I responded but it seems to have disappeared.  Let's try again. Oh, and follow to the end where I tie it all up.

In the early 80's I looked looked into a seed dealership as a way to reduce farm expenses.  I got involved with a small Indiana family seed company wanting to expand into Illinois.  The Regional Manager that recruited me was shuffling paper.  Anyone interested in a dealership became a District Sales Manager.  Short version he didn't last very long.  The guy that replaced him was good.  Shortly before Roundup Ready became reality it got to the point I either had to get in full time or get out.   I got out.  It was the right decision.

I'm not sure farming was the best direction at the time, but it was better than the seed business. This was just before the great purge of small seed companies.  I farmed until it became evident I needed a new direction.

When I left farming in the mid / late 80's I took what I learned selling seed corn and got into sales.  Worked as a salesman for a Xerox agent (I met when I was on the "copier committee" for my church).  We covered 6 counties in eastern / south central Illinois.  (Interestingly enough I had covered 5 of them when I was selling seed corn.) When I discovered the leads for big sales never got to me I left for a full line office supply house just across the state line in Indiana. We sold office supplies, furniture, copiers, typewrites, cash registers, computers, cell phones, anything an office would use.

When they went bankrupt I went to work for another office machine store until my position was eliminated company wide.  Owner eliminated outside salesman, his expenses dropped, his profits looked great, he sold out and moved to Arizona.

I sold cell phones for a few months (in 9 counties, 7 of which I had worked before).  I decided I needed to find something more honest, like selling used cars.

Friend had a guy retiring and offered me a job in the propane business.  Driving a truck, setting tanks, serving appliances. (Not generally the career move for a salesman, but amazing how the sales skills I had developed helped.  I loved it.  Working with honest folks doing something needing done.  At the end of the week I could look back and see I did good. I planned on retiring there.)  Then my brother decided to get out of farming and get "a real job."

I bought him out and got back into farming, but I also stayed involved in the propane business.  They had invested time and money into my training and education and I felt an obligation there.  Plus there was very close relationship between my family and his from high school.  And the extra income helped. Today 30+ years later I'm still there as needed.  I currently deliver propane peak season.  I tell folks I'm the "Oh Crap" guy.  When it gets really busy they go "Oh crap, call Mike"

I asked you to follow to the end, so let's wind this all up.

If it weren't for the misleading in the seed business I'd never have gotten into sales.  If not for the sales manager position I was terribly unqualified for I wouldn't have learned recruiting and running meetings. If not for the Xerox agency I wouldn't have gotten the sales training I got. I learned a lot more about bankruptcy than I wanted to know having an employer file the day before payday. In the middle of this I joined our local volunteer Fire Department. After around 20 years I became Fire Chief.  I was asked to help select the first copier for my church, becoming a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, Church Clerk, and Elder. On and on, every thing I went through prepared me for where I am now.

Romans 8:28 tells us all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.  I feel my history shows that.  I couldn't see it in the middle of it, but looking back I get a glimpse of it now.  You have a history, a journey through life that isn't finished yet.  You learned a lot farming that you don't realize.  This may be a chance to use those skills or maybe change directions.

A friend spent most of his life as an auto mechanic.  After hisDad died he decided that wasn't what he wanted to do anymore and became a letter carrier!  He loved it (well, most of the time). 

Maybe you've spent a lifetime looking cows in the behind twice a day and it's time for something less demanding.

Maybe you're being called to do as Jerry and become a pastor.

Maybe if you're service skilled you can get a service truck and become the area on site mechanic.

A friend enjoyed dirt work and got a dozer and a hoe.

Maybe you could become a substitute teacher (in some places that doesn't necessarily require a degree).

Leaving farming is not the end of the world.  It doesn't mean you are a failure.  It may be the only way God could get you trained and where you need to be.