INFORMATION FARM WORKSHOPS: CONSIDERING A DIFFERENT APPROACH.

[greybeard]

We are seeing individual farmers with land holdings and children who WOULD want to take over the farm, being driven out by big agribusiness who want to own it all. In addition, many smaller family farms are being sold for development, in many cases because the owners were left with little choice. Urban sprawl has spread out and engulfed family farm properties and made it too expensive/non profitable to be kept as farm land. Taxing authorities have made it more valuable as something other than a farm.

"Driven out" how, & by who exactly?
Does "Big Ag" come riding in on scary black horses & torch their homes and fields?

As far as taxes goes, that's why the ag exemption exists.


No, younger generations simply realize there are lots easier ways to make a living than working the soil and fixing fences all day long, no matter what the weather, and it's been going on for quite a few decades.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,I'm not sure if "it's safe" for me to put my "head up" after the response the thread has received?
I would like to clarify a couple of points .1.Down here a "hobby farmer" is one with 100/200 acs which has the potential to run livestock,its usually land on the "margin",but has the potential to produce stock if managed "carefully" .2.IMO ,the standard advice delivered does not suit these operations,nor does a scaled down version "cut the mustard" as the management requires much more care in its application so as not to inflict damage on the environment (which may take years to repair).I was interested if the same opinions may apply in the USA amongst the group,I did not expect the reactions that came forward...T.O.R.

 

[Baymule]

Go ahead and stick your head up, nobody is going to chop it off. You brought up a very valid point. The advice and seminars seem geared for big agriculture, not us little people. I only have 8 acres. To make a living I would do better to grow marijuana but it is not legal here. LOL So it is a good thing we are retired with supplemental income. I would hate to depend on egg sales or lamb sales from my 4 ewes to pay the bills around here.

I absolutely want to at least break even and I trace my profit/loss. I absolutely want to improve my soil and grasses. God made me a steward of the land, maybe not much land, but a steward of the land nonetheless. So I study, I learn, I walk the land, I watch and I try to improve what I have been blessed with.

Have the 3 grand daughters, age 1, 2, and 10 this weekend. The 1 year old has discovered sheep and is transfixed by than. She learned a new word. BAA BAA! She toddled in amongst them yesterday and followed them out of the lot, had to run get her. The 2 year old and 10 year old gathered eggs. I took canned chicken meat and broth to my daughter because she is sick. For what we put into our little farm, the pay is poor but the rewards are great.

 

[Latestarter]

As Bay said, TOR, you bring up great points for discussion and the subject was not at issue. Here, a typical small acreage is 5-10... there it's 100-200. (Many here live on suburban sized lots; acre or less, and still have chickens/ducks/maybe a goat or two. But in these cases it's definitely not with profit in mind.) In each case, the numbers of livestock that can be held/managed on that sized property is limited. In each case, you'd be hard pressed to make a living from what the land could carry. However, that being said, we STILL want to do things the best we can, and raise healthy animals that produce for our needs, even if that is just, or includes, companionship (pets).

I have 7 goats. I still want to learn what's needed to keep them happy, healthy and producing milk/kids, & meat eventually. I'm here to learn from others with more knowledge/experience. I don't need to be told that I'm less of a person, incompetent, wrong, a bleeding heart, or anything else simply because I don't have profit as my driving be all/end all goal. I don't know of any backyard hobby farmer here who has in any way denigrated the few "true/real" for-profit/professional farmers that are here offering husbandry advice to us. We in fact are very happy to have you here to help us.

 

[greybeard]

Most hobbyists want to have it both ways tho. They eagerly seek and gladly accept a state's (in Texas, defined in Section 1-d) ag exemption, but do not follow the rules and protocols set forth in the State's regs as far as actually having, implementing and following a plan to derive income from the land that is exempted.
Open Space (Section 1-d1) is a bit different and more forgiving in regards to where principal income is obtained, but still, once the exemption is granted, many if not most hobbyists in Texas still do not adhere to the few regs governing that appraisal method. (the big difference between 1d and 1d1 is under 1d1 (open space) is the land itself is exempted while under 1d, the farmer/rancher and his operation is exempted)

Been a few years since I've pored over Texas ag exemption regs, but I'm pretty sure you won't find the word "pets" included.

One of my nearest neighbors and a good friend is in danger of losing his open space exemption in 2018 due to the fact that he
1. Hasn't been able to show any appreciable ag related income over the last 4 years. Gross mis-management of his cow herd being the reason for that..poor quality and minimal hay in winter, no weed control, no fertilize, no soil samples, rarely supplies mineral, no culling protocol, a 12 year stint of line bred calves using the same bull..etc, etc.
2. Hasn't been using all of his 23.5 acres for ag use.

He got a letter from the appraisal district a few months ago indicating this and there is a very real possibility of at least a 3 year (but probably 5 year) rollback on his open space exemption. Rollback meaning he will have to pay the county, the difference between what the regular property taxes would be and the exempted amt for the number of years past he didn't meet the requirements. It will be thousands of $$.

So when someone offers advice regarding record keeping, and good ag practices, even hobby farmers should take heed.
It's only because so many counties' appraisal offices take a pretty lax approach that more hobbyists don't find themselves in the same predicament. Get a new appraisal district department head in office that wants to fill the county coffers and that can all change and in a hurry. This is what is now happening in my county. An up and comer with political aspirations is going to use his appraisal district position as a stepping stone to bigger and better things at some of the area farmers' expense.
Texas ag exemptions explained:
https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/1361.pdf

 

[Baymule]

I cull my flock. I sent a ewe lamb to slaughter last year that was small and it looks like I'll have another small one this year. They have names, they are pets, but they are inferior to my goals and they will be dinner on a plate.

The grasses good for my area are Bermuda and Bahia, they stand the heat. I seed annual rye grass for winter. This year I seeded two types of clover, hoping for a good stand of clover.

We steadily work to improve our soil. With 8 acres I can be a little more intensive in my methods. With 300 acres, what I do now wouldn't work. Now I hand pull noxious weeds and burn them. If I were on large acreage that would be ridiculous. We mow to eliminate some weeds before they set seeds.

My horses are a hole in my pocket. I break even on the chickens. I barely break even on the lambs. I make money on raising feeder pigs but I like them the least. LOL

 

[Bossroo]

FORUM, a public meeting place for OPEN DISCUSSION of public business.

 

[Bossroo]

FORUM, a public meeting place for OPEN DISCUSSION of public business.

 

[greybeard]

With 300 acres, what I do now wouldn't work.

No, not unless you had a passel of young kids/grandkids pulling weeds and grubbing out green briar and even then, it would be slow as a snail.
I said a large operation's practices can be done on a small spread, but did not state it would work the other way around.

New farmers..old farmers, the process is the same, the process is just scaled down.

I worked for a landowner in West Texas on 3 sections. He raised cattle, and sheep. He wasn't doing anything different on 1900 acres than I am on 124 acres..just more of it.
My cousin's husband is running sheep, goats and Brangus cattle on 2 sections in Orion and Tom Green counties with another section leased and is doing the same things I am, just over a wider expanse.

I sold 17.4 acres a few years ago to a guy that wanted a little "horse ranch". He maintains his land, pastures, and fences the same way I do.

I have several different paddocks, of varied sizes, a couple as small as 5 acres. They get treated no different than the 40 acre pastures, and no different than the 200 acre and 1500 acres cow operation right up the highway from me nearer Cold Springs.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,Just found this on my LinkedIn feed ,thought it was worthwhile including in the discussion.
http://theconversation.com/healthy-...age:d_flagship3_feed;EkMT8mLNTtG06AMNwXgkTg==
T.O.R.