Best Time In Recent History To Farm ?

[glasshouse]

Get yourself a better leader .

She is a better leader than bungling boris

 

[glasshouse]

If you're not making now it doesn't bode well when you're on your jack jones .

Definitely too much vino

 

[michael N123]

Now

 

[Two Tone]

Without any doubt the best time was during the early 70's through to the mid 90's.
It was joining the EU which made the massive difference in profitability as it opened up so many markets. The sheep price saw a massive lift with lambs trebling in price.
Calves were incredibly valuable with Holstein/Friesian bull calves immediately making a £100 plus for the veal units and good beef cross calves up to £300. Headage payments and relatively cheap grain and it was a marvellous time.
My Father bought a 300 acre farm on an overdraft and paid it off in a year!!

My greatest fear now is as we leave the EU this situation will be reversed for the next 20 odd years.

Not to be pedantic, but...........
We didn’t join the EU in the 70’s. We joined an EEC of 9 countries of which one of it’s objectives was to make sure food was never again going to be short and would support all it’s farmers. Opening up the market was fine for most, unless you were a Fruit and vegetable farmer or a pig farmer, none of which were ever financially supported.
Cereals, Dairy and Sheep farmers suddenly became known as Rich farmers. Primarily because we were so good at it compared to the rest of the EEC and that our land asset values shot up through the roof. Land values in those days still reflected its ability as to what it could earn by profits rather than its future investment value. Borrowings are supported by your asset value.
What actually happened, especially for us as farmers, was a massive hike in inflation, but fortunately for us at a time when science very quickly doubled our yields.

 

[Two Tone]

just watched all the episodes, brilliant. that strong suffolk twang

It was a good and very good and interesting program.
However, please remind me not to use that undertaker!
Not only is his sense of humour a bit too ripe, but both he and his son showed that the village was in more urgent need of a decent dentist!

 

[glasshouse]

It was a good and very good and interesting program.
However, please remind me not to use that undertaker!
Not only is his sense of humour a bit too ripe, but both he and his son showed that the village was in more urgent need of a decent dentist!

And they say us scots are hard to understand

 

[M-J-G]

Get yourself a better leader .

That would be great, but I think we'll have Boris for a while.

You can't just overthrow a leader like what you mafia gangsters do.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

The good years have been and gone, but the better years are still to come

 

[betweenthelines]

Early 1960's seemed good for my father. 100 acres, 30 milkers and over about 18 months around '62 he bought a brand new tractor, mower, broadcaster, muckspreader, two trailers and a secondhand baler as well as paying school fees for 3 kids.

Oh, and he built a hay barn as well. But he always said that only cost thirty bob (£1.50) Got the cladding free from a disused RAF station, the wood was free from the Estate and he only had to pay for the fixings and nails!

 

[thorpe]

the best time to farm must be now going by the rent our local heros just paid

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Right here, right now, really starting to stretch our legs a little

 

[Henarar]

Today
Sun is shining but its not to hot
What more da ya want

 

[icanshootwell]

70’s to mid 90’s were a wonderful period for farming , even with some crazy interest rates and rampant inflation.
anyone who was prepared to put their back into it and keep up with the times made a lot of money, real money not just the inflation of land values which has made some farmers very rich today without really having sone any work. While tenant farmers can only watch in envy. Although to be fair some tenants are making good money provided they are happy to do an awful lot of work for it

Were you dairy by any chance?

 

[Exfarmer]

Were you dairy by any chance?

Correct

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Wonder if it had sayed small family farms would of been easier to make a living today

 

[Derrick Hughes]

A lazy man would say the last 15 years , a clever man the 90 ts and an out and out worker the 70ts

 

[sexy lexy]

A lazy man would say the last 15 years , a clever man the 90 ts and an out and out worker the 70ts

True, lot people talk about the 76 potato year, nd it seemed there was money being made back then, 94/95 good years too, but don't forget the last 10/12 years in farming have been steady nd a definate confidence has returned to the industry?

 

[glasshouse]

True, lot people talk about the 76 potato year, nd it seemed there was money being made back then, 94/95 good years too, but don't forget the last 10/12 years in farming have been steady nd a definate confidence has returned to the industry?

A definite confidence has returned to land ownership
Nothing to do with farming.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I remember 1984. Fantastic wheat yields (in East Anglia at least) and high prices. The farmer that we lived next door to was filmed and interviewed on the ITV Ten O'Clock News and was then got hate mail and abusive phone calls from other farmers for daring to say that things were pretty good.

 

[czechmate]

Not to be pedantic, but...........
We didn’t join the EU in the 70’s. We joined an EEC of 9 countries of which one of it’s objectives was to make sure food was never again going to be short and would support all it’s farmers. Opening up the market was fine for most, unless you were a Fruit and vegetable farmer or a pig farmer, none of which were ever financially supported.
Cereals, Dairy and Sheep farmers suddenly became known as Rich farmers. Primarily because we were so good at it compared to the rest of the EEC and that our land asset values shot up through the roof. Land values in those days still reflected its ability as to what it could earn by profits rather than its future investment value. Borrowings are supported by your asset value.
What actually happened, especially for us as farmers, was a massive hike in inflation, but fortunately for us at a time when science very quickly doubled our yields.

If your being pedantic...
There was intervention for cauliflower