GrainTrader - 12/7/2025 11:20
AGB - 12/7/2025 10:36
GrainTrader - 12/7/2025 08:54
Jared8970 - 12/7/2025 08:02 Exactly, I’ve been working hard to save money and paid a lot of taxes to do it, just to watch land double. I’m 42, my generation hasn’t ever saw a benefit to save money. My classmates that built new homes with 100% financing look awesome on paper still paying 2.5% interest and paying back with inflated dollars, and the home values doubled. So is now the time to save or hurry up and buy land before it doubles again? I think it’s always time to buy because as long as the gov keeps the game goin, we all continue on like nothing is wrong.
Somewhat similar position. 41, I do own some land, but thought by the 10 year park of paying on the bigger one
(just 60 acres, not hundreds
), I’d be ready to bite off another. Well my equity position is great, but my cash is terrible for extra repayment capacity. I worked off farm for roughly 16 years. Farmed 500 acres. I got the opportunity to add rental land and went full time. Not doing terrible, but just not any meat left on the bone to stretch farther. Only 41, but hoped to own 300+ by the time I retire, which is well enough away, but 150 is looking hard to accomplish at current. I had a 401K at my first job and stopped contributing to it and feel like I may have messed up not trying to at least put a couple grand into it each year… probably should start that now but still hope to get some land sometime again. Tough to do both and have an affection for land…
Do you think you'll ever get ahead renting? I know that I'm certainly in the minority in the farming community, but I just rid of the little bit of rented ground i farmed. Im not renting anything from anybody.
if rented right, yes i do, but you won't have the acre security nor the retirement tool of land. you'll have to get that elsewhere then.
not to be a smart A, but what should i do? 2025 i rented 1400 acres and farmed 69 that i own. 14 of that owned land is paid for, 55 of it is mortgaged and the payment is just a little higher than my average cash rent is. so its making money some years and breaking even some. that land was purchased for $8500 in 2014 and had a large downpayment applied. that DP money came from predominantly the 2012 GRIP crop insurance payment and saving from my off farm job.
(grip in 2012 was an odd situation here and we got big time payments and still raised 90 bushel corn and i was lucky and got $7+ for most of it
) i lived in a cheap rental shack, had no kids and wasnt married during that time and was able to cornhole away a decent amount. land here is $15,000-16,500 an acre if its true farmland and not near development.
how would you suggest i proceed to get to all owned acres and just farm?
(married now, with working wife
(she supplies health insurance benefits
) and 2 kids both under 10 years old
) and i get there's not going to be any one size fits all answer, and your in michingan and me indiana, as well as a million other questions and back and forth if you were to give me a real answer and try to "help".
again, i'm not being a smart A, but the ROI on buying land doesn't allow it to be paid for farming it in a manner to be able to buy enough to live on during the time your physically capable to do it. the rented land is the income source to live on and also buy more land as able to. i'm not a good farmer evidently, but i'm a better farmer than stock investor. so buying some land when able seems to be my best investment at the time, now i just don't see a viable time to buy more
(because i can't save much or quick enough to buy more
). so looking at other ideas/thoughts.
you show me someone who's in their 30's and 40's right now who is really humming along in grain farming, and not running a tight operation to survive right now, and 95+++% of the situations, i'll show you someone who either had a big time paying job or had a generation
(s
) before them set them up for success. that 5% is few and far between. and sadly i'll be part of that 95% someday when you get down to the brass tax. but still trying to make it on my own for now... kinda.
edit to add: i PROMISE you i'm not whining or hoping for a handout or anything of the such, just pointing out land ownership is a slow slow trail today, at least in my area. even if i go a hour west of me. and tried to farm and rental land here and own land there and farm that. which i think would create a management issue to where you'd be losing on more because of timeliness. IMO its a trail slow enough i don't think its attainable by the time your physically uncapable of doing it, Here. I wanted to move in my 20's, but even looking back and having a 20 year crystal ball i don't think that would have panned out cash flow wise either. i think i would have bankrupted with worth but not ability to pay the bills.
(i thought of moving to north missouri where some family lives
).
Another side business that is business during the slower season and doesn’t detriment during the busy season is probably the real answer to stay soley self employed in ag without livestock too:
Im not saying what you are is wrong at all. And, since I'm so in the minority when it comes to renting land that I'm obviously wrong. For me
), I just seemed to be working for very little. It just wasn't worth it to me. Good luck. Can't say I have an answer.
Farm economics from below
