# What's your other job besides the farm?



## KSTim08

Just curious for those of you who have a job off the farm and what it is? I'm looking around for a different job right now but hope to do something that I can still have time to work on my hay business.


----------



## GeneRector

Howdy! Have you thought about trapping furbearers and predators? Season is usually about Nov 1st to March 31st, depending upon your state regulations. I had thought about this; however, it is labor intensive. Setting and checking traps is just part of it. Preparing the pelts for sale takes a lot of time. There are plenty of you tube videos available if you are interested. Always, Gene


----------



## gradyjohn

I am a substitute teacher. Been doing it since 2007. Have had 6 or 7 long terms which pays more. I am a certified teacher but they have some that aren't. You have to have patience.


----------



## Teslan

I'm a real estate agent and own my own small real estate brokerage with my wife. My dad was a teacher and a farmer. He says he doesn't know how he used to do both.


----------



## Tim/South

I am in my second year of retirement. I spent 30 years as a teacher/coach.
The education field was good to me. I was able to be off the same days as my children and also able to bale hay and farm chores during the summer.
I do backhoe and BobCat work on the side. Also have a Woodmizer sawmill and custom saw a little. Mostly quarter saw for woodworkers.


----------



## mlappin

Started out working as maintenance at a factory while in high school right after Dad got rid of the dairy cows. Then ran equipment for the operating engineers for awhile, then worked as a mechanic for a dirt moving company. A few years before I was married I was assistant foreman on the loading docks at a door factory.

Decided factory work sucked and started selling campfire wood while still working for Dad. Was pretty lucrative with the State Park right across the road. Make $150-$200 cash a pickup load or better and sell 3-5 pickup loads a week when the campground was full. Did that for years until every dead tree in the area was cut up and no tops were to had anymore. Was a good time to quit anyways as people were becoming less than honest.

Took the wood money and started replacing Dads tired hay equipment and have been on the farm full time for the last 12 years or better.

Thing that always struck me as funny working in town, last day of the week everybody was talking about how tired they were and how they were going to sleep in. I told em they were p*ssys as a 40 hour week ain't even a quarter of the week as a week has 168 hours in it. I've had 40 hours in two days when we were trying to get the last of the corn picked before a major snow event and picked around the clock. Even now in the off season I can get 40 hours in three days.


----------



## hay hauler

Air Ambulance Pilot, two weeks on two weeks off.

Buy and sell used equipment, find the easy/small fix stuff then paint and resell it
Sell other equipment on a 10% consignment.

Welding/Fab projects for customers

Rebuild customers equipement, evin if your getting $10-$15/hour over tools and expences it better than sitting on the couch. We also do this to nock down the price of rent (fix fences, rebuild replace repare the land and take it off rent).

Snow plowing

Usually depending on the area there is a skill that farming will give you that others want to hire you for.


----------



## cwright

gradyjohn said:


> I am a substitute teacher. Been doing it since 2007. Have had 6 or 7 long terms which pays more. I am a certified teacher but they have some that aren't. You have to have patience.


How do you keep from strangling them?


----------



## JD3430

I do custom construction jobs only for people I want to work for in the fall, winter, spring when not working the hay fields. I've had enough of working for a-holes and deadbeats. 
I build structures like garages, barns, additions on homes, even a few homes themselves in the past. Lately with the slow economy, I've been doing a lot of stone work (pillars, walls, patios) hauling stone with my dumptruck, or backhoe work. I also drive a tri-axle once in a while for a friend. I plow snow-mostly a long private lane and the 12 homes' driveways on it. I also coach boys football and boys lacrosse.

Been doing that 25 years. I'd give it all up to farm more hay.


----------



## Nitram

24 years in the aircraft industry Farnham roll and CNC router operator. 4weeks vacation spent wisely 2 weeks sick leave and raise cow/calf operation. Martin


----------



## urednecku

I worked for Fl. Dept of AG for a while, the Fl Dept of Corrections for the last 10, until politics got too stupid, in a lot of ways. 'Retired' from the state last May. I started growing hay about 5 or 6 years ago, but just started getting serious about 1 &1/2 years ago. Then I found a man to buy ALL I could grow and got REAL serious about last May, the timing was right & with a little retirement $$ was able to get some good equipment.


----------



## cornshucker

Worked in shop at Ford/New Holland/Massey Ferguson dealer, welder at a Deere construction equipment plant, Operated heavy equipment mostly track loaders. Currently drive a truck for a high end grocery chain(best off farm job ever had mainly because they have good company insurance and a four day work week but you still get in 45-48 hours have to work weekends but i am married so weekends not that important plus they will let you take your vacation one day at a time so with three days off and a vacation day you can usually get most things done on time. Still do some welding for neighbors and a little custom fencing.


----------



## JD3430

I dont know how you guys do it! Work on a schedule AND get hay cut in time and dodge the rain!!!


