Anyone else here grow up on a farm?

[Stormy Kromer]

I did.

Looking back it was a great time in the 60's and 70's, kind of like a year around camping trip. Then the 1980's hit and we went from almost poor to almost broke,

We loved our neighbors and never missed church.

Now, the ones of us who survived are financially sound, and we can't figure out how it happened exept for we didn't give up.

We're all still tighter than bark on a tree. Thats how we grew up, but we're getting generous to charities such as our local churches and grandchildren's education and anyone in need in our community. I know an old gentleman who gave thousands of dollars to a family who lost their house in a fire. He didn't have a washer & dryer himself. Not that he couldn't afford it, he didn't think he needed one.

I still pick up change on the sidewalk, I can't help it.

Living off the land isn't something I can explain, I'm just glad I got in on it. Its' changing fast. You can't fight it, just appreciate it.

 

[Rocky mtn high]

Grew up on a farm and go back several times a year, 450 miles. Now my daughter and granddaughter like to too. It was a great place to grow up and now trying to figure out if I will be able to keep it.

My sophomore year of college came home to help on the farm as I did every summer and my father told me he may have to file bankruptcy. Yes there were many lean years!

 

[pjigar]

I grew up on a farm but in a different country. Still the same story: we never slept hungry but always had debt. One bad year can wipe us anytime (no insurances in that country at the time). I swore to never take on debt (I have debt but only on cashflow positive real estate). Despite the hard life, I always (and still) loved land. It feels home when I am on a farm. We moved to an acreage 3 years ago to get a part of the feeling back. We are loving it (and kids too).

 

[folivier]

Didn't live on a farm but as a child spent lots of my time at my grandpaw's farm. Loved it, especially whenever my cousins were there also. When grandpaw retired (his farm was a perk of being a superintendent at a sugar cane plantation) he moved next door to us. Loved being able to spend so much time with him. I learned so much from him.

 

[ivinsfan]

Grew up on a farm and go back several times a year, 450 miles. Now my daughter and granddaughter like to too. It was a great place to grow up and now trying to figure out if I will be able to keep it.

My sophomore year of college came home to help on the farm as I did every summer and my father told me he may have to file bankruptcy. Yes there were many lean years!

Rocky are you still struggling with this question? If I remember correctly you were thinking of buying the farm so your sibs could continue farming.

 

[38Chevy454]

My grandfather was an orange farmer. He sold and retired when I was 14. It was always fun to visit the farm as a kid, even in later years when I was doing work helping grandfather out. It was limited work since I was still relatively young. But drove tractors some which was the best part, even if I was discing a field.

 

[skyking1]

Mom was a widow with 4 young children when she moved to the area and onto 3 acres. She married my dad and they had some milk cows for the neighborhood. My brother and I joined the crew and then they had the brilliant idea of farming raspberries. We got more land and eventually my sister purchased a dead orchard that we cleared for more berries and pasture.
My folks both had jobs outside the farm.

 

[ERD50]

....

I still pick up change on the sidewalk, I can't help it.

Living off the land isn't something I can explain, I'm just glad I got in on it. Its' changing fast. You can't fight it, just appreciate it.

I was raised on a farm (from ~ 9YO, suburbs before that). I don't think all people raised on farms fit the same scenario, just like all city people aren't the same.

My Dad grew up on a farm, went into a materials business before the post-war boom, did well, sold the business and we moved to the farm he bought with the proceeds of the business (because he wanted to get back to farming). Sure, lots of fun for kids in some ways (but isolated, which was a downside), learned a heck of a lot about engines, machines, how to fix things with whatever you had on hand. Learned how to do hard work. Learned cause/effect up close and personal.

Long after my Dad died, the family was going through some history with my Mom, and we figured out they never really made much money on the farm, and lost money many years. And the stock market went up far more than the value of the land.

I'm not sure how to associate 'frugal' with being raised on a farm. I am, some of my siblings aren't. Some city people are frugal.

Plusses and minuses. Some good, but I don't get all nostalgic about it. One brother claimed to love farming, but not if he had to put in the work or his own money.

