I am a one man, started
from the ground, 30 year old cattle producer that has worked his ass off for
everything, I get so aggravated about hearing of this ranch has done this or
that, and how productive they are, how beautiful their place is, or how great
their 2000 head operation looks, well if you have a multimillion dollar owner
or financial backer and money is no object then the options are unlimited and
you can hire anyone and everyone to make that possible. And that production sale you just had that
grossed a million dollars to add to your already overflowing bank account! Well let me tell you I’d like to see these
same operations doing it at same level as I do with a huge debt, a dozen
payments, and no money to run on some days.
My advice to you is when you can do this then, you have shown me an accomplishment,
and you damn right I’m patting myself on the back cause I have to do it every
day, I don’t have a choice! If I want to
stay in this business then that is my only option, keep pushing forward, and
struggling...I didn’t have someone leave me a farm or a fortune in their
will. I was robbed of my family farm
that I grew up on due to jealous family members, so if I wanted to keep my
dream alive, I was forced to go out on my own and start over! You wanna whine about stress that you have in
your fairly normal simple lives, try juggling money every week to feed your
cows , repair equipment, pay a little help here and there, pay rent on farms,
and worry where you’re going to winter your cattle because all the greedy
cattle corporations and big guys want to rent everything out from under you so
they can control everything, not to mention busting your ass to keep each place
looking nice so the landowner doesn’t jerk your lease because the neighbor
offered him $10 more a year to rent it, or how you’re going to fix the broke
down piece of equipment and just to simply try to stay afloat . To be a one man operation you have to love what you do. Its that simple. You have to have a love of the land, the animals, the sense of accomplishment when you bring new life into the world, get that 50 acres baled despite numerous breakdowns and disappointments in the weather, the constant unexpected emergencies that happen on a daily basis. But you persevere while the vultures (big corporate or endless financial support farmers) circle about you waiting for you to fail.I work daylight
till dark each and every day to the bone and give up every pleasure in life just
to succeed and devote my life to a lifestyle where in reality it is controlled
mainly by the outside world so much like price of fuel price, cost of feed,
cost of living, high interest rates (cause you have to borrow money just to
keep the operation afloat), rent rates, fertilizer, repairs, etc. The list goes
on! I really don't want to hear about
these corporate farms funded by millionaires that have not had to deal with
these issues on a daily basis, that they do this or that because I don't care
or really respect it in my eyes, there are some of us who have done it without
any of their benefits so think about what these people could do if you gave
them all the spoils that would be amazing and true talent and get over your
very small anal problems you’re not battling to make it your just riding a
wave. So next time you go to buy a bull
or heifer or show calf take this into perspective, are you supporting someone
who your money means noting to and gets lost in a million dollar bank account,
or are you supporting someone striving to make tomorrow better and that $2500
for a bull is going to help him put the fertilizer on his fields to make them
more productive, or fix that ol’ truck he has to keep driving, or simply put a
meal on the table for his family. Those
of you that read this that fall into the corporate farming category or that
farmer that has been blessed by being born with the golden spoon in his mouth,
or someone making sure your bank account is full, and the ones of you out there
doing all you can do by renting every piece of ground around me or that is
essential to keep me going, just so you can add another 200 acres to your
regime. Take a step back...it takes
young people like me with initiative to keep the agriculture world going as the
next generation of farmers and ranchers where is our future going to end up
with people like you forcing us out? Is
it any wonder the average age of a farmer is over 60 years old? Think About it! For those others of you out there support
those of us that care where our industry is headed because it’s our passion in
life!
