Re: I was wondering.

Posted by StrikeForce on August 25, 2016 at 14:39:54 from (70.15.251.11):

In Reply to: I was wondering. posted by mb58 on August 25, 2016 at 10:06:13:

That sounds somewhat familiar here too. I'd venture I am about 5-10 years behind you in the farm family progression. Very interesting responses from a wide variety of backgrounds. I was just reading them but I'd like to offer my experience as well.

I spent my first 18 years on a dairy farm in PA. Rural but not isolated. (At the time I thought it was, but I've found out what "rural" living is like later in life.) I was always near the top of the class however and was guided into a college degree. This was the best path for me (my brother was the opposite; college and he didn't agree). The thing I hated as a kid was that we never had money for anything; that and I spent my day cleaning up cow manure. So, once I had a drivers license I would on at a plant nursery, baled hay for my uncle, worked for a dairy repair service company. If it paid, I was willing to do it. Time came to choose a college degree, I chose a technical school and selected electronics engineering over diesel tech and repair because everyone was using computers!

Fast forward 15 years:

My parents are still farming and I have a well paying and enjoyable engineering job off of the farm. I still help out on nights and weekends during hay and corn season. My little kids can't wait to visit the farm. I've told my wife that if there was ever a kid that needed a farm it was my little boy. He cannot sit still! (there is no such thing as playing on the computer at the farm; that thought quickly gets disposed of) I hope this continues because the future of the family (plural) farms is unknown and who knows what opportunities might be available for my kids that I was a generation too early for.

Why do I say the future? There are several family farms within our extended family. But, the downsizing has begun as people are getting older. Not many of the cousins are taking over because with the parents still farming, there is no money for the kids so they work elsewhere. But as my one uncle said, once you sell the farm, you don't get a chance to get it back. Its gone. I would like to take over all of the farms because I have seen what the alternatives are and I'm about tired of seeing housing developments. But my wife says she's not cut out to be a farmer and with young kids, now isn't the time to rock the financial boat. I think this is the struggle that most are faced with.

It feels like trying to jump onto a merry-go round that is going 50MPH and your standing still. Timing the jump is the hardest part.

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