Who Want to Be A Millionaire Farmer?
Have you noticed lately how anyone can be a farmer or rancher? All you need is the money to buy a place and then you just call yourself that. I don’t comprehend this. I come from a long line of short, fat, peasant stock - even if I am several generations removed from the farm. So my ancestors became short fat blue collar workers.
Am I the only one bothered by this phenomena? It’s as if farming/ranching isn’t a real job. Anybody can do this. These folks usually are doing something else. Often that “something else” is where they earned the money to purchase their farm or ranch. They can be a shop owner, a doctor, a movie star, a sports hero, an attorney, a politician, or a recent retiree. Anyone can be a farmer or rancher. They like to remind people that they are a farmer or rancher. They know all about farming/ranching. They can tell you all about LDPs (loan deficiency payments), CRP (conservation reserve program), EQUIP ( environmental quality incentives program), and how wonderful conservation easements are. When did this lifestyle become so popular? Could it have something to do with government programs, incentives and payments? Maybe it’s because they can dress up in boots, Wranglers and a hat? Why is it that people don’t “become” journalists, barbers, gynecologists, electricians, accountants, plumbers, engineers, pastry chefs, truckers, librarians, sailors, or chauffeurs?
Oh, those are “real” jobs, sorry . . . what was I thinking?
We worked one bunch of cattle today. Sarpy Sam recently explained what that means.
Since we are fortunate to have some good agricultural land, (which we are taxed dearly for) our operation is a bit different from his. Sam’s more a rancher, while we’re more farmers. We feed our calves until the following spring before we sell them - with feed that we raise. We worked some cows, calves and a few bulls today. We worked the cows in the morning, which started off overcast and very cool. After a while we were sweating. The only part of me that wasn’t covered with manure was my cap. I’m not quite sure how I managed that - since I had manure on my face and in my hair when we came in for dinner (that’s lunch for you non-farmers). After dinner we went back out and worked the calves. We had a few late calves to work, which we saved for last - which also coincided with the rain that had been threatening all day. Once that was done, we moved the cows with the fall (late) calves to a pasture. Next we moved the mamas that we weaned the calves off. Then we fed all the cattle. By then it was pouring and we were soaked to the skin. We got in after seven. Time to clean up and clean up equipment. And I needed to get something on the table for supper (that’s farmerspeak for the evening meal).
I wasn’t “to the farm born” - but I am a farmer. I’m not some uptown girl with a trust fund calling myself a farmer. No, I’m definitely a downtown girl who became a farmer. I don’t just call myself one. I am glad to be one. I think that the self-proclaimed farmer/ranchers spending more time playing golf or running around politicking than actually farming or ranching aren’t.
I imagine that my short, fat peasant ancestors would refer to them as “to the manor born,” feudal lords, or maybe simply wealthy landowners. But certainly not farmers.
October 29th, 2004 at 7:33 am
Yes, you are a real farmer. No uptown girl with a trust fund who thinks they are a farmer would be caught dead covered in manure.
Ah, brings back the memories of when we had milk cows. I used to go over and power wash the milk barn after milking. You had to be very careful where you aimed the spray. Nothing quite beats getting sprayed in the face with manure.
My previous next door neighbor had the “farmer dream”. All he wanted was 40 acres and a tractor so he could “live off the land”. I hated to tell him that you can’t make a decent living off 40 acres unless you deal drugs on the side.
BTW…if I come and visit will you take me on a tour of Chance? I have always wanted to see it but don’t know for sure where it is. I believe it is close to where my grandparents lived.
October 29th, 2004 at 8:47 am
It’s always been obvious from your postings that you fall in the “serious farmer” class of folks, never you mind about peasant stock. I came from the same sort of folk, and grew up on a real farm, one that’s still going as a family corporation. If it’s any comfort, no millionaire farmer or rancher will experience the same glow of satisfaction you have when you’ve finished a good year, whether it’s a good beet harvest or a great calf crop with high prices at the end, or, saints be praised, BOTH. Even then, I suspect you’re not in it for the money. No farmer or rancher keeps a balance sheet strictly in dollars and cents as a bottom line. There’s a lot more to it than that, and millionaire farmers and ranchers just don’t get that part. You do. Keep it up. The rest of us admire you. Kudos from a former farm kid.
Jo K (I was thwarted by the username in sign on. Couldn’t remember what I used. Never fear. I’ll figure it out eventually. I always do.)
October 29th, 2004 at 9:40 am
Why are all these rich city folk becoming “Farmers”?
One word, money! Believe it or not.
They have the accounts and lawyers on the payroll to do all the paper work to apply for all the subsidies, grants and loans.
They pay someone else to do the actual work, and encourge their rich to move out to the country also.
Once they get enough of ‘em out there in the good old country, they start changing it into the city, with malls, resturants and paved roads.
You gotta have paved roads or the Jag will get all dinged and chipped.
After a few years the country life is no longer country it is city, and they move on.
I’ve seen it happen where I live.
City folk move out to the country, all be it less “country” than your area, because of the rural charm.
Then they bitch about the smell from the cattle farm that has been there for 50 years before they arrived, and start filing lawsuits.
Then it is the hunters, doing what they have done for 100 years, and pass ordinances against hunting.
Then the roads, and it goes down a never ending path until the farmers cannot afford to farm.
And By The Way, they are not farmers, they are City Folk playing farmer.
Until you’ve spent a bitter cold night in a barn helping an animal deliver or watched a 10 minute hail storm erase 30% or more of your annual income or stood and wondered why you ever thought that not replacing that hydraulic hose would be a time saver: You are NOT A FARMER!!!
Just my ranting 2 cents! lol
October 30th, 2004 at 8:29 am
Obviously, if you don’t have to make a living at it, farming is a lot easier! If you have all the money you need from somewhere else, then it is probably fun to mess around the way these wealthy people do.
On this farm, today: Still working on the feedlot but the first pen has cattle in it and 90 more are expected in the middle of the night, tonight. The kid crew is helping again today. One man is heading to Casper with the semi truck loaded with small bales of straw. There are cattle to feed in two pens in the old feedlot at my house. The phone has been busy with goose hunters asking permission to hunt today. 25 degrees this morning but still. bonnie
November 2nd, 2004 at 6:51 am
yeah…why is it more people don’t ‘become’ gynecologists? …ha, you crack me up K.
But I feel for you, and have the GREATEST of respect for what you do.
Certainly I don’t see any millionaires waiting in line to become Software Quality Analysts… hmm, I gotta get me different line of work.
Really its somewhat of a compliment - people are enamoured with what you do (or at least they think they are). That said, I think they should just stay home. Find another hobby. Take a safari or something… or for crying out loud use all that freaking money to do some good in the world.
The one reason I wish I were a millionare is to show the rest of them the right way to do it. (well that and I could use a few more pairs of shoes)