> and the only way to start is to start big as small size farms are just not profitable. Why do you say that? My small farm – just a traditional grain farm, no

> and the only way to start is to start big as small size farms are just not profitable. Why do you say that? My small farm – just a traditional grain farm, nothing fancy – is quite profitable. The big farm is a different business model. They are focused on wealth building, leveraging large amounts of debt to keep growing as much as possible, using most of the farm income to cover the debt requirements. In this model you need to be large to survive as the remaining profit margin after paying off the debt is tiny. I have kept the debt to a minimum. That means growth happens at a snail's pace, but it also means that all the money that would have went to the bank ends up in my pocket instead. I'll no doubt have a lot less wealth at retirement, taking the profitability now instead of later, but maybe that's okay? How much do you really need? I don't feel like I'm short of my retirement goals. I just might not be crazy rich in the end. Tradeoffs, as always.