----------



## rjmoses

Spent 35 years developing special purpose computer systems for manufacturing and communications, including one that I kept the rights to for commodities trading. Spent 17 of the 35 developing the commodities system into a marketable product and sold it to a British firm. For about 20 of those years, I played a lot with horses, competed seriously in barrel racing and other speed events, loved taking "problem" horses and changing their behaviors. (When I say play around with horses, I mean 30-40 hours/week!)

After I sold out to the Brits, I continued to do contract work for 2 years for them until they out-sourced their projects to India. I lost the heart-and-desire to start a new product because of the attitudes and competition. I "retired" from that industry, but continued to play around with horses. Got the bright idea to put my skills with horses to use by developing them for resale.

Learned two things: First, I got so attached to the horses that I couldn't hardly sell them. And, second, I would sell a really nice horse, well-mannered, etc., to someone and in 3 weeks they would have that horse all screwed up because they didn't have skills, attitudes, etc. So I decided to start training people in horse-man-ship. My wife and I became licensed instructors within the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Program (that has been a 9 year journey--Parelli has some mighty high standards for their instructors.).

In the process of screwing around with horses, I was buying more and more hay. So I decided to start growing my own. What a learning process!!!! I talk and watched everybody I could, tried to learn from their mistakes and successes. Made a lot of mistakes, but had some successes.

Targeted the horse market for my hay, but the horse hay market hereabouts went south (or maybe north, east or west, but it wasn't here). Bought cattle to use up the excess hay, now the cattle market seems to be going away, and so are my cattle.

As Thomas Edison once said: Genius is 99% perspiration and1% inspiration. I sure seem to be doing a lot of perspiring, still waiting for the inspiration.

Ralph


----------



## Fowllife

I work in construction. The first couple years as a carpenter, then a field forman. Then a short stint as a conductor for the railroad (impossible to get anything done when working 8hrs on 8hrs off most of the week) Been back in construction about 10 years now but on the office side. I design mainly commercial building with a little bit of residental and industrial. Supposed to work 50hr a week but I cheap on that some and try to stay around 45 or so. Lucky I have a flexible schedule and can come and go it I need to. It seems like when I hit 30 a year or two ago I realized I need to start doing more of what makes me happy so I cut my work hours and started to farm and raise livestock. Ain't nothing more therapeutic then shoveling hog shit and working calfs


----------



## Erock813

I drive school bus.. good money for the hours i work..Dont like to have to stop in the middle of the day though...but my summers are free to work on hay. They pay for my cdl and physical when due..that helps on the trucking end of hay business.


----------



## swmnhay

I used to build grain bins in summer.

Then custom work took over and was much more $ then shovin bolts.

Rveryone started getting there own balers so i expanded into farm related sales.Netwrap,Twine,Bale Film,Hay Preservitive,Alfalfa & Grass seed.Corn & Bean seed.Standby Generators.

Beats the heck out of workin in town.I use the products myself.Flexible hours.


----------



## Mike120

Grew up on a cattle ranch in South Texas and couldn't wait to get away. Spent most of my life in domestic and international engineering and construction. About half on the contractor side and half on the owner side. I joined a consulting company about ten years ago that specializes in risk in large project execution and most of our work is either for the board of directors for owners or the lenders/bankers involved with financed projects. Most of us have known each other for 30 or more years and the youngest guy in the firm is 58. A typical engagement usually takes a week or so at the site and a couple of weeks in the office building statistical models and writing reports. Most of the projects we're involved with are international, so I'm often overseas about one week per month or so. I can do most of the office work from home and only go into the office once in a while for meetings. I can pretty much pick and choose my assignments and try to cut back traveling in the summer 'cause I'd rather bale hay that I sell to my daughter's horsey business. The down side to this arrangement is for the last few years I've ended up in some pretty remote parts of Canada in the middle of winter. I spend the rest of the time in my shop fixing broken equipment or fabricating things that I'm too cheap to buy.


----------



## gradyjohn

cwright said:


> How do you keep from strangling them?


Most of the kids are good. You do have some that makes you wish you had shock collars or they would let you use your cattle prod. The good days outway the bad. Most of the time it depends on the teacher. If they run a tight ship you have no problems ... there are some I don't take their classes.


----------



## slowzuki

Engineer but reduced hours to allow farm work. Its semi flexible, once in a while I have to be an engineer for 80 hours a week but rarely does it happened at the same time as hay. Also do snow removal in the winter but I'm slowly getting out of that. I had about 8 hours blowing required per storm, down to about about 3 hours per storm. Not really worth the extra depreciation from salt exposure.

Would like to get the haying streamlined to the point where its less hours per year so I can get the sawmill fired back up and start logging a bit again. Maybe a few cord of kindling from slabwood per year too. Those little bundles sell ok now most of the sawmills chip their slabs.


