Farming Question

[tweeder]

build good fences and good shipping pens and graze yearlings, get paid by the pound gained....good way to get your feet wet without risking ALOT of $$$$$$$...

I have to disagree with this, with prices at all time highs there is very little margine for error. Yearlings are about the worst thing someone will little to no experience could get into. You would need to be able to check them several times a day to catch any that need doctoring, if you were to have many calves get sick and not catch it, you could loose thousands in a heartbeat.

Your best bet is to find a farm or ranch to work on, or find someone who will let you help them on weekends. Wait till you have a couple of years experience to strike out on your own.

However, if your bound and determined to do this we need more info before we could offer any help. How much of the land is pasture vs. cultivation? and a more specific area. How much money you have to spend, and so on.

Good luck

[tractorred]

Farmed my whole life and am now 64. Please tell me how to make that ton of money

[Jaspro]

Or here is another way to look at it. I have $112290 worth of corn seed (enough to to plant 1600 acres) purchased by the state sitting in the barn waiting for it to dry out enough to plant it. If it doesn't happen by the end of march we will have to change it all over to milo and put that seed into cold storage to keep for next year. I imagine it will dry out enough to get it planted but just in case it didn't do you know anyone who could absorb that kind of hit?

[doghouse]

I have to disagree with this, with prices at all time highs there is very little margine for error. Yearlings are about the worst thing someone will little to no experience could get into. You would need to be able to check them several times a day to catch any that need doctoring, if you were to have many calves get sick and not catch it, you could loose thousands in a heartbeat.

Your best bet is to find a farm or ranch to work on, or find someone who will let you help them on weekends. Wait till you have a couple of years experience to strike out on your own.

However, if your bound and determined to do this we need more info before we could offer any help. How much of the land is pasture vs. cultivation? and a more specific area. How much money you have to spend, and so on.

Good luck

This. ^^^^^

[cricketfire46]

Good luck if you pull the trigger on this.

[Keithb]

The fastest way to become a millionaire farming is to start with 10 million. I grew up farming and it's not as bad as some think. Greater risk than most industries, but how many industries have insurance if their business fails for the year? Our area pushed out small farmers. Unless you farm 1500+ acres it's not profitable. If farming was so bad, local farmers wouldn't live in 200K+ houses, drive 60K trucks, etc and make annual payments. I don't think 500 acres is enough to make it unless you really cut corners. My family made healthy living off 800 acres but we didn't have the income to purchase all the new 4-row pickers, module builders, etc. back then to keep up due to the small amount of acreage we farmed.

[trophy8]

while it may seem farmers are a bunch of rednecks and hicks, it takes some serious work and brains to do it and be good at it....i have always said that....

[okiedoke]

I have been around ranching my whole 25 years of life

And to make money at ranching or farming you must have a large operation. Example: It takes a $50,000 tractor to cut enough hay for 100 cows or 500 cows. The more acres you ranch allows you to run higher capacity head count, which allows you to expense that same $50k truck, trailer, tractor whatever over a larger herd or acres in farm.

[Hawkins]

I have to disagree with this, with prices at all time highs there is very little margine for error. Yearlings are about the worst thing someone will little to no experience could get into. You would need to be able to check them several times a day to catch any that need doctoring, if you were to have many calves get sick and not catch it, you could loose thousands in a heartbeat.

Your best bet is to find a farm or ranch to work on, or find someone who will let you help them on weekends. Wait till you have a couple of years experience to strike out on your own.

However, if your bound and determined to do this we need more info before we could offer any help. How much of the land is pasture vs. cultivation? and a more specific area. How much money you have to spend, and so on.

Good luck

What I was going to say. Yearlings would be the biggest risk for somebody with no experience. You gotta check then daily, they're just looking for a reason to die. Even if you bought pre-conditioned cattle. Plus with today's prices.

Good luck with what you decide I wish I could make a living at it. But right now it's just a weekend thing.

[Cam-Mac]

I have made some good money ranching. My family farms and ranches quite a bit of land up here in the panhandle.

My only comment is this: i love ranching and have made money doing it. But i am NOT about to start farming, even with the opportunity of family land/equipment. I also have an insurance agency where i sell crop insurance, so i've seen it from both sides. I wont farm- period.
But not trying to discourage you. You should sit down with some growers in that area and pick their brains. The advice you get here will vary quite a bit from personal experiences.

[Chief Yote]

Man it is alot of work and alot of time. It takes patience for sure if there was good money involved in it I would of started right out of high school. I know some big farmers and ranchers around my area that make food money, but not all the time. I bet most of the time they lose their butts.

[TimH]

What exactly are you starting with on this property?

[BadtotheBow]

my dad and my uncle started farming together 26 years ago. They started with 800 acres that my grandfather owned. Now they farm 8000 acres and Im going home after I graduate in May to join them. It can happen. There are a lot of people on here saying that you can't make money but I dang sure promise you if my dad and uncle were doing as bad as some of the people above are describing, I wouldn't be taking my college degree home and farming with it.... If I were in your shoes, I think I would try cattle. Starting to farm today with 800 acres would be hard... The cost of equipment alone is outrageous.

[Low Fence]

I would plant hay. If this next summer is anything like the last summer then hay will be worth a good amount. Even if it's the lowest quality hay.

Who will you sell it to? 60% of Texas cattle are GONE! and at market prices at and above $2.40/ lbs........anyone buying in will be bankrupt

Just for reference, I do irrigate and I wont count that cost into the over $200,000 worth of hay equipment I own+...and I put $1,300 in my pocket from custom bailing this season

[Low Fence]

my dad and my uncle started farming together 26 years ago. They started with 800 acres that my grandfather owned. Now they farm 8000 acres and Im going home after I graduate in May to join them. It can happen. There are a lot of people on here saying that you can't make money but I dang sure promise you if my dad and uncle were doing as bad as some of the people above are describing, I wouldn't be taking my college degree home and farming with it.... If I were in your shoes, I think I would try cattle. Starting to farm today with 800 acres would be hard... The cost of equipment alone is outrageous.

There IS money.........at times. But it aint no "Dolla dolla bill yo" buisness. and its nothing to go into without background, or hands on help from those that know whats going on, and can predict futures.