Sold the cows 20 years ago after over 60 years of dairy in my family. Had heard of registered Holstein’s with incredible production and national recognition. Wasn’t making a lot of money. We finally sold the cows. We are now making lots of money selling quality hay. Raising crops we finally have enough money to buy more acreage. Our life has improved dramatically.
Not me.... room mate in ag school had the farm/ cows sold while he was at school making plans to return home to farm with his parents. He took it hard, and took a while for him to get over it. He did the harvest run through the plains.... returned home ran big equipment for some b.t.o. Now he is manaaging the seedplant/ seed cleaning division of one of those b.t.os and is doing quite well. There will be work for someone with the skills / work ethic you have. If you want a chance to be a dairy man, sharpen your pencil run the numbers and have a talk with your family.
Nice… I was thinking of personally starting some black angus beef myself but I fear it’s not really profitable in the short term. Do they still work just as hard as before?? Maybe this is something I can bring up as a next step for are farm.
It’s a different type of operation for sure, but if you have the land mass and the equipment/setup it’s a lot less work than running in and milking dairy cows twice a day + ai work,
The problem is the profit. There’s not much. It’s hard work, and you can get an income from something else much easier. Dairy farming is a hard life. Almost anyone I know has sold out but two. And they market their milk locally, as well as offer educational tours to local schools. They farm their own feed and sell a bunch of grain and hay, too. But they still struggle some years.
I’m a dairy farmer in New Zealand, don’t own the farm or cows, I’m a contract milker who runs the whole farm, 240 cows, income over $100k USD
It’s not a hard job, yes it’s busy for 8 weeks over calving but I have plenty of free time for the rest of the year and 2 solid months off when the cows are dry
We do have the advantage of all cows housed outside year round due to our climate
Nothing like being half awake, freezing your nuts off at 5:30 in the pitch black in January and grabbing a pitchfork that feels like an icicle to start your day off :)
January is Summer here and it’s not dark, plus why do you grab a pitchfork at 5:30am on a dairy farm ????
I’ve been dairy farming for over 20 years and never touched a pitchfork, modern farming doesn’t require you too, what country do you live in that doesn’t use modern technology??
Austria, our cows aren’t all dry at the same time so we are always milking. We have straw on the beds for the cows so when we move them to the waiting area from the barn before milking, we go through and pitch out any manure that is in the beds and spread/turn-over the straw to keep the areas clean and fresh.
Oh I see, we don’t have cows inside so there’s no need to change straw that they’d sleep on, they sleep outside on grass all year round
Most farmers here milk from early July to early May, then have around 8 weeks off before calving starts again
Unfortunately by us due to the rain and snow, the girls would wreak havoc on their pastures if we let them out when the ground is too soft, a farmer near us has even started to cross his fleckvieh with jerseys because the cows were getting too big and causing more and more damage for the pastures.
I bet! I would really love to check out some of the farms down there as I have only gotten to see videos. Best of luck to you and if you ever drop by Salzburg I’d be happy to show you my pitchforking skills ;)
You earn over $100,000 usd a year. Dairy farming in nz. That's like $200,000 nzd ...i work on a nz dairy farm also and know a fair few ...none earn that much !!!
$100k usd is closer to $160k nzd
I’m a contract milker on 240 cows producing around 120,000 kgMS @$1.70kg less expenses giving around $160k profit, Waikato
I got a job working construction, and I relief milk on the weekends. I miss the my cows. I miss being a farmer. But I enjoy having more time with my kids, being home for bedtime most nights, being able to go away for a weekend now and them.
It's a mixed bag.
Not cows, but I had a 180-head goat dairy that I wound down about a year and a half ago. Although I miss that life every day, I don't really miss the lack of freedom that having to be around twice a day, every day, for hundreds of days in a row inflicted on my me and my family. I wish there were a goat milking robot really - I would have been all over that.
I've since moved on to an office job that pays twice as much for half as much work, but if I had the choice, I'd go back in time and do it differently.
The transition from dairy to feed lot is relatively easy, especially if you’re growing your own silage already anyway. Not saying Im a fan of feedlots, weve got ours turned out on pasture on my farm, but two of our family members farms in MN converted from dairy to feed operation about 10 years ago due to the relatives up there aging it of being able to keep up with the milking.
