Interesting video….

How Much Money do Farmers Make?

You know, I didn’t watch the whole thing. He is obviously an intelligent and likable young man. In fact, most farmers and ranchers are very likable people. I am first generation off the farm and I still have relatives and friends in the business.

I would say that most average size, capable farmers in our neck of the woods have seen their net worth increase on average $500k each year for a number of years. Farmers don’t care about net worth increase? Please, that is how ag bankers tell if they are making money.

He doesn’t take into account the government subsidies of crop insurance premiums, which largely, if not entirely insulate them from operating losses. Also, other government payments have been quite lucrative since Covid, and it is kind of Christmas all year around, with even the producers not fully anticipating what the Feds are going to send their way.

Also, most farms have paid for land or inherited wealth, so his land costs are likely overstated.

For 1700 acres in Iowa, I think a $900k equipment line is pretty light, also, they buy up to take advantage of accelerated depreciation to offset income.

They can delay or accelerate income for tax planning, and their income tax burden is typically pretty light/enviable. They can write off many personal expenses and assets. Nice work if you can get (inherit) it.

They bust their butt for three weeks of planting, three weeks of spraying (if they don’t have it custom applied), and 4-6 weeks of harvest (some of which is also custom done). Work after harvest ends in September-November primarily consists of a bit of maintenance and hauling grain, again, which often includes custom hire, unless they have livestock. Again, nice work if you can get it.

If it is such a tough racket, ask yourself why the price of equipment and land continues to increase strongly - because they have the cash to afford it. The equipment manufacturers know it and farmers have the wherewithal to aggressively compete amongst themselves for land. Then ask one if he would trade jobs with you. It is a very nice income and a great lifestyle. Barriers to entry are extremely high.

As I said, they are mostly really really good people. I just get tired of the whining and need for a slap on the back for how hard they work. A lot of people work hard. For 48-52 weeks a year, not 1/3 of it, without Uncle Sam making sure they “cash flow”. It is a disgrace to tax normal people to ensure the profits of millionaires.

https://www.agriculture.com/farm-income-this-year-will-be-second-highest-ever-says-usda-8409588

This is the third year in a row of extraordinarily high farm income

Wait, Jimmy C and Sammo are millionaires?

A lot of what Slope said is true when it comes to the big farmers who know how to play the game.


I'm just a small time cow farmer who, as of late, has been busy watching the cattle market drop like a rock....lol

Every farmer I know says it’s go big or go home.
Living in the world of commodity price determining income, the cyclical nature takes getting used to. Bad part is when you’re making money you don’t truly enjoy it because you know you should save it to get you through the lean years. Alcohol makes it bearable.

Some of what he said.


At best.

Well, I like those guys, and I have no idea what their situation is. In most places, even remote, non-mountain, cattle country anymore, 2000 acres is going to be worth $1mm.

Typically, returns in cow/calf operations are lower than crop operations. Ranchland is often “pretty” and invites outside competition. I think Jim has sheep, and I’m not sure on cash flows there - it can be good because of the yield (2 lambs) on investment (1 ewe). Years ago they called sheep “mortgage lifters”. But they darn sure earn it.

just gonna soak up the comments for now ...

FIL does cattle as a write off says there’s no money in it

I should be clear.....what he said is no doubt true in higher production areas...such as the Midwest and the Dakotas.


It doesn't ring true where I farm and ranch.

There is a whole lot of difference between a large farm that grows nothing but corn and soybeans, and a small diversified one that has both livestock and crops.

I bought 15 acres a few yrs ago hay land and payed for it selling square bales off of it in 3 yrs hard work but profitable

If it were easy to get rich farming, or ranching, there'd be more millionaires.

I agree, Jim, and my comments were really reflective of large cash crop operations in the Midwest, and not livestock operations. Points west (MT/WY) are very different as land prices are determined as much or more by external demand vs operators.

Farming, and ag in general, are also 2 of the deadliest professions.

My buddy Chicken Farmer bought his own farm when he was 18. Had no help from family (his father was a terrible drunk and worse farmer who went broke a few times).

Chicken Farmer was milking his own 100 cow herd by himself. Up at 4 am, finish at 7 pm. 3 days a week he’d drive 250 miles to pick up wood shavings that he’d resell for profit locally. Most days his breakfast, lunch and dinner would be whole milk from his farm, though he’s a beer guy and always had beer. Then he bought a second farm for total 150 acres.

After 25 years in it, he got into broiler chickens. Keep in mind this is Canada so there is dairy quota and chicken quota (42.000 birds per cycle), that you have to buy. He got out of dairy 5 years later, but still holds ownership in some lines and makes money from that.

