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Central Indiana | I went to college. I was lucky enough to pay most of it off very quick. My dad was old school. If you didn't work 14 hours you were a lazy bum. He never wanted to grow his farm because it just made more work he couldn't finish. My dad really didn't want me to farm either. After college I got a job at a steel mill. It was pretty crazy pay, but very dangerous. I worked 2 extra days every week for almost 15 years. 6 days on,2 off 6 nights on 2 off 12 hr shifts. My wife was a nurse. We completely put our lives on hold to save everything we could so we could buy into the family farm. Looking back all the guys at the steel mill are retiring, and I've got a long way to go in my farming career with younger kids. I think you have to decide what you want before your child can decide wether he can farm. Now you can help him get going, or make him buy it all. If your both young, try to help him. Don't pit him away, he grew up on a farm and about every farm boys dream is to farm. He will make mistakes, just remember you made mistakes too. Listen with an open ear to his ideas before shutting him down. Treat him as a son first not a hired man. Communication is the key to success or failure. Help him find ground for himself, and pay accordingly. You can't expect your son to make it paying him minimum wage. He needs actual ground or shares to help him grow. If he comes back and it puts you in financial hardship, your son probably needs an off the farm job. My experience has been very different than most. I still say that a bad day on the farm is way better than a good day at the steel mill or anywhere else | |
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Son coming back to farm.
