How many Farms on AS? answer the poll.

[czar800]

It seems like a lot of AS members have some type of farm background that's why i started this poll.

1. Own or work on a working farm.

2. Have owned or worked on a farm.

3. A family member has a working farm.

4. No farm background.

 

[Ed*L]

Our family farm is 80 acres. Grandpa used to cash crop 35 acres and had close to 150 fruit trees, mainly apples.
The land is leased out now and most of the fruit trees have been cut down.

I have a lot of fond memories of helping out Grampa in the orchards when I was a kid.

Ed

 

[MNfarmer]

I'm the fifth generation to farm here. The farm has been in our family since 1893. Started out as a dairy farm and continued until 1997 and has since been a beef farm.

 

[bama]

My dad used to farm. He now rents out the 320 acres he has left(the 90's were pretty hard on the bottom line). I work for my FIL and BIL on their 5000 acres(NE North Dakota). Small grains, sunflowers, and canola up here. I always thought we had it good in the Red River Valley, but they raise 70-80 bushel wheat and 90-100 bushell barley. It was a very good year for them this year!

 

[Marc]

My father ran a dairy farm with his uncle, ~160 acres owned plus another 40 - 60 they rented. I think the most they ever milked was around 80 animals, this was back in the 70's.

I rent a house on a dairy farm of similar size now, but in a few months will be moving out and into the farm house my grandparents were in, where my father grew up. The farm land now belongs to my father's cousins, but we might be looking to buy it off them. The development rights were sold to the state (MA) under an open space protection plan. It's probably 65% open land, leaving roughly 50 acres of wooded land plus fence lines. Plenty of wood to burn and sell on the side. Probably make square bales off the hay fields. The horse people around here are paying as much as $7/bale delivered, and with the land we could rent around here, we estimate we could probably put up 20,000-25,000 bales/year. Should be interesting.

 

[wood4heat]

My grandparents moved to Oregon in the sixties but still have a farm in SW Iowa. I thinks it's 160 acres and being farmed by a neighbor. My second cousin lives in the house but runs a construction company with his brother who farms on the side. I have another cousin who farms but also works at a Pella plant.

 

[Urbicide]

My wood lot is a certified tree farm. I am doing a lot of TSI consisting of invasives control (bush honey suckle, grape vine, multi-flora rose, garlic mustard, & everyone's favorite poison ivy), weed tree removal, fuel reduction, erosion control, crop tree release, etc. Have not made a penny but the tax benefits are nice to have. It is also my escape from humanity.

I had an aunt & uncle who had a small farm in PawPaw Michigan. They both had "regular" jobs and worked the farm after work and on week ends. Every summer my brother and I would spend a couple of weeks with them way back in the 60's. It was a very important part of my early life.

 

[wood4heat]

Every summer my brother and I would spend a couple of weeks with them way back in the 60's. It was a very important part of my early life.

+1 It was more like the 80's for me but I spent a lot of summers working on the farm and LOVED it! It's sad to see how things have changed since then. Mostly the cousins my age who have grown and moved off the farms but also the cool old barns and windmills disappearing from the landscape.

 

[charlesfarm]

Does a small farm count?

I work full time (out of my house) for a big insurance company. In my spare time, I farm our little slice of Iowa.

We've got 10.5 acres. 6.5 in alfalfa that we put up hay from -- four cuttings a year. 1 acre for the family milk cow that is hand milked every day. About 1.5 acres for the yard around the house. And about 1 acre in a ravine/woodlot that I am trying to keep thinned so the ash trees will grow nice and big!!

We have 7 (yes that's seven) children and all of them 'cept the little guy born in December '07 have specific jobs/chores every day. It's a wonderful life!

God bless,
Chris

 

[mga]

gees.....i complain about maintaining a two acre lot!!

 

[wdchuck]

Market/truck garden
Tree propagation from seed/nut.
Fruit trees/shrubs, and nut trees...more saleable goodies.
Also learning about eating/cultivating/selling weeds for improved health.

Plans for indoor aquaculture too, perch/blugill.
No animals, yet.

Only 8acres, but plenty of income potential out this gentlmans farm.

 

[iCreek]

Our family (married into) has three farms (five generations, three alive) joined together with 640 acres. We don't full time farm, and my role is limited, but we do harvest wood for three Hardy OWB along with cattle, hay and a few horses. I help with as many things as I can, I work in the IT field during the week. Great survey.

 

[treefrog359]

farming

well 40 A at home mostly hay and corn to feed the beef cows. i work part time for the neighbor that is into custom work for the dairy farms around us. i know for a fact that there are two farms by me that are milking over 500 head and farm 1000+ of tillable ground.

 

[Mkarlson]

Just moved into an old 5acre homestead, in the middle of lots of remodeling. When I get caught up I have lots of plans for side income off this property. Although not a farm kid (grew up in small town of like 4000 peeps) I work for the co-op as an agriculture applicator both fertilizer and pesticides. So farms are all I see everyday. Also get the use of alot of farm ground for hunting and wood gathering purposes.

 

[retired redneck]

Own 7+ acres,4 in hay 1 1/2 in fruite and nut trees.1 1/2 in buildings and saw shop. but worked on 640 acre farm for 20yrs.if you think farming is easy give it a try.

 

[keving]

I was Born on the farm where i currently reside with my wife and four great kids.I farm full time (1185 acres) with my father who is retired but still shows up every day to help out...the winters are pretty quiet, besides cutting wood
getting equiptment ready etc this past year has been one of our best with a great harvest and great prices for our products... corn,navy beans and wheat.even on a bad year I would not trade this way of life for anything

 

[czar800]

I was Born on the farm where i currently reside with my wife and four great kids.I farm full time (1185 acres) with my father who is retired but still shows up every day to help out...the winters are pretty quiet, besides cutting wood
getting equiptment ready etc this past year has been one of our best with a great harvest and great prices for our products... corn,navy beans and wheat.even on a bad year I would not trade this way of life for anything

+1

 

[Corley5]

We live on 200 acres that my Grandparents bought in 1959. The acreage is split pretty even between open ground and northern hardwoods. The dairy cattle were sold before I came along and we got rid of the beef herd in 99. Don't miss having cattle a bit. Between our place and some other ground in the area we put up around 600 600lb round bales a year for sale to horse owners.

 

[PA Plumber]

My dad and I raised beef cattle, swine, a few chickens and tilled a couple of hundered acres for grains and hay growing up. Grandparents had a dairy herd. A couple of uncles had farm ground.

My wife and I have a few acres of trees and 1 acre of New Zealand White (food plot). In the process of getting another acre of grains put in for the local wildlife.

"Tree Farming" would probably be a better title for what we are doing now. Not quite as quick a turn around as oats, though!

 

[55chevyparts]

Currently 80 acres, but in a couple of years I will buy my parents 120. Then I will start looking for more... and more... and a little more. Mainly just beef cows and hay. Use mine for hay and run the cows on my parents. Hard to do working full time and finding time for the family. Can't get anything done outside when it is dark before you get home from work.