Are Small Farms Failing?
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- The answer is yes and no. Let me explain...
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Hi everyone, although this video may not appeal to as wide an audience, I think these types of topics are important to small farm businesses, and they are important to keep in the channel's mix. I did many of this type of video when the channel first started, and in a way, this is a return to the channel's roots. I hope the discussion helps some of the folks engaged in small farming.
As far as commercial farms are concerned i believe we are hitting a wall with regards to organic content in the soil and this will have a big impact on the quantity and quality of our food.
Topics like this are what brought me to your channel originally. Thanks!
I appreciate this discussion today. Some very good points here and every once in awhile you need to go back and reevaluate the whole situation. Sometimes are nose is so focused on the grindstone that we have no idea what is going on in the bigger picture of things.
Very interesting and informative Pete.
I worked for na major oil company for 43 years and part of that time I was in the planning department. You are an excellent planner. You address the issues and can explain the interactions well. We made 20-year plans, but we were lucky if we came close after 1 year. The value is to have thought about the dynamics. I love what you do.
We were dairy farmers up until last year my grandfather died in the early 90s and I’m only 23 and I was able to see this at 17/18 that we had not kept up with the technology and we ended up selling out because we were just absolutely killing our selfs with work trying to keep up. I was never really sure that I was right on that thought but this video helped with my confidence level. It’s a hard truth to swallow that you ended up getting left behind with the times but it’s a necessary one that you need to face everyday
The Indians refused to adapt to the way the system was run by the evil corrupt politicians back in the day and they were killed for that reason and that system is still in play today if you don't change with the times you are left behind which I think is going to have its own day of judgment coming
Dairy farming can be a rough world. I don't know if that is sustainable on a small scale. All the new equipment is just not made for a small amount of cows since it can get pretty expensive, not mentioning the rules (at least here in Europe) surrounding that world. It always comes down to how much energy you put in and how much you get out f it.
In every field becoming functionally obsolete bites at the heels.
I like how you didn't throw the industrial farms under the bus. Great video Pete keep it up
As a small farm in rural middle Tennessee for about twelve years I find it very difficult to find that customer willing to pay for the higher quality food. Everyone loves our food and how we produce it but say they cannot or will not afford it. We love feeding people great food and showing them how to do it on a small farm. I’m not a spring chicken anymore and as I get older it gets harder to make the farm stay profitable. Great channel keep up the good work
What is the restaurant scene like near you? I wonder if what you experience is a matter of location. Can you sell to restaurants in places like Asheville, NC or are they too far away? It seems like that's a place loaded with high end buyers.
And yet they have no problem with $5 Starbucks and other "fast food convenience".
@@frankcurley it’s funny to me how some people can justify those types of purchases and then complain about the price of high quality food. They don’t even question the price of fast food
Unfortunately, most people can't justify paying $20 for a chicken when they can get one from Walmart for $7.
Pete lives in an area with a good concentration of foodies, yuppies, etc. People that are willing to pay more.
My area is similar to yours. We are in GA, and the number of people willing to pay what I would have to get just to break even isn't very large.
@@jdollar5852the south shops at Walmart. That’s all they compare too
These videos are so valuable to those of us that are running small farms. It’s alway nice to get input form someone in a different part of the country
We live in the Florida Gulf and go mostly to the small farmer for fruits & vegetables as well as our pork, beef and chicken. Yes we pay more but the quality is well worth it. Got to keep up with technology or you will be left behind. Except for Farmall tractors ha ha.
I lived on a medium farm. My mom grew vegetables and fruits and canned them. My dad raised the cattle. He sent them to the butcher. Rarely did we have to go to town, except to see the doctor
that is so awesome. some times i imagine a family like that living thru a depression and it not interupting them at all.
Same here. We wnt to town only for baking goods like flour sugar etc. Cheese and butter we got from the milkman. Had our own milk from the cows. 180 Acre Farm. Raised 9 kids..gardens..huge gardens.
@farnorthhomested844 thank you.
@@bonniedunkin-brady9358 I wish I lived near you.
