start in farming

Ok i have been thinking about starting my farm sometime i am in my senior of high school and i want to start a small farm. so my plan is to do custom agriculture with a company and save money alot of it then eventually buy my first tractor. and then in winter months drive truck i was thinking it would be better to buy small equipment before starting out cause when you buy the land you wont have as much money to buy equipment im just wondering if im thinking stright i would not start out right away full time farming id start small and id drive truck full time i was just wondering if i have an good idea about going at it . i know it will be a while but its better to have a plan so any opinions are fine thank you -nick

Work on a dairy farm parttime while completing high school. Then see if this is what you want to do someday. My late brother and I worked every morning doing chores before attending school. This is 7 days a week and we worked the weekend. We also played sports. When we graduated in 1951 the Korean War was on and my brother joined the Air Force. I was drafted 18 months later. Do a hitch in the military then see if want to farm. My dad had to give up farming as he was in his late 60's. He had a degree in Agriculture and went to work for a chemical company. My nephew inherited the home they bought after leaving the farm in 2008. Hal

I like a little livestock as it makes me more flexible. The future for crop farming I believe will be leased equipment on rented land.

Nick I admire you for wanting to farm, there aren't many young people who would want st start such a venture. First off, what is your background? Were you raised on a farm or have you helped a farmer? It's important that you realize the amount of work that you are about to get into as well as the obstacles with weather, markets, regulations, etc that are common in farming.
I strongly encourage you to get some kind of college or trade school education and emphasize on business courses. Farming is a tough business and you need all the training you can get just to be able to market your product and keep the banker happy. Farming is not all about livestock or plowing soil, you will spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks. The skills you learn in college or trade school will be a strong asset should you decide later that you would rather do something else...and it happens.
While going to college I would recommend working for a successful farmer. Most are very willing to help a young man trying to learn and they are grateful for a good hand as well. It might also work into something that you would benefit from later.
I would also suggest not buying land for a while. You can tie up a lot of capital that will hurt your cash flow. Land is a good investment but in most areas the cost is prohibitive for someone just starting out.
Lastly. I know this sounds bad but.....Get acquainted with the farmers daughter. Most farm girls are used to the work and forgiving of the long hours that are required in farming. They also have a good grasp of good work ethics. The old saying is true, " if you can't inherit it, marry it"
Good luck in your endeavor.

It could be tough to save enough money to buy much equipment by driving truck unless you can get into something that takes more responsibility, which you won't be able to do until you have two years experience. As for small equipment, you won't save on it because small is what the yuppies go for. Your best buys will be in older larger equipment which is too big for most small operations and too old for big operators. You can often get two of them for the price of a smaller one. Your best bet would be as Pair-a-Dice suggested and work on your loving skills and secure a nice place by marrying the farmers daughter.

1. If you"re working for a farmer part-time now then thats good. If not then search the county now trying to find an older guy that needs some help. Trust me they"re out there. I know of a lot of older 200 acre guys around here that you don"t realize they need help until they "retire" from farming part-time because their boys/son-in-laws/nephews/grandsons have moved away and can"t help. But you"ll need someone to help you get started making a budget, making a crop/spray/fertilizer plan, and someone you can rely on for advice. I put myself into farming row crop part-time, but I had the luxury of a close family friend who farms full-time and my family has 55 acres that was being rented out. It could be done without that, but you"ll need someone to turn to for advice and help.

2. Don"t even think about buying ground starting out. If you"re a doctor or lawyer then you might be able to. Or you could work until you"re 45 and maybe buy an 80 acre farm for $500,000 and make mortgage payments until you"re 75. The guys who own ground are the only ones who can buy more ground, and its going for $6000+ per acre in the Midwest. So stay close with neighbors, teachers, extended family, fellow church members or others you know that have ground. It will be hard to find 80 acres to rent down the road, but you can do it. You just have to find one person to believe in you and give you a shot. Thats another place that helping an older guy can help out 5 or 6 years down the road. A lot of older small farmers don"t want to rent out to some big 2000+ acre young hot-shot. If you can get started and develop a niche as the local "small" farmer who does it because he loves it and who farms with 4 row equipment the way the older guys did it then you could make some friends and pick up some gound.

