Land Minds: Know when to say when

By Kevin Schulz
The Land Editor

February 01, 2008 03:12 am

— About every year or twice a year, I get a call from a lady who is concerned that her husband is bound and determined to keep on farming another year, even though their specific economics may not merit that decision.
In this year’s call, just received Jan. 11, this seasoned farm wife brought in a new twist to her frustrations. In these times of high corn and soybean prices, her husband admitted to her that he doesn’t know enough about the marketing techniques to efficiently market his grain. She tells him of how their friends are selling grain two and three years out, and he comes back with an “I don’t know how.”
That frustration — both his and hers — is easily understood. After a farmer has put in decades of his life into the farm, he feels as if he should know it all. And if he doesn’t know it all, he doesn’t want to admit it to his wife, let alone his peers.
Admitting he doesn’t know how to properly manage his grain is a big step in the right direction. If he doesn’t seek help to learn proper marketing, then it’s a misstep.
He’s also doing a disservice to his wife, who has stood by him all these years, only to have her suggestions brushed aside. Granted I’ve only heard her side of the story, but I’m sure many other farm women can relate to this scenario.
She sees her husband hanging on because of peer pressure, but also because of the pride of running the family farm. He doesn’t want to be the one in charge when the farm leaves the family name.
While it’s noble for a farmer to think of the past — the family’s farmers who toiled the same land, he must also think of the present and the future. Hanging onto a losing enterprise for the sake of the family name can ruin the family’s present and future.
Leveraging the farm today to farm one or a few more years can bury the family in such a hole that the sons and daughters may never be able to dig out.
These can be very good times to be a farmer, but it can also be a good time to get out.

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