How do farmers make any money?

[Yander]

I want to do this in a few years (At 62).

 

[ultrarunner]

I had my best year this year as well in terms of tonnage/GP, too. My accountant told me to use it or pay taxes on it. However, I had a lot in repairs & parts.
I find that equipment, specifically balers & tractors are too complicated and need too much repairing when you buy them used. However, they cost way too much to buy new in payments to justify. So I can never see myself in a new tractor or large baler.
A rake, a tedder, even a disc mower seem to hold up fairly well.

Had some interesting discussions with family dairy and pig farmers in German speaking Europe…

They speak very highly of their Fendt Tractors and Krone equipment… Styer also has very reliable farm equipment with decades in service…

 

[spruce Deere]

How does a farmer make money.

Diversity, planning, bartering, time and willing to work long hours..... Just read at hay dudes description below his post.

The stuff gets in you blood as the saying goes......

 

[5030]

Since we incorporated as a working farm, we have not had any tax liability. In fact, every year we get a sizeable refund. I offset my profit from hay sales by updating equipment constantly. Besides, I like new equipment, just like every farmer I know of goes. My machine, welding and fabrication business is completely separate from the farm and operates as it's own entity. It has to with full time employees.

I'm just allergic to green equipment. Causes an allergic reaction every time I get near anything green...

 

[ultrarunner]

Many cousins a little younger in age gave up Dairy and Pig farming and number one reason is it’s 7 days a week forever…

Can’t not milk the cows.

They found city work as bus drivers and equipment operators and discovered vacation pay, holidays and generous retirement the lure.

Some have done real well selling off picturesque home sites that have been in the family generations and live like millionaires.

Generations ago being a subsistence family farm meant you did not go hungry and everyone had a job and they considered themselves fortunate to own a little land and be able to hold onto it.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Many cousins a little younger in age gave up Dairy and Pig farming and number one reason is it’s 7 days a week forever…

Can’t not milk the cows.

They found city work as bus drivers and equipment operators and discovered vacation pay, holidays and generous retirement the lure.

Some have done real well selling off picturesque home sites that have been in the family generations and live like millionaires.

Generations ago being a subsistence family farm meant you did not go hungry and everyone had a job and they considered themselves fortunate to own a little land and be able to hold onto it.

Last summer I visited the old textile mills in Lowell, MA, which are now a museum.

Working conditions were awful. The buildings were hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Each worker was responsible for keeping up to 15 looms going, they had to sprint between them all day long. The building was crowded and the noise was deafening. Constantly they were breathing cotton dust.

And workers flocked there from all over the region because it was so much easier than farming.

 

[ultrarunner]

 

[hayden]

I’m not speaking for LHF2019, but it’s easy to have big (gross) profits and no money if your expenses were really high.
If I make 200K gross profits, but equipment payments, inputs, expenses (repairs, fuel, insurance, etc) were abnormally high, like $150,000, you could have little “money” left.

Absolutely. But it's your net after expensed that is taxable, not your gross. That's why I'm confused by what LHF2019 said.

 

[MossRoad]

Many cousins a little younger in age gave up Dairy and Pig farming and number one reason is it’s 7 days a week forever…

Can’t not milk the cows.

They found city work as bus drivers and equipment operators and discovered vacation pay, holidays and generous retirement the lure.

Some have done real well selling off picturesque home sites that have been in the family generations and live like millionaires.

Generations ago being a subsistence family farm meant you did not go hungry and everyone had a job and they considered themselves fortunate to own a little land and be able to hold onto it.

About 40 years ago I started going with a friend to one of his family member's dairy farm to fish on their large pond. We'd clean the fish and give their mom half in repayment for the privilege of allowing us to fish there. The family had 4 boys. Not a one of them had ever been fishing on that pond. They said they went swimming there once or twice in their entire life. The rest of the time they were either working on the farm or going to school. Nice guys. All went away to college. Only 1 came back to the farm. Driving by now, the farm is in disrepair.

 

[MossRoad]

This operation is doing very well here.