I've lived on a farm, in the city, and the suburbs. They all have pros and cons. I was a little surprised how much I loved living in the city, houses right next to each other, when I was used to barely being able to see the neighbor's house. But the city had a vibrancy, and excitement, music, plays, etc. I loved it (for a time). The burbs gives some access to both, and you trade some things for another.

That's all (for me).

-ERD50

 

[DuluthGA]

I did from about age 12 until i graduated college. I didn’t like the hard work then but look back on the times and freedom i had fondly. Being able to take my shotgun out and walk through the woods and blast anything stays with me today. I wish i had worn hearing protection!
I sometimes think I should have bought the land part of my dad;s farm when he sold. THen I look at the fences to keep up, the fields to mow etc and decide the memories are fine.

 

[VanWinkle]

I grew up on a small farm in rural Illinois. We had a few cattle, horses, and mostly pasture acreage. It was a great childhood with many fond memories. After Dad passed away in 2014, we couldn't bring ourselves to sell the old farm land for 5 years. In 2019, a famous attorney in the area purchased the land to create a large vegetable farm to sell fresh veggies in the area. Since my Dad grew up on a vegetable farm himself, it made sense to sell the property for a great purpose that we thought Dad would approve of.

VW

 

[street]

Not on a farm but raised sheep and a small cattle operation. Lived in town of a couple hundred people but very rural and could walk out the door and be hunting in minutes.

I couldn't imagine being raised any place else and thankful for my rural bring up. A lot of farming in the area so ag/livestock were the means of income period.

A place where people took care of each other, and everyone was a neighbor, and everyone was important.

 

[MRG]

We lived out, with horses and cows having a higher count than people. Later I helped my brother on his farm. Later We started logging and sawmilling. Lots of hard work.

 

[sparky08]

Grew up on a farm, about 10 miles from the nearest town. Grade school was a 30 minute bus ride. Climbed trees, fished and swam in the lake down the road, rode bikes to my friends house a few miles away and sometimes got home after dark. And was working on the farm as soon as we were able. Started off pulling weeds and was driving tractors and trucks (on the property) well before I turned 16.

My parents did OK financially (middle class), but the farming neighbors all ended up dirt poor. I'm not sure why.

 

[skyking1]

It has been a really hard transition. Mom moved to the area in the early 50's, and the big farm was purchased in '75.
My DS and DBIL had a couple of acres from the early 70's.
In a scant few years all of it was sold and they all moved to Seattle proper.

 

[latexman]

I lived on my mom’s parent’s farm up to age 6. We lived in the sharecroppers house. My grandparents rented the land out to a nearby farmer. Grandpa ran a paint contracting business. Grandma ran a neighborhood store. About 60 years later, my 3 siblings and I inherited the farm from Mom and Dad. The farm has been under contract for sale to a developer for 3 years. We’re still waiting on the zoning change and all the city and county approvals before the developer closes. There’s a political struggle between development/non-development going on locally that has slowed down the land sale. Land is not very liquid sometimes.

 

[ERD50]

... Being able to take my shotgun out and walk through the woods and blast anything stays with me today. I wish i had worn hearing protection!
... .

While others wax nostalgic about the many positives of growing up on a farm, some of these comments are reminding me of more of the negatives:

I didn't hunt enough to hurt my ears, but I spent many hours on a hay chopper. That thing was like a buzz saw. Probably 3-4 hours before lunch, another 3-4 hours after lunch for days on end, Then again for a second or third cutting during the season (IIRC). That was a LOT of noise exposure. When I came into lunch, I literally could not hear people talking. Hearing pretty much returned by the end of lunch, only to go out and hit it again! I've developed pretty bad Tinitus, and while some of that was from loud rock music, I think that chopper, and other loud farm equipment was the major contributor.

At the megacorp factory, OSHA had restrictions on noise exposure that were so much tighter than what we got as kids, and it was a good thing.

And speaking of OSHA, a lot of farm equipment is very dangerous. When we'd get together with a group of old farmers, I'd say it was typical for half of them to be missing fingers or entire limbs.

And...

