I love to plant my tomatoes and vegetables in the summer.. put them up for the winter.. Bless you for writing this hubI love this hub, Rachel, and the message you are delivering. If he were a young man I’d recommend going to college to study agro-business. This article of yours has made me believe that I can give my family just that, and more, the true American Dream, the Dream that I fought for alongside my brothers and sisters overseas. Ethanol may or may not continue to play a large role in farming depending on what happens with corn-based fuel. There are positive aspects like living simply off the land.
I know a guy who spent almost a year in South Africa teaching people how to use oxen for draft power so that they could grow crops - pretty cool. He gets a pension and retirement healthcare benefits from Fuller, has an IRA and is debt-free. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. Let's assume the beginning 'farmer' has absolutely nothing. Thanks for reading this article - truth is, I wrote it for myself as much as for anyone else.This is fantastic.
I never thought of it as a profession but you are right it is no different in becoming a lawyer, doctor etc.
This hub is so inspirational. To my knowledge all counties have an office.As a young farmer this article puts rose colored glasses on a major issue. One injury (dont forget that farming is also one of the most DANGEROUS) professions in the world due to machinery, large animals, and long hours) and you could be unable to work. It gets tougher every year to find ground to farm, but if you don’t grow you will eventually collapse.I’ve always been surrounded by the farming life, so I’m not sure what people’s conceptions about farming are. Some boomers are becoming farmers in retirement, either because they love the idea or they need the money. “You have to be able to think for yourself and fix things because things are always going wrong.”As with taking on any new, entrepreneurial endeavor it pays to gather information and knowledge. I myself am headed back to my roots in Minnesota, within the next year. Our farmers are getting old! She now has 25 and sells their eggs, giving some away too! While there are some serious benefits to having family members already farming (you might have a mentor, or have access to land without having to make a big purchase), it's not necessary.Being the first person in your immediate family to decide to become a farmer shouldn't discourage you anymore than being the first person in your immediate family to attend college.Anyone can become a farmer.
You might also attend farm conferences and other educational gatherings and tap into classes at land grant universities.Member organizations like HAFA that pool expertise and resources have a long history in agriculture and can be extremely useful to the novice. Many retire-to-farm migrants rely on savings and pensions earned in a different occupation, although not all.A look at “beginning” farmers shows one-third are 55 or older; more than 10 percent are over 65.“A lot of people are retiring to farm,” observes W. Michael Slattery, a former international business executive in New York and Tokyo who farms in Maribel, Wisc.Among them is 74-year-old David Massey or, as he likes to be called, “Farmer Dave.” Massey picked organic farming — a lifelong passion — for his encore career.I recently met him at his home in White Bear Lake, Minn. Massey’s gardens were blooming and his house was full of plants.
But to name a few, here goes:1\No, nothing is certain. Of course it means hard work but it is work you can be proud of, and at the end of the day you can look in the mirror and feel good about yourself.
Take care and thanks for reading and commenting :)Whether small or large farming, the future is bright for those that want to serve local, regional, national, or even international markets.
Spurred by job losses, some in their 50s and 60s have turned to farming as a full-time occupation. I used to have a yard, but now I'm stuck with what I can grow in an apartment.
To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. Massey recommends finding a mentor or two. Apply to Field Representative, Claims Associate, Automotive Technician and more!
I used to visit my cousin's place and spend all entire day at their farm picking mongo and other crops to harvest.Thoroughly inspired.
“Farming is good for my health.”Bear in mind that farmland isn’t cheap and equipment is expensive, two widely cited barriers to entry.
Sounds like you and your husband have a pretty sweet life :). Why is this profession sidelined? Nearly 29 percent of the But there’s another reason for the high average age of farmers: The retire-to-farm movement (or, as my editor quipped, digging in for retirement).It’s an eclectic group that includes part-time farmers; second-career farmers; semi-retired farmers; hobby farmers with a few acres; encore-career farmers with several hundred acres; immigrants carving out a new life for themselves and their families and others. After we talked, he planned to deliver four boxes of heirloom tomatoes to a local organic restaurant.Massey left the University of Minnesota in 1965 without a degree to start his career as a chemist at H.B. Why not purchase a house that you can live in, on a piece of land that you can earn money with?Mortgage rates are between 3% and 5% right now - as low as they've been in decades and decades. Get some practice first to learn what farm life is like and see if you are physically able to do it. In fact, many countries, e.g. He’d like to spend more time mentoring, perhaps turning his farm into an educational resource for everyone from children to aspiring farmers.“The chief crop I raise is awareness,” Massey says. This often involves forced air drying in a silo (make sure you have a moisture tester). This is highly regional and this would apply to my area in Virginia.
Farming is a wonderful tradition in this country.