Big Ben - 10/28/2018 23:24



“Stay lean” has been mentioned.

Renting out the ground and getting a job can be a good way to go. Here’s a super-simplified example: Let’s say someone owns 300 tillable and is paying his bills and making a living farming, maybe $45,000 a year for round numbers. All is well, he’s not going backward, but the land would cash rent for $300 per acre. That’s a extra $45k per year, plus whatever he’d make at that town job, which could very well be another $45k per year. You said he might go another 10-20 years, so the difference it could make may be $900,000- $1,800,000, taxes and other considerations aside. That kind of cash can go a long way in estate planning so that someone interested in the farm might have a better chance.

In the end I guess it comes down to the “what’s the point” question. If a guy is just farming for himself he can do whatever he likes. Lots of folks benefited from the work of the previous generations though, and if they have a real interest in similarly benefiting the next, might have to make harder decisions.