The chickens were a big investment, quota, new buildings, constant upgrades of equipment, etc. He says anyone getting into it now wouldn’t make a penny for at least the first 10 years. He rents out his crop land now but farmed it before.

He just turned 60, so 42 years of doing this. Didn’t marry or have kids until he was 47. His land is paid for and he makes a fabulous income. And he’s willing to take risks that I wouldn’t. I went with him last week when he signed the papers on a 2023 Dodge Demon 170 - MSRP, dealer premium, luxury tax, etc. he’s probably paid almost $300K. He bought it as an investment and won’t mind if he breaks even if he decides to have some fun driving it.

https://www.dodgegarage.com/srt-demon-170

I don’t envy him one bit. He earned it, and I don’t think I could have done it.

Just for some perspective...the last farm I bought was 1500 acres.....and was just a hair under a million.

It's not because it's a well kept secret......! Hahaha!

They mostly are all millionaires. It’s not easy to do because of the initial capital investment. Generally, if you don’t inherit it, you can’t do it, but if you inherit it, you will be a millionaire.

around here ave. land price that would cost 7.5 mil.

I inherited a tractor and a swather!

I figured that out as a teenager considering how much we often lost on 100 acres with cattle on it. Sure we made. But we lost.

For something that took a lot of my free time and netted me nothing much other than a tax break, I figured unless we could rent land and deal with 200 head or more of cattle it was a loose loose deal. OTOH it was a hobby to grandpa and we certainly understood that. But when I had to take it over the cattle were sold to a renter and we have been cow worry free since then. Thankfully.

Now I'd like to have a cow or two owned just for bad times...

I don’t know much about dairy farming and I know nothing about chickens. Sounds like your friend worked really hard and hit the industry at the right time. There are almost no family dairy or poultry farms left now - it is big business

honestly 1mil value/assets is fairly small , now days it high assest low cash reserves for most .

Well then, you have done very well for yourself. That is a good thing, be proud of it.

That goes beyond just the financials. The industrial scale model, including the corn monocrop guy in OP's video, are going to see times get harder all around as time goes on.

Not really.


It's no guarantee yet.

Not many homesteads make the generational switch here.


We are trying.

Yeah, 40 acres “just in case” would be nice. You could survive. Kids would love it. Good luck finding that anywhere close to a good job.

Well is that because of economics or the kids would like dating prospects within 50 miles? 😁 just, ribbing you, buddy

They might be...... so what if they are?

I guess it's a talking point for bolsheviks



It's not right..... it's not fair!

I pray you are successful and one or more of the kids take it over.

Nationally, the family farm is dying or dead.

After what's coming, there'll be a resurgence. But whether we are alive to see it is very much doubtful.

Exactly

Hey! The doctor said I don't have the diabeetus today.


I have everything else....but not the 'beetus yet.


Might make 50 yet!

Well, not specifically to Sam or Jim, but exactly which perspective is “bolsheviks”? Certainly not that we should take the wealth of millionaires. Should they be the beneficiaries of federal taxes?

What do you think that will be?

From my perspective, the sort of farming that produces boomerfood is losing ground and will one day no longer be the dominant archetype. The model that produces the cheapest possible thing that can legally be labeled as food, regardless of how much nutrition has been stripped out of it or how many hormones and antibiotics are in it.

Some combination of people no longer eating garbage and the increasing difficulty of externalizing the costs will kill it. Maybe.

I'm afraid to go see the doctor, probably gonna say lower your blood pressure, quit drinking and start wearing sunscreen!



As you guys know we have no kids and it's really showing now with the grunt work around here. So much general maintenance on the 'corrals', that my brother and I did as kids, is not getting done by my lazy ass.....lol


And my 74 year old dad wants to get cow numbers back up and buy 50 head of black baldy heifers, or really get wild and buy bred heifers.

He said what do you think of that?


I said we need help.

Not a chance.

I sincerely hope that you make it big, and are able to pass a successful operation down to your kids.

The wife orders beef on line from family farms.

If Gates et al really had the best interest of the nation at heart, he'd split up all the farm land he bought into appropriate for the area plots and sell/donate to families. Set up the infrastructure to cater to the small farms like it used to be and take the short term loss.

If the families there are burnt out, there are plenty in the cities or 'burbs that'd jump on it.

The operations I referenced are mostly family owned. They aren’t dying. They are consolidating by various methods. Marriages, some kids don’t want to do it, etc. Still family owned, at least here.

Buy high and sell low!

We could no doubt solve each other's problems Sam.

Crazy we can't figure out stuff on our own operations.

Well...everybody has a family. Even Warren Buffet.

Sunscreen, and keep the neck covered, I had melanoma.