@susanwest8239 ..Best years and kind of living.
Hello Pete, I was just wondering if you would come back to these types of videos. I started to watch over your small farm Sunday videos, showing your spreadsheets, marketing advice, how you reseeded the land, breeding etc. So informative and generally helpful to someone trying to start off. More of these please. Thank you Pete.
The locally raised food i recently purchased is leaps and bounds ahead of the walmart meats and eggs etc - taste wise. And probably also health wise. I still cannot believe the diference!
Industrial farms like to mix artificial fertilizer in their animal's food. That makes them grow faster, but their meat is pure poison.
The difference between what I raise and what I can buy at retail is night and day, on many items.
Pork, beef, poultry don't even seem to be the same animal as we see in the grocery store.
@@jdollar5852 its a massive diference I still cant get over it. I had a whole chicken from a local farm. I smoked it on a weber similarly to how Pete does in the videos. It was amazing! Then just the other day i did the same with a walmart chicken and OMG it sucked! Its blowing my mind
@12Valver buy some pork chops from a local farmer and then buy some from a grocery store. It's mind-blowing!
Excellent points Pete. I think the survivability of a "small farm" is totally incumbent on others' understanding and being willing to pay extra for a better (possibly) product in the hopes and intent of supporting small farms, as you touched on. Personally, I'd support one if I was in your neck of the woods or had a nearby farmer's market.
Paying more for quality has always been worth it!
I like that you notated the word "probably." Just because it's grown locally doesn't mean it's always better quality. A lot of people sell "homegrown" vegetables that aren't any better than the stuff at Walmart. There are vegetables that can be superior from local farms, but it's not a given.
Pork, beef, and poultry can definitely be better, but I've bought beef from a local guy that wouldn't have been served in a prison. There are plenty of local farmers who are perfectly willing to screw the customer to make a buck. I took all the steaks and ground them into burger meat. That's how bad they were.
Pete, great video snd explanation. I've been small farming for about 30 years and you are dead on about the market. I have noticed an increase due go the local/slow food movement, but the market is the same. The one area I would point out that really challenges the small farm is consolidation. As the number of farms decrease the support services disappear as well. When I started, there were 5 equipment dealers, there is now only one and they would rather sell lawn and compact tractors, the same has happened with other services like slaughter facilities. Once the critical mass disappears it makes staying in business more difficult.
Hi Gary, I'm in complete agreement regarding the disappearance of farm support services. Thank you for making the point.
Great insight🙏🏽
I think this is the most useful and encouraging video I’ve watched on your channel. I’m not a farmer but I do run a small business. Many of your ideas translate into other industries. Keep up the great work. Cheering you on.
I think so too
I second that thought
Pete. Thanks for taking the time and heart to share your passion for small niche farms. Appreciate the diversity of topics that program for your channel.
My wife &I have watched this channel for the last 2 years you have almost 1/2 a million viewers. Not every body really understands No matter what you do somebody’s going to say it is wrong. Do what you think is right and if it’s wrong they aren’t out the money. No one is going to please everyone all the time
Thanks Pete! I started watching your channel a few short years ago. Just got our first dexters a couple months ago now that our homestead is built. Love the how to's you've made and in large part we have built our business plan after your model.
Right on!
"You can always recognize the pioneers, by all of the arrows sticking out of them".
I think your teaching videos are an excellent resource for anyone in the small farm business or thinking about getting in. Your content is very interesting even for those of us who are just trying to find out more about where our food comes from. Thanks
We so appreciated your comments. You’re a smart, large hearted man. We watch you daily (if you post). M& M
This was a wonderful video, Pete! Thank you so much for your “level headed” approach to the question you posed in the video’s title. I love hearing your thoughts. Yours in Gratitude
It's getting hard to find anyone who is willing to be level-headed. What a breath of fresh air! Thank you.
Pete as a larger cattle and crop farmer I like how unlike some other small farms you don’t talk with hate to larger farms. I will say that almost all corporate farms are owned by families and are that way for taxes or to help bring in the next generation. Large farms are raising animals/crops the best way they can to feed people and make a living.
