Re: Need some advice!

Posted by Hal/WA on February 22, 2002 at 13:50:42 from (208.8.194.36):

In Reply to: Need some advice! posted by J.C.F. on February 21, 2002 at 13:46:41:

Can you live in the house while going to college? If your school is too far away to live at the farm efficiently, I would suggest renting it out, rather than just leaving it empty. I have seen too many times where rural houses were not being watched closely and when the owners came back, the place was ruined. Even though it is hard to find renters you can trust, it is better than having it empty. Make the rent reasonable and define what the renters can do in terms of using buildings other than the house. Carefully lock up the other buildings and make it clear that the renters are supposed to contact you if there are any problems. Don't rent to kids!

I would plan on working at another job besides farming, but hopefully in the area of your farm. 120 acres in this day and age is really not enough ground to make a living on, except maybe with specialized crops. One of the tragedies of farming today is that the crops are just not worth enough to make a living unless you are big. I know lots of farmers that are selling off land that has been in their families for years because they just can't make a living farming today.

On the other hand, 120 acres is a wonderful size for a hobby farm, if the taxes and fees aren't prohibitive. It is a wonderful advantage to enherit a place to live. Most people never will own that much land and will work all their lives to pay off their home. I was raised on a farm and moved back to a small corner of that farm to raise my children, because I think that is the best thing for my family. I enjoy the work around my place and never want to move back to town. You may already have thought of this, but it will be important for you to find a wife that also is interested in living on that farm and being a farm wife. Not all women are cut out for it, and it would be a shame to end up losing your farm in the heartache of divorce (spend the money for an ironclad prenuptual agreement).

At first, I would try to lease out the cropland to area farmers. If you just let the place sit there, the weeds will take over and you will have a huge problem when you can start farming. Renting the property out also will help pay the taxes and maybe even help pay your college expenses. Try to keep your student loans as low as possible; they want you to start paying as soon as you are out of school. You also would be smart to get your college education in something that will lead to a job that is not too far from your farm.

I would be very careful about investing in much machinery at this point. Again, I have seen too many farmers go bankrupt because they could not raise enough crops to pay for the machinery they bought when they were feeling optomistic. I would be looking for a medium size older tractor with a loader that is appropriate for the crops you eventually want to grow. A lot of times the medium size units are cheaper than the small tractors and have much more capability for real farming. Sometimes farm sales are great for finding good deals on equipment. But do not borrow any more money than you absolutely have to.

Wow what an enviable position to be in--20 and already the owner of a farm!!!

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