----------



## Tim/South

cwright said:


> How do you keep from strangling them?


Disarm the bullies. Do it in front of their peers. Never allow one or two rogue students to set the tone.
My job as a teacher/coach was to provide a fun and safe environment for the good kids.
If someone wanted to be a smart mouth or bully, I showed then what a perfected one looked like.
Never had one return for a second helping.


----------



## mlappin

Tim/South said:


> Disarm the bullies. Do it in front of their peers. Never allow one or two rogue students to set the tone.
> My job as a teacher/coach was to provide a fun and safe environment for the good kids.
> If someone wanted to be a smart mouth or bully, I showed then what a perfected one looked like.
> Never had one return for a second helping.


Sounds like my old gov/econ teacher Eugene the Marine.The man put up with no bullshit from somebody else's spoiled brats. He was also the head wrestling coach for a LONG time and would do most of the drills right along with the team, he was one tough old goat. Probably helped that gov/econ was strictly a senior course so the freshman had a good three years to let a proper amount of awe, respect and even a little fear build up before he actually had to deal with them in a class.

I still think now if we had more Eugene the Marine's teaching school, maybe this country wouldn't score so abysmally low on standardized tests compared to other countries.


----------



## blueridgehay

28 years with NC Highway Patrol. Retiring in 6 months. Plan to increase my hay production. I also have 125 ac. of Christmas trees and we also grew 25 ac. Of pumpkins. Would like to increase pumpkins also. Don't have much free time


----------



## Teslan

Sounds like most of us do something more then just hay farming. And hay farming and another job I think is one of the hardest combination. 3-4 times a year one must be in the fields at the right time. Corn and other jobs not nearly as tough. Especially for those of you that don't need to irrigate.


----------



## kfarm_EC_IL

I teach high school industrial technology. Gives me summers and holidays off. Works well for hay not so great for the Row crops or the cattle. But the teaching has supplied steady income for 4 farm girls with lots of hair care and clothing. Someday which is getting closer we will stay on the farm full time.


----------



## JD3430

kfarm_EC_IL said:


> I teach high school industrial technology. Gives me summers and holidays off. Works well for hay not so great for the Row crops or the cattle. But the teaching has supplied steady income for 4 farm girls with lots of hair care and clothing. Someday which is getting closer we will stay on the farm full time.


What a nice story......what life is all about....keeping the family together. Nothing like farming to provide that unifying force to keep family together....


----------



## LaneFarms

I work for the florida dept. of revenue dealing with agriculture property tax.


----------



## ladyhay

I am an algebra teacher, although my heart's at home. I am such a hermit. I could stay here a long long time without cabin fever ever setting in. My husband grew up on an air force base and loves rural living but gets the cabin fever itch much more often than I do. For our 10th anniversary we took a trip to Tortola, in the BVI. As we drank our Firewater Rum on Jost van ****, my husband says to me - you know Conde' Nast named this the most beautiful beach in the world.. I replied yes- he says, "You'd be on a plane back to Atlanta tomorrow if you could wouldn't you?" Yessiree I sure would.


----------



## foz682

I work short term contruction/maintenance shutdown jobs as a journeyman pipefitter wherever the work is, this past year I worked in Labrador for 5 months on a schedule of three weeks on and one off. 
I travel out to Alberta or Saskatchewan when there's no work closer to home, fortunately work is picking up in Newfoundland, nice to have work nearby.
My father is also a pipefitter, we try to plan so that one of us is home to run the farm while the other is away working, and plan for us both to be home during haymaking season.


----------



## Blue Duck

I am a machinist at a factory. I mostly run conventional machines, mold repair,and fabrication. I farm/ranch in a partnership with my father. I have a couple rental houses. In the spring I do custom Bermuda sprigging and I also run a small machine shop at my house. 
This year I am only going to sprig for myself and a couple of neighbors and will be very picky about what jobs I do in my shop. A guy has to sleep sometime.


----------



## jturbo10

Airline pilot. Mostly week on and week off schedule. Have to use sick leave and vacation to work hay fields during summer. We usually get four cuttings about 30 days apart . Rain and temps are major factors in fertilizer apps and time between cuttings. Usually start in mid-late May and finish up around Nov. I like to cut the last batch close to first frost so there is not too much residual growth that will go dormant/die and be a factor in the first cuttings quality. Weather and flying schedule is a big factor in decision when to cut hay. After retirement it will be a lot easier to cut during optimum times but weather is still a factor.


