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SW “Ohia” | Hello All,
I work off-farm in an office setting. The vast majority of my coworkers have never met a farmer, so when it somehow gets brought up that I farm part-time, I usually get a bunch of questions. The ongoing trade situation being in the news seems to compound this.
Yesterday I was asked about how actual “take home” pay from the farm varies. Of course this varies a lot operation to operation, but this person was curious about how much that is aggravating farm consolidation. I explained that there are MANY factors more influential than just wanting to make more pocket money. Still, it was an interesting discussion.
So, how about that as a question. If you look back through history, say
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
How has a typical farm in your area changed in size/yearly profit, and how have living expenses changed as well?
I think the latter has increased quite a bit due to a number of reasons (healthcare, inflation, “modern luxuries”) but I don’t think it’s nearly as influential towards farm growth compared to issues like shrinking profit margins or loss of markets.
My concluding statement was that even if you lived without a TV, burnt firewood, and ran a Farmall M, I don’t think you would be able to raise a family on 100 acres like in 1955. Thoughts?
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