... And was working on the farm as soon as we were able. Started off pulling weeds and was driving tractors and trucks (on the property) well before I turned 16. ....

no real protection for kids, child labor laws didn't apply to farm kids. When I think back, I'm amazed to realize I never got seriously hurt. I recall the tail of my shirt flapping in the breeze and nearly getting caught in the barely shielded tractor PTO shaft that was driving the wagon conveyor. Open augers all over the place. OSHA would have shut us down for a zillion different things, and you've got kids running around this stuff. It's actually a shame.

A friend of mine lost an eye to a stone thrown up from a hay mower. Sad.

My Uncle (Dad's brother) also had a farm. He fell off the hay wagon, and fell on the hay hook, and it right through his ankle. Serious and very painful injury, and it took time to get him out of the field and drive to the hospital. See hook below - ouch!

He wasn't able to make it financially on the farm, took a rather menial job with the State, but managed to get in enough years to earn a decent pension, so they seem to have done alright, after a very rough life.

...
I sometimes think I should have bought the land part of my dad;s farm when he sold. THen I look at the fences to keep up, the fields to mow etc and decide the memories are fine.

Yep, a lot of ongoing work and costs, and in a good year, most other farmers had a good year, so prices are down due to excess supply. And in a bad year, you don't have much to sell. It's rough.

-ERD50

 

[pacergal]

Dad grew up on a large family farm, and when my folks got married, they moved into a mobile home so Dad could still work the farm and go to business school. My older two siblings were born there and they moved away about a year before I was born. We would go back every few years and stay/visit. Grandma held onto the farm until Dads only sibling died and she sold it to another family member. They had 600 acres.
Farming îs hard work.

 

[Koogie]

Grew up on a 100 acre purebred cattle farm (Charolais and Simmental). Small operation both mum and dad had to have "real" jobs to make ends meet.

Dad died when I was 15 so me and mum tried to keep it going but it was too much for me to handle. So we ended up selling it when I was 18 and moving into town.

I was devastated at the time. Really felt like I had let my father down.

Looking back though I am glad. Probably 80% of the people I went to high school with are still in that area and probably half of them are not doing great.
Rural poverty is no joke.

 

[Tom52]

My parents weren't farmers but we lived in a rural farm community in Iowa which has some of the best farmland in the nation. Probably 60% of the kids I went thru school with were "farm kids". Got in a lot of time at the farms working summers for local farmers de-tasseling corn, bailing hay, and many other crap jobs I could hire out for. My Grandma lived on a small farm of about 360 acres and spent time there helping out when they were getting older.

I actually learned to drive in a 1959 Ford station wagon driving across bumpy pastures out on the farm. Learned to drive a tractor, thinking back on it I had an uncle who was killed when a tractor rolled over on him. It is a very dangerous business.

Some fond memories of jumping into the pond after bailing hay and the farmer furnishing cold beer and a good meal at the end of a hard day. The farmer said if you worked like a man you deserved it even though I was only 15 or 16 at the time.

I knew a lot of farmers and most that worked hard were successful and profitable. The smart ones seemed to know some years were lean and others profitable and how make it all balance out. I know the business is completely different now but a lot of the kids I knew back then are/were still successful at it on the farms they grew up on.

 

[ERD50]

... Learned to drive a tractor, thinking back on it I had an uncle who was killed when a tractor rolled over on him. It is a very dangerous business.
...

Yes, much more dangerous than most people would think. BLS stats are a little hard to decipher, they break out 'farmers, ranchers' separate from "agricultural workers', but each category is far above police and firefighters. And in other charts, they combine agriculture with fishing, hunting, etc.

But I found this:

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/challenges-in-calculating-occupational-fatality-rates.htm

For example, if we assume that a full-time paid firefighter worked on average 50 hours per week in 2018, the fatality rate would be equivalent to 4.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, as opposed to the published rate of 3.4.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that more than 600,000 children under the age of 16 worked on farms in the United States.

Table 2. Fatalities among farm workers under age 16, by year, 2011–19 [ my note: numbers range from 3 to 14 per year, median 8 so 8/600,000 is 1.33 per 100,000 ]

In 2018, the published fatality rate for farm workers was 18.0 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.

In 2017, the published fatality rate for police officers was 12.9 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.

This says, across all workers: The fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

So farming rates higher than police/fire and ~4.8x average worker. Now multiply that over decades of exposure. Sad.

