The Rural Voice, 1981-04, Page 38(FARmAnc)
FARM MANAGEMENT
There's more to farming than profit
The following is a question from a farmer:
1 am 52 years old and right in my prime. I have always had
good health and never felt better. My four sons, ranging in age
from 21 to 31,,are big, strong and healthy. My wife is healthy too
but I will confess that she doesn't seem to be able to accomplish
as much farm work as she did 10 years ago.
The missus and 1 started farming together in 1948 and we
never looked hack. We bought land, livestock and machinery and
more land, livestock and machinery. Today our farming assets
are worth over a million dollars and our debts are only
one quarter of a million. Not bad. eh! The farm is a profitable
one. However. I have never had to pay much income tax. 1 have
been able to minimize it by buying more machinery, building
more buildings. tiling land and increasing the amount of
livestock on hand. I have used these to the limit and I'm really
going to have to pay soon.
What is my problem? The farm next door is for sale. Like all
farm land the price is higher than its value but we have the cash
flow to handle the purchase and the drainage that needs to be
done on it would help with future income tax problems.
I have told the boys that if they put their shoulders to the
wheel we can buy that land and pay for it in a few years but they
don't want to put their shoulders to the wheel. The oldest boy
who farmed with me for many years packed up and left two years
ago and is now in town driving a taxi. He was a darn good farmer
too. The second boy took a trip west a year ago and hasn't come
back. The third boy is working on the farm but he runs around so
much that he is tired and doesn't get as much work done as he
should. The youngest son is at the stage where he drives fast
cars and burns up rubber. What do I do?
This is a made up question and hopefully it has been
exaggerated. But it deserves an answer.
When trying to solve any farm management problem, a good
starting point is deciding what our objectives are. The common
objective of many farmers is to make more net profit. Another
objective with many is to pay as little income tax as possible.
These two objectives are so prevalent that we sometimes think of
more net profit and less tax as the basis for farm management.
It's not always so.
By your accomplishments we would guess that you have had
these two objectives and that you have been constantly achieving
your objectives. Very few people could give you additional clues
in that section.
The objective of making more profit was a very noble one when
you started farming in 1948 but is it the same objective that
should be top on your list today? Is it possible that you have
concentrated so much on this objective that you have neglected
other worthy ones such as having a pleasant family life. The fact
that your boys are away from home or threatening to leave makes
me think that you haven't a happy relationship with them. Did
you ever take them fishing or hunting or was there always too
much farm work to be done? You spent your younger years
during the great depression and your sense of values was
moulded at that time. Your sons were young during the
exuberant 50 s and 60 s. They have as a result a different set of
values than you have and it is very difficult to say who is right
and who is wrong.
I could jump to the conclusion that you are a tyrant to work for.
Because the decisions that you have made in the past have been
so successful you may not want to stand by and let your sons take
actions based on their opinions which you consider to be inferior
to your own. It is very difficult to watch someone waste money
that you have earned even if they are sons and are learning in the
process.
If you want to continue to have full responsibility for your
farming operation for the next 20 years, you should continue on
your present course. You will likely be working alone and when
you die you should have an ample supply of this world's goods to
leave to your sons who have not helped earn them. If, however,
you want to gradually take it easier you should sit down with your
family and possibly an outside counsellor and try to determine
what you jointly would like to achieve. Your main objective now
is not to make more money or to increase the number of your
assets. Unless your sons are in the business you have more than
you need already. As you say, you are in your prime but in ten
short years you will be approaching pension age. That's 3652
days.
My main point is that there is more to farm management than
making more net profit and paying less tax. There are times
when making more net profit is absolutely essential but we
should not allow this good objective to mar our thinking for the
rest of our lives. There's more to living than money.
By 11.G. Norry. Area Co-ordinator und•%urm
Management Specialist
1
Fad.
•
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"Practical confining systems for less•"
THE RURAL VOICE/APRIL 1981 PG 37