From what I know of Gates’s holdings, it is mostly “pretty” ranch land. If he sells it, another billionaire will buy it. Would be nice if local operators could lease it.

Yep, plenty of family net worths moving over $10mm. Thus my original post.

Where Im from in PA it's dying. Where I lived on the hi-line by Jim it's dying. Being bought out by the neighbor who already owns half the county. It's all about big. Grain farming is a scam in my very humble opinion. At least on scale where I have seen it.

I bought 45 acre last summer for $100k

I'm an optimist.

I have a son that likes video games too much….

When do you stop calling it a family farm?

We are really trying here.


People like cheap food and Wall Street profits.


Hard to compete against that.

I've (literally) bet my farm on it.

If I had to go back to growing heads for Cargill or Tyson or whatever conglomerate processor, I'd go get a J.O.B. somewhere.

Relax.

We got drugs for whatever ails ya.




P

I have to look up exact tax laws at this time but that's where you start running into issues how you leave it to the next generation because some of the tax laws are so severe they're pretty much paying for half of it again..

You would be fùcked without good publicity/branding/marketing.


Same as us.


It's tenuous.

Jim, all kinds of work and opportunity to expand around here but as you know easier said than done.



Slope, see above...lol

I don’t know. Still mostly family operated. That is only 5000 acres in western ND now, maybe only 500 acres in the Red River Valley out by Fargo.

Very good question and I think there is like a $10mm level on what can be passed on without inheritance taxes. I am not an estate planner. Seems that an easy solution would be a cheap price on contract for deed.

I think the country as we know it now is going to burn to the ground, and out of the ashes I HOPE we will come back stronger and better. But in the mean time, after the fall it'll be a lot of subsistence farming. If I allow myself to optimistic, then from that will grow community based economics.

Farming, or ranching is a business, and a way of life.

My brother is the fourth generation in our family to run the farm that our great grandfather started in the 1890s. He’s about 68 years old and winding down the amount he leases and the size of the cattle operation. He never had any sons and his son in laws have great jobs and no interest in farming.
I guess he’ll be the last in our family to run the farm.

Absolutely, for sure. That's why we control the product all the way down the distribution channel to the retailer.

It's a lot of work, investment and risk, but life is better as a price setter than a price taker.

Wink

Damn the system!

It's not the system, it's the handful of "families" that pull the strings.

I've been watching his videos from awhile back . He is involved in a pretty big lawsuit with a grain bin construction company

I'm talking about the 'technical' commodity trading done on Wall Street, and the packers!

People will eat $0.99 bologna made from gopher dicks...

AND...

Be happy in the pennies they saved.

---------------------------

My old boxing coach told me when I was 18...

"Your fellow man is a fool to avoided..."

I have never forgotten...

BROKEDICK IS EVERYWHERE!

I appreciate your sticking your neck out to do the right thing and for whatever it is worth, we buy nearly everything from people doing the same.

It has to start somewhere and I like to think that if I were farming I'd do the same. Maybe ahead of your time but it is coming eventually.

10-4 on that😂😂😂

We all gotta eat.

You guys want to buy a finished Duroc hog?

Here's to the fools amongst us.
(everyone I know raises a drink....lol)

How much?

Fancy would be $500, $350 for the local market.

In the last few years, we have been selling more of our beef direct. 1/4's,1/2's, & whole animals. We had a lot of positive feedback, but a lot of people don't have room for a 1/2, or can't afford one.

This summer we got our retail sales license. Then had a small building put up, with a walk in freezer. We sell single cuts and "bundles" of beef and pork. It's been a learning curve, but definitely helps.

Cheers...

My Montana Pard...

Hard copy...

THAT is the future...

The masses will eat crickets... or whatever .GOV decides they should.

Gopher dick bologna will be a special weekend treat...

The property prices sound pretty good - IF you want to sell.
Cattle, and farming, are not a job for many of us - it IS a lifestyle that we love, and try our damndest to make a decent living from.
In the '50's, my dad told me that food was ~ 25 - 30 % of a family's expense.
Now, IIRC, it's ~ 12% - that "money" came right out of the producer's pockets.
Where my father-in-law raised 7 kids on 5000 acres - that would now be called a "hobby ranch" by the IRS.
Big corporations are taking over the family operations, many for tax shelters - making it next to compete by the small operations.
The big corp's save by "economy of scale" - leading to many more problems.

