many that were shipping there are still feeding cattle.

 

[mwj]

A lot of the people that raised and shipped those good fat cattle to Chicago stock yards still raise good cattle :cboy:

And a lot of Nebraska feeders shipped their fats to Omaha and Sioux City. The Chicago yards has been closed down for dang near 35 yr, so not to many that were shipping there are still feeding cattle.

Crap sakes do we have to dig our own hole and crawl in if we have had cattle for over 35 years :shock: Did the old timers in the west all get killed off or is it just tradition west of the big river

 

[tapeworm]

Well I was at the sale today and watched some pretty good hobby cattle sell :lol: Good ground in this area of the world sells for 3-4000 an acre for row crops, so we do not have many real cattle raisers. Those old hobby guys in there bibs and brogans,that run cattle on those odd 40 acres of rough ground, seem to be awfully lucky. There were a lot of light calves that were passed off as good calves and went for $1.35-51 to willing buyers. I forgot to ask at the pay window wether they felt bad about driving up the input costs of the real cattle producers Give me an idea how much they owe you texas folks and I will pass the hat next week :cboy:

So being from IlliNOISE makes you a hobby farmer for sure!!! You sure sound like you admire em a lot. Its not just the Texas folks that are hurt by that crap...everbody in REAL cow country is...and dont worry about asking your old sodbusters if they feel bad about running up costs...they dont...all they care about is what the support price is.
Dont worry about passinga hat for the Texans either...they can probaly take care of thereselves without your money. You cornbelt farmers are so used to living off farmer welfare that you think everbody wants to take something out of somebody elses pocket

 

[HORNHUNTER]

This is my first post and I guess I'm definitely a hobby farmer. I don't farm for a hobby but I raise goats, chickens, calves, or anything else to make a few extra bucks to pay for my hobbies.

 

[mwj]

Tapeworm
When are you going to quit cashing your welfare checks :shock: See I can reply the same as you :lol: There are a lot of farmers that have not taken any money from the gov. programs as I am sure you are aware. I don't think that location is the determining factor as far as mind set is concerned. Do any people that take a tax break for ag. use get lumped in with welfare? Not being nasty, just curious.

 

[Texan]

Do any people that take a tax break for ag. use get lumped in with welfare? Not being nasty, just curious.

Hard to believe that this question comes up again. I guess I haven't been too surprised at some of the others that can't grasp this concept, but Mike I really can't believe that you don't get it. This is not that difficult to understand! A person that claims an ag use tax exemption is trying to keep more of his own money in his pocket. Money that was acquired due to his own labor/management/investment. On the other hand, the welfare recipient is taking money that was produced by the labor/management/investment of others. One tries to keep what he or she has earned, the other takes the earnings of those who have worked for it. Comprende? I sure as Hell hope so, because I don't know how to make it any more clear. Maybe somebody else can do better......

 

[msscamp]

Touche WisRose!!

 

[WORANCH]

Do any people that take a tax break for ag. use get lumped in with welfare? Not being nasty, just curious.

Hard to believe that this question comes up again. I guess I haven't been too surprised at some of the others that can't grasp this concept, but Mike I really can't believe that you don't get it. This is not that difficult to understand! A person that claims an ag use tax exemption is trying to keep more of his own money in his pocket. Money that was acquired due to his own labor/management/investment. On the other hand, the welfare recipient is taking money that was produced by the labor/management/investment of others. One tries to keep what he or she has earned, the other takes the earnings of those who have worked for it. Comprende? I sure as Hell hope so, because I don't know how to make it any more clear. Maybe somebody else can do better......

Texan

Well said

 

[Jake]

Do any people that take a tax break for ag. use get lumped in with welfare? Not being nasty, just curious.

Hard to believe that this question comes up again. I guess I haven't been too surprised at some of the others that can't grasp this concept, but Mike I really can't believe that you don't get it. This is not that difficult to understand! A person that claims an ag use tax exemption is trying to keep more of his own money in his pocket. Money that was acquired due to his own labor/management/investment. On the other hand, the welfare recipient is taking money that was produced by the labor/management/investment of others. One tries to keep what he or she has earned, the other takes the earnings of those who have worked for it. Comprende? I sure as Hell hope so, because I don't know how to make it any more clear. Maybe somebody else can do better......

Great post! extremely well put!

 

[mwj]

Texan
I do understand the tax situation but I also understand hipocrits. If you read the post I was replying to you would see the implication that every producer in my state was taking gov. hand outs so they could stay in buisness :roll: My point is that we do not get a tax break on farms but do not go out of our way to point out the ones that do. As usual it always comes down to who's ox is being gored.