You guys forget that Flave worked on a dairy when he was younger.
That dairy farm schit was hard work.
But planting and rounding up some soybeans twice a year?
Pffffttt. Get real. That's a part time job.
I suppose thats why virtually all Farmers have off farm jobs.
None in my family do.
Full time and mostly 365.
Congrats.
The vast majority of farmers rely on off farm income.
I know every area is completely different, but with a closer proximity to urban areas and a lot of tourists/travelers passing through, a lot of farms are transitioning to a value added model. Dairies building creameries and producing/selling milk, ice cream, cheese etc. on site, truck farms with produce stands, folks raising custom beef, pork, chicken, organic egg etc.. and selling directly to the consumers. Poultry co-op owned by the farmers competing very well against the big-ag companies. Lots of restaurants sourcing everything possible from local farms directly. People starting to really consider where the food they’re eating comes from and the impacts of those choices. It’s good to see. People sick of being beholden to some middleman buyer/broker who’s beating them down and turning around and selling for big profits. Food production needs to be a lot more local. Pisses me off to look on a can or package and see “produced in (not USA)” Edit to add: very few farms around here over 500 acres. Most a lot less. Beef operations, lots of poultry houses, crops, dairy. No hog farming. Lot of family are farmers. 7 days a week. Hard way to make a living but a lot of people have it in their blood. Wouldn’t trade for half the hours and twice the money doing something else.