Do YOU want an unfeeling, ONLY for profit, corporation providing your foodstuffs - ignoring the health and welfare of the folks depending on them?
And then, making BIG bucks putting said property into some "conservancy easement" to make big .gov bucks while taking land out of production???
Here in NM, the US Govt already owns near, or over over 1/2the property - and the state owns another very substantial amount. Then they let us "lease" the property under very draconian rules - .gov knows best!
That's how they managed to burn the largest fire in New Mexico's history 1 1/2 years ago.
And are yet to make ANY considerable compensation to the aggrieved parties. Those who settled, mostly did so from frustration!

"We're from the government - we're here to help you."

The little guy gets screwed EVERY way from Sunday - mostly by .gov or .gov enabled (and financed) large corporations.

Rant over.

Cougar time?

Chit...

Hell no!

I read an article about farmers who are opening up a storefront on the farm. In many cases it was a difference makers. People are really attracted to the farm that sells it own cheese , ice cream, tomato sauce, etc.,

Just imagine having a website and selling it online, opening up a youtube channel like this kid and selling merch like hoodies and coffee cups with your farm brand

I'm sitting on a farm that was carved out of Oklahoma red dirt in the last, 1904 Oklahoma land rush.
To complete the "homestead contract", you had to show an agricultural profit within 5 years!
This red clay is tough as nails! I can't even imagine hoe the wife's great grandfather was able to scratch a living out of this place.
"Hardscrabble" takes on a whole new meaning.
Wheat couldn't have been more than pennies per bushel.
Getting enough of this dirt rolled over with horses HAD to be an exercise in futility!
Probably sowed the wheat by hand. Without nitrogen, I can't see how they could wrest more than 15 bushels per acre!

My neighbor farms several hundred acres. He plants wheat for pasture only.
His "crop" is his cattle.
He gets paid ONCE A YEAR!
Out of that, he has to plow, fertilize, sow, buy calves, buy meds to vaccinate his livestock, repair his farm equipment, build/rebuild fence, cut and bale hay, etc, etc, etc....
The man is amazing!!!!
If M. is planting wheat and he has 1/2 acre left to plant and his tractor oil change comes due. He will stop planting and send his hand back to his shop for oil and filters and change it right there on the field.
If the man ever parks a piece of equipment and says, "It's worn out!", not even the junk man wants it! LOL!!!

.....and he's been doing it since he was 12 years old!

Just imagine having a website and selling it online, opening up a youtube channel like this kid and selling merch like hoodies and coffee cups with your farm brand[/quote]

https://www.youtube.com/live/r8FdpFhtsYc?si=azAdLWsUfehaCWSJ

Laura just hit 500000 subscribers

lol

Right now the Internet is flooded with farm and homestead influencers all trying to justify why their burger is $10-12/lb. They go on and on about how much better their product is or "evil/bad" others are. I don't believe in talking [bleep] on other types of ag or trying to bullshit our way to more sales.

Our goal is to sell a quality product, in a way that is obtainable for more people. But when you split up a steer by the cut, it takes slot more customers/time to pay for that animal. It takes a lot of jars of spaghetti sauce, or lbs of burger to pay the bills. The bundles are just another piece to the puzzle. Just like most businesses it all has its place.

We have to pay for the insurance every year or uncle sam gets pissy.

The cotton farm has raised 4 kids in my wife's family and our 2 kids worked spraying weeds for money for school clothes.

It is only about 300 acres.

Things have been tight over the years but no one went broke or hungry.

I started doing alfalfa for our horses and sold the rest,went from 3 acres to 16 and when it came time to take it out of field it was tough for me.

I did it because i liked the smell,color and it was honest work.

Uncle Sam had no part in the hay business and i am thinking about going again into it but with large round bales.
So i will not try to pick them up by hand.

No wonder they don’t do Farmaid concerts anymore, they’re all Fugkin rich!

We are now selling about 15% of our production off the farm. A couple of years ago we had the bright idea that if people were willing to drive 90 minutes (our customer's average drive time to the farm) to pick up fish, we would make BANK if we would just deliver.

Nope. Nothing doing. Spent about nine months marketing, developing websites, photo shoots, hired a publicist, route schedules, promotions, flyers and what not. No real business to be had. You know what DID happen? Twice as many people showed up at the farm. The publicity and "buzz" did bring people out.

Turns out, an essential part of our "product" is the farm experience. The drive into the "country", seeing where the fish are raised, farm dogs, horses in the pasture, the goats running around and the vegetable garden are why people come out. The product is nice, but it's food as recreation, just like a restaurant. We grow half an acre or so of sweet corn, plus some squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, just to give away to customers when they show up. The cheapest advertising I can buy is customer goodwill. This year we'll add a "show pond", throw in some 10 lb bass, 20 lb catfish and 40 lb barramundi for the kids to gawk at. It'll be a good time.

