distance from home to farm

Timothy in MN · Mar 1, 2012

Hi all, grew up farming, now doing the big city thing but itching to get back to my roots. The idea would be to start out small and keep the city job. How far would it be feasible to travel to the farm? Or how often? Row crops seem to rule around here, but I could see myself doing hay if there was enough of a market.

Lookin forward to your opinions

Tim

caseyc · Mar 1, 2012

How far depends on what "big city" you live in. Hay would definitely be the lowest inputs and lower overhead compared to row crops and there's always a market for hay if you got good stuff. The problem is unless you've got good connections or deep pockets row crops are going to be tough to get started with. Land prices are at record highs along with rents. An acre of corn can run $500 easy, so it would cost $40k to put in 80 acres of it. I can go on for ever so dollar if I can help.

Casey in SD

Billy NY · Mar 1, 2012

It can be a real pain to work too distant from a farm. I used to work in NYC, 175 miles away but liked to come home as often as possible, spend a lot of time driving, also worrying about a remote place, tresspass, theft, arson and the like, something to consider.

If your reasonably close, say under 30 miles not so bad, but its 30 miles to the other place for me, and I've worked their full time from here, 2 hours a day on the road, its a pain, plus when or if something occurs you need to be there, you're always at the other end ! Had to fire and remove a person there once, soon as I got my nice hot dinner on the table, had to turn around and go back to the place, that is annoying to say the least. Situations like that also have a tendency to have you buying 2 of instead of 1 as I recall !

Just something to consider if any real distance, job with a steady paycheck, and farming 2nd, seems to be the right order though, nice to have that job as close as possible, commutes do get old, they wear on you physically and mentally, again something to be aware of, everyone's situation is different.

JMOR · Mar 1, 2012

(quoted from post at 21:11:25 03/01/12) Hi all, grew up farming, now doing the big city thing but itching to get back to my roots. The idea would be to start out small and keep the city job. How far would it be feasible to travel to the farm? Or how often? Row crops seem to rule around here, but I could see myself doing hay if there was enough of a market.

Lookin forward to your opinions

Tim

een driving 70 miles (1 1/2 hour) to my place for 40 years at least once a week.......still enjoy it.....I won't think about what I have spent in transportation costs. Others spend it in bars, strip joints, movies, etc.....I spend it my way.
I wouldn't want to be doing that at more than 2 hours, myself.

caseyc · Mar 1, 2012

*hollar, stupid auto correct.

Timothy in MN · Mar 1, 2012

Yeah land is too much right now, Watched my parents get hammered in the 80's. should go down some by the time I'm ready to do something.

I'm on the edge of the Twin Cities, in 5 min I can be surounded by corn. There is a 120 acre farm for sale close to me for 2 mil, but it will be all houses in 10 yrs.

Where in SD are you? Spent some time working around the de smet area.

notjustair · Mar 1, 2012

I'm about 35-40 minutes from my job in the city. I don't do crops, just animals to butcher or sell. The good thing about cropping is that it is a little more predictable in the short term. It is hard to run into something unexpected when choring animals and still get to work in good time. Traffic is another unpredictable side.

I guess I would say that I wouldn't do it daily if more than 45 minutes considering traffic. It's well worth it though. I was a farm boy that moved to the big city. I couldn't wait to get back out, either.

JayinNY · Mar 1, 2012

As close as u can be, I only have to go 3 miles each way 7 days a week, up to father in laws is 10 miles each way, I hate it. Especially at $3.95 a gallon gas.!!

Kow Farmer · Mar 1, 2012

Tim,
Where are you at? I am in South Central Minnesota. I am fortunate to live on my small farm. I work in a "big" city to me 35 miles away full time. I like your way of thinking. Lots of people can't wait to go to the "big" city and forget about the farm life. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. Don't give up on your dream.
Kow Farmer

Timothy in MN · Mar 1, 2012

Shakopee, EXTREAM SW twincities. I'd prefer to keep house in city and travel to farm for awhile anyway.

caseyc · Mar 1, 2012

I'm by Toronto, halfway between Watertown and Brookings. My wife is from Burnsville and her family is in Woodbury now so i know the area well. Ground around here is selling for 5-8k an acre and renting for 2-300 an acre so start up is not fun. It just gets more expensive in your direction. I've got my doubts about land prices tanking. I can see rent prices coming back to earth but not land prices, they don't make it anymore you know. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Casey in SD

Dave in GA · Mar 1, 2012

I drive 25 miles to the job in Atlanta, and it's 100 miles to the farm in the other direction in the mountains. I go there every other weekend, spring, summer, fall. Six 1930s tractors, an old truck, a hayfield, muscadines and blackberries, and lots of peace and quiet until the F-20 starts up.

FarmerZeb · Mar 1, 2012

i drive 164 miles one way every weekend to get to our farm. which is a whole lot closer than the 739 miles I was driving once a month last year.

-paul

tjdub · Mar 1, 2012

> I could see myself doing hay if there was enough of a market.

Lots of good comments here, but I just want to point out how hard it is to make hay when you have a day job. My job is 8-5 M-F and 45 minutes from home. Even with the long days in summer, it's unbelievably hard to find enough time to put up hay. You only have about 8 weekend days in June to make first crop and you had better believe 6 of 'em are going to be wet ones here in MN. If you don't have a helper to rake for you during the week so you can bale after work, it's darn near impossible to get things done. I have a bale wrapper so I can bale wet hay and wrap it, and that helps, but it makes for a lot of days where I'm up at 6am and putting hay away until 2am, then get back up at 6am.

