This video really breaks down the numbers well! Farming is no easy task, and it's great to see the transparency in profits and expenses. Keep up the great work!"
Moved to west central Ohio a couple of years ago after living in Florida 38 years. Thanks for your video, helps me understand what’s happening in the fields around our new home. We’re VERY happy here in Ohio, the people are so friendly, helpful and polite. Just the opposite of Florida. I subscribed, looking forward to watching more of your content. 🇺🇸👍
@@michaelgomez3044 -- Florida was once a good place, and some parts of Florida are still good. But, much of Florida today is inhabited by non-Floridians.
My farm is in southwest Ohio, Brown County. We were not in the drought zone this year, as it was northeast of us. We had 30 days with no rain in August and drew my ponds way down. The soybeans were a drought resistant strain and just fine. This comment is spot on about growing soybeans.
I was 12 back in 1968 the first time I was on a farm being a city kid. That summer I learned farmers are some of the hardest working people ever. My uncle could not believe all the financial questions I asked. I was trying figure out why he had a job as a finish carpenter, cabinet maker and farmer. He had loans on his 1200 acre farm, his buildings and equipment. He never went broke or became wealthy. He retired from farming in the 90's after the oil companies leased gas wells on his land and made way more than his farming ever did. Scale was the biggest obstacle, never making enough to expand to the level to compete and become highly profitable. This is still the main reason small businesses stay small. They lack resources and the business knowledge. Very few small farmers have ever had an MBA to expand, prosper and compete at the corporate level.
If we have a "Trade War," some (third) country (like maybe Burma) will buy U.S. beans and then sell them to China for a tidy profit. China will still get the beans, but they will cost more.
I feel fortunate to have done well in business and believe in a common-sense approach to it. I found this video exceptional. It brilliantly explains what it takes to run a business in an intuitive way, highlighting the risks and strategies business owners use to mitigate them. It also emphasizes the importance of analyzing and reflecting on results to identify areas for improvement. This is Business Fundamentals 101, and you nailed it. Additionally, it deeply honors the sacrifices of farmers in our country-truly outstanding! Keep up the hard work!
Extraordinarily well done Spencer. Good footage and editing with well laid out and explained results. Great explanation of the thought process, applications and results. Good job!!
Another excellent video Spence. Really enjoy you breaking out the numbers and demonstrating just how risky farming can be. I don't think people fully appreciate just how much risk the farmer is taking. From prices fluctuating up and down to how the weather can make or break a season. Hope you are well buddy and thanks for sharing.
Great breakdown. So easy to see how hard it can all be, have a good year, did a great job on new ground, still down 5k on just 30 acres. Put that over 2500 acres or half a bigger farm operation like some of the other UA-cam family’s everyone watches and it’s a quick -$ 400k loss. Ain’t easy to make money farming.
At the same time, there are lots of rich farmers out there. The Gov. guarantees a certain price per crop and per acre. Insurance = $$ Let's get cooking.
Great video, gentlemen. A very concise, all-inclusive look at a job that goes far too unappreciated in the push-button world in which we live, especially in the U.S. As a non-farmer who has lived in rural areas (but I've lived most of my life in the suburbs), I've always been in awe of farmers and, quite frankly, I don't know how you do it. Land costs (rent, taxes, insurance) aren't cheap, even if it's inherited property. The equipment is expensive. Maintaining said equipment can be really expensive. Fuel is expensive (even when it "isn't"). Seed/lime/fertilizer/herbicide/insecticide/fungicide costs money. The technology (some of which was showcased very well here) isn't cheap, and it's become as necessary as a pair of work boots. Time is money, and no farmer that I've ever met calls it a week at 40 hours. You're at the mercy of mother nature. You're at the mercy of market prices and the economy as a whole. You're at the mercy of so many variables beyond your control and working your ass off year round, often to break even or lose money once the bills are paid. And without you, the nation--and much of the world--doesn't eat. Nothing but respect.
Thank you very much for sharing that! It’s very nice to see the people that your food comes from. God does bless us, all we have to do is pay attention. Thanks again and God bless you and your family.
I realize 30 acres is small for farming, but it is still a decent amount of land. I love the video- great job. It makes you understand how much you have to scale up to turn a profit.
It used to be a family could support itself on a quarter section but we lease ours out now . The machinery is expensive and running a small operation gets harder and harder . Since we no longer have a house on the farm I’m happy to lease it out and help a fellow farm family make the money .
I work for a farmer full time in ND. It’s one other full time hired man, and my boss, then come spring through fall we bring on one South African employee and the 4 of us manage ~8-9k ac of crops like wheat, barley, beans, corn, canola, ect. Profit margins get pretty interesting some years! Farming is truly incredible
Great video. Since the combine shows your bushels per acre, it would be interesting if you went to the USDA soil survey website and looked up your property to see what types of soil you have and compare your crop yields with what other farmers are reporting.