I've looked at goats, pigs and cows to add to our selection, but I'm not fond of the economics. Those are tough unless you can get a 20-30% premium over the going price. Then again, anyone who goes into off the farm retail has to realize that you're going to have to sell to people unlike yourselves, i.e. people who have large disposable incomes and SPEND IT. For me the nickel dropped when I was poking around at a farmer's market in San Francisco, and a farmer was there selling pints of blackberries.... for $14! My mother would have cussed him out for a thief, lol. But, there's people with money that WANT to spend the money to know where their food comes from. It's a mindset foreign to most farmers, since cost, cost, cost is drilled into us from every angle. But cost is NOT what a significant portion of the public's primary concern is.

A doable cattle operation these days is best done with enough land to harvest wintering hay/alfalfa with enough harvest to sell off plenty of the extra. Irrigation of course the bonus.

This generally leads to long hot summers working hay and longer cold winters feeding. Besides everything else.
Sure isn’t “Yellowstone”.

Moving cows, branding, shots, shipping, calving, doctoring, feeding, sorting, round ups, pump maintenance, equipment maintenance, cutting, swathing, bailing, stacking, shipping and on and on and on and who was counting hours?

Osky

that's great

there is a place down the road called Shaw Farms. They have a farmers market stand for the latter part of the summer but they also grow several acres of pumpkins. They have a few acres next to the stand where they have a corn maze, a hay ride around the farm, a petting zoo of goats, lamas, pigs, whatever.

From late September to Halloween, schools take field trips during the week and they need local police on the weekend for manage traffic.

No idea how much they bring in but they move a lot of product. Every person that goes there spends money on something.

note: just read on their website - 500 tons of pumpkins a year

Myself and I’m sure a bunch of people here second that notion 👍🏻

I order once or twice a month from this guy..

https://arrowheadbeef.com/

Started ordering when they shut down the restaurants during the pandemic, his business was heavily dependent on the commercial restaurant trade.

It worked out well, I didn’t have to fight for my beef at the local grocery and he developed a broader market.

I been ordering from him ever since, mostly his aged beef and Wagyu products.

He ships via UPS on Mondays, I get my shipments on Wednesdays.

He's pretty 'sold out' of some of his normally available products right now due to his 25% off Black Friday sale.

New jd cotton stripper will cost right at one million dollars

The company I sold years ago specialized in building and remodeling food processing facilities and the stringent requirements for those folks to sell to the public were many. How are these small operators managing the inspections, regulations, sanitary requirements and still making profit?

Osky

We found out in 1968 we had to go big or get out. We were milking cows by hand and suddenly all of the rules on milk handling changed. We didn't have the money to go big so one day we were milking cows and the next they were on their way to the sale barn. It has been "go big or get out" ever since. If you have a business you can write off your expenses. Buying land is a write off to continue your business. Now the farmers are competing against New York lawyers, leftist activists and the Chinese to own the land.

There are no young farmers trying to make it in the business. They have been priced out. if you are lucky your family is in the business and you can buy into it. That means mom and dad can move to town and you pay them to move to town and the farm is yours. If you can afford it.

kwg

Those cotton strippers are not made in the south where the cotton is, they are made in Ankeny Iowa and then shipped south.

kwg

Nice kid, I didn't watch to the end. Mostly my experience is that Slope is right on target.

First, by capturing the margin otherwise given to transportation, feedlot, processing, sales, transportation, warehousing, transportation and retail markup.

Second, if you sell the animal and the processing separately (even if only in theory), different inspection rules apply. Most local packing companies process into meat that's "not for resale".

We get around it by NOT processing, but making facilities available for the customer if they want to use them. That completely eliminates the Caucasian segment of the market. The lawyer's wife isn't going to gut a fish on a dare. We do fine without her...... as a matter of fact, we kind of try to avoid that part of the public.

This is a good illustration of how the regulations are meant to protect large scale producers, not the safety of the buyer.

i could have had a very nice milk farm if i married his beautiful brown eyed daughter who wanted to marry me ,but at 20 years old i had enough farming in my life by 20 years old . i said nope i am going fishing ,hunting , shooting and see some of the world .her father after that hated me and i am still fishing ,hunting , shooting and have seen some of the world was i right ? who knows ? few years later i met and married a beautiful blond blue eyed farmers daughter who also hated farming too as i did , still with my blond/ blue eyed Norwegian wife and she will fight -F__k or hold the light always !

The farm that I get to hunt, owned by a close friends family[that no longer live in the area].

