The problem with family farming.........

[Doing it for the kids]

A lot of these comments are very true.

Farming is much harder than it was, more space is needed to secure the same income which makes it hard to split 'fairly'

What is 'fair'? The daughter who gets say a £500k house with a rental of £20 k per annum or a son who gets £1m of land with a rental value of say10k. Both can be sold, one is passive income, the other is damned hard work. (Figures for representation only!)

If both of my sprogs like farming then I am not sure how it will go. If one does and the other doesn't not then it's easy. One will get the land and enough cash to buy some kit, the other will get everything else. Splitting things up can kill it off.

 

[Ali_Maxxum]

It's a problem and from what I can see it's only getting worse. Seems to be more work to do but no more reward than before. I myself had seriously considered leaving after my girlfriend decided to go, nothing major, but working all the time was a fair contributing factor. It is no doubt a massive strain on relationships/family.

I love the job, but I don't think I love it enough. The work will always be there tomorrow, but the love might not. Sounds soppy? Yes, probably. But since then I've never had such little motivation to do anything, jobs that I would normally be almost excited about going to do have now become jobs to be done simply cos they need doing....

I've tried to sort myself out, autumn/winter/spring I can more or less get away with finishing at 6, made a point of not working on a Sunday since hay making finished. Success is to be happy, not how many customers you have or how much kit you own.

Think the trouble with being in a family business, your work problems follow you into the house and join you for tea, then you take them to bed with you. It's not like you clock off at half 5 and leave them in the yard.

Friend of mine has had him and his brother a farm sort of bought for them, basically expansion with them firmly in mind. The one however I think doesn't like the thought of the rest of his life already being set out in front of him by the time he's turned 21... so he's gone, working anywhere else he can. It's not caused a problem, it's completely understandable I think.

 

[onthehoof]

Great grandad had a decent farm but my grandad decided to go his own way and was able to buy his own farm. The original Farm was left to grandads 3 younger brothers whose children - now cousins - have a sixth of a share each. My dad and his brother farmed in partnership until my uncle got divorced and dad was able to buy his half. My brother and sister didn’t want to Farm so eventually there’ll just be me and my children if they want it.
A lot of it comes down to luck really if grandad hadn’t gone his own way I could have been farming with cousins or second cousins.

 

[Still Farming]

is all I'm going to say on the subject!

That's too much on this subject some will say ???

 

[Still Farming]

A lot of these comments are very true.

Farming is much harder than it was, more space is needed to secure the same income which makes it hard to split 'fairly'

What is 'fair'? The daughter who gets say a £500k house with a rental of £20 k per annum or a son who gets £1m of land with a rental value of say10k. Both can be sold, one is passive income, the other is damned hard work. (Figures for representation only!)

If both of my sprogs like farming then I am not sure how it will go. If one does and the other doesn't not then it's easy. One will get the land and enough cash to buy some kit, the other will get everything else. Splitting things up can kill it off.

If big acreage again may get you out of trouble.
Small place will have to be sold even if say 1 out off 2 or more want to farm and have a go ?
Very sad -and wonder why we carry on but who know's when we are 6 feet under ???

 

[bumkin]

Good as a hobby maybe ?
Tax wise etc.etc ?
But lying on a beach better ?

farming is a rich mans hobby and a peasants occupation

 

[Still Farming]

farming is a rich mans hobby and a peasants occupation

You notice all the big companies have links to farming ???

 

[Pasty]

Death and divorce took ours from 400 to 50. Nobody ever thinks either is going to happen to them.........

 

[bumkin]

It's a problem and from what I can see it's only getting worse. Seems to be more work to do but no more reward than before. I myself had seriously considered leaving after my girlfriend decided to go, nothing major, but working all the time was a fair contributing factor. It is no doubt a massive strain on relationships/family.

I love the job, but I don't think I love it enough. The work will always be there tomorrow, but the love might not. Sounds soppy? Yes, probably. But since then I've never had such little motivation to do anything, jobs that I would normally be almost excited about going to do have now become jobs to be done simply cos they need doing....

I've tried to sort myself out, autumn/winter/spring I can more or less get away with finishing at 6, made a point of not working on a Sunday since hay making finished. Success is to be happy, not how many customers you have or how much kit you own.

Think the trouble with being in a family business, your work problems follow you into the house and join you for tea, then you take them to bed with you. It's not like you clock off at half 5 and leave them in the yard.

Friend of mine has had him and his brother a farm sort of bought for them, basically expansion with them firmly in mind. The one however I think doesn't like the thought of the rest of his life already being set out in front of him by the time he's turned 21... so he's gone, working anywhere else he can. It's not caused a problem, it's completely understandable I think.

your not wrong there it is getting harder and yes you need to farm more land to stay still my dad when he got married in 1948 employed a man for every forty acres well that didn't last ,now in mixed farming its a man for every 3-400t last acres in fact i noticed on here some where some one was saying 400 acres was a part time farm it does seem we need to do more and more to stay solvent
but i enjoy farming, yes we have ups and downs and perhaps a few to many downs, but i would not want to do factory work or stack shelves in tesco if my son wants to farm (and he does)thats his look out he knows the score
as far as relationships in marriage go you both need to want to farm, and do it together as a team, its no use having a partner that doesn't want to be a part of the farm as farmers we are a race apart country men and women if you are farmers you are a part of the farm and the farm is a part of you,
i remember selling my old farm and moving out i hadn't realised how much that place was a part of me until i closed the gate behind me
yes it is a bugger trying to be solvent but nothing in life is easy don't moan about it get on with it and enjoy the satisfaction .

