The harvest this fall will be my 48th harvest of farming on my own. Over 50 counting the time I farmed with my dad. Wife and I decided to wrap it up so this will be our last. We have been partially retired for the last 11 years and mostly retired the last 6 with other people doing the day to day stuff with us mostly just involved in the financial end. The last couple weeks we have decided to hang it up and rent out our owned farmland.

The most difficult part of the decision was that the people that work for us would no longer have jobs. But the talented people they are will have no problem finding new employment. So we decided that it was time for us to move to a new phase in our life. A phase that would no longer have the normal stress that goes along with running and financing a business.

At least after we get things wrapped up. Something tells me this next year will be full of stress, liquidating all the machinery, renting out our ground, figuring out how to get some value out of a couple farmsteads with buildings and grain bin storage. But I am looking forward to it becoming someone else challenge. I can say I have had the most wonderful run, doing what I have loved since the 5th grade in school when I decided a farmer was what I wanted to be.

The last few years I have been less and less interested in what was going on at the farm and more interested in activities outside the farm. After 50+ years of it I guess I had just done enough of it to satisfy me. I would say that is the #1 reason we are hanging it up. We have had a lot of personal freedom the last 6 years and Carolynn and I have both very much enjoyed that. We are looking forward to our new phase in life where we will have almost complete freedom from the farm other than talking with our tenants once in a while.

We made the announcement to our employees yesterday and contacted our landlords so now it is public knowledge. Life has been good and continues to be good to us. We have been sooooo blessed and are so thankful for it every day.

John