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NC MT | I hear ya. Same thing goes on here, and I imagine it’s everywhere. I do feel like it’s getting worse as time goes by.
I've felt your frustration and I’ve been in your shoes. I finally realized after 12 years of trying to grow that I actually didn’t want be the big guy in any way and was happy with our size and profitability. Unfortunately I have a growing family and everything costs more, so instead of chasing a lot more acres hoping to make a little more (which wasn’t happening), I took a couple small local jobs in between farming that pay well. It would take a lot more acres to make the money I do on the side. The stable income and networking in the ag community has made me happier and better for it. And even though I work a lot, it’s probably less than if I took on more acres. It’s certainly a juggle at times, but my dad is still on the farm and does a lot. We are a good team. Did I lose some potential chances because I took some jobs? Probably. But living on a hope and dream that someday, somebody is going to give you a huge break doesn’t put food on the table. And the stress isn’t worth it. I finally swallowed my pride and accepted there’s more to life than more acres. How many is ever enough anyway? I’m still a farmer at the end of the day even if I do some other work to make things go. Keep doing right by people and working hard, you’d be surprised who is watching. You never know what might fall into your lap, just don’t assume it’s going happen at some point. | |
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Frustrated