Look up yield mapping. Companies like John Deere have software that will track yields and allow you to overlay it over soil types / soil samples, fertilizer programs, pesticide applications, etc. There is some super cool tech in farming!
I used that to look at my soil, Im a homeowner but my property is zoned for AG as well as residential so i can do commercial farming on the back few acres if i wanted to. Turns out my soils both amazing for drainage but shit for yield lol. Ancient Sand Dunes
It would be curious to know the total man hours worked during this season, beginning to end, and figure out an hourly wage rate. What is your other employment during the grow/ harvest season.
Congrats on a great yield! Hard work pays off. My brothers and I rented land to our 3rd cousin for the better part of 20 years…had a similar crop rotation. Awesome to see months worth of video content combined into under 30 minutes!
I moved to DE about a year ago and have been fascinated by the various crops that are farmed here. Mostly field corn and sorghum, but plenty of soybeans. I found your video really interesting!
So interesting. I was sitting here thinking that there is no way you could do that without all that heavy machinery. Flat land. Will sub. I'm glad you explained all the extra costs.
Excellent content, thank you! We need more young farmers to come out and expose this irrational system that benefits only banks and giant corporations. The future is with with small, sensible, young and innovative farmers.
Greetings from Uruguay. I enjoy yours and Grant's videos very much. I'd love to see a video of your beginnings and how you managed to acquire and develop your farming enterprise. Thank you and good luck
ex grain farmer here,,,never thought i would quit,but tired of working numerous hours a day,borrowing money like crazy,being a slave to the corps.all for a little to no rewards.i admire you all,,,,hope my next adventure pays out more.still own some land and rent it out,,,never want to be a townie.good luck to you all left fighting.
@SurfCityBill jr.i was born to do this.i was not born to grow garbage grain,be a slave to the corporations,banks and our tyrannical government.so you may think what you want I know reality
This stuff is interesting, im 42 now but a small farm or something has always been interesting to me. I'll probably never make it, but it's cool to see a young guy do it
Super interesting, thank you for sharing! I give farmers so much credit, over $170 an acre in fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide and applications! What is sad is that spreadsheet doesn’t even include paying yourself!
To this day I've never met a farmer that made money. My neighbor was 6 double trailer semis, tractors and combines. Has two half million dollar sugar beet processing machines that top pull and wash beets before loading into one of🎉 the 6 semis. They work hard for two months of the year and spend 6 months in Florida. I wish I was so poor. They farm 3000 plus acres.
@ but all the money is tied up in land and equipment. Which are all liabilities until you sell them. Taxes upkeep etc. he may get to vacation. But it’s just spend it before the farm takes it life. You can’t save it. Something will eat it.
Very interesting video. I could from Alabama, and we did small acreage row crops back in the 1980’s-90’s. We offered whitetail deer hunting on some of our 116 acres to help offset some of our cost. Beans & corn were intentionally left in the center of our 3 fields to attract the deer. It was a good way for extra cash. All the best…. 👍🇺🇸
Thanks for the look at income and expenses. Some of these channels never address the financial side and lead people to believe farmers are making huge profits as evidenced by all the new machinery, bins and shops/equipment storage.
The ROI and margins on corn and beans are absolutely awful. I raise vegetables on a small farm in Iowa. This year showed a net profit after expenses of $6000 per acre with a margin of approx 80%. That means just one acre of vegetables will crush 30 acres of row crops or hay in terms of profit, risk, land used, and every metric of comparison. I farmed on 7 acres. No employees and just small equipment. Those seven acres made more than farms 100 times my size. An advantage I have is there is little to no competition because the 'real' farmers don't think out of the box and will just continue to spend dollars to make pennies because all they know is corn and beans.
For sure that sounds awesome! Just one metric I think row crops/hay or larger scale farming beats small scale in your example is TIME. The amount of labor hours per acre, (if the farmer is doing all the work that is important to keep in mind) if your opportunity cost is high then it might not pencil out to spend x amount of hours on vegetables even if you netted $6,000 an acre. If you are just getting started then small scale is for sure the way to go. Also assume 7 acres is $8,000-$12,000 an acre or $250-$350 an acre rent in a “open market”. So will need some funds to start that. Totally agree with you though, ROI is much better small scale. Also keep in mind margins are at 5-6 year lows right now, if I owned the land outright I would have ballpark netted $350-$550 if I took 2020-2022 average commodity prices. That’s about a 4-5% return on cash assuming $10-12k an acre. Totally agree again with your comment, just offering a different perspectives that others may have.