The need to be a differentiator is so important.
At my local farmer's market, I can point out exactly who the differentiators are. There were "the peach people" who had about twenty varieties of peaches (along with nectarines and apricots, that sort of thing) and they'd have about six or seven varieties to choose from at different points in the season. They stood out because the quality of their peaches was phenomenal and they had a ton of variety to choose from-- and they always had labels next to each variety that explained its virtues, flavor profile or history to help you figure out which you wanted to try. Those were THE peach people.
There was one other person at the market who sold peaches on a much smaller scale, combined with some other produce, but we never even glanced at them, because why would we?
Then there were the strawberry people. They sold nothing but strawberries. Their stall wasn't super remarkable, it's a lot like typical strawberry stalls I see now on the streets of NYC, but they stood out because their strawberries were fresh and they always had a great 3 for $15 deal (three baskets for $15, when individual baskets are $7). Their normal pricing is on par with what strawberries cost at the local supermarket, but the difference is their strawberries were always ripe and ready to eat. You could count on just being able to reach into the container and pull out a handful of good berries, you didn't have to pick through them and scrutinize for ones that were only partially ripe or rotten. They sold a far superior product at a price that was roughly comparable to what you might buy at the local supermarket.
It was so on and so forth with the meat people (who sold the most amazing beef) and the little old greek lady who sold home-made greek food to go. They excelled and specialized in a specific kind of product. Most of them also had shops or bakeries that were open elsewhere throughout the week, and the Farmer's Market was how they advertised themselves and reached out to people who might not otherwise know about them.
Specialization is scary because if your product fails due to lack of interest or volume, well, you don't have anything else to supplement it. But it's also one of the main ways I see farms actually succeed at my local farmer's market in a relatively HCOL area (in this case, it was Napa, CA).
You’re just the best Pete. Thanks for the level-headed and respectful take on both corporate and small scale farming. At the end of the day - it takes both to feed the nation. Thank you for all you do!
I have great concerns about our MEAT SOURCING…more time shopping at local owned butcher shops. Some of the private owned grocery chains here in N.E. Washington State are sourcing their beef from Montana and N.E. Oregon and I do buy there. Safeway, Albertsons, COSTCO, are neutral about sourcing their cut meats. T. Joes at least labels their red meat USA and URUGUAY sourced….thanks for that honesty.
One thing that effects small family farms is mom and dad get old and can't do it any more and the heirs are not interested in farming so the property goes down for lack of care and if you live in a place as I do in SC a realitor or broker will come and offer the heirs more money then they are used to and soon it is planted in subdivision. The sad part is then the land will never farm again
Wow Pete you are so smart! I truly enjoy your channel you and your wife a calming manner and great respect and care and love of you animals farm.
I am a gardener in Central Florida, way different from upstate NY. I truly understand the difference between a small farm and homestead now! Thank you! I garden because it is a good hobby that pays me back feeds me as organic a food I can grow in the suburbs and totally saves money of veggies. I feed myself out of the garden except for some carrots and onions.
Thank you for explaining the Industrial farm and all adaptations. All I hear is gloom and doom. You did an excellent job of explaining what going on, and the cov thing in regards to the food cycle.
Know I am grateful for this! God bless you and your family! May you have all your needs met!
Thanks for the thoughts pete.. Me and my fiance have dove into starting a small farm in southern illinois, its been a huge effort and a massive monetary sink, but every day we get closer to being a certified goat dairy and I'm so excited to see what the future holds for it. Seeing your videos on how you operate and got started have been a massive inspiration and a huge boost through some of the hard decisions.
Keep on farming! Hoping to join you on the small farm youtube section in the coming years.
Best of luck to you! 🙂
5:45pm. Here's another one: Did you hear snowman that got upset when the sun came out? He had a total melt down! Have a good day😊.
