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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | It doesn't matter so much how a guy got started, as it is what they make of it.
Being in the right place at the right time is a big help as well.
I started from scratch. I bought my grandfathers farm, and did have some help there as he carried part of the note himself, off the books. This allowed my loan to value look very good, so Farm Credit had no trouble financing it without any other collateral or big down payment. We were lucky in that we didn't have any student loans, so at least we were starting from 0 instead of already in the negative. Other than that, we've bought everything and built a purebred cattle herd, a very good custom business and bought more land.
I used to be somewhat envious of my friends who were working into large family operations. I couldn't even borrow any equipment or trade labor for equipment use, so we hired a lot of stuff done and worked other jobs until we had enough land base. Even then I continued to work hourly and do custom work for a partner I was doing hay with for quite a while. However, I've learned that there are a lot challenges they have working with family, and things don't always work that smoothly for them. They've told me they are often envious of my position, being only accountable to myself and not having the freedom to go the direction they'd like. | |
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Any body out their start farming from scratch.
