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What to do with the Farm?

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IndianaRed

Member
What would you think is the best way to farm 200 acres of pretty good bottom, 50 acres of so so, with another 3 or 400 acres of prairie? My family has been running a cow/calf operation, about 40 mommas I think. Sell a little corn when there's extra and some beans. Have custom hayed in the past. Grandad passed a few years ago, and the uncle that stayed doesn't know what to do to be more profitable, if there is a way on that little ground. Old/smaller equipment, an 826 and 706. Anything you've heard of that we could look into? We've looked into grapes and other specialty crops. Truck farming probably wouldn't work since we're so far from a large metropolitan area. This is SE Kansas by the way. Just keeping on the way we have doesn't seem smart or right. I know it's the same problem many have, but the uncles and aunts have a little money and are open to trying something. Any brief thoughts you might have are appreciated.
 
organic seems to be where the money is but you need a steady customer base...some of the rice farmers in my area quit growing rice and planted hay during drought years...couple of them did so well,theyre sticking with it...if you got irrigation it mite be something to think about.
 
Any chance of expanding the herd? Maybe renting more grazing ground, or cropground to raise more feed?
The grass sometimes looks greener on the other side of the fence, but every different business comes with it's own peculular problems. If you have been pretty successful raising cattle, expanding what YOU know may be the best solution for you.
Good Luck whatever you do.
Larry NEIL
 
Livestock has been tough te past 5 years or so. Money in row crops if your land grows them.

Sounds like the land is set up for mixed, some cattle, some good crop land.

Any way to carry more cattle, rotational grazing, improving the pasture lan in other ways?

Possible to get into grass-fed-beef in that area, less grain fed to the critters at this time, more grain to sell?

--->Paul
 
Veggies may have the highest value, at least some of them as you say, yet generally, they are the most labor intense farming around. You can cultivate from a tractor, and some can be planted, but, most operations of most veggies involve hard work. I worked growing produce as a youngster, and it was mighty hard work. I agree, however, that there is a lot more money in veggies if you have a market for it.
 
If there are employment opportunities in the area, it might be more profitable to lease out the land (maybe in separate parcels) and get an outside job than to actually farm it yourself.
 
WE grow blueberries, but it took about 8 years or so to get the customers aware of it and lined up. In the mean time, lots of hard work, IF you do it right. One real secret is a hard-working spouse who loves it.
By the way, do not try bueberries in bottom ground. Big mistake.
 
Don't laugh but check in your area for cell phone companies. 1 cell tower on the place can help a whole bunch. Will pay for years to come! Then rent most the ground out and piddle farm the rest!
 
i dont know what kind of fencing you have but there are 2 places around here that are raising buffalo for the meat which is more healthy than beef especially if you have collesteral problems as buffalo meat doesn't have any , the meat sells for more than beef, and they just eat grass, not feed , but understand a buffalo is naturally a mean critter, you fences have to be really stout not just the standard range fence when they decide to leave they will just walk thru that kind of fence , thee guys are doing pretty good and their herds hover around 50 to 60 animals, might check into that just an idea
 
What about planting sunflowers? Have a friend that plants 150 acres of them and plants the other 550 in cash crop corn,beans,wheat.
 
Try asparagus, it's a good crop that comes back year after year with little maintenance. Then check with your local stores if they would be interested in it. It's back breaking work but just look at the price of it in the stores.
 
I have seen big fields of sunflowers not far from where I live. They're not cheap in the stores. Even Frito Lay buy them. Hal
 
If your as dry as we are in ne Kansas I would suggest that you stay the course and do what has be proven to work. Your equipment will farm the ground you have and is payed for. The ground you have sustains the operation, there is no get rich quick scheme. Farm what you have, maybe incorporate some new methods ie no till, do some soil testing to maximize yields.
 