You should be an economic and agricultural teacher! As a farmhand in Wisconsin since the 60's the majority of small farms are mostly gone, sadly to say. I buy mostly from local farmers markets and butcher shops. Soon to retire, going to try chicken 🐔 raising. God help me! How to building houses, warmth,start in spring *😊
My family had a small fruit farm up until the mid 70's. It got to a point where the farm was no longer commercially viable. We grew primarily apples. The biggest variety was Mcintosh. These were the original full size apple trees. As time went on the costs of running the farm were getting to be more than the income the farm generated. The cost of equipment was increasing. The cost of the insecticide was drastically increasing plus the farmer needed to pay for a license to use the chemicals. If there was a weather event such as a bad frost in the spring or hail in the summer a large percentage of the crop could be lost. This became too much for my uncle who sold the farm in 1974. There used to be a lot of family fruit farms where I grew up but they are all gone now. There are a few small fruit farms still in the area that I live now but they exist because they are their own market. They have pick your own apples along with markets where you can buy anything from the apples to cider and baked goods. Many have events such as hay rides. All the apple trees you see now are the dwarf trees. These apples do not taste the same as the older varieties grown on the large trees. I guess this is a very long winded way of saying that you are accurate in your assessment.
Would like to see more of these types of videos in the mix. I like to watch them and learn and I’m pretty sure you like to make them and teach. Thanks Pete
Another great episode Pete. Very easy to understand, you got your points across clearly. Looking forward to the next one. Thank you 👍🏼🇬🇧
I always enjoy your down to earth "business of farming" videos. Not pie i n the sky and not doom and gloom, just reality with reasoning. That's a good place to be. Thanks for making these videos and sharing with us.
Pete you have a great way of explaining the way things work!
Thank you!
Keep Smilin!!!!
While not in farming, I appreciate your comments about large farms. People cry against the box stores, and I am all for shopping small and local, but people seem to forget that box stores provide an income for the people who work there.
What defines small farming to me is taking care of your soil and animals knowing that they will take care of you!
You summed up some of my understanding of things related to this subject better than I would do it with my own words. When I think back on the things that have seen on dearies and farms going into Bankruptcy. It has been these factors: unable to coupe with modernization(not getting a new tractor, just being stuck in the bad kind of past), lack or bad funding(over excessing loans, way too much expansion and too fast), labor and fuel cost(ties into the over expansion, but good labor is expensive and good luck finding free workforce). Last but not least: attitude and the condition of the mind and just basic human temptations. Truth be told not everyone of us is not fit to run his thing without being side tracked.
5:08
"That was a speculative venture on my fart" 😆💨
Just messing with you, Pete. Great video as always!
Thank you. Great video. We who are doing this small farming need this type of information. Keep doing them!
I have enjoyed your videos for about a year now. I've watched them all until I've caught up. I enjoy rebuilding old tractors and equipment also. Keep producing videos and I'll keep watching.
Last sentence said was the best I've heard in a long time and what I want my children to understand they don't have to do it for a living but they need to know how to farm for the future and others future
It’s all well and good until something breaks or needs updating etc. A small amount of 100x 50 RHS steel (enough to make two trestle stands) over here in Australia will cost you over $400. That’s essentially a weaner steer or heifer that has to be sold to pay for the steel. Another to pay for the electricity, another few to pay for the phone bills and internet etc etc… I really don’t see how anyone can afford to run a small farm anymore. All by design to destroy the healthy small farm food systems to force us all to consume garbage printed meat and other toxic substances.
Appreciated this and other videos where you share about your farm's business experience. So helpful.
My wife and I have been trying to turn our rural property into a prosperous farm for over 5 years. I agree with your descriptions of small farm vs homestead and currently I think we're in the homestead category.
Our biggest struggle has been working with the existing structure of large farms. Try to purchase equipment, what's your farm number? Try to get a farm number, what's your farm sales? Try to have farm sales, but don't have the equipment required to do so. So it's been a slow process to build up to gain access for the things that multi-generational farmers already have access to.
Regardless, we're not stopping. Every year the crop yields get a bit better, the livestock seems happier and stronger and we learn new techniques for what works or what doesn't.