@@spencerhilbert Time per acre is a good point, or return per hour. I work a full time job in town and the vegetables are still a hobby. I try for $100 per hour average in my spare time. Let's say it's $10K per acre cost plus some machinery, it pays for itself every three years or less just doing this in my spare time with maybe less than $125K invested. Bought another 46 acres for $500K just to rent back out to the seller. The seven acres pays for the 46 acres in just a matter of years. If I went all into corn/beans it would be 40 years before it paid for itself. I think if I was near to DesMoines or a larger town I could quit my job and just live off 10 acres selling produce.
Nice yeah that sounds like great numbers! Do you have a Instagram or anything you document/share about your setup? Would be interested to learn more for sure.
50 acre vegetable farm in SC myself. Started as my son’s summer job idea. But grew to a large deal. I was shocked at the soybean numbers. Why on earth do you guys keep planting them ? Plant variety of crowder peas. Pink eye specifically. Down here bringing $40 a half bushel shelled. $28 in the hull. And you can sell them before you pick . Okra $30 half bushel. You just have to work to pick. But the yield is outrageous.
Small farms have it rough. When you consider the food price increases since covid by retailers & processors this is very poor business conditions for farmers! Thanks for your video and hardwork!
I mean I planted rice went I was a kid with my dad in Guyana but this shit is like rocket science y’all is on a other level all we did is plow seed pump water fertilize spray for bug and pray for good weather and cut and sell rinse and repeat no crop rotation no soil ph test but I like how he explains the chart and cost per acre that allow will help me to understand and dominate the business because we are never taught this it is amazing now I see why y’all be going to ag college. Thank a ton ,definitely is going to learn how do cost breakdown 🙏 thanks
As a Aussie living in a small country town an wanting to farm but life never took me there love watching you two an wishing I could do this keep up the great work
I own a 74 acre farm with 48 acres of open land for row crops , pasture, vegetables, hay or whatever. I have been doing hay on and off for 20 years and still starving. Currently I rent half for row crops and raise hay off the other half. I work 2 other jobs. I actually make more money off of the rent . I’m ready to fence my land in and do rotational grazing. I would like to raise more vegetables as well.
I love seeing the numbers. At the end of the day, that's all that matters in terms of whether or not it is sustainable. My initial reaction to this is: $22,000/ acres is not bad..... but now time to get those costs down...
@@JefferyAshmore I see no farmer's in my area with 30 acres and 24 foot disc. Way, way too big, but nobody crop farms 30 acres here either unless it's mixed vegetables. And if you hire someone to do any part of the plant/fert/harvest of the crop, it should be included in the cost of production. Otherwise, if I farm on my families property using the family equipment and don't include that in my cost of operation, either I'm not really a business, or the business plan is faulty.
We had a dry year 10+15 year's ago in Michigan. I picked up 30 acres late that hadn't been worked in 2 year's. I mowed it and no tilled beans in sprayed with herbicide. 47 bushel per acre yield i had a couple fields that only made 30 bushel per acre. The dead weeds acted as mulch and held moisture..
A lot is missing from those numbers he gave. Like EOY things, depreciation, taxes, writeoffs, subsidies... the picture is far from clear. Not quite the whole bottle, he giving like 5-6 shots worth.
Driving to work in the morning recently there was a soybean that was brown and ready to harvest. They had the irrigation on two days in a row. Only thing I can figure is they were trying to add some water weight before harvesting because it had been a really dry year
They were likely moistening the pods of the soybeans to prevent explosive dehiscence that pops the soybeans out of the over-ripe pod quite a distance, up to 3-6 ft. The expulsion of the seed is an evolutionary artifact to help spread the seed wider for the next generation to grow, but reduces yield now when the seeds end up on the ground instead of in the combine head tray. Another technique used to minimize the expulsion of the seeds from the pods is to harvest when humidity is highest, like early mornings.
Yup, I thought this year was good overall. The “negative cash flow” was just due to making equity payments on the land. Super good year, can’t complain at all!
Not knowing anything about farming but very interested in your video, is there a way to add to the soil to raise it enough to not flood. Obviously this comes at a cost but just wondering.
it's insane that the price of everything has gone up over the past 3 years yet the price of crops has decreased. There's a large disconnect there somewhere and someone is making a fortune at the expense of farmers.
@@Heimerviewfarm to be honest tariffs might help the farmers with crop prices since they will have to buy foreign crops at 25% more when the land is currently overproducing. So you could sell your crops for either the same rates or better.
I don't know because I am just a mid-sized market gardener and have never operated a row crop operation, but I am curious. Would a fall planted cover crop drilled into the stuble, or even broadcast, possibly reduce some of that fert cost the following year?
100% YES, But building soil takes time. THe other "secret" would be getting NRCS money and his loss would be wiped out easily. Many conservation practices can now be contracted for 5 years off one application sign up year. If I had 30 acres that I controlled (dont have to own it), I could easily bring in 10k + per year with almost no cost to achieve
For people wondering "why corn and soybeans?" some folks do other crops but labor cost/availability (remember, it's seasonal) makes other crop choices hard to justify. It is done, however. A few miles from here in Southern Illinois is "The Pumpkin Queen". She started with less than nothing and today grows thousands of acres of pumpkin, watermelon, etc. I think she's up to 10k acres now and it takes a lot of people working, especially in the fall.