In other words, grain crops are probably much less stress.

blunosr · Mar 2, 2012

5,800kms... (that's 3,600 miles) one way...

I moved "out West" several years ago for work and prosperity. I was born and raised on our family farm, near a village where my family goes back hundreds of years. So I have quite a draw to go back home.

A few years ago I bought a small "farm" near home, but I only get to go there for 6 weeks each Summer. I used to fly sometimes, but it is $1800 for a plane ticket now, and this morning gas was $1.32/L (that's $5.00/gal US), so driving is expensive! I do drive every Summer, but in my 3/4 ton truck the cost is becoming prohibitive...

If there were good job opportunities there, I would move to my farm permanently. It's just too hard to grow anything when you only have 6 weeks...

Farming isn't feasible for me till I retire (8 more years). So, I'll just continue to putter away on my land and buildings, so it will be easier when I do get to go back to "farming" (at least to living in the country).

I agree with the OP, I can't stand living in the city! I have the fire department two blocks away, and the hospital and emergency medical services less than one block away... you can just imagine...

Bye for now,

Troy

paul · Mar 2, 2012

You should have no problem finding farmland close enough to you. Really, 50 miles wouldn't be that big a deal, harvest is the killer season, suspect you'd end up having that custom done until you get familiar with it all, get your feet under you a couple of years. Spraying for weeds or insects can be time sensitive, but again a coop in every town set up to do that for you, even watch the fields for you as they drive by them.

Finding affordable land might be difficult at this time, sheez!

25 miles would be no problem, 50 miles wouldn't be bad, more than an hour drive might want to consider what your future is, doable but the driving for years and years gets old, securing your stuff is hard if you don't visit it & make the place look active. You'd want a cabin or camper or corner of machine shed set up to stay over a weekend or days off if you got that far out, if you don't have a farmhouse with the place.

Head NW if you are thinking hay, you don't want to deal with the humidity & wet ground & pop up rains we get SW of you and try to put up good hay from a distance.

--->Paul

dixon boy RL · Mar 2, 2012

It starts out being fun,but after 6months of travel back forth etc it gets old and never seems to be very productive. the haying idea is a positve NO idea. You are lucky to get it up at the correct time living on the farm. row crops can be done on small scale,but only if machines are always top shape and no breakdowns. been ther done that, did not like the travel even between farms when you live on farm,you shoot your day moving stuff or chasing yourself and I was only 15 to 25 miles between farms. good luck thou. Its all rented out now and i net more that way then actually farming it myself,thats not right but the books don't lie.

Wheat Farmer · Mar 2, 2012

Born and raised on a dry land wheat farm in the Nebraska pan handle. Lived in the Denver area but took over the farm in 2000 and drove 200 mile one way until 2007 when I sold it. Would drive it about twice a month, some times more. We lived in the mountains west of Denver, and I worked in Denver for 35 years and drove 50 miles one way.Retired from the city job in 2004. In 2010 we put the ranch up for sale and moved to Salida, CO
We now live on a 50 acrea farm with 220 Alpacas 2 miles from town. LOVE IT.

David G · Mar 2, 2012

6 miles for me.

old · Mar 2, 2012

I know a guy that up till the bank foreclosed on him would drive around 70 miles one way to work. I guess it would all depend on what you planned to do as far as farming as to how far you could drive and still work the farm.

26Red · Mar 2, 2012

Figure you're going to be at least 1 hr out of Shakopee (W or SW) to see prices at an affordable level. Got to go farther if you want more than 10 acre farmstead.

jason, NW Ontario · Mar 2, 2012

Our hay fields and hay loft are 220 miles away from where we feed animals. In years past I worked 10/4, which kept me working every allowable day from mid June to October for single cut. Exhausting and thankless (we mostly feed horses). Last year I found 7/7 work, and was able to mow more land than ever before, and complete it all by mid September. I've been doing hay like this since '06 and it's getting really old. Hopefully we'll have it all corrected in '14 when we can move to the other property.

Jay

ss55 · Mar 2, 2012

Are you looking for a hobby or for a profitable second business?

It will be hard to make a profit now as land prices in McLeod county are higher than can reasonably pay for itself from farming.

If your're looking for a hobby: consider planting a vegetable garden in your back yard or in a community garden; or negotiate a part-time (non-paying?) second job on a working farm.

Commuting long distances is expensive. At 50 cents per mile a car costs about $25-$30/hour to operate not including anything for your time.

Think about how you like to spend your free time, your family time, your weekends, and your vacations. A hobby farm will comsume half or more of all of those.

Good luck.

ShepFL · Mar 2, 2012

I drive 62 miles one way from my door to work. Drive gives me time to get my head into work mode. On way home I smile when I see those tall buildings of Jax, FL in my rearview.

Looking for smaller car given fuel prices. As to haying - I would say forget it unless you have a VERY FLEXIBLE work schedule.

Row cropping can be done - look into CSA and see if you can get something going with that. It is cost sharing and the city folks can come play in the dirt. My boys made $3K for two summers selling to niche India market (grocers and families).

Took me some time but U-PICK, Farmers Market etc. are not the way to go for me. Most folks are LAZY and not willing to work to get their food. One yr. I plowed under 10 acres of sweet corn and untold 'maters, squash.

As Paul said HARVEST TIME is crucial! If you can plant on staggered schedule it will be better than b^ll busting to get it all in.

BigMarv1085 · Mar 3, 2012

I drive 38 miles from my drive to the airport 5 days aweek. About 50 minutes to get there and a hour to get home.

distance from home to farm

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