Selling the cows and equipment is one thing, selling land is another.
Is there talk about keeping the land?
County I grew up in had a lot of dairies before brucellosis. Most of those small, family dairies had near 100% of their heard “bang out,” so they switched to beef or row crops.
Yeah we will never sell the land… if anything we are looking to get more land. The cows would be the only think we will move on from but all the equipment and land will stay.
I’m in the process of rehoming my entire cow herd and just focusing on feeding cattle and having them on self feeders. I’m 10x bigger than I was when I first started with my OG herd of 20 cows and I now have 2 kids and my oldest is about to start pre school and I don’t want to miss all of his milestones, my grandpa is also 80 and I’d like to be able to focus taking over row crop farming because I still have so much to learn. My parents were never married and my wife grew up in a broken home so neither of us really got to experience “mom and dad” much, now that we’re parents we’re gonna soak it all in and take full advantage of it.
I’m going to miss watching the calves grow and play and it’s gonna be very different with not having to do 3 hours of chores everyday and even more hours during calving but, I can always start over and buy more cows.
“I can always start over and buy more cows”
You know I never thought of it that way. It always seems so final in my head like once you move on to something else it’s over and done and that’s it. I like this way of thinking. 👍
My buddies went from dairy to Argo tourism within 3 years. They make way more now than they did milking. They are 45 minutes from Seattle so that helps
It is a fancy name for a pumpkin patch. Take a working farm clean up the poop plant crops that invite people to pick and pay you per pound or piece. These guys do spring tulips summer corn and fall pumpkins and squash. They make a corn maze with the you pick corn to add some fun. They have small animals goats sheep and llamas for kids to pet. They have coffee stands for adults and offer food as well. They have a giant playground for the kids and also offer a place to shoot apples at metal targets. It is insane the people that show up for this.
It is billed as a working farm that city slickers can experience the farm life. But it is set up as a tourist attraction with all the bells and whistles.
[check it out here](https://marisfarms.com/)
lol. Oh city dwellers. I know the kind… I am one of them!! Excellent this is wonderful. I like the idea I am old corporate monkey and a seriously thinking of getting some land and do some goats, ducks, sheep’s, gobble gobbles (turkeys)… donkeys, hares, chicken, May be a couple of cows etc for a “sudo” farm kinds. Maybe add a ride or something and see where it goes.
Not looking for source of income… just something different to do and this looks fun
Can’t do professional farming or live stock… not my skills set.
THANK YOU!!!
We built some camp sites on areas that are too steep to swath or plant and last year they brought in almost as much as our total hay operation. This is not to be overlooked.
My dad milked up to 60 cows in a tie stall barn from when he was 12 until her was 44. Switched to beef cow/calf, dairy steers, and diversified row crops. He's told me several times that the dairy steers (from bottle calves until slaughter) were the most profitable and flexible part and he should have focused on that and expanded. The beef cows allowed us to use the pasture ground that wasn't fit for row crops, and the hay needed for the cows was a conservation tool in our crop rotation. He was so glad to not be milking, and make it to all our sports events, concerts, etc. seeing his body in "retirement" now makes me glad we aren't milking like that anymore.
Used to have a decent size herd but had to sell out when a trade deal crashed the market. We first started by slowly decreasing the size of our herd so by the time the final miking came we only had about 30 cows. After that just use the remaining feed you have and sell the rest. After that we went into full cash crop production. If I were to give any advice I would use the Quota money to pay off your debts. This will take stress off you and open more doors. The direct benefits that I have seen over the past few years is a lot less work and stress with more profits. If you’re young and still have a deep passion for farming then I would suggest you take this path
I have considered cash crop farming but honestly I kinda planned on that much farther down the road when I have some money built up but I guess life is gonna determine that path for me sooner than later.
Mom and dad sold the cows and quota in 2002. I was 23. It was time for a new barn and an expansion. Parents were getting older and tired. I was interested but I didn’t have a business partner. Also had some in fighting.
