Welcome to wright county Iowa

[kraft-t]

If your here to buy land don't bid if you already own a half section. And be sure to investigate to make sure no young deserving farmer wants it.

If your here to rent land, don't bid if you already farm a full section and make sure everyone else has at least that much tillible ground before you bid.

Those are the rules here and if you don't abide to them you will be labled a greedy b****ard or worse yet a BTO.

And don't even try to expand if any inheritance is involved. Because no matter how hard you work and much you earn and save, you accomplishment is nothing if you inherited 40 acres back in 1985 or if your daddy shared his machinery or cosigned a note, No you have to do it all on you own and from scratch or you will never amount to a hill of beans.

Yes folks if you think that way, I'm making fun of you! Enjoy!

[BA Deere]

WoW, those fartmers sound like some real cutthroat capitalists.  Did they get their debt written-off in the 80`s and now want the taxpayers to pickup their bills at the doctor? 

[Red Steele]

BA, that is the small part of it. They also want the rest of the county residents to pay to take care of their parents, too.

[BA Deere]

Hey Red, these "FDR Democrats" are kind of fascists. They want the government to bail them out if they get over extended, they want care from craddle to grave, they happily will give up all their rights.  Then on the flip side they think it`s okay for all their wealth to go back to the goverment.  Even still, the scorched earth capitalism that they practice makes the most hardnosed businessman quesy.  I think that is "fascism" where a partnership is struck with the government.  And all along I`ve been mistakenly calling them communists...dog-gone-it, I`m sorry.

[steeringwheelholder]

Ya know, I've never seen so much contempt for young guys starting out as some on this site. The idea of sitting on your hand at a sale or not going up the landlords driveway to bid, just to give a guy that is young enough to be your grandson a break seems like an appalling idea to some. You can talk all you want on an anonymous web chat site, but I'm guessing somewhere along the line you caught a break too. "No, no, no, it was harder back in the day" seems to be the theme. "you young guys have it easier today than I did" has been said many times here.

Answer this then: farmer Joe is 50 years old. Joe farms 600 acres, of which he owns the home 80. His son Jim helps the Joe and he is 28 years old with a wife, 2 kids, and a modest home mortgage. Jim works off farm and Joe works part time off the farm driving a dump truck. Joe gave up 40 acres for Jim to get some farm management experience to start up 5 years ago. Ground in their area is $9,000 or so at sales and takes 20% down minimum to buy. Rental ground is never available on the open market. You can jack the neighbors for $300+ or higher.
You tell me. How is that 28 year old man going to farm? No smart a** statements, how's he gonna do it without catching a break somehow?

[kraft-t]

I'm not anonymous. I'm Don Kraft from Renwick Iowa currently residing in Bixby Ok. As opposed to you mr. steeringwheelholder.

Did I catch a break? I did in that my 72 year old dad rented me his hundred acres. BTW I paid him a higher cash rent rate than other land I rented. The other land was rented from a school teacher for $46 per acre. $6 per acre more than he had been getting. BTW he asked me to rent his ground. I did not go chasing him.

I never said it was easy for young people to get started. I simply said it wasn't all that easy for us either. Some think the haves ought to give new starters a break. Meaning lower rental rates when more is available  from others.  So mr. Kraft who barely has his farms paid for should give a gift to mr. starting out.  How much should that be $20 per acre? $50 per acre, How much?

How about my family? My kids, my grandkids. Should neglect them to give you a break or your son or grandson? I got 3 grand daughters in college. How about you sending them each a thousand to help them get through school? After all somebody helped you go to school.

Farm land is rented every year. You just don't know about it or you're too late or a dollar short. How is the young guy gpnna do it? By working hard and building relationships and a good reputation. And when he does rent a farm treat your land lord very well. As a partner in progress rather than a competing interest.

Get rid of the notion that anybody owes you anything. You have to compete in the market place. It's as simple as that. BTW. My son has been offered the opportunity to rent my land. So far he has chosen not to.

I hope I can shed the guilt you piled on me!

[steeringwheelholder]

I never said young guys were owed anything. I said they need somebody to give them a chance. Why would somebody take into account a young man in that instance and decide to rent an 80 or 120 to them? Maybe because they aren't a **bleep** and see that helping a guy out would be appreciated from him probably a little more than putting it up for top dollar at a rental auction and having someone you've maybe never even met farm your land. Rental auctions are fair. Land auctions are fair. But the guy that rents to his hard working neighbor who is trying to get started is beyond fair. I have one landlord who rents to me strictly because I have a day job. He said he has been there before and can relate to my situation. You can call it charity, or a favor, or even a sacrifice to the landowner's wallet. Whatever you call it, it sure is appreciated when it happens.

As to my opening paragraph, ya I am Mr. Steeringwheelholder from Indiana. I can come on here and state what I really want to say but hold back in the real world, because what do I care if a guy in IA, or ILL, or even CA thinks about me? Dislike all you want, sure doesn't bother me any. (I never had anyone pay for my schooling btw, never went). All I want to convey here is start up guys appreciate a chance. A break. I got one from the guy I mentioned as well as another that saw me tearing out fencerows and picking up rocks, so I get to tear out his fencerows and pick up his rocks now too. Hopefully one of these days it will lead to more guys seeing my busting my a** and offering more, but as you said ground does get rented every year, and it's to guys from up to 60 miles away that got it because they called a farm management company or someone jacked a neighbor.

[Red Steele]

Steering wheel, Don't let some crabby miserable guy change your way of doing things or thinking. Sometimes it takes decades for things to happen, and sometimes the chips just never fall your way, but if you do things the "right" way and get personal satisfaction, you are a success whether you get to farm 40 acres or 40,000 acres. Decades ago, I started farming on a small scale and trying to do things "right", picking up rocks, keeping  the fencelines cleaned up, tiling ground, taking out hills, improving fertility, and all the things needed to make the land I did have the privilege of farming  top producing. Eventually over time good things happened. I have a couple of landlords that chose me to farm their farms, and I always tell them how much I appreciate the chance and treat them with respect and common courtesy. I hope that in twenty years, one of my sons takes over but if I had to choose a renter, I would choose the guy that did things the "right" way over the BTO from 60 miles away, even if I had to give up a few bucks. Our country needs more dedicated young farmers. We never seem to have a shortage of greedy misers. I guess we need them , too, but maybe we could get by with a few less.

[dennymal]

I don't think there is any animosity towards younger farmers on this sight. I do think there is some unjustified resentmant to so called BTO's. When I started farming in the late seventies and early eighties I felt my big break was just getting the land base to farm at current market rates. I would like to know if good ground is renting for an avg 375.00-400.00 per acre in this area(I'll be a landlord in a few years) and I know 5-6 good operators that would jump at the chance to rent my ground for that price, as a younger farmer wanting to get started and I offered the land lets say to him at 385.00 wouldn't that be a good break or would I be labeled by some as a greedy landlord.

[steeringwheelholder]

Red, you're a dying breed. How many times have we read in the farm magazines about "the aging farming population"? Seems like nowadays sometimes you see where the dad retires and the son takes over, and the son is 50+ years old. Sometimes I wish farming was like any other business or industry, where your competition is not your next door neighbor. I can be competitive all day long going around and renting ground for more than the guy is getting, but what would the result of that be? Only half the county wanting to kill me and being the most despised man around. I don't wanna be that guy. Try to do it right, but when I see that doesn't matter to some folks, it gets a little frustrating.