55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat

By bill whitman 

 I really do enjoy trying to single out a single topic when I sit down at my laptop to write an article. For the last year and a half, finding a topic to write about is hard because there are probably 10 separate issues of importance that every farmer and rancher in America needs to be aware of. I don’t believe there has been a time in history where “issue awareness” has been more important to each of us than right now. 

Many times, I bring up the necessity of utilizing facts and reasoning in operating our farms and ranches. Depending on where you’re located and your harvest of choice, knowing what is happening that will affect your farm or ranch is different. Did you ever stop to count the number of factors that directly affect your farm? Did you ever count the number of decisions you make on average each day? Try it, you’ll be surprised.

Now, consider how any one of these hundreds of factors, hundreds of decisions will affect your farm, both today and tomorrow. Let’s take fuel for example. In a year that has razor thin margins a 30 percent increase in diesel fuel will affect your business. Because of this same fuel price increase, inputs will also increase, yet another challenge to your razor-thin margin. So, what do we do to offset the additional attack on our margins? Add to that the supply issues and we find ourselves having to pay a premium to be sure to have enough on hand to meet our needs. 

I don’t know if we can do anything we shouldn’t have been doing all along. Farming and ranching require that we save every dime we can, set aside profits in the good years, and always look for trends that will affect our operations (for the good or bad) to see how we can best take advantage of what we see. I’m told that with every downturn there are opportunities for those looking. 

For a moment of nostalgia, when I was a youngster, almost every Midwestern farm was diversified. A four or five crop rotation, a few sows, a few cows, and always a few egg laying hens.  In those days, we all depended on an accumulation of crops and livestock to earn a living. Without a doubt, cattle today would pay a lot of bills. Balanced against other sources of income it would make a difference. I often wonder how successful this model would be in todays environment. 

There’s a young, first-generation farm family living south of our farm about 40 miles that added cattle to their farm two or three years ago. Knowing how thin his margins are, I’m betting that his 20 cows are making the difference between living tight and hanging on by his teeth. I have hope for this young guy because he admitted that the advice given by the older generation during the initial good years to restrict credit and use as much cash as he saved to forward pay inputs instead of upgrading equipment and absorbing additional credit expense. Learning from his mistakes assures him a future. 

I read that if you write down your problem in detail, you’re halfway to solving it. I know for me, writing out a list of things needing done has a better chance of getting done than if I try to remember it. When you write out the details of a problem you can “see” all the pieces and when you can see them it is far easier to see what is needed to solve. I know that when a friend and I were trying to find and repair a hydraulic leak under the cab. It was hard to see until we looked at the parts schematic that showed us a way to get to the leak and replace the hose. Looking at the problem from a perspective that allowed us to see everything needed led to a successful repair. Applying the same system to any type of problem and resolving looking at the problem from all directions allows you to find a way to find the best solution. 

With so many problems facing us today the adage, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” comes to mind. 

Horse-Sense: Time was when the path forward was clear, now with so many influencing factors, prioritizing has become yet another daily chore.

IndianaAg@bluemarble.net