Planting Corn???

louis112 · Sep 18, 2013

I am just wandering about planting corn? I will be moving on a farm in WV next spring, I will have at least 7 acres to plant with corn. I will have a 2600 Ford to work with, but I will have to buy sprayer, disc, planter, corn picker, and 1 or 2 gravity grain wagons. I would be looking to buy all second hand, nothing new. Just wandering what kind of money is to be made or if it would even be worth messing with? Thanks for any input.

OH Boy · Sep 18, 2013

If you have to buy all that equipment to farm 7 acres you will never come out ahead on it. And you will have cost of seed, fertilizer, chemicals and fuel. I think you'd be better off renting the land to another farmer, then you would have some positive cash flow at least. Assuming you are able to raise a decent crop and the price of corn doesn't plunge any further you are only talking about producing three to six thousand dollars worth of corn off of the 7 acres. I'll be interested what others opinions are.

NY 986 · Sep 18, 2013

I would figure on that being a hobby versus a for-profit business.
Right now farming looks lucrative with high commodity prices but
those prices are heading down with fuel and fertilizer not heading
down as far. If you do not want it as a hobby then maybe rent the
ground out to someone else.

David G · Sep 18, 2013

I would doubt you will ever come out ahead on that deal. You might try to find a small operator that wants to pick up small fields, OR put hay on it. I think you can make as much with less equipment on hay with the small fields.

fixerupper · Sep 18, 2013

OH Boy has is pegged about right. Rent it out at least for the first few years. How much rent you can charge depends on the field shape, lay of the land, soil type, drainage, and host of other things. Jim

donjr · Sep 18, 2013

Got the bug, huh. That's how I started. About 6
acres of corn. And a few acres of hay. A borrowed
planter and picker- I did the tillage and work.
Here it is- forty years later, and I just brought
one of three tractors home today from the farm of
the guy who 'fronted ' me to that first year,
where I've been helping Sam's son, Sam, Jr., chop
silage and fill silos. A few years after starting,
and finding some more ground, I bought an old NI
picker and a couple of wagons, and my own baler.
And that's how you start. Swap some sweat, and
treat them good. They will help you as you help
them. Be honest, and don't be afraid of work. I
do almost as much ground as they do, and we still
help each other. It's a two way street. Good
luck...

louis112 · Sep 18, 2013

Thats what I was thinking more of a hobby than anything, but if i can make around 3000-6000, I would be satisfied with that and would be willing to pick up more land, plus I can double the 7 acres just want to start small before I bite off more than i can chew!!!

John B. · Sep 18, 2013

I did that 20 yrs ago when I started. By the time you pay for chemicals and fertilizer there's not much room for profit especially when you add in repairs. In Illinois you have to show a profit once in a 5yr period I believe otherwise you can't use it as a deduction on your taxes, it's considered only a hobby then. That may have changed by now though. I finally ended up putting our acreage in alfalfa. Someone else made the hay but I still put on potash and sprayed the alfalfa for bugs and still didn't come out much ahead.

GordoSD · Sep 18, 2013

Alfalfa. You can harvest about 4T per acre. Input is very small Avg price for GOOD alfalfa is $200T.
NH mower 1000-2500
IH side delivery rake $1000
NH 275 baler $2400 range.

7x4x 200 is $5600 gross per year.

GeneMO · Sep 18, 2013

Just set tight for a few years. Hemp will be legal then.

Gene

larryanderson · Sep 18, 2013

Your statement of hoping to make $3/6K is highly
unlikely.150 bu of corn x$4 is $600 per acre .The
cost of production would be $100 for seed corn per
acre,$30 min for herbicide,fertilizer is over $100
per acre and if you had it custom farmed it would
cost at least $80 ,Then add your rent which
depending on what part of country [$150/to over
$400] you can see that breakeven might be closer.

Spook · Sep 19, 2013

Once it's legal, all the small guys will be forced out.

2badlybent · Sep 19, 2013

I believe you are getting some good advice and some poor advice. First you will not make 3000 to 6000 dollars from your crop. If that was true everybody would be growing corn. More likely you would be lucky to break even if you have a good crop. Everyone forgets the cost of fuel, labor, breakdowns and investment in equipment. Cost of harvest and hauling to a buyer can be substanial.
And then there is the weather which only God controls.
The good advice you reeived was to plant a hay crop or rent the land to others. But both have draw backs, like finding a renter or a buyer for the hay. If you want to play farmer then go ahead and plant corn and enjoy watching your crop grow but don't spend your profit just yet.

formenwhogrow · Sep 19, 2013

Livestock? Whats your water situation? If it were me, I would look into setting up a small sheep/goat operation rather than purchasing all that equipment just to farm a few acres. Or, if possible, I agree with the others, rent it to another farmer.

Planting Corn???

louis112

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OH Boy

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NY 986

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David G

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fixerupper

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donjr

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louis112

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John B.

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GordoSD

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