As always, thank you Pete for the service you provide of allowing all of us to see your wonderful perspective of farming and learn with you along the way.
Enjoyed hearing your take on this issue. I also liked hearing your definitions of small farms vs. homestead.
This is excellent, your separation and description of Homesteads and Small Farms is perfect. Thank you!
Great video and content. I really enjoy your channel. I’ve learned a lot from you over the last year. Thanks for sharing and keeping it real.
Pete, I’m so glad I stumbled across your channel. I love the knowledge you teach and the different perspectives you explain.
Hey Pete. I really appreciate your videos and your disposition. You seem very well grounded and thoughtful. We need more people like you!
thank you for amazing videos. love everthing your channel puts out.
Very informative Pete . Thanks for everything you do for us veiwer 's .
You have a very good teaching style, learning a lot from you, we have 5 acres and been at it for 15 years, keep the videos coming, thanks
Thanks Pete! It's nice to see a balanced, well-rounded, data driven type of approach to these types of issues. I love your view and perspective of the world and appreciate your candid approach to something so vital to our existence as food. There is always a way forward, one just has to embrace change and accept the world does evolve and we as animals, have to choice to be part of it.....or not as we see fit. Cheers to you and yours!
Thanks Pete for taking a look at Farming. Take Care. Take Care and Be safe on the farm.
Pete, great topic. Thank you for sharing.
Great explanation-how it all works and your observations are worth sharing. Thx for your efforts!
He's wearing the same shirt I have! Also, there are "government" incentives to small and large (subsidies) like tax breaks, minimum acreage, specialties (dairy, soy,...). I know that in Upstate NY (above the Adirondacks), a dairy farm tripled after NY State felt that Greek Yogurt would be popular. And then there is hay and alfalfa for livestock...
Thanks. As a homestead/hobby farm transitioning to a for-profit small farm your insights are really helpful. Keep on passing on your knowledge based on experience. It is invaluable.
Great to see a video like this again! You’re a wealth of knowledge Pete, thanks!
Your architect history showed its self in this video, well put together and quite usefull.
Thank You
Your balanced view on this is quite refreshing. Thanks Pete.
Thank you for doing this video, Pete. This type of video is "Old School" and shows a different side of you, but one I feel is extremely important to you. That is, education, and stimulation of others thought process. You are a teacher at heart and hopefully you may help others with their situation to not be on the left side of the curve. Have a good day my friend! Murfreesboro, TN
Great video Pete! Thanks for adding to the mix and keeping things fresh!
Hi Pete. Thank you for sharing your views, and your videos with us. 🇺🇸
Thanks so much for your perspective! So interesting.
Good video and as someone who sells both wholesale and retail on our family farm, you're spot on with your explanation.
Thank you for posting! Very informative!
Thanks Pete! Non-animal farmer here and relatively new to the business. Like so many, my income is subsidized by an "in town" job. I think of it as an insurance policy against the next disruption. The next shock to the farming system will be energy. Energy is the primary input in every endeavor we undertake. Mega farms, more like mining than farming, will be udderly (hey Pete, you like that one!?) destroyed and it will be the small-scale farms that get us through. The next shock won't be pretty.
Stay out of debt.
80/20 rule.
Diversify.
Chase every dollar.
Remember to live a good life.
That's what I'm doing, at least.
My dad was an aeronautical engineer who worked for nasa and Boeing. He was a super smart guy. All he ever wanted though was to be a farmer. He bought a small farm before I was born thinking he could engineer m-f and farm on weekends. He kept that farm for years but it was very hard. He finally sold it before I was born. But I have such appreciation for farmers not only because their hard work feeds us but because I know how much my dad loved that profession and way of life. But it’s not for the faint of heart that’s for sure.
All great points, you have really put your finger on the pulse of the small farm issues. I consider our farm as a small farm operation, although we don't sale meat directly to consumers we do sell calves at the cattle auction, which is selling to other farmers and feedlots. Enjoyed you take, a lot to consider and think about. Thank you and have a nice week!
