what happened when you left?

Just wondering what happened when you (free labor) left your dads farm? When I turned 18 I left in 1972. Dad sold all the hogs, which is what we did mostly and leased out all the tillable ground. He still kept a cow for beef and he also bought a riding lawn mower. In hind site I really think he only had the hogs to keep my busy and out of trouble.

Dad switched from small squares to big round bales!

I never left. Tony

I came home from college and they had
installed an outdoor boiler. Guess the
folks did not like carrying wood down the
basement steps.

I only left for a year of tech school...
bug that was enough to get 3 lights in
the haymow, instead of just one at the
top of the ladder. Still not a lot of
light in a 42' x 120' barn.

I went to college in 67, Dad sold the
dairy cows and land. End of his farming.

My Dad had a few cattle and would get the neighbour boys to help with the hay and finally he got rid of the few cattle he had and put
the farm out on shares with a neighbour. At the time(1967) he had more income share cropping than tying land up for hay and pasture. It
remained that way for twenty years and he finally had to go to a retirement home. My brother and I took over the farm and did some cash
crop and I had some cattle for about 10 years. Then I got old and my Daughter wanted the farm , so she and her husband bought it from
me. The farm is still in the family and everyone is happy with their lot.

Pa planned ahead. Being the youngest of eight and seven
years younger then the next Pa being 65 they sold the dairy
cows and rented the pasture and just raised crops.

him and is first son never spoke a kind word of me again. He died alone and my brother
still has nothing kind to say of me.

Dad had health issues, sold the sawmill
and equipment when I was a senior in high
school, didn't want us in the business.
His health declined and he was never able
to do anything else. Been 40 years since
he passed away.

Ask him. He left, I stayed.

Nothing changed, dad had quit shipping cream and
raising pigs in 1971 . And had gone to cow calf. I
left home at 18 for work in the city. Came back two
years later, and rented the farm next door to dads,
and started shipping milk April of 1981. Dad and I
farmed next door to each other till 1987, when he
developed prostrate cancer at age 68. He sold his
cows to my brother and rented me his farm. Dad
lived another 19 years and past at 87. The farm
was sold as per his will to settle the estate. I rent it
still from the current owner. I have been the tenant
farmer on the farm I grew up on for34 years. I only
cut the hay that grows wild on the place now,
landlord doesnt want it worked.

my dad also switched from small squares to big rounds; he bought the first big round baler in the county. Put a cab on his new tractor with AC. still let his
topsoil erode away. took me lots of years to fix that and build it back up! I came back 15yrs after i had left; i guess i never totally left, he'd have some
health issue and i'd be home farming his ground for him. He was actually a really smart man who drank to much and it clouded his vision. Farm is now rented
out, to a man whose vision is exactly like mine. I'm retired but still love farming almost as much as my wife! I'm very proud of what i accomplished!

Dad pulled the square baler out of barn to
make room for the new roller.

Oil furnace and round baler. 4020 diesel. When he passed in
96 I was back working the farm.

I left in '67 to go to school. The neighbor that I had worked for sold out equipment, cattle, and land at auction in 1968. They had built up a very successful campground that they continued to operate in the summers, and went fishing in Florida in the winter. They went on to build two hotels in town. Then at my actual home my father bought a snowblower because my younger brother couldn't shovel. My father also bought him a motorcycle and a snowmobile. He was terribly abused though because the snowmobile wasn't the brand that he wanted.

I joined the Navy in 64. Dad was about through raising hay. He raised it for another couple years. My brothers and the neighbor kids helped. Stan

Folks started running the forced air
propane furnace in place of burning so much
wood. Every time I was home, Dad wanted to
cut firewood. This went on for a few years.
I cut all our firewood for a couple years
of high school

As the only surviving son, my father had the multi generational farm handed to him. I was very young when he sold the cows, and
became all cash crop. He worked with my uncle and cousin. I certainly helped, but with the three of them, and me being in school,
I wasn't a big part of the equation. I discovered going into my senior year that if I had a real, paying job, I could get out of
school at 11:30. So in Sep 1972 I started in at a local farm equipment dealership part time. I drove to school, came home for
lunch, and went off to work. I still helped on the farm. June 1973 I graduated, went to work full time, got married a month
later, and moved into an apartment.
We still came home a lot. But it became clear, interestingly for both of us, that our families were happy for us to share in the
work, but there was no pay back. I was hoping for some kind of help for the future. Not that I expected what my father got, as I
had siblings. But being young and having nothing, and children starting in 1975, I sure could use help/guidance/direction,
something! I got a break in 1977/78 when Dad gave me a wasted corner chunk of ground to build a house on. Thanksgiving 1978 we
moved into our first house.
1984 after 12 years on the job I was fed up that I couldn't advance any further. I left the benefits and company vehicle, quit,
rented some ground, and started working with the family group. They were happy to have me, as everyone was getting older. I got
to use the machinery, and did the repairs/maintenance. This worked well for a few years. Baby brother was floundering around,
watching, and decided he should be involved. Mother made sure he got everything, and we parted company.
It was a struggle for many years to build a business, but we finally did it. Brother and the home place are long gone. I'm the
6th generation to farm on this road, and probably the last.

In fall 1973 I went off to college and dad bought his first cab tractor, a new JD 4230 with an air conditioned Soundgard cab. 1973 was a great year for farm income, a number of my classmates said their dads bought newer bigger tractors when they left home too.

When I started farming Dad decided we needed a round baler so we went halves on a new Deere 335. I still helped dad a good bit after I
started on my own as my wife was as capable as me in running equipment and even better at milking cows. When my dad started farming his
dad bought a new Allis 190XT,780 2 row chopper,2 forage boxes, a New Holland 68 baler with a thrower,2 new bale wagons and a barn
cleaner. Tom

Well he kind of pushed me out, said younger brother wanted to farm, and WHO was with you the whole time helping and NOT playing ball in town. So went to town and worked, helped him with cash at times since
farming was bad and he(Dad) needed assistance. 1987 Bank sold livestock, big tractor and bale wagon, to keep Dad afloat, his livelihood and health was failing. Five years later he passed, lost rented
ground(400) acres, then brother takes over the home 80 with help from cousin and uncle, makes money not paying Mom what she needs, but buys adjacent 80, and has equipment to farm a 1000 acres instead of the
160 he farms. Didn't talk to him much for a few years but am now. Actually lived on the home place for a year after mom remarried, but couldn't stand the buildings going to pot, since mom couldn't afford it
and him never having any money. Ya right. 1999 Moved off of the home place to a rented place 20 miles away, then called uncle to tell him where I am at if he needs something, brother called later that week to
see where the keys were at for the house.

Dad sold the cows April of my senior year. That
was no big deal because I never enjoyed being in
the barn. I asked him if I could crop the land or
take that over some day and he politely said no.
Told me I needed to get off the farm land follow my
goals. If I wanted to farm still, I would figure out a
way. While going to college I worked for the farm
that bought our cows. 22 years later I still drive
tractor for them. After college my buddy and I
started running a little land and we still do that. My
dad was a wise man, he knew what I needed to do
and how it would turn out.

Dad did away with all the gravity irrigation ditches/siphon tubes and went with 100% gated pipe. Mom asked why he didn't do this years earlier, his response was Why? I had all the help.