My buds nephew was given the golden opportunity [after his dad passed on early from cancer].
Grandad was getting too old to continue on by himself, was willing to basically give the grandson free pasturing on the 700 acres, use of equipment and finance purchases of stock[bred heifers, yearling steers].
The kid was early 20's with zero skills beyond farming. Grandad was planning a slow conversion of the operation which also included wintering 25-30 horses which are leased to camps for half of the year.
Grandad was also paying for the kid to go to college[Virginia Tech Ag school] 20 miles away.
Kid started getting in trouble, stupid drunk stuff, fights, stealing etc
Grandad finally gave up on him after 2-3 years of trying to set him up for life.
Grandad also had 40 duplexes about 50 miles away.
Grandad is gone now, his other son[my bud that lives in PA] leases the farm to a local for pasture and we hunt it.
Nobody knows if the kid is even alive at this point.

You can lead a horse to water......

How do you peddle your fishies?

With a water bike most likely.

Farmland is almost never truly "paid-for" unless there's only 1 child in the family. Siblings who stay to farm have to buy or rent from siblings who have moved off the farm.

In my 71 years here on planet earth I have learned some things. One of which is the old saying (Walk a mile in my shoes). Most people believe everybody else has an easier job or life than they do. Take for example a person who just has to scan your groceries and get you to pay. The only hitch is they have to deal with every asswipe that comes to the register. Yes I am talking about a lot of you.
Have a nice day. Ed K

The large majority gets sold (live) to my son on the coast, who manages the distribution to the retailers (and a couple of restaurant wholesalers).

Off the farm, by the pound, live, for them to do with as they will..... We have a scaling machine and a large fish cleaning station they can use for free if they wish but it's not big enough during busy times. About half just dump them on ice in a cooler or even just a bag and take them home to clean. We're only open on Saturdays, couldn't staff it otherwise.

I farm and ranch. The 3 weeks in the summer and 4 in the fall is a joke. If you mix livestock in.... watch out. It's a minimum 12 hr day. Granted, I'm basically a 1 man show and I love the work I do but there's not a day that something doesn't go wrong. It's a lifestyle. If you have the ground and cows payed off, you can make some money at it. I plow every cent back into the operation that I can. Heading out now to work some ground. Fed 375 head of calves this morning. Had 2 die this week from a bug that moved in. Treating them in the feed and darting the real sick ones. Oh, got a bearing going out on the feed wagon that'll need attention tonight around 9 pm. Just repaired the tire on the disc. If it was so easy, more people would do it. I feel like I'm living the dream, until a bad winter hits or something breaks. Then I get cranky. I was pretty impressed with that kid in the video.

Many modern farmers are millionaires, in a net worth way, just because of land value. Many also make a pretty good income. The problem is, they can only benefit from their net worth by borrowing against the land or selling it. They can only make the pretty good income by continuing to work.
I do not farm. Instead I built a campground on my place. The result is much the same. The money comes in OK, as long as I keep working at it. At 74, working at it isn't as much fun as it used to be. From a net worth standpoint, I reckon I am a millionaire but I don't feel like one!
For the most part, I have a lot of admiration for the people who work to make their land pay. GD

Always remember that the government subsidies are given to keep food cheaper for all the fat people here in the USA. Fat people don’t revolt! Ed K

Having lived in the Farm life for over 65 years all I can say is Slope77 has led a charmed life there in ND. His time lines sound like bankers hours instead of farm hours. I hope he continues to be successful in his wonderful "Farm" life. In my world it is Million dollar combines (3-6), $750,000 tractors (3-5), Fertilizer ($250,000 a year), Seed($225,000), Herbicides ($500,000 a year, Hopefully) Fuel ($4,000-$5,000 a day during the spring and Fall)($5,000-$6,000 a day during Harvest, 45 to 50 days). Another $100,000 in combine winter repairs yearly, another $100,000 in other machinery repairs yearly, keeping semi's running, labor costs, Crop insurance, Farm insurance, lease payments, and heaven forbid living expenses. All the while hoping that mother nature gives you enough rain, at the right time and the temps need to be cool at the correct times, warm at the correct times, and rain free when harvest time comes and the Government decides to leave the price of grain alone and let free market do its thing. Finding labor that wants to work and are reliable. Are there 8 hour days? you bet, every now and then after the crops have been put in and you "only" have shop work to do or it is a rainy day, harvest days are more like 16 hour days. Been involved in the cattle industry, but decided I didn't need the headaches. All the above mentioned is my personal experiences, but I thought I would throw out how life works out here in the Palouse country.

Watched the video, it was pretty good. I come from a farm background so I’m not totally naive on the topic. One thing that the video did not cover well was all the safety nets, subsidies, bail outs, etc that farmers can get.
I do not buy the comment that “if they didn’t get those, they’d go out of business and we’d starve.” That’s BS. The land will get farmed, by someone who is capable of doing so efficiently.
I own some farm land and have it in CRP, so I’m in the government system.
Rarely a week goes by that I don’t get a usda e mail notifying me of some government program, farm/milk/grain subsidy, etc.