It seems to me, dairy farms make the most money with a large herd that can be managed without, hiring additional people. There"s a line between being a large family farm and becoming a commercial farm. A farm must be large enough to be financially comfortable or it"s pointless to endure the hard work.
more turnover does not always make more profit
most farmers are addicted to work hours are not counted
running faster' harder to stand still
We in Ireland have robot milking. Work pretty well. Can be checked on phone. Dairy in good land, climate always best. Most small and some larger fail because there is no successor who will put up with the life and be tied to the cows tail.. I cannot speak for all arable cash croppers.
Large dairy farms take on huge amounts of debt and hire immigrant labor
Pete, great discussion. I appreciate these types of videos as you confirm what we're doing right or shed light on what we may need to change. Thanks for what you do!!!
I really appreciate your realist approach
THANK you, for this sane and clear and optimistic and REALISTIC analysis.
I was watching some of your old video's from 4 yrs ago, ( Chickens Q%A) I have not laughed that hard in a long time it was great. Thanks so much for your channel. Keep it up.
I appreciate that levelheaded approach Pete! Down the same lines as a podcast, I heard recently where they said it would be good to minimize child labor, but in all honesty, if the whole country would refuse to buy anything from overseas Mfg., there would be thousands of people not able to provide for their families.
The Covid shutdown made some people aware of what they could do to help themselves. As a result more people started raising backyard chickens and rabbits as a meat and egg supply for their family. They also started doing a little garden in the backyard to supplement their food supply. It’s amazing how much food we can raise if we set our minds to it.
Loved the video! Glad you include these reflections once in a while. I don’t comment often but sure watch a whole lot of what you put out on UA-cam. Thank you Pete!
So valuable information Pete! Saludos desde Tamaulipas Mx.
This was such an interesting video and topic. I found it to be fascinating, informative, and encouraging. You give an optimistic outlook that is badly needed in the present days. Thank you, Pete and Hillary, for your hard work and dedication to your farm and to us as well.
Hi Pete, you hit the nail on the head about a lot of things as usually. I was able from about age 8 or 9 to be able to go to my next door neighbor/ best friend's grandpas farm around 8 miles away, where we were permitted to shoot sparrows , blackbirds an other livestock pest, with our BB guns . Guy was my friend's grandpas name , and he broke horses and sold them, and raised about 6 hogs a season, a herd of 15 or so cattle mostly Herefords cows, some chickens that would be butchered and sold in his old time country store and the rest was farmed for hay ,corn , wheat, and soy beans on about 150 or so acres, he had a small Grey tractor I believe was a Fordson? Most of tillable was leased out ,by this time due to Pop's age. "Pop " was his nick name and he also ran a country store in a town about 5 miles away. This was the best of times for me in the middle 1960's . I would be a factory Iron worker in 1978 and would run into another best friend whose grandpa had farmed land close to my Great Grandpa Lee east of Danville,Ill in what is now Kickapoo State Park,Ill., before it was a state park it and all surrounding land was Mined Pit, Strip and shaft coal mining . My great grandpa and my buddys grandpa both lost their farms to right Imminent domain , my friends grandpa would buy more land north east of Danville ,Ill. and it is now in its 4th generation. This is where my city boy was thinned down to my inner farm boy activation reignited in 1978, and I helped on it for the fun and wealth of knowledge. By this time frame {1978 - thru the late 1990's active farm chores were as follows for me before or after Iron working: they were getting out of the hog and cattle business ,and switching to a leased crop arrangement with a neighbor on the 200 tillable acres and about 20 acres in woods an 1/4 acre for Bryerly pioneer cemetery , and like a 1/2 acre for personal sweet corn crop every year . Chores I helped with were , trimming ditches, manicuring the fence rows, collecte firewood and we never cut a live tree down unless storm damage , as the farm heated on coal in the machine shop and wood for the garage and house. I learned a lot of useful skills , and was always available for those extra hand on jobs. I helped rebuild 2 Cat Bulldozers , ( he owned 7) the one was on his brothers dairy farm that was in a barn that got hit