5 ms·

I'm also a farm kid. I think the problem is defining what is a small farm vs a large farm. And that definition will change depending one what part of the coun

I'm also a farm kid. I think the problem is defining what is a small farm vs a large farm. And that definition will change depending one what part of the country you are in. A small dairy by me is anything less than 1000 milking head of cows. A small farm is less than 1500 acres (5000 acres is common). In a different region, 300 milking head is large, so is 500 acres of farm ground.

ghshephard 12y ago
5,000 acres is common? Are there family farms that are that large, or are those corporate farms. I've never heard of a family farm that was 8 sections large - so presumably these are corporate farms?
- Trisell 12y ago
  My grandparents own 5000 acres, of which they used to farm around 3000 acres of that actively. And we managed all of that with my grandfather, a hired hand, and myself in the summer, and just my grandfather and the hired hand during the winter. We did a 2000 acre wheat harvest, and 4 cuttings of hay at a 1000 acres a cutting in the summer from June through September. I worked 12 hour days during the summer from the time I was 12 until I was 17.
  - trhway 12y ago
    >And we managed all of that with my grandfather, a hired hand, and myself in the summer, and just my grandfather and the hired hand during the winter. well, i see one more time how USSR planned collective economy sucked compare to the US farming - a USSR collective farm of 10-20K acres would contain 200-300 households with most working age people of the households employed at the farm.
    - timonovici 12y ago
      Then you understand nothing of how URSS actually worked. They didn't "employed" 300 people because they were needed, they did so to keep everyone busy. The head of a "colhoz" (I think that would roughly translate to "farm"), sometimes had to make up stuff, just keep people busy, and write the hours on paper.
      - trhway 12y ago
        >Then you understand nothing of how URSS actually worked. i was born in 72 in USSR. Roughly half my family, like grandmother & grandfather, 2 uncles and an aunt lived in a "kolhoz" and "sovhoz" near by. We visited frequently and i spent some summers there. I also worked at a "sovhoz" the summer after 6th grade. There wasn't making up of the stuff. There were a lot of inefficiencies, low productivity - manual labor instead of machines - and bad organization - typical slice of USSR economy.
  - Igglyboo 12y ago
    >I worked 12 hour days during the summer from the time I was 12 until I was 17. Wow, honestly just reading that just blew my mind. Do you think that made you a better person or helped you at all down the road? That is a ton of manual labor for anyone, especially a child. I know that this used to be common practice back before the industrial revolution but I guess I never really thought about it, or heard of anyone who actually went through something like that. Serious question, no disrespect meant.
    - aidos 12y ago
      Not the GP but I did the same. Longer hours sometimes - make hay while the sun shines and all that (where I grew up in NZ we have a good 14 hours of sun to make the most of). I was on the market gardens, so planting, hoeing, picking, shifting irrigation pipes around etc. In the winter every Sunday was a 7:30am start picking cauliflower. When you grow up in that environment, it's just normal. Though, it's really not uncommon. I picked apples for a season and most people worked all the hours they possibly could, because they had to (me included). An interesting moment of mis-calibration that I'll never forget; At one point I was picking apples near the roadside and a man driving by stopped to ask me a question. He said, "How much do they pay you?" to which I replied $15. And he said, "For one of those?" pointing to the bag around my neck [0]. Slightly astounded I replied, "No, for one of those!" pointing to the large wooden bin on the ground [1]. It's a moment that will stick with me forever as a stark realisation that most people are totally disconnected from the manual labour that goes into the production of the things they consume every day (I know that applies to a lot more that just fruit and veg, and we're all guilty of it). I remember thinking at the time how unjust it was that once I made enough money to travel back to the city, I'd be earning a magnitude more sitting in an office in front of a computer. I think if nothing else you develop a strong work ethic. Probably to a fault; over the years I've had to learn not to look so critically on those that don't put in as much work as I do. At the same time, I notice and admire those that have the same work ethic as me. All in all I think it's a positive experience that's helped me along the way to be good at what I do now (tech startup). I think it's become part of my core character and I feel a certain sense of pride at how hard I worked when I was younger (and still do). [0] http://cmsimg.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20111016&Category=LIFE06&ArtNo=110160309&Ref=V2&MaxW=300&Border=0&Looking-zen-apple-orchard http://cmsimg.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=B... [1] http://www.applebarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMAG1310-e1315955329418.jpg http://www.applebarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMAG1310...
- chris_wot 12y ago
  FWIW, in NSW Australia, the average land size of farms is just over 3,300ha. Heavens knows the average size in Australia - the biggest station is 2,366,700ha. I guess it probably needs to be defined by the sort of farming being done.
  - ghshephard 12y ago
    By farming, I'm referring to land which is planted/harvested, typically row crops like Wheat, Corn (maize), or hay (alfalfa). From doing a bit of reading on things like http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5707&DisplayType=nested&setCookie=1 http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5707&Di..., I'm guessing the practical limit is the speed/capability of a combine, and the length of the harvest season. It sounds like 100 acres/day is a limit, and harvest season can (typically) stretch from mid-september to end of october - or around 45 days. So, full out, presuming you use your own equipment, the largest "family" farm that can sustain a single annual harvest would be around 4500 acres.
    - Igglyboo 12y ago
      Would owning multiple combines disqualify you from being considered a "family farm"?
      - ghshephard 12y ago
        Also - can you be considered a family farm if you don't own a combine, but instead hire the services of one/several?

ghshephard 12y ago

5,000 acres is common? Are there family farms that are that large, or are those corporate farms. I've never heard of a family farm that was 8 sections large - so presumably these are corporate farms?