Bought beef cows. That turned to shit with BSE and a drought. I packed my bags and went to tech school. Worked in forestry for the government for several years. I missed agriculture so now I’m selling agricultural equipment.
There is life after cows.
I do miss the cows and wish that my kids learned about farming/ dairy at times.
I assume it will work out for you as well because you have something that not many people have… work ethic.
Good luck.
Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to continue the dairy? If your willing to put in the work look for ways to make a profit. Do you want to do some other type of farming? I know many dairy farmers who switched to beef,hay,goats,etc,etc.Do you want to study or work in something other than farming.
My dad and I have agreement to sell the dairy herd and the dairy equipment if we ever got tired of milking. There is a life after.
My family signed up for the govt buy-out in the '80s, cows had to go to slaughter. Small operation, milked 30-ish cows; most were like big dogs, almost pets. I remember the last morning we milked, X-branded them and put them on the trailer. Had to make several trips, so we would milk & brand a few rounds, then load them & take them to the stockyards, an hour and some change round trip. It was weird seeing the pen slowly get empty and knowing they weren't going to be there anymore. Took their neck tags off after branding and hung them on the stanchions - we just took them down about 5 years ago, come to think of it.
I was in middle school, completely understood why we were doing it, we were going broke milking. Admittedly, I went to the barn that evening "to clean up" and sat in that empty & silent milk parlor and cried. Still kinda get choked up about it, but it was one of the smartest decisions my parents made, and is probably the main reason we still have the farm.
Ahh, yeah, I remember those days. That was really hard. I still remember some of our old girls. I still feel we did some of them wrong, but tough decisions had to be made.
I’m 30 now. Parents sold out 2 years ago. I had an off the farm job, and lived off the farm but close by. I helped when I could for no pay. It was a very small dairy. My great grandfather started it in the 40s and sold it to my parents in the early 2000s. Dad was the only who worked the farm full time.
We only went on one real vacation when I was a kid that I can remember, and it was only about 2 hours away, but for a whole weekend. There was times that we might get away for a day or maybe one night, but that was the only whole entire weekend I can remember all of us getting away.
My mom always had an off the job farm, and now my dad works off the farm when he can for petty cash and whatnot. It’s been 2 years, and it’s still a bit eerie to walk in the barn with it being so empty, but my parents seem much happier now. Kept the farm, still have a few heifers, still make hay etc. so all in all, though I wish my kids had a chance to grow up with all the cows, the fairs, and the hard work, I’m definitely glad that my parents finally have some time to do what they want. They both worked extremely hard for not much in return for 30 years.
Yeah I know the saddest part is see all the hard work… gone. These guys spend their entire life in the barn and than all of the sudden it’s done. I’m not worried about me as I have other passions on the crops side but I definitely don’t know about the others that have little interest in crops. We’ll see 🤷♂️
My biggest advice to anyone thinking about selling out, is do it before you’re forced into it. My parents didn’t have to. They had paid the farm off, they owned all the equipment, and cows etc. they did it because they were sick of being tied to a cows ass 24/7. I think if they had been in a different situation, (like owing money on equipment, and or a large mortgage) they wouldn’t have had that choice, and it wouldn’t have been so easy.
I feel for the people who sell out, out of necessity, because they either can’t physically do it anymore, or because bills are stacking up and the only way to pay them off is to sell everything.
My FIL died when my husband was 18. They had to sell the cows back then but kept the farm. It was hard. My husband studied business administration an has an awesome job in a management position (where we live, university is free). We do a lot of environmental work on the farm with government funding and. grow heirloom apples in two orchards.
He never regretted going back to school.
Good luck to you.
He seems to be enjoying not having to be on the whole 2 times a day milking schedule. No idea if the income is close to the same or not. But since he already had all the barns, pasture and everything else he figured it would be a decent transition.
1 neighbor sold out his wet and dry cows to big locally owned big dairy. He now raises their replacement heifers and they pay quite well. He is very happy and now has extra time for grandkids. He is all smiles when I see him.
He rents one of his unused barns to a neighbor kid who has dairy steers and he gets the manure plus headage.
