herofan":vt496niu said:
I just meant that if someone were looking to gain knowledge on history or the stock market, going to a cattle forum probably wouldn't be their first choice to pursue that knowledge. I'd guess it probably wouldn't be on the list at all. That doesn't fit the stereotype of a farmer.
I see the same type interaction and exchange of ideas, thoughts and experience on at least one other of the 4 boards I frequent...in that board's version of 'coffee shop'. It's a car forum, but just because a group of people have a mutual interest in a specific subject doesn't mean some (or many) don't have other significantly 'hot irons in the fire' as well.
It shouldn't surprise you either.
You may just be looking at things backwards. Stock market investors come from all walks of life nowadays. Mechanics, grade school teachers, nurses, plumbers..just about everyone. My father was both a part time cowman and a full time refinery worker, but invested in stock market beginning in 1941 until his death in 2007 and he did pretty good with it. I learned a lot about the market and investing from him.
Instead of looking at it from the aspect of ag folks with investment knowledge, look at it from another (larger) perspective. Investors, that also have ag interests or experience.
With the advent of employer supported 401s, IRAs and other retirement programs, there are millions more (and different types) of investors now.
Continuing with the opposite view of things, it's also true that the 'stereotypical' investor is no longer a guy in a suit and tie sitting at a desk and having martinis for lunch at some posh private club uptown. You and I and those like us are now the stereotypical stock investor.