Trisell 12y ago
My grandparents own 5000 acres, of which they used to farm around 3000 acres of that actively. And we managed all of that with my grandfather, a hired hand, and myself in the summer, and just my grandfather and the hired hand during the winter. We did a 2000 acre wheat harvest, and 4 cuttings of hay at a 1000 acres a cutting in the summer from June through September. I worked 12 hour days during the summer from the time I was 12 until I was 17.
- trhway 12y ago
  >And we managed all of that with my grandfather, a hired hand, and myself in the summer, and just my grandfather and the hired hand during the winter. well, i see one more time how USSR planned collective economy sucked compare to the US farming - a USSR collective farm of 10-20K acres would contain 200-300 households with most working age people of the households employed at the farm.
  - timonovici 12y ago
    Then you understand nothing of how URSS actually worked. They didn't "employed" 300 people because they were needed, they did so to keep everyone busy. The head of a "colhoz" (I think that would roughly translate to "farm"), sometimes had to make up stuff, just keep people busy, and write the hours on paper.
    - trhway 12y ago
      >Then you understand nothing of how URSS actually worked. i was born in 72 in USSR. Roughly half my family, like grandmother & grandfather, 2 uncles and an aunt lived in a "kolhoz" and "sovhoz" near by. We visited frequently and i spent some summers there. I also worked at a "sovhoz" the summer after 6th grade. There wasn't making up of the stuff. There were a lot of inefficiencies, low productivity - manual labor instead of machines - and bad organization - typical slice of USSR economy.
- Igglyboo 12y ago
  >I worked 12 hour days during the summer from the time I was 12 until I was 17. Wow, honestly just reading that just blew my mind. Do you think that made you a better person or helped you at all down the road? That is a ton of manual labor for anyone, especially a child. I know that this used to be common practice back before the industrial revolution but I guess I never really thought about it, or heard of anyone who actually went through something like that. Serious question, no disrespect meant.
  - aidos 12y ago
    Not the GP but I did the same. Longer hours sometimes - make hay while the sun shines and all that (where I grew up in NZ we have a good 14 hours of sun to make the most of). I was on the market gardens, so planting, hoeing, picking, shifting irrigation pipes around etc. In the winter every Sunday was a 7:30am start picking cauliflower. When you grow up in that environment, it's just normal. Though, it's really not uncommon. I picked apples for a season and most people worked all the hours they possibly could, because they had to (me included). An interesting moment of mis-calibration that I'll never forget; At one point I was picking apples near the roadside and a man driving by stopped to ask me a question. He said, "How much do they pay you?" to which I replied $15. And he said, "For one of those?" pointing to the bag around my neck [0]. Slightly astounded I replied, "No, for one of those!" pointing to the large wooden bin on the ground [1]. It's a moment that will stick with me forever as a stark realisation that most people are totally disconnected from the manual labour that goes into the production of the things they consume every day (I know that applies to a lot more that just fruit and veg, and we're all guilty of it). I remember thinking at the time how unjust it was that once I made enough money to travel back to the city, I'd be earning a magnitude more sitting in an office in front of a computer. I think if nothing else you develop a strong work ethic. Probably to a fault; over the years I've had to learn not to look so critically on those that don't put in as much work as I do. At the same time, I notice and admire those that have the same work ethic as me. All in all I think it's a positive experience that's helped me along the way to be good at what I do now (tech startup). I think it's become part of my core character and I feel a certain sense of pride at how hard I worked when I was younger (and still do). [0] http://cmsimg.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BL&Date=20111016&Category=LIFE06&ArtNo=110160309&Ref=V2&MaxW=300&Border=0&Looking-zen-apple-orchard http://cmsimg.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=B... [1] http://www.applebarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMAG1310-e1315955329418.jpg http://www.applebarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMAG1310...
chris_wot 12y ago
FWIW, in NSW Australia, the average land size of farms is just over 3,300ha. Heavens knows the average size in Australia - the biggest station is 2,366,700ha. I guess it probably needs to be defined by the sort of farming being done.
- ghshephard 12y ago
  By farming, I'm referring to land which is planted/harvested, typically row crops like Wheat, Corn (maize), or hay (alfalfa). From doing a bit of reading on things like http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5707&DisplayType=nested&setCookie=1 http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5707&Di..., I'm guessing the practical limit is the speed/capability of a combine, and the length of the harvest season. It sounds like 100 acres/day is a limit, and harvest season can (typically) stretch from mid-september to end of october - or around 45 days. So, full out, presuming you use your own equipment, the largest "family" farm that can sustain a single annual harvest would be around 4500 acres.
  - Igglyboo 12y ago
    Would owning multiple combines disqualify you from being considered a "family farm"?
    - ghshephard 12y ago
      Also - can you be considered a family farm if you don't own a combine, but instead hire the services of one/several?