Scott City KS | Trapshooter1 - 9/9/2020 23:05
That you either rented, and or Bought? Was it a severe fixer upper? Tiled? Fence lines to clear, from end to end? Some of the old timers 80s-90s age group guys talk about cutting trees to clear it(not just fence lines talking clearing timber) and tiling out basically wet bogs to make it productive.
So what is the story of your first farm?
And do you still have it today?
In 1999, I was a sophomore in High School. Dad had 3 different landlords come to him and tell him he had to buy it or it was going away. He was low on cash and the farm economy in our part of the world was in the toilet. I'm a cheap mule and had a pretty good chunk of cash in the bank. Dad convinced me to leverage that cash and buy 25% of it to lighten his load. I did and he made me an active farmer on it rather than a landlord share. I don't remember the loan amount or anything, but I paid off the note in my first year of college with a $5 wage, $2 wheat, and sub $2 milo for that period and a pretty serious drought on the end of it.
I went to college and grad school because nobody told me the farm economy wasn't ALWAYS as bad as it was in 98-2004. I kept operating my share of that quarter the whole time, stowed the cash and used it to start my farm business after working in audit for a couple years. It was criminally under capitalized, but it was something.
Still have it, talked to Dad about buying the other 75% just so it's easier when it's estate time, but we decided not to as I have some other stuff that may be coming down the pipe for that I'm squirreling money away for.
Overall it was a really good thing. Probably not as good as if I'd have taken that money and bought a mutual fund or something, but it worked for me, and essentially started me on a long winding road to get back here, doing what I want to be doing. |
What was your first farm????