by lightning and barn burnt up and dozer also, I helped him rebuild it and I painted it Yellow and did all the lettering in Black, its name was lettered and affectionately called Phoenix.as it resurrected from the fire ash. They at that time ran 2 green Oliver 's a 88 and a 77 I believe ,an a small ford for the hydro for the log splitter. The tenant farmer ran a Yellow Minneapolis moline, and the neighbor ran IH tractors , but I do not recall numbers. I also helped out with our Iron working foreman's farm and future Vineyard,who was also a good friend, with a small farm north of where my Great Grandpa's farm used to be. I worked for him when I got laid off from Iron Working for about a year on his farm where he was starting a brewing business selling beer making supplies , and was setting up a Winery , getting grape arbors set up and a whole orchard of assorted fruit trees and bee hives on about 6 acres, and he would raise a Jersey Dairy cow for milk and a steer for the meat from a dairy farmer neighbor. I helped him move his gamble framed house which look like a barn about 200 feet from the woods where it was built out to a field ,do to a land fight with said Kickapoo State park , I helped jacked it up, dug tunnels to set I beams under it , dug the new footings, a basement and was a brick mason for about a year,then later after the house was mostly done we added a green house to the south side of house, then when we found time weJersey
Love your videos. Takes me back to my Grandparents farm where cream from the milk cows was sold to the local creamery, the skim milk separated from the milk fed to the pigs along with ground feed. The cows were bred every year that produced the feeder cattle that were sold to the local butcher. Chickens were raised for eggs and for meat birds. Grandma rarely had less than 2000 chickens on the place and sold eggs locally and dressed chickens to local restaurants. They also farmed about 160 acres of corn, alfalfa and oats. Most of the crops went to feeding the animals and everything was used such as oat straw for bedding and the corn cobs as fuel for the stove in the milk house and egg house. Please keep the videos coming.
Very good video as usual. Although I'm not a farmer,I find this video informative and interesting.Thank You Pete.
As I go through life ( 72 yrs young), being open-minded helps me to adapt. As farm size changes, so does the dynamic of local suppliers, e.g. feed mills and implement dealers. My own old-school preference is dealing with folks where you are on a first-name basis with the staff who know your needs and give good advice. My late wife and myself set realistic goals and I juggled the small farm with a full-time job. Keeping going is what keeps me going.
Thank you Pete for sharing.
Great info as usual Pete. 👍👍💚🐃
I really believe much of the success of a small farm business is through marketing and somewhat networking too. Also not overspending to meet the successes of production.
Thanks for sharing the video Pete.
Great Video! You are ON POINT!!
Thank you Pete for taking the time to share this us. I grew up on a dairy and I know it's no longer there, nobody wanted to take it over when my grandfather got sick and past.
great info Pete....thank you
Very well said. I enjoy the more analytical type videos like this!
Hay pete great video interesting info you gave us thank you for sharing blessings to you and your family
Thanks Pete I'm routinely going back to the small farm business videos you put out to help us grow our farm.
I loved your talk, thanks Pete
This is one of the reasons I wish you was my neighbor and love this channel . Your level headed look at life and your niche in life is great. And it’s a good one . More people need to think about life more and show off what there good at . Not getting completely infatuated in keeping up with the Jones . Great video and thanks.
What Covid brought to light for me was how just a very small number of mega sized pork, beef, poultry processing plants process most of the meat. So when a large processor shuts down for a bit there are huge problems at the commercial farm level. Also in 🇨🇦 Covid showed me how much meat processors rely on foreign workers or newer Canadians. The food system is resilient but also fragile.
Good video, Pete. Information that is needed
Great discussion from a non-farmer raised farming. I find everything you said true based on my neighbors who farmed growing up (dairy in the Catskills), and what I have seen in the NE. NW, Mid At and SE geographic regions in the USA. I look forward to more such discussions as they should aid those who want to succeed. Thank you.
Great video Pete I love learning from you.
Another excellent video. Clear concise and informative. Thank you sir