Just a theory. But the side hill seep that shows the stunted beens is the result from the side hills losing top soil over time exposing more clay like areas where plants show more signs of poor growth due to their roots getting too wet and not enough air. And another theory is that if the top soil was still there that water might have stayed underground and seeped into the nearest stream.
I heard a story of a farmer who won several million on the lottery. The news reporter interviewed him on his big win and asked him what he would do with the money. He said, "Oh I'll probably keep farming until it's all gone."
You answered questions I have had for years. Hey, has John Deere seen this video? They should contribute to your off-farm income. It's like a 20-minute commercial for them!
Sad but true. I'm a small farmer and I farm because it's in my blood. If it wasn't for owning the land and equipment that is all paid for it would never see a profit. Also the farm subsidies don't really help us small farmers. Good video put together I will say. Good eye opener. My guess from your equipment you farm around 1200 - 1500 acres
Things haven't changed much since I grew up on a farm in the sixties. Better equipment and computers--but still a high risk undertaking with so much overhead.
You could always combine the weeds and see if cattle will eat it, ground up with corn as a base. Probably find it to be the most balanced feed ever. For instance lambs quarters are quinoa and pigweed is amaranth.
I'm not a farmer, a computer geek kinda guy and I find this facinating. Go American farmers!!!
Man, one mistake or even a marginal year of weather and you're in the red. I'm glad someone takes that risk because I like eating.
This video really breaks down the numbers well! Farming is no easy task, and it's great to see the transparency in profits and expenses. Keep up the great work!"
Moved to west central Ohio a couple of years ago after living in Florida 38 years.
Thanks for your video, helps me understand what’s happening in the fields around our new home.
We’re VERY happy here in Ohio, the people are so friendly, helpful and polite.
Just the opposite of Florida.
I subscribed, looking forward to watching more of your content. 🇺🇸👍
You must have lived in a bad place in FL.
@@michaelgomez3044 -- Florida was once a good place,
and some parts of Florida are still good.
But, much of Florida today is inhabited by non-Floridians.
@@jamesgoode9246 A lot of New Yorkers/New Jersey A-holes have moved there. Gross.
@@jamesgoode9246 Its a hell hole now.
My farm is in southwest Ohio, Brown County. We were not in the drought zone this year, as it was northeast of us. We had 30 days with no rain in August and drew my ponds way down. The soybeans were a drought resistant strain and just fine. This comment is spot on about growing soybeans.
Thank you for all you, and your fellow farmers, do for the world, man. Incredible video too!
I was 12 back in 1968 the first time I was on a farm being a city kid. That summer I learned farmers are some of the hardest working people ever. My uncle could not believe all the financial questions I asked. I was trying figure out why he had a job as a finish carpenter, cabinet maker and farmer. He had loans on his 1200 acre farm, his buildings and equipment. He never went broke or became wealthy. He retired from farming in the 90's after the oil companies leased gas wells on his land and made way more than his farming ever did. Scale was the biggest obstacle, never making enough to expand to the level to compete and become highly profitable. This is still the main reason small businesses stay small. They lack resources and the business knowledge. Very few small farmers have ever had an MBA to expand, prosper and compete at the corporate level.
Non farmer here. That was very interesting. Thank you.
I'm astonished how productive you are. Just wish there is no trade war, you can sell all the beans at normal price quickly. Thank you for showing
Trade war benefits a farmer. The rest of the world has to eat lol.
@@IamJ007 OK, the rest of the world eats very little doufu, good luck
@@IamJ007farmer got bailed out.
If we have a "Trade War," some (third) country (like maybe Burma)
will buy U.S. beans and then sell them to China for a tidy profit.
China will still get the beans, but they will cost more.
I feel fortunate to have done well in business and believe in a common-sense approach to it. I found this video exceptional. It brilliantly explains what it takes to run a business in an intuitive way, highlighting the risks and strategies business owners use to mitigate them. It also emphasizes the importance of analyzing and reflecting on results to identify areas for improvement. This is Business Fundamentals 101, and you nailed it. Additionally, it deeply honors the sacrifices of farmers in our country-truly outstanding! Keep up the hard work!
He’s losing money lol
@@Steven-bs2dj How does that take away from the quality of his explanation or analysis…?
@@Steven-bs2dj Sometimes we do lose money. Nobody farms to get rich.
@@Ada-zn3pw as i watch farmers sharing their financials... i really see it as bad business. they carry all the risk and traders reap the rewards.
Extraordinarily well done Spencer. Good footage and editing with well laid out and explained results. Great explanation of the thought process, applications and results. Good job!!