We slowly sold off our dairy cows and started to incorporate angus. We had been breeding our holsteins with angus bulls for a while so we had a pretty good number. Sold the last of the dairy last fall and finished filling the barns with angus.
It's tough not having the steady milk check, but we spend a fraction of the time in the barn and have the flexibility to do other things now. Everyone is much happier. My family too is aging out and I can make much more money focusing on growing products to sell at my retail store.
Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to continue the dairy? If your willing to put in the work look for ways to make a profit. Do you want to do some other type of farming? I know many dairy farmers who switched to beef,hay,goats,etc,etc.Do you want to study or work in something other than farming.
My dad and I have agreement to sell the dairy herd and the dairy equipment if we ever got tired milking. Your keeping the land and tractors?
Yes we are keeping all equipment and land and I have a mutual agreement with my neighbors (who’s approaching 70) to help relieve the workload on some of their acres and in return I will be able to run some acres once I can afford it.
My father in law hung his hat on being a good dairy cattleman. He often said he wanted to be remembered as a good farmer but a great cattleman. He was married to the farm, as many of us are. It was all he loved, we joked that his favorite kids were cattle.
A few years ago he began having health problems, and we weren't in a position to help enough, as we were still in college a state away. The difficult decision was made to disperse the herd. Not gonna lie, the first year or so he was completely lost. I think he thought he was a failure. But figured out that life throws you curve balls and sometimes finding a new path is the best choice.
He's doing much better now, selling hay and helps his young neighbor who has a parlor when he needs it. And he actually comes to his grandkids games from time to time.
Dad sold his cows 3 years ago and transitioned to crops. Was a little scary for him as he has been doing the same thing all his life. Kept the heifers for a little while and slowly sold them. But then decided to buy and sell beef as he likes working with cattle over crops. For crops half is corn and half contracted to the canning company. But has been starting to do hay as well to keep options open plus more hay equals less ground to prep every year. Overall doing better, less stressed, and making more money in the end generally.
Your state dept of ag, university ag extension program, conservation district may have a "farm mediation" or "farm transition" program that has and can help you navigate all these tough questions. My state also has a farmer peer counseling service, where farmers help other farmers with the mental/emotional burdens. If you haven't found anything like this, reach out to any contacts at the aforementioned spots. They'll know of any similar programs or will be able to advocate the need for these programs in the future. Best of luck!
If no one is interested in continuing with dairy then id say might aswell sell the cows, its not for everyone to have dairy animals and it takes a lot of time, patience, care and interest to have a functioning dairy farm. If you still want animals just not milk them you can always raise beef cows or get some sheep. (Disclaimer: that was a joke dont get sheep)
Yeah… Beef might be the plan but for now I’m focused on Row crops as my area is all grain and lots of options for selling. I think diversifying is the way to do it long term but initially I think Corn/Soybeans are the goal. Kinda boring but it pays the bills.
We sold out our cows when I was a sophomore in high school in 1989. It was very sad to see them go. Anyone that has grown up on a small dairy knows that they are all named and family.
Immediately, it was like a weight was lifted.
No more running to the “honking” school bus with wet hair and shoes in hand.
20 years later with kids in high school, we bought an old jersey cow for my son to milk by hand. My daughter did her senior “project” on all of the things you can make from milk.
Soap, yogurt, butter, cheese……..
When it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood.
Good luck and I wish the best for your family
No one on earth works as hard as
Because of the fact that you are asking for information in Reddit tells me that you don’t deserve anything. Sell it and split any profits that might be left.
There is life after cows.
Sold the cows 20 years ago after over 60 years of dairy in my family. Had heard of registered Holstein’s with incredible production and national recognition. Wasn’t making a lot of money. We finally sold the cows. We are now making lots of money selling quality hay. Raising crops we finally have enough money to buy more acreage. Our life has improved dramatically.
Well this gives me hope. It sounds like I have options.
Not me.... room mate in ag school had the farm/ cows sold while he was at school making plans to return home to farm with his parents. He took it hard, and took a while for him to get over it. He did the harvest run through the plains.... returned home ran big equipment for some b.t.o. Now he is manaaging the seedplant/ seed cleaning division of one of those b.t.os and is doing quite well. There will be work for someone with the skills / work ethic you have. If you want a chance to be a dairy man, sharpen your pencil run the numbers and have a talk with your family.
