How to Start a Farm! l Q&A Part One
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.พ. 2023
- It’s time for another Q and A! Will will answer common questions we get in the comments of our videos. Along with specific questions you all had form a Q&A post. This will be part 1 of a 2 part video, make sure to be on the lookout for that video. The topics in this video lean towards how my parents started the farm. We hope you all enjoy the video. Make sure to leave your other questions down in the comments. Thank you for watching!
Our Last Q&A : • The Questions You Want...
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All I'm gonna say is that it's so refreshing listening to some real farmers who actually drive trucks as old as mine. I have a 2000 f250 with 320,000 miles. From one dairy farmer to another, you guys are awesome.
George Gierok: the man, the myth, the legend.
The teacher.
Lol,,,right on. Bringing Aaron along.
It's nice to see small farms still going. I live a couple hours northwest of Trinity Dairy and we can no longer get a milk truck out here. We still raise beef cattle but I had always hoped to start milking again. It's fun watching your videos and to see people milking cows on a scale that we used to.
You guys are amazing to take the time to show the world that small farms like yours and mine still exist and that a person can still make a good living for themselves and their family. I can't Express how much you're videos mean to the people who have not had the chance in life to live on a farm. God bless you and your family, take care
Awesome Channel I could listen to your dad talk all day a lot of knowledge old school
I agree!!
Love my Dad, but with he was more like yours. Such a smart, hard working guy. You are getting an education that can't be bought.
I second that!!!
Aaron your dad's so much like mine, hard working and proud of what he did. He always said quality over quantity!
Awesome job on the table..... see you guys on the next one.
Be safe , big storm on the way....batten down the hatch. God bless you, your family, friends and viewers. Greetings from NE rural Ohio
IMO, it seems the systems prefers a few big farms rather than a bunch of little ones, it is way easier to keep their thumb on acouple big ones that answer to the creditors. Unfortunately that is where ag went off the rails. I told my teenage son that the other night while we were doing chores............."If everyone still had to get up and go to the barn, go all day, and then walk in from the barn at night, this world wouldn't be as screwed up as it is"................
George and Aaron, I truly love these videos! Everything in your farm is quality number one! The buildings, the equipment, the tractors,. I am a( want to be farmer) but when I was 11 years old I had a severe stroke in 1964 and my farming days were very limited. So I became a financial advisor. I am now age 69. My farming is done by my cousin and I help him at times. I'm always amazed at the quality that George has put into his farm. My uncles sold Cockshutt, Oliver and White. Another one sold International. I still have three Cockshutt's and two Internationals. Your boys seem to follow in your path so they should be just fine. I'm sure you're in the midst of a snowstorm. Skip ,Western PA. P.S. STILL LOVE FARMING
You guys should do a TH-cam open house. Would love to meet ya and see your farm. It’s the definition of what US dairy should be.
I started a tree business a few years back and I agree with not wanting to get “big”. It is just my son and I and we are both hard workers and we can get a lot done with a lot less headaches.
Thank you both so much for filming this!! The 37 minuets just flew by. Can't wait for part two!!! Glad your dad stuck his neck out and bought the farm. Often, the things that scare us the most turn out to be the best things we ever do.
we just got our first dairy cows for family use a couple months ago. We have been learning a lot from all your videos and really appreciate the variety of the videos. Thank you guys for taking the time and teaching others. You guys definitely inspire us!
Thanks gentlemen. I like the way you do these. I got caught off guard though when you switched chairs and hats. 😀
Im 68 years old grew up on a small farm choose trucking as a profession after 42 years of holding a steering wheel I retired. I watch alot of farming videos to bring back good memories you guys are the best hands down keep up the good work
I raise Holstein dairy steers and direct market them. $4.00 a hanging pound. Sheep for wool and meat. Direct market lambs $350 a head. I guess when I hear the packers clearing $1200 a head on and animal they own for maybe a couple of days I figure that money is better in my pocket than theirs. Horse hay market can be good too. I have good customers that don't mind paying for good hay. They know I'll take care of them if they have a problem. I talk to them about how hay is produced so they understand why the hay crop is what it is on those challenging years. It doesn't take real big money to get started with square baling a few acres of hay. A Farmall M or a John Deere 60 would be big enough to get started. These are $2500 tractors.
I could listen to you guys all day. George is a great teacher. You can tell he enjoys talking about farming. What a great relationship you to half along with Mason. You tube was mDe for you two.
Thanks Aaron for sharing..I recently came across you guys and appreciate what you guys are doing! I also have 55 cows in central mn, and totally feel the pressure of the large dairy push, its not easy. If it wasn't for my faith in God and the support of my family, nephew, and community, I would have given up a while ago..me and my nephew Jeremy Beiler, are also doing some TH-cam..keep up the great work and God bless you all!
