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West Central IL | We quit in 2004. 1/24/2004 to be exact. I was 24. We were at the point it was either upgrade or quit as the equipment and barn were over 30 years old at that point. I was young enough that I didn't miss it. We ended up keeping some cows and buying some more and just breeding them and raise fats. We already raised fats, but we increased the herd. Since then the row crop side has expanded also. But I finally got used to having almost all my Sundays and a lot of Saturdays back. Still work the weekend at harvest or planting if need be, but this morning it rained, I finished up a project in the shed and now I'm sitting in the house waiting for later this afternoon to light the BBQ. Maybe find a hobby for your free time. I agree with just collecting a check takes the worth out of doing a job. I've been on the other side of the fence too. Thought about getting a paycheck job where there's a lot less work and hours than farming and at the end of the day you still bank the same pay as farming would get you without all the hours and labor.
It took a while for my dad and uncles to get out of the milking habit. That's all they knew. | |
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Life after dairy farming