Farmers in Western New Jersey drive new Corvettes, F-250, Harley’s, side causes, etc. Put their land in farmland preservation at $10K an acre, rent land out to gun clubs and get Government subsidies! I don’t blame them but one thing we told them was to stop crying the blues about money as it was getting pathetic!

And you didn’t mention the “small” things… skid steers when replaced, 65k. Round bailers doing 4-5k rolls a year replace every 4 years 100k plus for the pair. Square bailers doing the same volume 125k every four years, trucks, trailers, tires, keeping the fuel drums full, on and on… if you follow prompts on equipment people would be shocked at how much grease a full operation goes thru.
How do you put a price on the 24hour watch when 2-300 heffers come in for the first time?
Hats off to the stock folks.

Osky

My fugcking loader tractor just died!


Frogsnacks.


I guess we won't haul hay home this winter.

You are correct Osky I did forget all the "small stuff". I forgot about the barrels of motor oil, Hyd. oil, Trans fluid, and the pallet loads of grease. Along with all the other consumables that the farm goes through in a year.

Who can afford the estate/inheritance tax if you inherit something without proper planning?

Most of the time you don't.

ouch?

So, all y'all farmers/ranchers who on this forum decry oil/gas and their associated subsidies, while collecting millions in ag payments, and decry "covtards" while collecting covid "economic relief" raise your hands...

THAT would be my family...and yes, they are multimillionaires...

Ranchers typically aren’t the beneficiaries or subsidies etc.

I’m certainly not decrying oil and natural resource incentives.

The majority of the bigger operations don't own all the land they farm. Maybe 30% owned and the other 70% leased. So when it comes to any perks which in our area are not much. The only big perks that have been offered to the landowners are the wind farms and those only go to certain landowners who have the larger acreages. The wind mill operators only want to work with as few landowners as possible, so they are not going to mess with the guy who only has enough land to put 2 or 3 towers on. And most of the farmers don't see a dime off that.

Really? Then I guess my family LLC didn't collect the funds we collected? I just looked on USDA.gov and that matched the calcs our accountant used to apportion my share. Can you give him a call?

Dude,

I've been saying "family farm" needs a real definition for years.

Yours, Sam's, Dutch's, Ben's, and a few others probably fit my definition. Somewhat along the lines of The Real McCoys. Family members doing the work mostly, maybe a hired hand or two. And some seasonal help for the harvest.

But some of these places I see advertised as family farms? NFW, Jose. We have some in the Valley, some owned by politicians, that use the family farm card to full advantage, especially when election time comes around or they need support to pass some sort of farm or water bill.

My rancher neighbor's operation I consider a family farm. He inherited a couple or three sections near the watercourses from his folks, holds the grazing allotments on a couple more sections of BLM dry land. He works it with his daughter (a school Admin person FT) , her husband who's on the ranch FT, his wife helps with veggies in the high tunnel during that season, and the grandkids are now getting old enough to be doing more on the place like checking fence by themselves and helping cut and bale alfalfa and grass hay. They do the farmer's market every two weeks in town, and he and his wife make and sell pottery.

They run a smallish cattle operation, sell some to a processor in the Bay Area to sell as organic and as far as I know they ship some more t the feeder operatins. And they sell direct at the farmer's market and by word of mouth around here.............even to me, and I gladly pay the premium over Safeway grocery store stuff. I know who, how, and where it was raised. And i buy veggies from them and other locals, along with honey and jams (yikes, carbs!) at the markets in summer.

I sure wish a family farm here would start up a dairy operation, our county has plenty of grazing 7 months a year and grass and alfalfa bales are shipped out in large amounts so there would be no problem with feed in the winter if one started up.

The insurance man's daughter and son in law got out of cattle last year and started some pigs. I'll likely get a half next spring just to support them and have stuff for the grill.

I like knowing where my food comes from, for all I know one of these is in the spaghetti sauce I made the other day. You true family farmers keep up the good work.

Growing corn and soybeans is stressful enough, but ranching looks like high stakes gambling to me.

What Jackmountain said about the cyclical nature of farming happened to us in 2022 and 2023. 2022 was a great year, higher than average yields combined with higher than average prices, while 2023 was just the opposite, lower than average prices and yields.

Those with food have many problems.

Those without have but one.


The gubment is worrying about getting re elected……

NOT others like farmers…

I.E. suppress food costs…..mo votes.

The first time the farm bill was introduced the then president vetoed it. I think it was Coolidge.