New Holland with a cutter. Cut bales do make really nice feed. We are John Deere guys too lol and like new Holland round balers lol
I have a new holland br7050 baler that I bought brand new in 2016. Excellent baler, no electronic boards, and SIMPLE. built well too.
I could listen to you guys talk about farming for hours!
As for someone who has worked on and been around farming all my life this video is very impressive and interesting keep up the good work guys I will be looking forward to the part 2
I’m 63 years young and love to hear your generation talk with your fathers generation and how similar or not the ideas are for the future. My question is are you married? Live on farm? You seem that your dad might just be your best friend?
Aaron got married in the fall and doesn't live on the farm... info from previous videos .
Figured Ide leave a comment for once to show you have younger viewers. I’m up by Appleton WI me and my wife bought 80 acres a year ago along with purchasing the home farm 60 acres. We are first generation since great grandpa to actually farm any of the land ourselves. We’re 26 and 28
I wish you the best of luck. Great place to raise a family
I really like your channel, its not a 1000+ head milking farm so its much more relatable. plus I'm from WI so it has some local relevancy for me. really cool to see the day in the life content and it seems not too far out of reach. keep up the good work guys, glad i found this channel.
Grew up on a beef farm in Ontario Canada I loved your talk Love your channel
That’s a very neat bench or table you’re sitting at!! Very cool piece!!! Sure enjoy the channel ...
You answered a lot of questions I've had. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing more of your place by drone. Maybe a flyover tour of the whole place with background audio by George explaining what we're looking at. Then maybe a flyover of the whole valley! That would be Cool! You're helping more than you know.
We need to get green view silo to sponser and build you a silo lol
To me best way to get into farming is doing some kind of custom farming/ Ag Services. Plenty of ways to make money....
That’s a great table
Now that is awesome I love it nice job God bless TerryD.
I grew up farming with the family in the 70's milking , feeding steers, farrowing hogs, 100 hens to lay eggs, separated cream ,. We walked the soybean fields for weeds each year. and baled hay on the hottest day of the year. 3020 and 4020 were the go to tractors. along with an H.
Enjoyed the Q&A look forward to part 2.
Thank you for sharing your family and farming with us
I really appreciate all these videos. I grew up on a farm your size in Minnesota and it brings back a lot of memories. Especially the smell of fresh baled hay.
I would like to give you a little advice. I purchased my farm in 1979, it was owned by a gentleman in his 60's. He was farming with his son who had come out of the army. They had little tractors, no silo unloaders, no feed bunk. It was just too much hand labor. and the father wasn't going to invest any money in labor saving conveniences. It didn't take long for his son to become disenchanted, the son left and the farm was sold. I tell you this story because your farm is very labor intensive and you may end up drive the kids away.
That's partly why they are successful..I remember when I was a little guy my family would go out to Nebraska and stay with my aunt and uncle for Christmas. There was a farmer in my uncle's congregation, ( he was a pastor), back in the 70s on the verge of losing his centennial farm. It was at one point clear of debt but he borrowed money to put in Harvestore silos and a feeding system only to have the price of beef fall into the toilet. He did pull through but he was lucky. I'd say anyone who can make a living on 40 dairy cows in this day and age and still be able to make a big purchase when he thinks it makes sense is doing good and my hat is off to him. I'd also add that the relationship seems to be open to ideas between them all.
I've got pj gooseneck it has 25' of actual deck slide out ramps I haul it with 09 chevy 2500hd crew cab 6.0 gas. I put 12 baleage bales I've had tractors a heston2650 self propelled mower on it but I never take it out in winter it hauls very good axle spacing is perfect for evening out weight
Hope your doing a blizzard prep. Stay warm/
It's hard to tell just why your videos are doing so well on u-tube.But what ever it is don't change it.Wishing you more success in the future 🔮. Thanks 😊.
Great show, thanks! I have a couple questions for you. First, who do you sell your milk to: Kraft, AMPI, Land o Lakes, other? And second, what is your milk used for: drinking, cheese, other? I love the table you're sitting at, the top must have come from a very large tree because it looked like one continuous slab. Thanks
I'm 24 years old and I have been building my farm here with my wife for the last 3 years. I am just north of you guys and trying to build and grow in the face of today's agriculture, it gets very discouraging. It's not about the money, it's about my future kids growing up with the experiences that I had growing up on a farm. This passion is God given and you guys give me inspiration that all this hard work and money is all gonna be worth it. Thank you.
Dad's right, registered cows is just a waste of time & paper! Did that once, have to keep a scrub cow just because she's going to have a good calf! If a cow isn't producing milk, she goes down the road regardless of if she has papers or not! You Guys are famous!! I like Dad, he's a thinker! Don't get more than you can handle! You don't want to start a business that you don't know anything about it, you need experience! Nice Video!!
Love the stories of the old days! Looking forward to a history video!