-ERD50

 

[N02L84ER]

We lived on a farm. A cousin was killed in a tractor rollover. An uncle rolled his tractor but survived. A brother was caught between a post and a large tractor wheel but not badly hurt. My youngest brother was run over twice, once by a tractor wheel and the other time, years later, by a hay wagon. Both times he broke a leg and was in a cast. My father injured his knee twice over the years putting in fencing and was on crutches. I was knocked off a load of hay by a power cable and broke 3 teeth. I married a guy who was raised on a farm. He was shot twice in hunting accidents. We have never lived on a farm since getting married 41+ years ago.

 

[5Miler]

I was born and largely grew up in rural West Virginia where they bring a whole new meaning to poor. Farms there are not your traditional large acreage affairs although my grandfather and my Aunt had hundreds of acres. I lived with both over the years and both families worked outside the farm to make ends meet, quite profitably too.

My grandfather was a plant manager at Union Carbide and farmed using horses for plowing, mowing and raking hay. He raised a bit of tobacco which was a big money crop in the day. I lived with him many years growing up and helped clear brush in pastures, tend to cattle, hogs, horses and various other critters. Grandpa still used his outhouse until he became too ill to navigate it on his own until he passed in 1985.

My Aunt and Uncle lived up the holler with a large spread of many hundred acres which consisted of land bought and land inherited from my Uncles Dad and Granddad separately. He was a construction carpenter by day and mostly raised tobacco and a bit of livestock/crops for personal use. He was a bit more modern and used tractors vs horses for farming. I lived with them a few years as well and learned to hate tobacco farming. I remember vividly that every summer their well would run dry due to the elevation and we would put 50 gallon barrels in the back of the work truck, fill them by bucket with spring water from lower in the valley and dump it in the well.

But when we weren't working, my cousins and I had a heck of a time. Almost everyone up and down that holler was family and many still live there today. My Aunt passed last year at 95 years old. Just not the same back home these days with both families gone.

 

[yakers]

My grandfather had a dairy farm in north central Wisconsin, I sent a few summers there. Always had horses. He had 8 sons absolutely none became farmers. Although I am a city boy I like my exposure to farming and could see doing it except for dairy.

 

[kfsinc]

My wife grew up on a farm in Indiana. Corn, hay, certified seed wheat and oats. They fed over 1,000 sheep each year.

Her grandmother's family homesteaded the land in the 1800's. Her father was born and died in the home his mom's family built. All of the buildings still stand today and most the land is being cash rented. We harvested some of the trees last year. The family was, and and now her sisters are, still a pillar of the community.

She and I moved to the big city (Chicago) 40 some years ago so haven't been too involved over the years.

A few things to ponder:

Her dad attributed much of his success to expanding very slowly and taking on ZERO debt. He told me once that if he'd had sons instead of three daughters, he might have expanded faster with more debt -- and not been as successful.

He never had any full time employees and seldom more than one hired hand

He started each day about 5 a.m. and finished well after sundown.

When the pipes in the barn froze (several days each winter) he carried two five gallon buckets of hot water 100 yards from the house to thaw them out.

They took one vacation in her entire childhood.

I was very interested in the farm and enjoyed the tractors etc. However when I asked him how he knew when the crops were ready to harvest and his response was "you just know..." I knew it was not in my future...

He always referred to himself as a dumb farmer.

He was on the board of directors of the local bank (a public company) for many years, but never had a 'real' job.

Anyway you look at it, it's a very hard, and rewarding lifestyle.

 

[Fermion]

We lived on a farm. A cousin was killed in a tractor rollover. An uncle rolled his tractor but survived. A brother was caught between a post and a large tractor wheel but not badly hurt. My youngest brother was run over twice, once by a tractor wheel and the other time, years later, by a hay wagon. Both times he broke a leg and was in a cast. My father injured his knee twice over the years putting in fencing and was on crutches. I was knocked off a load of hay by a power cable and broke 3 teeth. I married a guy who was raised on a farm. He was shot twice in hunting accidents. We have never lived on a farm since getting married 41+ years ago.

All that sounds pretty bad but I bet it isn't statistically any worse than accidents happening while commuting to work in the city or working a non desk job.