He stated “ Once this starts…it will never end!”

The Beef industry has never taken a nickel……

Unless you consider range leases at under a dollar a day per pair.

I think it’s also why defensive stocks, pharmaceutical companies, infrastructure stocks underperform.

Dealing with the gubment usually ain’t jake…..


Axe Sitting Bull, or Osceola.

Perhaps even Trump

Watched about 9:30 of that.

Could have just put up a spreadsheet and I'd have been done in 5 mniutes or less.

Then again, I'm the guy that asks for transcripts of video blogs and interviews.

AADHD Rocks!

I am talking typical USDA subsidies. Those programs are geared towards farmers.

Not saying there are disaster programs and there certainly were plenty of covid funds thrown at everyone in most every industry.

I personally took none of that, although I was eligible for quite a bit.

Good on you. You're the exception to the posters (some in Montana, btw) I was referencing. To collect Covid payments, federal subsidies, oil/gas/mineral severance extraction allocations, then decry the energy sector is both hypocritical and disingenuous...

Whaaaaaaa!

A couple of years ago I recall asking you if you saw a future (60 years?) with your children following and, IIRC, the reply was yes for two with some changes. Reads like the some changes are being thought/rolled out.

We tried direct market....and are still working on it.

Are you trying in the bigger population areas of MT like Bozeman, Missoula, and Kalispell area or are those saturated by other growers already?

During the lockdowns and Trump dollars and Biden bux....we did okay selling here.


No more money here.


Going west next to the areas you mentioned.

hope it works.

You’ve got to go where the money is. Like I said, it’s hard for those of us these grew up hard scrapping to make a living to relate to people that drop $250 for a meal for two, and feel good about it.

My mother fussed at me to the day she died that “normal people” couldn’t afford to eat the fish I raised, and she didn’t care to hear me answer that I don’t raise fish for normal people (I.e. people that turn every penny over twice). Those people can go to Walmart and buy vac packed frozen fillets from China.

There’s a real burgeoning demand for “clean” protein, PFAS free, etc. People are able and willing to pay, and I’m willing to take their money.

The traveling fish truck is scheduled to be in town this coming Thursday and I just wrote up a list.

It's a crew that goes to AK and brings back their catch to us hayseeds out here in the sticks.

My wife and I both love a little seafood and it works out well.

Interesting.

As a general rule farmed fish is considered less desirable than wild caught to the average consumer. You must be doing some education.

Got a link to your products?

One of the OGs in the LR custom rifle buisness had a funny but true sayin.

"You'll never make any money dealing with those that are poor."

I can say he was spot on with that assesment.

You should start eating alot of fish.

Just SayN.

I would think east in the Bakken might hold some potential as well

My dad has 11 head of 1000lb steers in a pen with some open cows.



Late calves, light steers that we didn't sell last spring and ran this past summer in a little pasture close to home.

Our freezer is getting empty of beef and I'm thinking about buying one from the farm and butchering him in 3-4 months.

Well Sam, if you do we'll get to see more pics of your steak wizardry on the BGE, right?

Geno, don't get me started on that BGE....


Last month I went to open the vent cap on the Egg and the screw that holds the rotating cap in line stripped out. Found a replacement on Ebay for $65!

Of course I saved the old, stripped assembly and need to fix it up.

NFW!

I'd have been down to the Ace hdwr lookin for a screw that would work.

My dang Aussie grill didn't even cost that much. it ain't as nice as a BGE, but it cooks stuff just fine.

at least you cpuld find the parts.

HOCKEY TIME here.

later dudes

Bill Gates has the best interests of Bill Gates at heart. Sleazy Bastard.

why should he provide welfare farms for people?........bob

NWO Gates can GFH.

Read it again. I didn’t say he “should”. He can spend it all on golden [bleep] and [bleep] himself to death.

I simply gave an example of something he COULD do.

Was replying to brown elk.....while a noble idea welfare programs usually don't work.

If I had that kind of money I wouldn't do it.....I would donate the hell out of it....but not for a welfare program.

Bob

Sure they have.

Just like the rez.

I live in Farm Country. Rowcrop in east half of the county, Livestock Beef and chicken houses in Western half. Anybody that makes money works alot more than a few weeks a year and understands the business aspects of selling their product and buying commodites they need to produce. Many are millionaires and many are just above bankruptcy. Rowcrop farmers can get annual subsidy if they know how to work the system. Cattle farmers don't. Chicken farming is a racket that enslaves you 24 and 7. 365 days a year. If you stick it out till your loans are paid back you have equity in something valuable. They just started with chickens here and many that took the loans with the promise of making this much per house are wishing they hadn't. They are stuck working every day for the next 20 years.