How to go broke in farming- published 1920

GON

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Very interesting article from 1920.

Reminded me so much of my Great Grandfather. Grew seven crops per year, in case a few failed. Raised chickens, hogs, and cattle. Had numerous orchards. When he died in 1982, his daily driver was still a 1940 Dodge dually. May have left his hometown once or twice in his life- he had a farm to take care of. When he died, he had zero debt, as he had zero debt his entire life. He was able to keep the farm through the depression.

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Interesting and makes sense. . #9 surprises me just a little but what do I know.

I salute our farmers. They are probably the toughest people who ever drew a breath on out planet. It's one of the most difficult and stressful professions there is. Livestock raising is an especially difficult 24/7 job. There's no vacation being a dairy farmer.
 
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Interesting and makes sense. . #9 surprises me just a little but what do I know.

I salute our farmers. They are probably the toughest people who ever drew a breath on out planet. It's one of the most difficult and stressful professions there is. Livestock raising is an especially difficult 24/7 job. There's no vacation being a dairy farmer.
I almost thought that at first (#9) but co-operation voluntarily is really the USA way, with no GOV coercion.
 
Farmers are some really great people and hard workers! Plus, some of those old gal's can really put the feedbag on you if there at lunch time!

I worked in the AG industry from 1975 until 2003. Then I grew weary of the long spring and fall seasons. Most beautiful times of the year and working some weekends.

I had plenty of mechanical and electrical experience and joined a gaming business as technical support in 2003. I retired Jan 1st this year as senior technical support. It was a good run overall. Still have lots of old farmer friends. You should see some of the fishing ponds that I can access, just due to having a relationship with farmers!
 
Farmers are some really great people and hard workers! Plus, some of those old gal's can really put the feedbag on you if there at lunch time!

I worked in the AG industry from 1975 until 2003. Then I grew weary of the long spring and fall seasons. Most beautiful times of the year and working some weekends.

I had plenty of mechanical and electrical experience and joined a gaming business as technical support in 2003. I retired Jan 1st this year as senior technical support. It was a good run overall. Still have lots of old farmer friends. You should see some of the fishing ponds that I can access, just due to having a relationship with farmers!
I hate winter, the feeding/handling livestock in the cold, snow, ice, etc. just sucks. I bought a new cab tractor last year and honestly kind of look forward to it now. Getting quality tools to do your job really helps I'm learning. I'm the 4th generation on our family farm.
 
I hate winter, the feeding/handling livestock in the cold, snow, ice, etc. just sucks. I bought a new cab tractor last year and honestly kind of look forward to it now. Getting quality tools to do your job really helps I'm learning. I'm the 4th generation on our family farm.
Cab tractor...nice! I used to have about 1/8th of a mile drive to clear, plus our parking area. Did it all on an no cab WD-45 Allis Chalmers with a 6' bucket. It got cold some days!
 
Interesting and makes sense. . #9 surprises me just a little but what do I know.

I salute our farmers. They are probably the toughest people who ever drew a breath on out planet. It's one of the most difficult and stressful professions there is. Livestock raising is an especially difficult 24/7 job. There's no vacation being a dairy farmer.
I took #9 to mean, help your neighbors- they will help you. An independent farmer will get sick, have a mechanical breakdown at harvest season, etc.

I know #9 means much more than my interpretation, but I think the spirit of #9 is to cooperate with other independent farmers in the local area. The technical aspect of #9 is farmer co-ops allows small farmers a "seat at the table" when bringing their crops to market, etc- and other related activities.
 
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I took #9 to mean, help your neighbors- they will help you. An independent farmer will get sick, have a mechanical breakdown at harvest season, etc.

I know #9 means much than my interpretation, but I think the spirt of #9 is to cooperate with other independent farmers in the local area. The technical aspect of #9 is farmer co-ops allows small farmers a "seat at the table" when bringing their crops to market, etc- and other related activities.
In my area, if a local farmer passes away or is in the hospital, the locals step up and harvest or plant his crops. They can knock it out in one day.

Pretty impressive to see all the local support for each other. The combines roll in, semi-tractors with trailers, tractors with grain carts, etc. The wives make lunch and bring it to the fields. These small local communities take care of each other.

Used to go out to a farmer and go thru their combine every winter. His parents had a nice heated shop. Of course I brought a sandwich and chips for lunch. NOT to be had...you are coming in the house to eat with us! Good Lord, it looked like a Thanksgiving meal every day! :)
 
I hate winter, the feeding/handling livestock in the cold, snow, ice, etc. just sucks. I bought a new cab tractor last year and honestly kind of look forward to it now. Getting quality tools to do your job really helps I'm learning. I'm the 4th generation on our family farm.
Cab tractor with A/C and heat? What a sissy,,, I guess you will be plugging the tractor in for instant heat! :love:
 
It's a great feeling to have zero debt. My parents lived on farms through the depression too and they have stories of difficult times but they made it through. I grew up on a small acreage and we had cows, sheep, geese, hogs and chickens. We even raised registered St Bernards and sold sweet corn. We also had a contract with Gedney cucumbers to raise a half acre of cucumbers and sell them back to the grading plant which was about 20 miles away. We also sold sweet corn and tomatoes and had a couple tractors around all the time. When my dad was alive he was a real go-getter and would try about anything. We didn't raise all those animals at the same time but would try different things according to market conditions. We even had 2 horses at one time but none of the kids rode them much so they were sold after a couple years. Those cucumbers were a real money maker but it took about 4 hours to pick them and a couple hours round trip to the grading station. In the later years my dad kept about 12 cattle all the time and they were like pets to him. He would raise them until they were ready to go to the locker then buy another dozen and repeat. We even had a few wild pheasants around every year to watch or shoot. When my big brother and I were through with the work we were free to ride out Honda dual sport bikes around the countryside aimlessly. We would go for about 50 miles somedays. Farm and acreage like has it's advantages and is a good life for the most part.
 
JC,

Thanks for sharing your family's story- a great read and wonderful to know the hard work paid off/ was worth it.
 
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