3. Buy your equipment with cash, older 4 row sized stuff that isn"t too complicated. NO COMBINE UNTIL YOU GET EXPERIENCED! Hire that and your spraying out at the beginning. Haul your own grain with gravity wagons if you want to participate in the first few harvests. Slowly wade into the pool and you"ll do fine!

4. Also remember cows. If you are set on grain then by all means go for it. If you are interested in cattle/baling then you can get into that a whole lot cheaper than corn.

5. The better education and higher paying job you have then the easier it will be to get in. I"m an engineer and that helped me get an operating line of credit and convince some guys I could do it. Also the more money you make the more you can put towards older equipment to start with. Getting into farming for your self is a long term goal and requires patience and a good off farm job.

6. Something to think about later on is marrying the right girl. She has to want farming and be happy with the simple things in life. If shes even remotely high maintenance then you"re done. If she believes in you, will help, and will trust that you know what you"re doing financially then you"re set.

Just take the attitude I always had. "I can if I want to".

check out the gov programs for beginning/underpriveledge farmers. if you qualify you may be able to get low intrest loan there.i agree with one of the others if youve decided to buy older tractor/equipment.4-5 row stuff at least here sells for much less than either bigger or smaller equipment.but i would add one thing,buy equipment that you can actually use only,you dont really need one of everything like a lot of us have. buy good equipment that you can actualy use and that you can get parts for... keep your day job!

Some here have talked about marrying the right girl. Easier said than done. Most of the farm girls were aching to leave farming behind when I graduated high school in the early 1980's. With the talk of big money right now it is probably easier at present. Marrying a farm girl MIGHT take care of the land issue but I would not let that be the basis of the marriage or it will be one unhappy union in about ten years. There is something to be said for a marriage founded in love versus a financial arrangement. If things financially strain it will not matter that she is a farm girl and the blame game in that family will surely be pointing the finger of guilt at you. A girl the loves you will tolerate more adversity even though you may not wind up being the elite farmer in the community.

Check the farm help wanted ads. There are a lot of smaller older farmers out there who don't want to see thier farms go to the BTO's who's kids will not farm. They are offering young guys work and the potential to take over that farm. I know a guy doing that just now. He works 7 days a week and every year a percentage of the old guys farm becomes his. I guess they are at a point taht he "owns enough" that decisions of crop rotationa and equipment are joint decisions.

Rick

You are off on the right foot anyway. Unless you are in the midwst corn belt, or ontop of gas leases, real estate won't be going up for a while to come. Look for and go thru the smallest tractor you think you will ever need, get it flawless, start looking for implements you you need, go thru them, and slowly shop around up the horsepower ladder. Yep, once you buy land, money is rare, and once you are farming is a poor time to repair broken stuff that you knew was broke.

I've got a friend whom was raised on a farm and has tried for years to get into farming while driving a truck. He is now 56 and is still driving a truck. Has a couple of good tractors and along with the trucking has occasionally farmed a few acres, but nothing has lasted and he has the experience. Land lease is just too competitive in this area. As was mentioned you might find a smaller, older farmer that wants someone to take over his operation. A very long shot unless in a more marginal area. The FSA has a long list of young farmers looking for such a deal and few farmers giving it. Easy to understand. Although my kids don't want to farm, I wouldn't be interested in trading away hard earned assets for a pile of cash that inflation will eat away. Several younger non-BTO's in this area that would rent ground providing the required cash and you still retain ownership. A trust can keep the children from undoing your good work and still give them a considerable income every year.

No offense intended here but most high school kids with big pie-in-the-sky dreams of starting a farm when they graduate don't have the maturity to handle the responsibility.

Every 17-18 year old kid that Dad hired would sit there and talk for hours with a gleam in their eye about some day buying his farm and taking over.

All they had to do was show up at 5AM and do morning milking THREE days a week. NONE of them could even handle that. They'd go out and get plastered, and couldn't wake up the next morning.

Most kids have to go through a phase in their late teens and early twenties to get the "screw up" out of their systems. Maybe you're one of those rare ones that got his head screwed on straight at an early age. If so, have at it.

My advice is, keep the dream in the back of your head, and live life. Come back to it in a few years when you've sown your wild oats.

