I live on the farm that my ancestors came to in the 1840's. It was passed down through the generations, although I've had to buy part of the land in order to keep it together. I will pass it on to my son, but he has 3 daughters, so after that I suppose the family name will be gone. His oldest daughter seems to be very tied to the land, so hopefully she or one of her sisters will keep things going.......provided the future holds together for them.
We have 300 acres, and I've always worked off the farm either fulltime or part time. My ancestors were full time farmers, but things were much different then. I suppose I could have farmed very intensively, and made it work, something like raising a lot of produce or tobacco. These days, we rent the crop land out to a neighbor and run a small herd of beef cattle. It just takes too much investment for a young person to get started farming in this day and age, unless they have help in some form.
I'm just glad I never become a dairy farmer, as they are in a terrible fix now. If beef prices keep dropping, I may be too.
Last edited by JamesJr; 01/12/19.