Found your channel a year or so ago. I'm 73 you bring back lots of memories.Great job! Can you even buy a portable grinder/mixer any more?
I thought the same thing but artsway still makes a mixer, check out the channel Iowa country girl. They bought a new one and use it on a older tractor.
@@Heimerviewfarm an artsway just sold on auction for 50K. Lorenz mfg in MN still makes them they were the first hydraulic one mfg in usa.
Cool desk table - nice that you guys set aside a time to get back to your viewers questions 💯
I really enjoy all your videos. Your videos bring me back to my childhood. That was clever how you guys pulled the old switcheroo about halfway through. Both where you were sitting and your hats as well. Keep up the great videos.
Definitely go with a round Baler with knives which I would think any round Baler with knives (bales can be opened and fall apart which is nice when pushing in front of stanchions with a loader tractor) would be considered a silage Baler. I’ve got 2 Krone balers both are considered hard core Balers which when making silage/Haylage bales creates a very compact bale and the less air in there the better the feed. You can also let off the pressure and make looser dry hay bales.
I appreciate you gentlemen sharing with us. And showing the a small farm can be successful. Contentment is a great thing.
Thank you for sharing. It is very scary signing the purchase/loan documents!!!
The switch-a-roos were interesting.
Thank you again for sharing your experience with us. Just wanted to add one thing to the question “what can the consumers do to help the farmers” Pray thank him for every bite of food you eat. And pray for all the farmers of the world. Thank you for feeding us.
I really enjoyed your information. I grew up on a northern Indiana farm and am in my 80's, living in North Dakota and finding that you do a wonderful job today,
Good job guys with excellent info on how small farms work. I'm still milking my 20 jersey cows and believe that less is sometimes more. Been organic since 2006 and started my micro dairy in 2014 on 20 acres. Feed costs are high but the milk price has been stable. It gives me a good idea of what my income for the year ahead looks like. Take care and let's keep advocating for small farms!!
Great video. I miss farming. I grew up on a small dairy farm. Our barn held 46. Wish I owned my own farm but it never worked out. I'm 37 and looking to get into maybe beef or crop. Im stuck at a dead end job. can't stand it.
Not happy. Watching your videos is refreshing.
Have you Watch just a few acres farm? Pete has some amazing videos.
Huge range of topics covered well! I really like how you keep low debt equipment running and minimal off-farm inputs, that's the model for anyone starting out in farming: minimize equipment debt by buying used, and learn repair skills (even the new stuff breaks). It's better to take a few more trips across a field with a small planter than overspend on a huge one. Look at Regenerative Agriculture and No-Till processes to avoid a need for a monster plow tractor with big wear and tear. Conventional tillage farmers are squeezed by conglomerates for inputs and outputs; a starting farmer has no chance -- and that's where Regen-Ag/No-till can get you running fast for lower cost. Also, you can either study up on all the chemicals (new brands every year) or or study the natural processes that save you money and keep you independent. Once I found out the typical commercial hybrid/gmo seed corn only provides 3% protein while heirloom corn goes from 9% on yellow/white types up to 14% for blue/red types, that's all I'm planting now -- so if you are feeding animals that is an important factor to keep in mind. Look at what happened this last winter when homestead chickens suddenly stopped laying for people until they switched feeds (seems one of the big feed suppliers mixed low protein corn, probably stuff bred for ethanol, in the chicken layer feed).
Your doing a good job it reminds me of growing up on the farm in pei Canada
It took me five minutes, to realize you two switched hats and seats.....
I was an ag lender for close to 40 years. We always said we could tell how much money a farmer had by the pickup he drove. The nicer the pickup, the less money he had.
The best line was from a farmer who told me his neighbor was the only guy in the county who could take check for $500,000 to the bank in a $1,500 pickup.
Great video , very honest , hard working , caring family ! Outstanding !!! George is very smart , such an Interesting person always !!!!
I love your videos ! Love seeing you work with your cows. I look for your videos everyday . Do you have merchandise to seek yet? You guys rock🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤
Love table very cool
I watch all your videos and thank you for sharing all that you do. It reminds me of spending time with my grandpa on his dairy farm. You do great editing and your dad is very good at explaining things.
When we milked, [Jerseys], we kept a bull for a few years, until a summer pastured bull started chasing walkers on a roadside fenced lot. As time moved on, he become more and more aggressive. Living not far from a small town, we finally went to AI, then over the years bred our own after schooling.
Spent 15 yrs with a semen tank and pretty good results.
I'm glad, but surprised you can raise a family on this small of a farm of dairy cows.
Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing your life as a dairy farmer. We do appreciate what you do. 👍👍👍✌️
Its tough to start farming I bought mine on a contract for deed started a beef cow herd with two open frs the first few years I rented land bought more machinery and made new sheds you have to really love what your doing to put your whole heart in it. You guys are great working together
Great video guys. Thanks for sharing your answers and opinions with everyone and thank you for advocating for small farms. I only have one disagreement and that's the big farms. I'm against them myself. I think food supply would be fine maybe a higher quality because more people would do it without the big farms. When I was a kid you could drive around rural southwest Missouri and see dairy farms everywhere, now you're lucky to find two or three still operating. The co-ops get all their milk from one or two farms instead of a bunch of smaller ones. In some places they won't pick it up at all. I've had a couple of bad scares myself. It's a shame. Anyway enough of that. I enjoy the channel and the videos a lot, makes me happy knowing there are a few smaller farms still around.
It’s nice to see how supportive your dad is of your interest in running a TH-cam channel. Genuine support for you.
Well done to the both of you.
It's a joy listening and watching people doing the same job in a different country. Keep up the good work 👍
I grew up farming near Gilmanton. Probably close to you guys, hills and valleys lots of close calls, our videos bring me back, I loved farming with my dad. Thought for sure I was going to be a farmer. But we lost the farm. FHA B.S. wish I could get into it again. Thanks again for your videos.
I really enjoy all your videos. They always take me back in time to some of the best years of my life. I graduated in 91 and had an opportunity 9 years later to buy my parents 92 acres which I didn’t do, and still have regrets to this day. Now I’m hoping within the next 10 years or so I can retire back to farm life if that will even be an option down the road.
Fantastic Q&A, enjoyed every minute of it and looking forward to part deux.
I have never seen a feed truck in any of your videos 😊
I really appreciate the videos you guys produce. Military and I'll be retired in a bit, really looking forward to putting use to some of the knowledge you guys have shared. Nothing like doing it yourself, built, not bought.
I have another question for you. Which TH-cam sites do you like to watch? I'd be interested in checking them out. I'm retired and have plenty of time to visit other sites. Thanks
The only way to farm is small time old school! I like your channel and Trinity Dairy's channel. I don't milk cows but I learn a lot from both of you guys! Small farmers care more they view it as a fine art not just a J.O.B.!!!
Long term, smaller will always be better for everyone. West Central Wisconsin is special to do what they do but encroachment of the cities is changing that.
Love your channel and I look for a new video every day. I appreciate those dairy breakfasts.
Thanks for sharing excellent
Thanks to guys and your families!!!! 👍👍. LOVE THE INTERVIEW TABLE 😂!!!
Thanks so much men,past dairy fellow here also!!! 👍👍👍
👍 Very informative video, as always. Good job guys.
Being that Dad likes working with wood ,has he ever thought about starting a saw mill to saw and sell some of his timber or sawing for other people?
Thank you. very informative.
Always great content keep them coming
thank you
Why don't you round bale more hay, especially the first cutting? Enjoyed part one of your Q&A. John T.
Interesting and informative video as it's a good thing to see the prospective ideas and the local regions of the country as well the size and type of farming, keep up the videos, good job and nice to see a fellow Wisconsinite and their story.
what agreat video me and husband are originally from Ireland we live in newyork now we love your content
Great Video! 👍
Cool!
I like the logo
Excellent video. I am an anti drama person and your videos are great, no drama just great content. I came from a dairy farm and started my small own hay farm with an old 901 ford, finger rake NH haybine and old 268 New Holland baler which I ended up restoring and added a thrower. I now mainly round bale with an IH 886 with cab and AC which I also restored. I find if your going to farm small you better know how to repair your own equipment.
How many new calves are you expecting this spring?
good job
Excellent video as always guys 👍👍
Thanks for doing this Q&A. It's very interesting to listen to another farmers point of view on the progression of their career and what they might have done differently. My answer to it mirror's yours to a T. I wish I would have risked a little bit more to buy more land but every time we bought some it was a very nervous endeavor but in the long term it ended up being some of the best decisions made. And I feel farming isn't just a job it's a way of life. And needs to be treated that way to bey successful.
Awesome
Love your videos. I wish there were more smaller family farms around rather than the big mega dairies. I’ve had farmers say don’t go to the next level of getting bigger. Say you milk 70 cows. In the future you go to a few hundred. If the help doesn’t show up when your milking 70-100 head you can handle the chores yourself it takes a while. But can one person handle the chores when you double or triple your herd size. Something for young farmers to think about.
Regarding 5 th generation farms , it appears while watching many farms , moving forward that 6th generation are going to be a very hard adventure , your thoughts ?? Stay safe & have fun !!!
Absolutely love our precision 30’ gooseneck deck over trailer. For farm work I like the deck over best for being able to haul bales and equipment or feed bins or anything that need loaded by something with forks. Low decks would be nice for some height clearances when hauling some tractors. But that have their draw backs. Definitely if you get one look into all the ways you’d use it and find which brand builds the best for your applications.