----------



## askinner

Maintenance Superintendent for a contract (custom) mining company. I do 50 odd hrs a week there, including about 30hrs of haytalk browsing time







, then spend the rest of it haying. Sometimes I manage a little shut eye between all this!
Being a mechanic is a massive advantage in this game too, I also worked for a baler shop for a while for free when I was at school, which is why I'm here now! Fell in love with the game, and worked my way to what I have now


----------



## R Ball

Was in the coal biz for 30 years, ran a lab at first and finished up buying, blending, and selling. Our governments policy changes and a major market shift back to the Midwest
Made it difficult here in central App. They closed the office and let me go back in October.
I am 55 and figure I am pretty much retired .
Started farming about 5 years ago with no back ground in farming. My son helps out and another buddy. My boy has two little boys that love being at the barn and riding in the tractor. That makes it worth 
Everything to me. 
I have approx 50 acres and hay another 70. I run feeders and we have horses. I have started looking for near by backhoe work or bush hog work to just help keep everything 
In repair. 
Love cutting hay and can't wait for the season to start. We just got a Kuhns 1036f to help 
With putting up more squares hoping to raise revenue. Have also learned a lot by just reading Hay Talk.


----------



## mlappin

R Ball said:


> Was in the coal biz for 30 years, ran a lab at first and finished up buying, blending, and selling. Our governments policy changes and a major market shift back to the Midwest
> Made it difficult here in central App. They closed the office and let me go back in October.


It's criminal what they are doing to the coal industry in this country.


----------



## R Ball

Yep, I'd say cheap power is a thing of the past.


----------



## JD3430

R Ball said:


> Was in the coal biz for 30 years, ran a lab at first and finished up buying, blending, and selling. Our governments policy changes and a major market shift back to the Midwest
> Made it difficult here in central App. They closed the office and let me go back in October.
> I am 55 and figure I am pretty much retired .
> Started farming about 5 years ago with no back ground in farming. My son helps out and another buddy. My boy has two little boys that love being at the barn and riding in the tractor. That makes it worth
> Everything to me.
> I have approx 50 acres and hay another 70. I run feeders and we have horses. I have started looking for near by backhoe work or bush hog work to just help keep everything
> In repair.
> Love cutting hay and can't wait for the season to start. We just got a Kuhns 1036f to help
> With putting up more squares hoping to raise revenue. Have also learned a lot by just reading Hay Talk.


Sounds like your career ended rather unfairly. I have a similar story, but not as unfortunate as you. It sounds like you latched onto something you really like doing.
Whats the old saying "one door closes and another one opens" ?


----------



## Lazy J

I am a livestock nutritionst for a national feed company. My wife is a small animal veterinarian and together we farm 400 acres of row crops andanother 50 acres of hay. We started farming in 2009 with 40 acres and plan to continue increasing the size of our farm.

Jim


----------



## cwright

R Ball said:


> Was in the coal biz for 30 years, ran a lab at first and finished up buying, blending, and selling. Our governments policy changes and a major market shift back to the Midwest
> Made it difficult here in central App. They closed the office and let me go back in October.
> I am 55 and figure I am pretty much retired .
> Started farming about 5 years ago with no back ground in farming. My son helps out and another buddy. My boy has two little boys that love being at the barn and riding in the tractor. That makes it worth
> Everything to me.
> I have approx 50 acres and hay another 70. I run feeders and we have horses. I have started looking for near by backhoe work or bush hog work to just help keep everything
> In repair.
> Love cutting hay and can't wait for the season to start. We just got a Kuhns 1036f to help
> With putting up more squares hoping to raise revenue. Have also learned a lot by just reading Hay Talk.


Bet you knew the Rose family from Manchester. KNAB Coal . They had a big house in London,KY.


----------



## Vol

R Ball said:


> Love cutting hay and can't wait for the season to start. We just got a Kuhns 1036f to help
> With putting up more squares hoping to raise revenue. Have also learned a lot by just reading Hay Talk.


Be sure to coat the bed where the bales slide(especially far left and right sides) with a graphite paint to keep the bales from hanging up which they will do on that fresh paint causing major aggravation during baling. You can get a quart of graphite paint at Tractor Supply. Shoot me a private message if you have any questions on your 1036f and I will try to help you. When you stack the 10 bale grabs on wagons or in the barn it is best to rotate the ends of the grabs when stacking and I always inset the "tie" ends about 3 inches or so when I set the grab of hay down on the previous one.....this keeps the tie bales from falling off. Kind of hard to grasp until you start using the grapple.

Regards, Mike


----------



## R Ball

Already have a gallon of stuff. Appreciate the tips and help.

Thanks Vol

Yes I was familiar K Nab. Did know who the Roses were but did not know them.


----------



## kyfred

Truck Driver for the Post Office 28 yrs 3mo, but who is counting. Grew up on the farm and bought a farm of my own.


----------



## hillside hay

commercial hvac/r installation. Tin knockin' and custom metal fab. Travel up and down east coast all year. Push hard so I can get back for a three day weekend most times. Either take vacation or voluntary layoff for harvest time.


----------