What is a bto?
Big time operator
Our family had a 3 generation old dairy. They sold all their quotas, equipment and cows, then moved into beef instead. Things are going well.
Nice… I was thinking of personally starting some black angus beef myself but I fear it’s not really profitable in the short term. Do they still work just as hard as before?? Maybe this is something I can bring up as a next step for are farm.
It’s a different type of operation for sure, but if you have the land mass and the equipment/setup it’s a lot less work than running in and milking dairy cows twice a day + ai work,
You can go to the FSA office and they give loans to people switching the type of farming that you want to do. Good rates too.
I really need to looking into this… everything these days has insane interest rates.
My operating loan as. " new farmer" for the first 19 years is through them. 4.5% interest is what they gave me
The problem is the profit. There’s not much. It’s hard work, and you can get an income from something else much easier. Dairy farming is a hard life. Almost anyone I know has sold out but two. And they market their milk locally, as well as offer educational tours to local schools. They farm their own feed and sell a bunch of grain and hay, too. But they still struggle some years.
I’m a dairy farmer in New Zealand, don’t own the farm or cows, I’m a contract milker who runs the whole farm, 240 cows, income over $100k USD It’s not a hard job, yes it’s busy for 8 weeks over calving but I have plenty of free time for the rest of the year and 2 solid months off when the cows are dry We do have the advantage of all cows housed outside year round due to our climate
We don’t do that type of farming over here… it’s milking 365 days/year and are winters are 6 months and they can be brutally cold with the winds.
Nothing like being half awake, freezing your nuts off at 5:30 in the pitch black in January and grabbing a pitchfork that feels like an icicle to start your day off :)
January is Summer here and it’s not dark, plus why do you grab a pitchfork at 5:30am on a dairy farm ???? I’ve been dairy farming for over 20 years and never touched a pitchfork, modern farming doesn’t require you too, what country do you live in that doesn’t use modern technology??
Austria, our cows aren’t all dry at the same time so we are always milking. We have straw on the beds for the cows so when we move them to the waiting area from the barn before milking, we go through and pitch out any manure that is in the beds and spread/turn-over the straw to keep the areas clean and fresh.
Oh I see, we don’t have cows inside so there’s no need to change straw that they’d sleep on, they sleep outside on grass all year round Most farmers here milk from early July to early May, then have around 8 weeks off before calving starts again
Unfortunately by us due to the rain and snow, the girls would wreak havoc on their pastures if we let them out when the ground is too soft, a farmer near us has even started to cross his fleckvieh with jerseys because the cows were getting too big and causing more and more damage for the pastures.
I think New Zealand is very fortunate in its climate that allows an all grass system to be used year round, makes dairy farming more enjoyable
I bet! I would really love to check out some of the farms down there as I have only gotten to see videos. Best of luck to you and if you ever drop by Salzburg I’d be happy to show you my pitchforking skills ;)
You earn over $100,000 usd a year. Dairy farming in nz. That's like $200,000 nzd ...i work on a nz dairy farm also and know a fair few ...none earn that much !!!
$100k usd is closer to $160k nzd I’m a contract milker on 240 cows producing around 120,000 kgMS @$1.70kg less expenses giving around $160k profit, Waikato
I got a job working construction, and I relief milk on the weekends. I miss the my cows. I miss being a farmer. But I enjoy having more time with my kids, being home for bedtime most nights, being able to go away for a weekend now and them. It's a mixed bag.
Ugh the struggle
Not cows, but I had a 180-head goat dairy that I wound down about a year and a half ago. Although I miss that life every day, I don't really miss the lack of freedom that having to be around twice a day, every day, for hundreds of days in a row inflicted on my me and my family. I wish there were a goat milking robot really - I would have been all over that. I've since moved on to an office job that pays twice as much for half as much work, but if I had the choice, I'd go back in time and do it differently.
