I'm dealing with my usual November blahs, and as part of that, I tend to get a little bit more negative than (my admittedly pessimistic) baseline. Just as last year, my ruminations are leading me consider whether I should stop trying to have a farm business and just settle for a small hobby farm/homestead. I've learned from experience not to make decisions in the depth of the dark days of November and December, so I'll be holding off making decisions until they're absolutely necessary, but I wanted to give you some context.
So, here's the simple question I'm asking myself: I can get a job fairly easily that allows me to make a reasonable wage based on my skills and education. I'm willing to make less money and work longer hours with a farm career, but at what point does the loss of income and the increase in hours cancel out the benefits of the quality of life and satisfaction that a farm career can bring?
What I'm learning, is that loss of income and amount of hours is a great deal more than I expected when I first got interested in farming. Everyone says you can't get rich farming, and I think the general response to that axiom from most folks is to think: "sure, I can't get rich, but I can be happy." I know that's how I felt. There is a threshold of income and work hours below which, at least for me, I can never be happy. I'm still figuring out that threshold, but I think it's in the neighborhood of $30,000/year and 65 hours per week.
I think it's very difficult to wrap your head around the challenges of farming without running your own farm business. From the outside, the rose colored glasses of romanticism make it seem better than it will be, and it's also hard to guard against thinking: "sure, that person struggled, but I can do it better." Hubris is just part of human nature.
So in the end, it may just be more rational for me to find the most fulfilling non-farm career out there that gives me the most time to spend enjoying my farm as a hobby. If that is the case, it sort of feels like failure, but it is a failure I'm willing to accept if it means greater happiness in the end.
So, here's the simple question I'm asking myself: I can get a job fairly easily that allows me to make a reasonable wage based on my skills and education. I'm willing to make less money and work longer hours with a farm career, but at what point does the loss of income and the increase in hours cancel out the benefits of the quality of life and satisfaction that a farm career can bring?
What I'm learning, is that loss of income and amount of hours is a great deal more than I expected when I first got interested in farming. Everyone says you can't get rich farming, and I think the general response to that axiom from most folks is to think: "sure, I can't get rich, but I can be happy." I know that's how I felt. There is a threshold of income and work hours below which, at least for me, I can never be happy. I'm still figuring out that threshold, but I think it's in the neighborhood of $30,000/year and 65 hours per week.
I think it's very difficult to wrap your head around the challenges of farming without running your own farm business. From the outside, the rose colored glasses of romanticism make it seem better than it will be, and it's also hard to guard against thinking: "sure, that person struggled, but I can do it better." Hubris is just part of human nature.
So in the end, it may just be more rational for me to find the most fulfilling non-farm career out there that gives me the most time to spend enjoying my farm as a hobby. If that is the case, it sort of feels like failure, but it is a failure I'm willing to accept if it means greater happiness in the end.
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