I’m going to learn to farm!
Ha Ha. I doubt you have any idea of how HARD it is to farm today. Did you think about the following:
- Buying land (most ag land is now north of $4000/acre and rent is around $300/acre per year)
- Seed Costs (they are not free)
- Fertilizer (Prices have quadruples over the last three years)
- Tractors and Equipment (You do know most tractors cost more than a luxury car if bought new right?)
- Operating Capitol (You have to pay UPFRONT from all of these things BEFORE you get your crop in the ground. Then PRAY you have a good year and get your money back plus a little more. NO crop, short of veggies, will make money in this country without government subsidies. Corn costs more to produce than it pays without subsidies.)
- Stress from worrying about all of the above.
- Money to live on when you have most of it tied up in crops.
- Pesticides (Herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, etc.)
- Working 12 or more hours EACH day.
People think farming is easy and the people who do it have a nice life. It is a HARD life and you have to LOVE doing it. For a family of four to survive farming you will have an investment of north of $600,000 before that happens. Most farms today are multi-million dollar operations and are only kept alive by the children being able to assume the parents farm.
Unless you are independently wealthy, you are NOT going to make a living farming. I wish it were not so, but land today is an INVESTMENT and that prices it out of the reach of most people who would like to FARM it and live on it.
My wife and I were given the opportunity to farm TWO acres of my parents property in veggies. This year we have not had rain for over TWO months. We have had to irrigate everything. Total (name removed by moderator)ut costs and operating expenses so far is well north of 10K.
We will be able to FEED ourselves, but that is about it, if the economy goes into the dumper. I still have my primary job though and that is paying all of the bills.
If the economy implodes, and it will, then people will REALLY be in a bind. Why do you think Homeland Security is selling armored personnel carriers and other military equipment to your local police station. They know that bad stuff is going to happen when the economy tanks and people can’t afford bills, food, etc.
We need to live within our means and get out of debt as SOON as possible. The bible tells us that the debter is slave to the lendor. Do YOU like being a slave?