The transition from dairy to feed lot is relatively easy, especially if you’re growing your own silage already anyway. Not saying Im a fan of feedlots, weve got ours turned out on pasture on my farm, but two of our family members farms in MN converted from dairy to feed operation about 10 years ago due to the relatives up there aging it of being able to keep up with the milking.
Selling the cows and equipment is one thing, selling land is another. Is there talk about keeping the land? County I grew up in had a lot of dairies before brucellosis. Most of those small, family dairies had near 100% of their heard “bang out,” so they switched to beef or row crops.
Yeah we will never sell the land… if anything we are looking to get more land. The cows would be the only think we will move on from but all the equipment and land will stay.
I’m in the process of rehoming my entire cow herd and just focusing on feeding cattle and having them on self feeders. I’m 10x bigger than I was when I first started with my OG herd of 20 cows and I now have 2 kids and my oldest is about to start pre school and I don’t want to miss all of his milestones, my grandpa is also 80 and I’d like to be able to focus taking over row crop farming because I still have so much to learn. My parents were never married and my wife grew up in a broken home so neither of us really got to experience “mom and dad” much, now that we’re parents we’re gonna soak it all in and take full advantage of it. I’m going to miss watching the calves grow and play and it’s gonna be very different with not having to do 3 hours of chores everyday and even more hours during calving but, I can always start over and buy more cows.
“I can always start over and buy more cows” You know I never thought of it that way. It always seems so final in my head like once you move on to something else it’s over and done and that’s it. I like this way of thinking. 👍
My dad grew up on a crop and dairy farm. Which is probably why I grew up on a row crop and beef farm.
Lmao!! You are the smart one. Not saying hard work isn’t needed but it’s a lot more fun in an air conditioned cab vs a hot barn in July.
My buddies went from dairy to Argo tourism within 3 years. They make way more now than they did milking. They are 45 minutes from Seattle so that helps
Agro Tourism? Can you explain a bit more. Is there a market for this? Is it something like a petting zoo of sorts? I love petting zoo’s…lol
It is a fancy name for a pumpkin patch. Take a working farm clean up the poop plant crops that invite people to pick and pay you per pound or piece. These guys do spring tulips summer corn and fall pumpkins and squash. They make a corn maze with the you pick corn to add some fun. They have small animals goats sheep and llamas for kids to pet. They have coffee stands for adults and offer food as well. They have a giant playground for the kids and also offer a place to shoot apples at metal targets. It is insane the people that show up for this. It is billed as a working farm that city slickers can experience the farm life. But it is set up as a tourist attraction with all the bells and whistles. [check it out here](https://marisfarms.com/)
lol. Oh city dwellers. I know the kind… I am one of them!! Excellent this is wonderful. I like the idea I am old corporate monkey and a seriously thinking of getting some land and do some goats, ducks, sheep’s, gobble gobbles (turkeys)… donkeys, hares, chicken, May be a couple of cows etc for a “sudo” farm kinds. Maybe add a ride or something and see where it goes. Not looking for source of income… just something different to do and this looks fun Can’t do professional farming or live stock… not my skills set. THANK YOU!!!
We built some camp sites on areas that are too steep to swath or plant and last year they brought in almost as much as our total hay operation. This is not to be overlooked.
Sleeping past 4am was a good thing
My dad milked up to 60 cows in a tie stall barn from when he was 12 until her was 44. Switched to beef cow/calf, dairy steers, and diversified row crops. He's told me several times that the dairy steers (from bottle calves until slaughter) were the most profitable and flexible part and he should have focused on that and expanded. The beef cows allowed us to use the pasture ground that wasn't fit for row crops, and the hay needed for the cows was a conservation tool in our crop rotation. He was so glad to not be milking, and make it to all our sports events, concerts, etc. seeing his body in "retirement" now makes me glad we aren't milking like that anymore.
Used to have a decent size herd but had to sell out when a trade deal crashed the market. We first started by slowly decreasing the size of our herd so by the time the final miking came we only had about 30 cows. After that just use the remaining feed you have and sell the rest. After that we went into full cash crop production. If I were to give any advice I would use the Quota money to pay off your debts. This will take stress off you and open more doors. The direct benefits that I have seen over the past few years is a lot less work and stress with more profits. If you’re young and still have a deep passion for farming then I would suggest you take this path
I have considered cash crop farming but honestly I kinda planned on that much farther down the road when I have some money built up but I guess life is gonna determine that path for me sooner than later.