Every teen should do a little soul searching before starting a business venture but once you have confirmed you have the ability to handle it then it is the time to get started. Don't be discouraged because your analysis shows you won't be a BTO anytime soon but do not pencil yourself in for top yields and top prices for many consecutive years, either.
Bankers and other important business leaders like to see young go-getters. When I was at college this attitude was impressed on me whether I was being trained to sit at the farmer's side of the desk or the banker's. Guys that sit around and do little till their thirties are examined with great scrutiny. They would have to have a fairly impressive non-farm career to that point to get favorable recognition.
I agree that a party-hearty attitude is not going to make for a successful business. If I took that attitude at that age and the cows did not get milked when they were supposed to my dad would have the cows gone so fast it would make my head spin.

Plan on buying the land in a year or two.

Go to the USDA and apply for a first time farm owners loan. They will loan you 100% of the money. Other places you will probably need a big down payment. I think they will also give you an operating loan to buy machinery and livestock.

Dont try to save the money. You will never get it done by trying to save it. Land has been doubling in value every 7-10 years. By the time you save some money, inflation will have eat up all your savings.

Some folks think land may be peaking. But you will never be able to save enough to buy land. It will just keep going up enough to keep you out of the market.

You buy it, let the government float your loan and then pay for it. Plus the interest and farm payments are tax deductible.

Good luck, Gene

Speaking of underprivileged, if you are the right color they will give you a farm.

I won't predict a bubble but I don't know that land will steadily increase far in to the future. At some point the Federal Government's hand is going to be forced in terms of the budget deficit. Taxes will go up dramatically and that will take most of the wind out of the investment sails. Bad for people waiting too long to take advantage of gains in the market that should have happened sooner but good for younger people looking to get started. Also a lot of the wealth in this country is tied up in the older generation who is starting to go from living life large to retirement living which means having to spend more for assistance and health care. The neighbor that went to the real estate lawyer recently to close on a small adjacent property said the lawyer is already seeing a steady drop in lake property values.
Gene, if you have done fine by borrowing from the government so be it. I will not argue with another's success. However, I have seen many who have taken on heavy debt not be so lucky.

Just speaking personally,Dad quit and I took over 9 days before my 16th birthday. Milked cows for 33 years before I cracked and couldn't take it anymore.
I don't see any problem with a kid who really wants to try it giving it a go. Like the old song says,I'd rather be sorry for something I've done than for something that I didn't do.

Nick, sounds like you got the right mind to go at it. Im 21 now and started farming by myself when I was 14. I now farm right at about 100 acres own all of my own equipment and I havent gotten 1 loan by doing it. I even rent all of my machinery storage. If thats what you want to do then go for it. Im in school now going for a bacholers in crop sciences. If I had to do it over I would get an operating loan. I alwasys paid everything in cash and now kind of screwd myself for loans cause I dont have enough credit built up. But if you plan on driving a truck to help you pay monthly payments it sounds like a darn good plan.
Zach

I say go for it Nick. Plan things out as well as you can, and be ready to adjust your plans constantly as things change. If you try you might make it but if you don't you won't. I started planning to farm at age 8 when my grandfather gave my a heifer calf for my birthday. Bought a farm at 27 and finally quit working off the farm 3 years ago. (Wife has a good job!) I could make more money renting my land out and getting a job but there is no way I am going to trade off my independence after working so hard. You have the right attitude. Sometimes being too cheap on things ends up costing you more in the long run, but you have to make your desicions based on what you know or think at the time and go from there. Good Luck. Harv

Ok you want background here it is my grandpa was a farmer growing up as a kid and always told stories about farming. my dad was a farmhand for years till he had his heart attacks i would go on the farm and help bale hay. i like the idea of looking for a farm to help on i think i should be looking for a farm to work on i live in town in Minnesota so its going to be something big change and i plan on buying old and smaller equipment and i dont think i want to buy land right away. i plan on farming small but not to small i don't want to be a big hot shot i just want to make it don't want to get rich dont want to be poor. and i never been or will be the partying type of person i rather go to a tractor show then a party. heck i never drank or smoke and dont plan on it thanks for all the replies i think i will start looking to find a farmer to help out. i just like the lifestyle is what i like about farming

now thats not nice!LOL Im not sure about giving you one but you can if you qualify get a no intrest loan,which is free money in anyones book. would be a big help once in a while.

thanks for all the relplies i was wondering if i worked with a custom harvest company if that would count towards the 3 years for the loan

ok so i was looking into the work to operate or whatever you want to call deal it seems to interest me quiet a bit does anyone know of a program like that ran in minnesota or wisconsin?