More cows,then use the corn to finish the calves all the way out. That's what I started 9 years ago after I sold the dairy cattle. Everything I grow here leaves here either in a stock trailer or a manure spreader.
When I started it,I figured all I would ever do is break even. Didn't matter,the wife was working. She hasn't worked in going on 4 years now. I've cleaned up all of my debt and we're doing alright for ourselves. Better than I ever dared dream we'd do.
 
Unfortunately,G.W. killed that market. He came up with some genious plan to allow asparagus to come in from Peru without any tarif in order to persuade the Peruvians to grow it instead of being in the illegal drug trade. Dole went down there and took advantage of the sutuation and grows all we need in this country. West Michigan had a real big asparagus industry and it was ruined buy that brilliant plan.
Not saying none is grown in this country,just saying all the profit is gone from it.
 
'thouth knowing the details and based strictly on what you've posted, I'd rent that sucker out in a heartbeat.
 
I forgot to include (in response to your question in another post) what a friend did with his small farm. He partnered with a guy who owned a store that catered to paintballers. They set up several different skill levels of battle fields and let 'em go at it. The place is much more profitable than it ever was as a working farm. And the less maintenance they do on the property, the more the "warriors" seem to like it!
 
The best thing I ever did to make my small operation profitable was to start raising pumpkins. I live on a busy road which helps. I also buy straw and shelled corn and resell it off a self serve wagon by the house year round. My pumpkin stand, during the fall, I also sell corn stalk bundles, gourds, straw and allot of different varieties of pumpkins. I also give hay rides around the farm on weekends and special occasions. My hay ride route goes by my small feed lot which has help sell sides of beef. I would rather just raise corn, wheat, and soybeans but I don't have the land available to make it worth while. So I do what I have to do to stay farming and make a buck.
 
Add cows and ground as you can. Update machinery only as you need it. New paint costs a whole hail of a lot less than new iron. Keep it up and running until it drops. Breed your cows to better bulls and upgrade the herd over time. And don't be afraid of NRCS- they can foot the bill for a lot of improvements on the place such as cross fencing and watering troughs. If you don't get that money, someone else will. Produce your own feed, and sell the best, then feed the rest. Think it out first, and then think it out again. Good farmers are thinkers first, and that's why they're good...
 
I'm getting confused here. You mention grapes, some of these guys are giving you 'small farm' ideas... but as I read this, you -they? have 200 good tillable, 50 marginal but tillable, and 400 acres of pasture or possibly tillable? That adds up to 650 acres, 10 more than a square mile section? That's a heck of alot of grapes. I believe Chateau Rothchild only has 35.
Now, if the subject is 'no more cattle cause theres no more water'.... then your uncle might as well rent it out to hunters.
 
I am in Wichita. I grew up farming in Pawnee county but no longer farm, although I have a good friend who farms near Wichita and has gone to no-till. His yields are up and expenses are dow,n so his margin is much better - has been doing it about 10 years so his is a stable operation.

He sold all his equipment except a planter, tractor, combine and big spray rig. He could have his crops custom cut and ditch the combine, but he raises fall crops as well as wheat and also raises some corn so I guess the combine pays off.

His equipment maintenance is way down since he has so little equipment compared to what it used to take to farm the same land. His fuel cost is down since he isn't tillling all the time.

He is not irrigated and the drought has hurt him a lot but insurance bought the corn crop and that helped. His wheat this year was good but the milo was poor but it paid to cut most of it. When it rains on time he thinks he raised his efficiency a bunch by going no-till.
 
I thought the same thing. Hard to believe anyone can't make a good living on 600 acres of tillable land. I know of a lot of people making it with much less then that. Me included.
 
You need to understand difference in climate. Where rain is limited, 600 acres won't do much more than pay the bills, if that... SE Kansas is wetter than here, but in Colorado, 250 acres of tillable is only 125 to 175 acres of harvest per year...at 40 bushel per acre wheat or 70 bushel per acre corn, that's not much income to cover expenses. A moderate farm here is 2500 acres, you aren't big until you get closer to 20,000...

For the original poster, you might look at grass fed beef, big money in that niche market...
 
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