Farm Manager?

[dlskidmore]

I’m looking at the balance sheets, and thinking I need to keep working even when we have the farm downpayment. I’ve not been able to afford the luxury of time off to take an apprenticeship or even any weeklong seminars, so it’s a bit unrealistic that I’d be able to replace a significant fraction of my current income in my first learning year as a farmer.

If I have enough funds to cover the land payments and small investments in the enterprise, would land use or profit sharing be sufficient compensation for a young farmer to come be my farm manager? I only need 10 acres or so for my pet projects, but would want another 30 or more of timber or fields that I need only minimal use of (mostly just paths). Market forces and budget will determine the final purchase acerage. As a weekend farmer any equiptment/teams I bought would be available all week for the farm manager to use for his own projects on the back 30…

We’re about a year off (it’s always a year, we’ve been set back twice since the first time we said that) from starting to look for a farm. I’m starting to think if I do recruit a farm manager we may as well do so at the same time we recruit a real estate agent, to get educated input on the potential of the land we’re looking at. We can at least cover basic requirements for living during that in-between time, before the first year’s harvest comes in, although not a proper salary.

[near horse]

Have you thought about some type of “working agreement” with the landowner (assuming you’re buying existing farm ground)?

[dlskidmore]

@near horse 29381 wrote:

Have you thought about some type of “working agreement” with the landowner (assuming you’re buying existing farm ground)?

Yeah, that also has occurred to me, buy a farm from someone that’s thinking of retiring, and can slowly turn management of acres over to me over time. Those sort of situations may be a bit harder find than fallow land, especially if I want to split costs on draft power equipment or smaller powered equipment instead of big tractors. There’s also the factor that it would have to be a very good financial deal if we were not going to be able to move in to an existing house right away. We’d need enough money left to build a second house if the old farmer wanted to retain lifetime residency rights in the sale.

[dominiquer60]

dl,
Are you familiar with the NYFarmnet’s NYFarmlink program, they have a website with a list of participating farmers looking for land, looking for someone to turn over land as they retire from farming etc. It can take a while to find the right place for you, so it doesn’t hurt to start looking now. I would post link, but computer is acting up.

[dlskidmore]

@dominiquer60 29384 wrote:

dl,
Are you familiar with the NYFarmnet’s NYFarmlink program, they have a website with a list…

Wow! There is an ideal listing on there, but we are still working towards a down payment. Not sure I should list myself when I don’t yet have the cash? Looks like you have to post your own ad to respond to one.

[dominiquer60]

I had an add up for years, it may still be there, I only had a handful of inquires, only one of which was a possibility, and by then I had found something else. It is not the fastest method, but it only works if people post to the site. If you post now, you could be waiting for years, or worst case something shows up quick and maybe you can make some plans with someone thinking of retiring. NYFarmNet is a great service/resource to look into for many of your concerns and needs, plus when you call them you get a real person on the line.

[dlskidmore]

@dominiquer60 29387 wrote:

If you post now, you could be waiting for years, or worst case something shows up quick and maybe you can make some plans with someone thinking of retiring.

Ok, I’m working on the application. With 0 farm experience, should I stick to personal references, or include non-related work references?

[drafthorsey]

dlskidmore …. If I’m not singing to the choir here …. and “if” I’ve read your post correctly …. you’re in the middle of the great old question, “When’s the best time to buy a washer and dryer?”

You are painting a picture of what may need to be a hobby farm until you get your feet planted. And you know your going to commute back and forth to work from the current job. You have the basic wish list, but don’t know yet where the land is or the cost, correct? And we’ve never done this before so there’s a steep learning curve? Been there …. its hard to make the balance sheet make any sense out of thin air. Maybe this is the math you cannot solve … yet .

First you need a piece of land (x) which equals price or cost (y) = amount (down payment / monthly payments). I am assuming the land will come with house on it, as it’s my experience banks will not lend money for only land. Figure for the next 5 years all of your current salary will be needed just to keep the bank happy. Assume you can’t afford the farm in your mind (none of us can), and assume your going to buy absolutely the worst farm for what you had in mind (all of us have). Assume it’s going to work out in the end, but it’s gonna be a real tight fit …. you might also figure the absolute worst people to know concerning your bottom line are going to show up first. (i.e.. maybe a farm manager?)

When I was younger I was the smartest idiot you ever met, cost me a lot of money to be that smart …. now I”m about as stupid and pityful as it gets when it comes to business meetings. That said, do we know a solid attorney, banker, and CPA who knows farming? The hardest lesson to learn is the need to turn key areas over to a professional right out of the chute. And the first ‘professional’ I’d forget recruiting is the real estate person, no offense to the realtors out there, its just that where the farm is … is where the realtor is.

I’d want to set up a solid financial / legal understanding of what my options could be before I buy any land. May i ask if New York state tax law penalizes farms under a certain amount of acres for example? While your in the office asking all kinds of “dumb” questions with some professional, you might want to write another check to draw up that contract for a future ‘farm manager’.

I’ll most likely have to dodge a few bullets for what I’ve written. But let’s say I didn’t follow some of my advice here. Let’s say that maybe at the worst possible time the dang’ washer broke on me …. and a bunch of really ‘dumb’ people smartened me up. A dream’s a lot of hard work.

You’ll be just fine that first mornin’, sipping a cup of coffee on the porch lookin’ over the sunrise and the back 40.

[dlskidmore]

@drafthorsey 29512 wrote:

dlskidmore …. If I’m not singing to the choir here …. and “if” I’ve read your post correctly …. you’re in the middle of the great old question, “When’s the best time to buy a washer and dryer?”

Yeah. I know I need to get a lot of ducks in a row, but I’m not sure what order they’re supposed to be in. My sketchy business plan is going to involve liability concerns, so I definately need a lawyer and an insurance agent involved. I may need layers of organizational seperation between family and clients, so I may need an accountant. I will probably need professional help either repairing or building structures… It goes on and on. The only relevant tax law I know about is that farm land is usually taxed at a cheaper rate, and forests over 50 acres are taxed at a still cheaper rate. I think though the definition of agricultrual land can vary by the municipality, as there’s no state land tax. We’re looking at four differnet counties, so who knows wich rule set we will end up with.

We’re actually looking for a place with run down but barely useable structures or no structures. That way we can build as we can afford to, and not buy into dream farm all at once, while still getting the location as good as possible the first time around. Buildings can be changed, location changes are harder to pull off.

I am planning to keep working until after we have moved and I’ve made most of the infrastructure upgrades the farm needs to go into full time business. I’ve got no real idea of how much time that will be. I’m hoping I’m valuable enough to the boss to get a part time concession after a couple years of working the farm on the weekend, and work a split week between office and farm.

Hubby would really like me to cold turkey on office work sooner, but I don’t know if that’s financially viable. At this point we need a second income to make the payments on the farm, although all the rest of our bills can be handled on his income alone. If I’m exceedingly lucky, I will be able to rent out a good deal of the land to make ends meet while my own business is starting up.

[dlskidmore]

@dlskidmore 29558 wrote:

Yeah. I know I need to get a lot of ducks in a row, but I’m not sure what order they’re supposed to be in.

…And I’m not sure if it’s worth consulting professionals before I have my downpayment ready. But on the other hand I won’t know how much downpayment I’ll need until I do a little farm shopping…

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