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The future of farming
- Thread starter westerveld
- Start date
icestationzebra
Senior Member
Remember when my dad went from a three row pull type to a four row self propelled uni system, seemed like big time! ISZ
trini_fella
Member
Now that's awesome
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . . That is amazing. It works so well but all that capex and diesel just to feed some cows? I just don't get it I'm afraid.
Unfortunately I reckon this sort of outsize kit is just an aberration.
In time farms will come back to what they used to be and I believe it unlikely that machines of that size and complexity will be operated by your younger children.
Cheers
Unfortunately I reckon this sort of outsize kit is just an aberration.
In time farms will come back to what they used to be and I believe it unlikely that machines of that size and complexity will be operated by your younger children.
Cheers
grandpa
Senior Member
Well I sure hope your wrong on your prognosis here Scrub. I make a good living off one big farmer here. He's been running sixteen rows for a number of years now.
I work leveling , squaring and evening up fields (paddocks as you call them) for him. The huge farm is here to stay. They already own thousands of acres of land and farming is now corporate farming. And I do believe our children will be able to run this massive equipment. Heck, the Model A days will never come back as farming will never go back.... IMO.
Statistics show farms are getting larger and smaller. With profit margins low like everywhere else, big farms need more acres to spread equipment cost over. Mid size farms are getting bigger, holding on, or selling out. There's more small farms, mostly start ups, in nich markets like direct sales of vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese. There are people willing to spend the added money ( higher price) to know who they are buying there food from. In the U.S. the cost of food is like 10% of income thanks to the big farms. Costs in Europe are more like 20-25%.
Mobiltech
Senior Member
Actually I'm afraid its going the other way to bigger corporate farms. There is money to be made on large scale farms and the investors are starting to see that.
The price of inputs land and fuel are getting so high that a little guy can't get started without some help financially. We see more and more empty yard sites here all the time as the older farmers retire and the big farmers buy them up and abandon or demolish the yardsite.
icestationzebra
Senior Member
Wisconsin used to be the top milk producer in the US, but it has been #2 to California for some years now as the corporate farm continues to take over. Probably only 1 in 3 farms are actually in use in Wisconsin anymore as the farms continue to get larger and take over the land. My family had a 250 cow herd and got out in 1992 and the farm hasn't been used since, in fact a recent satellite photo shows that much of the roof has fallen in! It's hard to understand why so many farms are in Cali where there are constant water rationing and shortages.
ISZ
ISZ
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . . I understand what you are saying fellers and I agree that under steady state conditions you are absolutely right . . . such gear is amazing from an engineering perspective and what it can achieve.
I believe the problem is that in that fifteen to twenty year time frame we will have to find more efficient ways of feeding folks than putting chop through cows.
Cheers.
I believe the problem is that in that fifteen to twenty year time frame we will have to find more efficient ways of feeding folks than putting chop through cows.
Cheers.