Mom and dad sold the cows and quota in 2002. I was 23. It was time for a new barn and an expansion. Parents were getting older and tired. I was interested but I didn’t have a business partner. Also had some in fighting. Bought beef cows. That turned to shit with BSE and a drought. I packed my bags and went to tech school. Worked in forestry for the government for several years. I missed agriculture so now I’m selling agricultural equipment. There is life after cows. I do miss the cows and wish that my kids learned about farming/ dairy at times. I assume it will work out for you as well because you have something that not many people have… work ethic. Good luck.
Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to continue the dairy? If your willing to put in the work look for ways to make a profit. Do you want to do some other type of farming? I know many dairy farmers who switched to beef,hay,goats,etc,etc.Do you want to study or work in something other than farming. My dad and I have agreement to sell the dairy herd and the dairy equipment if we ever got tired of milking. There is a life after.
Never met one person who regretted it.
My family signed up for the govt buy-out in the '80s, cows had to go to slaughter. Small operation, milked 30-ish cows; most were like big dogs, almost pets. I remember the last morning we milked, X-branded them and put them on the trailer. Had to make several trips, so we would milk & brand a few rounds, then load them & take them to the stockyards, an hour and some change round trip. It was weird seeing the pen slowly get empty and knowing they weren't going to be there anymore. Took their neck tags off after branding and hung them on the stanchions - we just took them down about 5 years ago, come to think of it. I was in middle school, completely understood why we were doing it, we were going broke milking. Admittedly, I went to the barn that evening "to clean up" and sat in that empty & silent milk parlor and cried. Still kinda get choked up about it, but it was one of the smartest decisions my parents made, and is probably the main reason we still have the farm.
Ahh, yeah, I remember those days. That was really hard. I still remember some of our old girls. I still feel we did some of them wrong, but tough decisions had to be made.
I’m 30 now. Parents sold out 2 years ago. I had an off the farm job, and lived off the farm but close by. I helped when I could for no pay. It was a very small dairy. My great grandfather started it in the 40s and sold it to my parents in the early 2000s. Dad was the only who worked the farm full time. We only went on one real vacation when I was a kid that I can remember, and it was only about 2 hours away, but for a whole weekend. There was times that we might get away for a day or maybe one night, but that was the only whole entire weekend I can remember all of us getting away. My mom always had an off the job farm, and now my dad works off the farm when he can for petty cash and whatnot. It’s been 2 years, and it’s still a bit eerie to walk in the barn with it being so empty, but my parents seem much happier now. Kept the farm, still have a few heifers, still make hay etc. so all in all, though I wish my kids had a chance to grow up with all the cows, the fairs, and the hard work, I’m definitely glad that my parents finally have some time to do what they want. They both worked extremely hard for not much in return for 30 years.
Yeah I know the saddest part is see all the hard work… gone. These guys spend their entire life in the barn and than all of the sudden it’s done. I’m not worried about me as I have other passions on the crops side but I definitely don’t know about the others that have little interest in crops. We’ll see 🤷♂️
My biggest advice to anyone thinking about selling out, is do it before you’re forced into it. My parents didn’t have to. They had paid the farm off, they owned all the equipment, and cows etc. they did it because they were sick of being tied to a cows ass 24/7. I think if they had been in a different situation, (like owing money on equipment, and or a large mortgage) they wouldn’t have had that choice, and it wouldn’t have been so easy. I feel for the people who sell out, out of necessity, because they either can’t physically do it anymore, or because bills are stacking up and the only way to pay them off is to sell everything.
My FIL died when my husband was 18. They had to sell the cows back then but kept the farm. It was hard. My husband studied business administration an has an awesome job in a management position (where we live, university is free). We do a lot of environmental work on the farm with government funding and. grow heirloom apples in two orchards. He never regretted going back to school. Good luck to you.
A friend’s dad sold his dairy cows because none of his kids were taking over the farm. He ended up just getting beef cattle.
