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Roanoke, IN | Listen to your dad. You may be smarter, but he is wiser. You need to be spending more time around him, your uncle, and the hired man and learning from them.
Kudos to the hired man. Your dad pays him well and I bet he's worth every penny. My clue was he was willing to step aside for you. He didn't get pouty and threaten to quit when he heard his job might be gone. If he wanted to truck, he would go do that. If you want to farm, you will need good employees like him in the future. You need to work with him, not compete with him.
Don't let your success be at the expense of others. Don't try to figure out a new way to slice up the pie, bake another pie. My suggestion to you is to plug into something they aren't doing well or something they are hiring done. My fit was to buy another tractor to pull the bean planter so we could plant corn & beans at the same time. There are lots of things to think about: trucking, spraying, fertilizer application, etc. I would push to have something to call your own instead of just being another "hired man".
I notice you use terms such as "our farm" and "we" a lot. The sooner you understand this the better off you'll be: "It's not your farm!"
You don't give specifics, but I'm guessing your acres aren't significant to the operation and your Dad & Uncle would be just fine if they disappeared tomorrow. I would also add that your labor, although I'm sure it's very much appreciated, isn't a game changer for them either. I'm sure they would rather call you to make an AB line, but they could call the precision tech just as easy. I guess I say all that to make the point they are doing you a favor, not the other way around. Remember, a lot of guys have passion & dreams of farming. Some of them only get to view from the road. Be thankful you get to experience the tractor seat.
The name of the game in production ag is equity. It sounds like you have little or none. From your dad's perspective, what is tying you to the farm besides passion? You chose to go to college. Where could you be financially if you worked and banked everything those 4 years? Your dad is wise to advise you to build up your off farm business/job. You will need the extra income and you are super lucky to have income that fits around farming.
I see a lot of myself in you. You will find a way to make it all work. Most importantly, honor your dad and be respectful to your uncle and hired guy in the process. Don't use people to get possessions. Surround yourself with good people, and the possessions can't help but come to you.
While I don't think it's what you wanted to hear, there is a lot of wisdom in the comments on this thread. Read them all and think about them.
Email is always open if you need to blow off steam. Also, for future reference, nothing you say on here is private. It's pretty easy to figure out who is who. Don't say anything that you wouldn't say in public.
Edited by Orfarmer 4/27/2015 20:54
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Son and Hired Man.....
