If the family farm never got sold... that'd be alright.

[strojanherefords]

I am having a rough time, the old family ranch sold.  I have bittersweet memories of the ranch. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were getting up on the weekend and going up to check the cows with my dad and then visiting with my grandpa and listen to him tell stories about the old times. It was there I also developed my love for Hereford cattle and my desire to make a living for myself running cattle.  It was also the place where the aunts, uncle and cousins took advantage of my grandparents when they got older.

I knew it was coming and it doesn't affect anything with the cows but it is a psychological gut punch.  I want to talk about this because I am tired of losing family farms because families don't take the time to make sure inheritances will be blessings.  When times get hard, it's good to know that I have friends.

Thank you Glenn for hosting this.

[Glenn]

Hang in there, Paul. Lots of discouragement in today's world from the individual level up to the societal level. I guess one positive about ranching is that it is built for optimism. The hope of the next calf crop, green grass in the spring, the potential of the next herd bull.

[timbernt]

Paul, I sympathize totally. Unfortunately inflation has made all ag assets look like a piggy bank to be raided by the kids who left the farm. They all pretend to have a warm spot in their heart for their heritage and farm memories growing up but don't hesitate a second to grab the money and make it impossible for the next generation to continue when their parents die.

[larso]

Paul I drove past my Grandfather’s farm the other day, it was left to my uncles side of family. They ran it down and sold it , the new owners have bulldozed the old house down and all the old sheds completely wiping out any evidence of the past. All I have left is the memories so I value them and I came to it that we are all only custodians of the land while we are alive anyway, what happens after that is someone’s else’s responsibility.

[strojanherefords]

Thanks for the kind words. I wanted to talk about what I am going through, so that other farm families can learn from our mistakes and can have positive transition.

I never brought it up to the family that I wanted to run the ranch and that I didn't need to be given anything. I relied on my aunt telling me that we would talk after my grandparent's estate was settled. What ended up happening was my uncle died suddenly, my cousin moved my aunt out of state, ran her affairs and made sure that I didn't get a chance.

We need to have space for young people who want to farm to connect, share experiences and learn how to navigate taking over the farm. All the existing young farmer groups have been taken over by hobbyists.

[jjbcattleco]

Sept 10, 2020 10:36:19 GMT -6 strojanherefords said:

Thanks for the kind words. I wanted to talk about what I am going through, so that other farm families can learn from our mistakes and can have positive transition.

I never brought it up to the family that I wanted to run the ranch and that I didn't need to be given anything. I relied on my aunt telling me that we would talk after my grandparent's estate was settled. What ended up happening was my uncle died suddenly, my cousin moved my aunt out of state, ran her affairs and made sure that I didn't get a chance.

We need to have space for young people who want to farm to connect, share experiences and learn how to navigate taking over the farm. All the existing young farmer groups have been taken over by hobbyists.

I don't know if the 2021 setting with the course being online will give the same kind of network but the TEPAP program by Texas A&M (tepap.tamu.edu/) is one of the best things I have done in my life. I have rallied hard on what I have learned and utilized a few of the contacts to help our operation move forward. One of my biggest takeaways was that while our problems in Ag are different, they mostly are not unique. They push peer groups pretty hard and at first I thought they had little value but now think groups throughout the cattle industry with various producer ages and breeds would be very beneficial. Downside to both of these is that they are expensive and the short term ROI is garbage but I think they pay out in the long run. Sorry about your farm, that really sucks.

[hickorycreek]

I think that most of us that grew up in farm families have been screwed over by our city cousins from time to time !