Another excellent video Spence. Really enjoy you breaking out the numbers and demonstrating just how risky farming can be. I don't think people fully appreciate just how much risk the farmer is taking. From prices fluctuating up and down to how the weather can make or break a season. Hope you are well buddy and thanks for sharing.
Great breakdown. So easy to see how hard it can all be, have a good year, did a great job on new ground, still down 5k on just 30 acres. Put that over 2500 acres or half a bigger farm operation like some of the other UA-cam family’s everyone watches and it’s a quick -$ 400k loss. Ain’t easy to make money farming.
Thats why they are buying $800,000 combines, driving new $75000 pickups and spending winters in Florida...so poor
@@mjuberian not usually buying....more like financing because if it's old now you have to fix it and if you're fixing you ain't farming
At the same time, there are lots of rich farmers out there.
The Gov. guarantees a certain price per crop and per acre. Insurance = $$
Let's get cooking.
I really admire your diligence in keeping track of expenses and income. That's the only way to know exactly how you're doing.
Great video, gentlemen. A very concise, all-inclusive look at a job that goes far too unappreciated in the push-button world in which we live, especially in the U.S. As a non-farmer who has lived in rural areas (but I've lived most of my life in the suburbs), I've always been in awe of farmers and, quite frankly, I don't know how you do it. Land costs (rent, taxes, insurance) aren't cheap, even if it's inherited property. The equipment is expensive. Maintaining said equipment can be really expensive. Fuel is expensive (even when it "isn't"). Seed/lime/fertilizer/herbicide/insecticide/fungicide costs money. The technology (some of which was showcased very well here) isn't cheap, and it's become as necessary as a pair of work boots. Time is money, and no farmer that I've ever met calls it a week at 40 hours. You're at the mercy of mother nature. You're at the mercy of market prices and the economy as a whole. You're at the mercy of so many variables beyond your control and working your ass off year round, often to break even or lose money once the bills are paid. And without you, the nation--and much of the world--doesn't eat.
Nothing but respect.
Thank you very much for sharing that! It’s very nice to see the people that your food comes from. God does bless us, all we have to do is pay attention. Thanks again and God bless you and your family.
Excellent clip, nice spot you got. Australia here !
I realize 30 acres is small for farming, but it is still a decent amount of land. I love the video- great job. It makes you understand how much you have to scale up to turn a profit.
It used to be a family could support itself on a quarter section but we lease ours out now . The machinery is expensive and running a small operation gets harder and harder . Since we no longer have a house on the farm I’m happy to lease it out and help a fellow farm family make the money .
I work for a farmer full time in ND. It’s one other full time hired man, and my boss, then come spring through fall we bring on one South African employee and the 4 of us manage ~8-9k ac of crops like wheat, barley, beans, corn, canola, ect. Profit margins get pretty interesting some years! Farming is truly incredible
For a none Farmer this was Very Interesting!!!! Thanks!
Very neat to see the process and breakdown of your soybean crop. Great footage and editing aswell!
Great video. Since the combine shows your bushels per acre, it would be interesting if you went to the USDA soil survey website and looked up your property to see what types of soil you have and compare your crop yields with what other farmers are reporting.
Look up yield mapping. Companies like John Deere have software that will track yields and allow you to overlay it over soil types / soil samples, fertilizer programs, pesticide applications, etc. There is some super cool tech in farming!
I used that to look at my soil, Im a homeowner but my property is zoned for AG as well as residential so i can do commercial farming on the back few acres if i wanted to. Turns out my soils both amazing for drainage but shit for yield lol. Ancient Sand Dunes
It would be curious to know the total man hours worked during this season, beginning to end, and figure out an hourly wage rate. What is your other employment during the grow/ harvest season.
Yield monitor = feel good meter
@@RJ1999xLOL! That's about it. Like reading you mpg while driving downhill! 😅
Excellent vid … thank you for all of your exceedingly hard work that ensures that we can get food.
Corn and soybeans are not food crops per say.
Interesting to understand the economics of farming, thx for sharing! :) / A guy in Sweden
Farmers are wonderful for growing agricultural products to feed humanity. Also thanks to the engineers who make machines to help farmers.
Soybeans don't feed people at all. Be nice if farmers grew table again like they used to.
Congrats on a great yield! Hard work pays off. My brothers and I rented land to our 3rd cousin for the better part of 20 years…had a similar crop rotation. Awesome to see months worth of video content combined into under 30 minutes!
I moved to DE about a year ago and have been fascinated by the various crops that are farmed here. Mostly field corn and sorghum, but plenty of soybeans. I found your video really interesting!
So interesting. I was sitting here thinking that there is no way you could do that without all that heavy machinery. Flat land. Will sub. I'm glad you explained all the extra costs.
finally a new upload ❤
This was super informative
Excellent content, thank you!