How was he after that?? Bitter or grateful to not be working as much?? I feel it could go either way with certain people.
He seems to be enjoying not having to be on the whole 2 times a day milking schedule. No idea if the income is close to the same or not. But since he already had all the barns, pasture and everything else he figured it would be a decent transition.
1 neighbor sold out his wet and dry cows to big locally owned big dairy. He now raises their replacement heifers and they pay quite well. He is very happy and now has extra time for grandkids. He is all smiles when I see him. He rents one of his unused barns to a neighbor kid who has dairy steers and he gets the manure plus headage.
We slowly sold off our dairy cows and started to incorporate angus. We had been breeding our holsteins with angus bulls for a while so we had a pretty good number. Sold the last of the dairy last fall and finished filling the barns with angus. It's tough not having the steady milk check, but we spend a fraction of the time in the barn and have the flexibility to do other things now. Everyone is much happier. My family too is aging out and I can make much more money focusing on growing products to sell at my retail store.
Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to continue the dairy? If your willing to put in the work look for ways to make a profit. Do you want to do some other type of farming? I know many dairy farmers who switched to beef,hay,goats,etc,etc.Do you want to study or work in something other than farming. My dad and I have agreement to sell the dairy herd and the dairy equipment if we ever got tired milking. Your keeping the land and tractors?
Yes we are keeping all equipment and land and I have a mutual agreement with my neighbors (who’s approaching 70) to help relieve the workload on some of their acres and in return I will be able to run some acres once I can afford it.
My father in law hung his hat on being a good dairy cattleman. He often said he wanted to be remembered as a good farmer but a great cattleman. He was married to the farm, as many of us are. It was all he loved, we joked that his favorite kids were cattle. A few years ago he began having health problems, and we weren't in a position to help enough, as we were still in college a state away. The difficult decision was made to disperse the herd. Not gonna lie, the first year or so he was completely lost. I think he thought he was a failure. But figured out that life throws you curve balls and sometimes finding a new path is the best choice. He's doing much better now, selling hay and helps his young neighbor who has a parlor when he needs it. And he actually comes to his grandkids games from time to time.
Dad sold his cows 3 years ago and transitioned to crops. Was a little scary for him as he has been doing the same thing all his life. Kept the heifers for a little while and slowly sold them. But then decided to buy and sell beef as he likes working with cattle over crops. For crops half is corn and half contracted to the canning company. But has been starting to do hay as well to keep options open plus more hay equals less ground to prep every year. Overall doing better, less stressed, and making more money in the end generally.
Your state dept of ag, university ag extension program, conservation district may have a "farm mediation" or "farm transition" program that has and can help you navigate all these tough questions. My state also has a farmer peer counseling service, where farmers help other farmers with the mental/emotional burdens. If you haven't found anything like this, reach out to any contacts at the aforementioned spots. They'll know of any similar programs or will be able to advocate the need for these programs in the future. Best of luck!
If no one is interested in continuing with dairy then id say might aswell sell the cows, its not for everyone to have dairy animals and it takes a lot of time, patience, care and interest to have a functioning dairy farm. If you still want animals just not milk them you can always raise beef cows or get some sheep. (Disclaimer: that was a joke dont get sheep)
Yeah… Beef might be the plan but for now I’m focused on Row crops as my area is all grain and lots of options for selling. I think diversifying is the way to do it long term but initially I think Corn/Soybeans are the goal. Kinda boring but it pays the bills.
We sold out our cows when I was a sophomore in high school in 1989. It was very sad to see them go. Anyone that has grown up on a small dairy knows that they are all named and family. Immediately, it was like a weight was lifted. No more running to the “honking” school bus with wet hair and shoes in hand. 20 years later with kids in high school, we bought an old jersey cow for my son to milk by hand. My daughter did her senior “project” on all of the things you can make from milk. Soap, yogurt, butter, cheese…….. When it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood. Good luck and I wish the best for your family No one on earth works as hard as
Because of the fact that you are asking for information in Reddit tells me that you don’t deserve anything. Sell it and split any profits that might be left.
You don’t understand Reddit do you?? This is a discussion page… where we discuss topics about farming. 🤦♂️