OT: Wages of farm workers.....

My brother retired 7-8 years ago and rented his farm to the son of a BTO. They asked him if he would drive tractor for them, knowing his experience as a careful operator. The first year they paid him $12 per hour to ride around in the JD track tractor and monitor the GPS, plus drive grain cart, trucks, etc. He also has a CDL that allows him to drive their semi-trucks.

After a couple incidents with other hired help, the father, son and brother work as a team so they don't hire any other help. Brother never breaks any machinery, can run anything that they have, is a better mechanic than they are. He has never asked them for more money, but they have voluntarily been increasing his pay rate over the years. In 2016 they paid him $25 per hour for his work. He turned 75 last fall, is in good health but I don't know how long he can keep that up.

He's probably worth every cent of it. Good workers are hard to find.

The $12 sounded too cheap but $25 an hour for work you can say yes or no to depending on what you have planned for the day doesn't sound to bad.

Good for him , and good for them too.

(quoted from post at 11:47:51 01/08/17) My brother retired 7-8 years ago and rented his farm to the son of a BTO. They asked him if he would drive tractor for them, knowing his experience as a careful operator. The first year they paid him $12 per hour to ride around in the JD track tractor and monitor the GPS, plus drive grain cart, trucks, etc. He also has a CDL that allows him to drive their semi-trucks.

After a couple incidents with other hired help, the father, son and brother work as a team so they don't hire any other help. Brother never breaks any machinery, can run anything that they have, is a better mechanic than they are. He has never asked them for more money, but they have voluntarily been increasing his pay rate over the years. In 2016 they paid him $25 per hour for his work. He turned 75 last fall, is in good health but I don't know how long he can keep that up.

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I'd say work until you can't turn your head to look behind you...that's when you start tearing up equipment, or worse.

It sounds like your brother is worth every cent they pay him. To have a man that can operate equipment that doesn't tear up machinery is rare and valuable.

Good workers that can work only when you need them are worth good money. We used to have several retired guys that helped out in the spring and fall. They have passed now and it seems like finding any of the current crew that is good on equipment is harder than it was. Also understanding the GPS equipment is hard for some fellow to regardless of age.

I am getting that way, harder to look left all the time.

Sounds like your brother is worth every penny.
Nice to hear that the BTO appreciates his excellent skills also.

Seems the farmer and his son must have a pretty efficient operation being able to pay anyone 25 bucks an hour to drive equipment regardless of the employee's capability and/or age. Good for them and good for your brother, hope he can carry on until he feels like giving it up. BTDT, I worked for a farmer until I was 78 operating trucks and tractors during the planting and harvesting times and did some shop work too. I still, with my two younger brothers have antique tractors, plows, and a thresher we "play with" every summer. I'll be 83 in July, God willing of course.

Do they pay overtime or flat rate either wage its a good deal for everyone. My renter has a driver who likes to go home around 5 but my renter told me he cant blame him hes 81! My dad did volunteer work into his mid 90's gave him a reason to get up in the morning.
A guy once told me theres two kinds of tired one from working and the tired from sitting around and i agreed with him i would rather be tired from working.

If the truth be told around here I would say quite a few are not even getting minimum wage if all hours are counted versus those on the clock. Further, I would say quite a few owners that I am aware of would rather spend big bucks at the dealer shop than save money by going up a couple bucks per hour for help. If you do not believe me I could take you on a tour and point the places out. The farmer that pays based on net savings and increased productivity is rare here. Most guys have the mentality of a few decades ago and think all hired help are the same plus are a dime a dozen.

If you think about it, $25 with no benefits for an on-call part time skilled worker that only works a few hundred hours per year is a bargain for the BTO. I'm glad it works for both parties.

Yes wages are going up and some states raised minimum wage. Problem is costs have to be cut example: automation or buy new item vrs. rebuild.

that's no taxes right ? they pay that,of course, because cdl operators make a lot more than that anywhere .

I personally hate the people who call successful farmers BTO's as if it has a bad conotation.

(quoted from post at 14:02:04 01/08/17) I personally hate the people who call successful farmers BTO's as if it has a bad conotation.

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Anyone say BTO was a bad thing? We have a couple of BTO's here who are good guys. Got a couple of others that are jerks.

Rick

(quoted from post at 13:12:31 01/08/17)

(quoted from post at 11:47:51 01/08/17)..............................

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I'd say work until you can't turn your head to look behind you...that's when you start tearing up equipment, or worse.

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That means all a guy has to do is REMEMBER to look!

Me too, I lean very hard to the RIGHT!!!!---Tee

Yes, I'm sure he's worth every penny they are paying him. Like others have said, good workers are hard to find. Workers that show up when they're supposed to and operate machinery as if it was their own. I was always taught, if you borrow something, treat it as if it were your own and return it in the same shape or better.

Dick

He said that the hardest thing to judge is making a turn on the end of the field with the 60 foot field cultivator; twice the size of the one he used on his own farm.

He's known these guys all of their lives; the Dad served on the township board with my brother.

My brother has 5 large steel bins; they rent those from him also. All are full of barley this winter; they are waiting for warmer weather to haul out the barley - my brother will miss that as he spends the winters in Arizona.

There's a BTO, and then a big operation.

Going rate for full time around here is $20 plus some untaxable stuff. Vehicle, phone, rent, cattle.

One of my BTO former employers cousins are running 30-40 head of cattle for their guy. Another of his cousins guarantees hours, phone, and vehicle.

One of the biggest guys in the area guarantees hours as well, and takes better care of equipment.

The BTO I worked for didn't fix much that he didn't spend much time in. Sprayer tractor, new seat. Old one went in the steiger I planted with. Engine brake? It makes noise, it's working ok. I'm Using the air brakes too much. Fix the engine brake. What's that got to do with it?

They ride Rincons, grizzlies, I had to ride the old foreman 400, and when it went down, the old wrecked rancher with frozen suspension.

And God forbid the foreman go down. Gotta quit being so hard on it. Never mind that it ran every day from the first of March through mid December, unless we were planting or harvesting. Got more hours (and miles) than any other 3 machines on the place. Try taking a duramax to break ice (with a radio, automatic, and heat anyplace beside the defrost) nope, take the old Ford with the busted out seat and holes in the cab and door.

My running vehicle was in the shop. Could I drive one of their 8 pick-ups home one night? Nope, had to cobble the melted wiring and drive my unlicensed dodge home.

I should have walked 6 months sooner, after his uncle died, he showed his true colors.

Oh, and all that for 2/3 what everyone else pays. Which no one would tell me til after I left.

That's why I say there's big operations, and then there's BTO's.

A lot of the pay someone is worth is how much stuff they DON'T tear up,an extra $10 hr ain't much if they didn't do $10,000 damage to something.When I worked at the concrete plant
we gave drivers a monthly bonus if they didn't do damage like backing over a wheel barrow on a job and the like.

Agreed. A lot of times it depends on the level of envy in the speaker.