We need more young farmers to come out and expose this irrational system that benefits only banks and giant corporations. The future is with with small, sensible, young and innovative farmers.
Greetings from Uruguay. I enjoy yours and Grant's videos very much. I'd love to see a video of your beginnings and how you managed to acquire and develop your farming enterprise. Thank you and good luck
Great video. Thank you for showing the break down of the cost for harvesting soy beans.
ex grain farmer here,,,never thought i would quit,but tired of working numerous hours a day,borrowing money like crazy,being a slave to the corps.all for a little to no rewards.i admire you all,,,,hope my next adventure pays out more.still own some land and rent it out,,,never want to be a townie.good luck to you all left fighting.
Respect to you but this work seems extremely labor intensive and high risk of going broke. You have to be a special person to do this.
@SurfCityBill jr.i was born to do this.i was not born to grow garbage grain,be a slave to the corporations,banks and our tyrannical government.so you may think what you want I know reality
This stuff is interesting, im 42 now but a small farm or something has always been interesting to me. I'll probably never make it, but it's cool to see a young guy do it
Super interesting, thank you for sharing! I give farmers so much credit, over $170 an acre in fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide and applications! What is sad is that spreadsheet doesn’t even include paying yourself!
😂. We never get paid. We just get to live. And do it again next year. Sort of like slaves who can vote.
@@puttervids472 yeah but how do you buy groceries and cloths and other just everyday things. Do you all have another job locally??
To this day I've never met a farmer that made money. My neighbor was 6 double trailer semis, tractors and combines. Has two half million dollar sugar beet processing machines that top pull and wash beets before loading into one of🎉 the 6 semis. They work hard for two months of the year and spend 6 months in Florida. I wish I was so poor. They farm 3000 plus acres.
@charlesstockford6003 you're stupid. Work hard for 2 months? Really? Ok 👍
@ but all the money is tied up in land and equipment. Which are all liabilities until you sell them. Taxes upkeep etc. he may get to vacation. But it’s just spend it before the farm takes it life. You can’t save it. Something will eat it.
Best yt video I have seen this month
Very interesting video. I could from Alabama, and we did small acreage row crops back in the 1980’s-90’s. We offered whitetail deer hunting on some of our 116 acres to help offset some of our cost. Beans & corn were intentionally left in the center of our 3 fields to attract the deer. It was a good way for extra cash. All the best…. 👍🇺🇸
Great Educational Video ' Thanks For Sharing.
Thanks for watching!
you have some really nice equipment.
Yeah it's not mine, I'm just renting it.
God bless you, i hope you're doing what you love..
So cool to see what you all have done! Saying hi from Ankeny IA! Keep up the great videos!
The yield maps are gold when it comes time to plan tiling projects, can't wait to see the improvements now Grant has the plow😊
I liked your 4020 you were cutting the weeds with. They are really nice tractors.
Thanks for the look at income and expenses. Some of these channels never address the financial side and lead people to believe farmers are making huge profits as evidenced by all the new machinery, bins and shops/equipment storage.
1. Debt incurred to buy equipment
2. Farming the Government.
The ROI and margins on corn and beans are absolutely awful. I raise vegetables on a small farm in Iowa. This year showed a net profit after expenses of $6000 per acre with a margin of approx 80%. That means just one acre of vegetables will crush 30 acres of row crops or hay in terms of profit, risk, land used, and every metric of comparison. I farmed on 7 acres. No employees and just small equipment. Those seven acres made more than farms 100 times my size. An advantage I have is there is little to no competition because the 'real' farmers don't think out of the box and will just continue to spend dollars to make pennies because all they know is corn and beans.
For sure that sounds awesome! Just one metric I think row crops/hay or larger scale farming beats small scale in your example is TIME. The amount of labor hours per acre, (if the farmer is doing all the work that is important to keep in mind) if your opportunity cost is high then it might not pencil out to spend x amount of hours on vegetables even if you netted $6,000 an acre. If you are just getting started then small scale is for sure the way to go. Also assume 7 acres is $8,000-$12,000 an acre or $250-$350 an acre rent in a “open market”. So will need some funds to start that. Totally agree with you though, ROI is much better small scale. Also keep in mind margins are at 5-6 year lows right now, if I owned the land outright I would have ballpark netted $350-$550 if I took 2020-2022 average commodity prices. That’s about a 4-5% return on cash assuming $10-12k an acre. Totally agree again with your comment, just offering a different perspectives that others may have.
@@spencerhilbert Time per acre is a good point, or return per hour. I work a full time job in town and the vegetables are still a hobby. I try for $100 per hour average in my spare time. Let's say it's $10K per acre cost plus some machinery, it pays for itself every three years or less just doing this in my spare time with maybe less than $125K invested. Bought another 46 acres for $500K just to rent back out to the seller. The seven acres pays for the 46 acres in just a matter of years. If I went all into corn/beans it would be 40 years before it paid for itself. I think if I was near to DesMoines or a larger town I could quit my job and just live off 10 acres selling produce.
