Rambling on and on and on about farming, food and astronomy. Astronomy? Yep. Farming and astronomy go together like garlic and basil, tomatoes and peppers, ice cream and bacon.

29th November 2011

Photo with 4 notes

Decisions, decisions… So many things to decide as we begin this little farmiing venture. And most of those decisions do not have simple yes/no answers. Some have to be made in consultation with our attorney and banking people. There we are following their advice because, well, that’s what they get paid for and we know and trust them. Others we have to make on our own. One of the first decisions was a tractor. At this point we could have avoided buiying one. We aren’t taking over a large amount of land for production, only a few acres. But there were other things to consider. We had brush to clear, trees to take down, ground and rocks to move. So we decided we needed one. The hunt was on, and it was a frustrating one. We scanned ads, Craigs List, local papers, etc. and quickly came up with an assortment of junk that was breathtaking in price, and horrifying in condition. I’d never seen such a collection of garbage outside of a junkyard in my life. People asking $8,000, $9,000 for tractors that were ready either for a major overhaul or should have been scrapped ages ago. We found lots of tractors in the 70 - 90 HP range that might have been a good buy if we were farming 150 acres, but we had no use for something that big. I finally found a 60 HP Ford at a local implement dealer and went to look at it. It was bigger than I really wanted, but the price, $8,000, wasn’t real bad and it had relatively low hours and was in good shape. I’d have to add a loader, probably another $2,000, and the thing wouldn’t fit in the garage at the farm so we’d have to repair the doors on the old machine shed to store it. So I’d be looking at about $10,000 total for the thing. It wasn’t what we really wanted, but it would do. As we were looking at it, I couldn’t help but notice the little Massy Ferguson sitting nearby, a little four wheel drive with a loader. It was exactly the kind of thing we’d been looking for; small but a real tractor, not one of those oversized lawnmowers, about 32 HP. Just for the heck of it I asked the price. I expected it to be going for a lot more than we could afford, and discovered they’d marked it down to only a little more than the old Ford would have cost. They’d discounted it steeply because it didn’t have hydrostatic drive and couldn’t sell it. So by the end of the week we took delivery of the little Massy, with a full 3 yr warranty, for only a little more than what we figured we would be spending on a 30 - 40 yr old tractor. The really big decision is one we’ve been putting off, and that is what to do with the old barn. Years of freeze/thaw cycles and a lack of maintaince of any kind have taken their toll. Walls are cracking, tilting, curmbling, floors are cracking. Frankly, in its current condition, not only is it not useful, it isn’t safe. Is it repairable? Sure. But is it economically justifiable? Probably not. Give me about a month, a big backhoe, some 10 ton jacks, heavy beams and blocking, a truckload of cement and concrete block and about 3 or 4 people, and we could do it ourselves. But is it worth it? And then there is the question of “What are you going to plant”? As we head into December, this is a question that is coming up more often, and my answer is the same as it was before, whatever we feel like planting. I’m looking at this first season as an experiment of sorts. So many things are still uncertain. No one involved yet is sure how much time they can spend on the farm, for one thing. Everyone involved has a full time job in addition to working on the farm. So we are going to have to deal with that as best we can. If we get anything edible at all out of the place this coming season, I’ll be pleased. If we make some sales, I’ll be even more pleased. If we have difficulty with schedules, marketing, etc. and end up donating everything to food pantries I’ll be pleased as well.

Decisions, decisions…

So many things to decide as we begin this little farmiing venture. And most of those decisions do not have simple yes/no answers. Some have to be made in consultation with our attorney and banking people. There we are following their advice because, well, that’s what they get paid for and we know and trust them. Others we have to make on our own.

One of the first decisions was a tractor. At this point we could have avoided buiying one. We aren’t taking over a large amount of land for production, only a few acres. But there were other things to consider. We had brush to clear, trees to take down, ground and rocks to move. So we decided we needed one.

The hunt was on, and it was a frustrating one. We scanned ads, Craigs List, local papers, etc. and quickly came up with an assortment of junk that was breathtaking in price, and horrifying in condition. I’d never seen such a collection of garbage outside of a junkyard in my life. People asking $8,000, $9,000 for tractors that were ready either for a major overhaul or should have been scrapped ages ago. We found lots of tractors in the 70 - 90 HP range that might have been a good buy if we were farming 150 acres, but we had no use for something that big.

I finally found a 60 HP Ford at a local implement dealer and went to look at it. It was bigger than I really wanted, but the price, $8,000, wasn’t real bad and it had relatively low hours and was in good shape. I’d have to add a loader, probably another $2,000, and the thing wouldn’t fit in the garage at the farm so we’d have to repair the doors on the old machine shed to store it. So I’d be looking at about $10,000 total for the thing. It wasn’t what we really wanted, but it would do.

As we were looking at it, I couldn’t help but notice the little Massy Ferguson sitting nearby, a little four wheel drive with a loader. It was exactly the kind of thing we’d been looking for; small but a real tractor, not one of those oversized lawnmowers, about 32 HP. Just for the heck of it I asked the price. I expected it to be going for a lot more than we could afford, and discovered they’d marked it down to only a little more than the old Ford would have cost. They’d discounted it steeply because it didn’t have hydrostatic drive and couldn’t sell it. So by the end of the week we took delivery of the little Massy, with a full 3 yr warranty, for only a little more than what we figured we would be spending on a 30 - 40 yr old tractor.

The really big decision is one we’ve been putting off, and that is what to do with the old barn. Years of freeze/thaw cycles and a lack of maintaince of any kind have taken their toll. Walls are cracking, tilting, curmbling, floors are cracking. Frankly, in its current condition, not only is it not useful, it isn’t safe. Is it repairable? Sure. But is it economically justifiable? Probably not. Give me about a month, a big backhoe, some 10 ton jacks, heavy beams and blocking, a truckload of cement and concrete block and about 3 or 4 people, and we could do it ourselves. But is it worth it?

And then there is the question of “What are you going to plant”? As we head into December, this is a question that is coming up more often, and my answer is the same as it was before, whatever we feel like planting.

I’m looking at this first season as an experiment of sorts. So many things are still uncertain. No one involved yet is sure how much time they can spend on the farm, for one thing. Everyone involved has a full time job in addition to working on the farm. So we are going to have to deal with that as best we can.

If we get anything edible at all out of the place this coming season, I’ll be pleased. If we make some sales, I’ll be even more pleased. If we have difficulty with schedules, marketing, etc. and end up donating everything to food pantries I’ll be pleased as well.

Tagged: agriculturefarmingdecisions

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  1. krippner posted this