 

[thesilentone]

Back to turning money over more times, means more work.

 

[Scholsey]

A lot of these comments are very true.

Farming is much harder than it was, more space is needed to secure the same income which makes it hard to split 'fairly'

What is 'fair'? The daughter who gets say a £500k house with a rental of £20 k per annum or a son who gets £1m of land with a rental value of say10k. Both can be sold, one is passive income, the other is damned hard work. (Figures for representation only!)

If both of my sprogs like farming then I am not sure how it will go. If one does and the other doesn't not then it's easy. One will get the land and enough cash to buy some kit, the other will get everything else. Splitting things up can kill it off.

Our farm was split 5 ways in the early 90's 160 acres and still have another 8 years paying mortgage that paid my fathers siblings off, only one of which the inheritance money made that much difference to as he put it towards buying a farm in a less favorable area. There are plenty of farming businesses around that if they suddenly had to start paying a mortgage to pay off family wouldnt stand a chance.

 

[7610 super q]

Family partnerships should come with a government health warning........but.......how the hell would you get started from scratch on your own these days ?

 

[Still Farming]

Family partnerships should come with a government health warning........but.......how the hell would you get started from scratch on your own these days ?

Win the lottery but who wants to buy work ???

 

[Jungle Bill]

The most effective way I have found to manage all the complex situations that make up a family farm is to manage it holistically; it puts everything into context and gives you a structured way to plan and achieve your objectives.
Get in touch with @Sheila Cooke to talk about learning how to do this or just book onto a course at https://3lm.network/events/ , the days I spent with them on Lismore this year has changed how I look at life, land and almost everything else and given me optimism for the future, and I’ve hardly started.

 

[DRC]

Yes indeed, it's not that I don't like the job or can't do it but we are getting further and further away from what the rest of society is prepared to do for their living that frankly we look stupid.
In some ways it is too late for me because my 15 year old is keen but he may change yet of course, sometimes I think that if I called a halt to the whole thing, yes I would be unpopular but maybe it would be a kindness.

If he's keen encourage him to get as qualified as he can, as there's some wonderful jobs in agriculture that don't mean having to come home. Our son would've left school at 16 to work at home , but we ( his mum), insisted on A levels , which he followed with a degree in ag with business. Now at 25, he's assistant manager on a large 8000 acre, very diversified estate, with good salary, house and responsibilities, which hopefully will stand in good stead, even if he does come back one day.
Feels hard at the time, as I felt I was pushing him out, but he's very glad now.

 

[kiwi pom]

I have always thought (as the youngest of 4 children) that to be a successful farmer you need to be an only son, on an owner occupied farm with reasonable abilities to get on with your parents and you are there.
I started tenant farming by myself 15 yrs ago with no family money and I wouldn't do it again, nor would my wife and I certainly wouldn't want my children to go through what we have.

Or daughter of course.

Saved ya there

 

[yellow belly]

If he's keen encourage him to get as qualified as he can, as there's some wonderful jobs in agriculture that don't mean having to come home. Our son would've left school at 16 to work at home , but we ( his mum), insisted on A levels , which he followed with a degree in ag with business. Now at 25, he's assistant manager on a large 8000 acre, very diversified estate, with good salary, house and responsibilities, which hopefully will stand in good stead, even if he does come back one day.
Feels hard at the time, as I felt I was pushing him out, but he's very glad now.

well done all farmers offspring should get as well qualified as they are capable to keep all their options open
he will be much better off in 30 years time having had the choice to come back or manage a large operation
the next 10 years have many uncertainties the only certain thing is it will not be the same as it is now having the experience to take whatever opertunities arise will be the most important skill set for any farmer/farm manager

 

[ARW]

Greed.
There is an old boy in his bungalow and a few old buildings and about 30 acres of grass, ran a few sheep, all his own and cash in the bank. He has no family apart from 3 nieces, he becomes ill and shipped off to a home as he can’t look after himself, the 3 nieces are rubbing there hands because when he dies the property will be split 3 ways, one of the nieces sons is even more excited and pleads to his mother to get his inheritance from her early, long story short there is huge family fueds and arguing over the poor old boys estate, and he hasn’t even died yet.

 

[glasshouse]

The problem is not families, it is our ludicrous
Land system that allows some people to own 200,000 acres AND pays them to do so.
Further tax concession which make old people keep farming when they shouldn't and attracts non farmers like dyson to buy up half a county.
If these situations were addressed, then young farmers could make their own way without having to wait for dad to die

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Family partnerships should come with a government health warning........but.......how the hell would you get started from scratch on your own these days ?

Never say never!