It's set up for large operations,100k acres+
Brazilians are really cashing in
Nice yeah that sounds like great numbers! Do you have a Instagram or anything you document/share about your setup? Would be interested to learn more for sure.
50 acre vegetable farm in SC myself. Started as my son’s summer job idea. But grew to a large deal. I was shocked at the soybean numbers. Why on earth do you guys keep planting them ? Plant variety of crowder peas. Pink eye specifically. Down here bringing $40 a half bushel shelled. $28 in the hull. And you can sell them before you pick . Okra $30 half bushel. You just have to work to pick. But the yield is outrageous.
Awsome videos just wish there was more!! Day to day farm living is always cool to see
Great video and breakdown! Interesting to see that laid out so well. I'll watch this video 1000x more to help offset your negative cash flow. ;)
Small farms have it rough. When you consider the food price increases since covid by retailers & processors this is very poor business conditions for farmers!
Thanks for your video and hardwork!
Real estate & banking add to the problems of farming instead of aid a vital industry of a supposedly self-sufficient nation.
Thanks for actually showing your profit and loss statement. Most farmers won’t even share their average yield.
Glad to see some young farmers making a go of it.
Do you get any subsidies for farming?
Good luck man 🍀
Your farm sim graphics are insane
Great video. Proves that to farm you have to want it. There is no money to be made right now.
Yeah currently right now margins are at 5 year lows. I thought I got pretty fortunate with this year’s yield and the sales I made.
@@spencerhilbert Farming should be about feeding people healthy food, not profiting from sickness and obesity.
You can thank the Trump tariffs for why row crop prices are in the dumper. He cut off your biggest customer.
They get a healthy government check so they are doing just fine.
I have gotten zero direct subsidies, at end of my newest video I address these comments.
Great video enjoy watching keep up the great work
Awesome video. Farm life is the best
I mean I planted rice went I was a kid with my dad in Guyana but this shit is like rocket science y’all is on a other level all we did is plow seed pump water fertilize spray for bug and pray for good weather and cut and sell rinse and repeat no crop rotation no soil ph test but I like how he explains the chart and cost per acre that allow will help me to understand and dominate the business because we are never taught this it is amazing now I see why y’all be going to ag college. Thank a ton ,definitely is going to learn how do cost breakdown 🙏 thanks
That's good looking combine for it's age!!! Think I'd rather have it than an X-9 myself
Great video. Thank you.
thank you for sharing very educational ....👍
I hope farm subsidies are gone for good. We need more small farmers.
That's contradictory
Read up on that topic before making statements
I appreciate your work . Good wishes from india😊
As a Aussie living in a small country town an wanting to farm but life never took me there love watching you two an wishing I could do this keep up the great work
In your free time get a job as a casual labour or farm hand it will bring you closer to farming
I own a 74 acre farm with 48 acres of open land for row crops , pasture, vegetables, hay or whatever. I have been doing hay on and off for 20 years and still starving. Currently I rent half for row crops and raise hay off the other half. I work 2 other jobs. I actually make more money off of the rent . I’m ready to fence my land in and do rotational grazing. I would like to raise more vegetables as well.
300k for the ground and 100 a acre net. Better money selling the top soil off of it
I love seeing the numbers. At the end of the day, that's all that matters in terms of whether or not it is sustainable. My initial reaction to this is: $22,000/ acres is not bad..... but now time to get those costs down...
He didn't even figure in the hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment used, not even the fuel was figured in along with the labor of other people
@NEKingdom241 you don't have that equipment for just 30 acres, you can do that with a ih m, 24 foot disc, ect
Hire someone to combine it and haul in.
@@JefferyAshmore I see no farmer's in my area with 30 acres and 24 foot disc. Way, way too big, but nobody crop farms 30 acres here either unless it's mixed vegetables. And if you hire someone to do any part of the plant/fert/harvest of the crop, it should be included in the cost of production. Otherwise, if I farm on my families property using the family equipment and don't include that in my cost of operation, either I'm not really a business, or the business plan is faulty.
wow,. why would anybody be a farmer? God Bless you for the work you do.
God has blessed you. May you always prosper.
We had a dry year 10+15 year's ago in Michigan. I picked up 30 acres late that hadn't been worked in 2 year's. I mowed it and no tilled beans in sprayed with herbicide. 47 bushel per acre yield i had a couple fields that only made 30 bushel per acre. The dead weeds acted as mulch and held moisture..
You gotta get the solar power mod to offset that loss lol . Great video.
Funny how can you identify a farming simulator player. What’s up brother?!
FS brethren unite. 🤝
A lot is missing from those numbers he gave. Like EOY things, depreciation, taxes, writeoffs, subsidies... the picture is far from clear. Not quite the whole bottle, he giving like 5-6 shots worth.
@IamJ007 if you had a clue you'd be able to answer all that
enjoyed watching and learned too
very interesting and the cost of farming is crazy...!!!
Driving to work in the morning recently there was a soybean that was brown and ready to harvest. They had the irrigation on two days in a row. Only thing I can figure is they were trying to add some water weight before harvesting because it had been a really dry year
They were likely moistening the pods of the soybeans to prevent explosive dehiscence that pops the soybeans out of the over-ripe pod quite a distance, up to 3-6 ft. The expulsion of the seed is an evolutionary artifact to help spread the seed wider for the next generation to grow, but reduces yield now when the seeds end up on the ground instead of in the combine head tray.
Another technique used to minimize the expulsion of the seeds from the pods is to harvest when humidity is highest, like early mornings.
It is not that negitive because you are making progress on the land
Yup, I thought this year was good overall. The “negative cash flow” was just due to making equity payments on the land. Super good year, can’t complain at all!
Thanks for the analysis
Not knowing anything about farming but very interested in your video, is there a way to add to the soil to raise it enough to not flood. Obviously this comes at a cost but just wondering.
it's insane that the price of everything has gone up over the past 3 years yet the price of crops has decreased. There's a large disconnect there somewhere and someone is making a fortune at the expense of farmers.
It's simple overproduction. To many people and not enough market.
@@Heimerviewfarm to be honest tariffs might help the farmers with crop prices since they will have to buy foreign crops at 25% more when the land is currently overproducing. So you could sell your crops for either the same rates or better.
@@kennedy796 selling is one thing but maybe it's not the worst thing in the world for farmers to figure out if producing less makes more.
Anyone who shorted soybean futures 4 years ago💰💰
Competition from Brazil and Africa. They can produce cheaper because they dont use John Deere
Cool channel. Good luck!
As a former farmer, I feel for you brother! You work so hard and then to have to lose money is so unfair!
I don't know because I am just a mid-sized market gardener and have never operated a row crop operation, but I am curious. Would a fall planted cover crop drilled into the stuble, or even broadcast, possibly reduce some of that fert cost the following year?
100% YES, But building soil takes time. THe other "secret" would be getting NRCS money and his loss would be wiped out easily. Many conservation practices can now be contracted for 5 years off one application sign up year. If I had 30 acres that I controlled (dont have to own it), I could easily bring in 10k + per year with almost no cost to achieve
My state is paying $110 per acre to plant cover crops this year as an example
At 4:50, "Yields are ranging from 50 to 90 bu/A."
That seems to be a wide variance.
So, does this field have several different soils and slopes?
❤️❤️❤️ We Love Farmers- so smart.
Curious...is there anyway you can "improve" the land for drainige?
Wow! Thank you!
Great video.little more conservation plots might interest a hunter lease
Thanks this is so cool
Thank you
Awesome video 😊
For people wondering "why corn and soybeans?" some folks do other crops but labor cost/availability (remember, it's seasonal) makes other crop choices hard to justify. It is done, however. A few miles from here in Southern Illinois is "The Pumpkin Queen". She started with less than nothing and today grows thousands of acres of pumpkin, watermelon, etc. I think she's up to 10k acres now and it takes a lot of people working, especially in the fall.
Just a theory. But the side hill seep that shows the stunted beens is the result from the side hills losing top soil over time exposing more clay like areas where plants show more signs of poor growth due to their roots getting too wet and not enough air. And another theory is that if the top soil was still there that water might have stayed underground and seeped into the nearest stream.
I heard a story of a farmer who won several million on the lottery.
The news reporter interviewed him on his big win and asked him what he would do with the money.
He said, "Oh I'll probably keep farming until it's all gone."
You answered questions I have had for years. Hey, has John Deere seen this video? They should contribute to your off-farm income. It's like a 20-minute commercial for them!
New sub here greetings from Australia.
Once you own the land it makes a huge difference, I just don't know how tenant farmers make it work.
Great stuff for a wanna be to see what all is involved with farming. LOTS of expenses
Sad but true. I'm a small farmer and I farm because it's in my blood. If it wasn't for owning the land and equipment that is all paid for it would never see a profit. Also the farm subsidies don't really help us small farmers. Good video put together I will say. Good eye opener. My guess from your equipment you farm around 1200 - 1500 acres
Hope it get better next year
Things haven't changed much since I grew up on a farm in the sixties. Better equipment and computers--but still a high risk undertaking with so much overhead.
I bet Welkers Farms would be so jealous of your beans.
You could always combine the weeds and see if cattle will eat it, ground up with corn as a base.
Probably find it to be the most balanced feed ever. For instance lambs quarters are quinoa and pigweed is amaranth.
16:05 that frog made a wise move booking out of there!
Great video! I think I'll stick to trading Soybean futures rather than farming.