# Fairly new here



## KSTim08 (Jan 22, 2012)

I've been signed up here for awhile but haven't really used the site much. I'm 23 year old from East Central Kansas. Dad quit row-crop farming several years ago, so I've started on my own putting up square bales. I work a full-time job and started doing hay because I love the farming life and to make some extra money doing it. We have 220 acres that the majority is crops but about 30 acres is grass. I would love to make a full-time job out of farming but for now I'm just going to work with what I got and see what happens. I'm just curious to see if there is any young guys on here like me? How many of you guys work a job and farm?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

You've started n a good place kstim! Are you guys leasing out the other 180 ac for row crops? I wish I was that age again, but then again I wouldn't have my grandchillin......I'll take the age! Tough to do hay and have a full-time job, especially squares, what type eq. Do you have?


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## KSTim08 (Jan 22, 2012)

Yeah the other land is leased for crops. The tractor I mainly use is a 3020 John Deere, we also got a 1135 Massey and an 5088 IH that needs overhauled. I have a farmhand 5 wheel rake. I'm hoping to find me a bar rake for this coming season. Baler is a New Holland 273. I got a International 990 swather that I cut with. Not the best of stuff but I'm still getting into this and plan on building up from here. Its kinda tough with a full-time job. A lot of people think I'm crazy but I'd take a day out throwing bales over any day at a normal job!


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I admire your attitude....update your profile to let us know what neck o the woods ur from....all of that eq., while old and slow, will put up hay just fine. Don't know if I would invest in that bar rake just yet but that depends on what forage you are harvesting. Good luck....and if you need any whompy deer patrol on your farm, give me a shout, I specialize in eradication of large, antlered whitetail!


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## KSTim08 (Jan 22, 2012)

I'm from Gardner, Kansas. Its located in the East Central part of Kansas. I deer hunt as well. Haven't found the big one this year. Our drought we had this summer killed off some of the deer with blue tongue disease, we still got plenty of them around but definitely haven't seen as many this fall as I usually do. I have mostly fescue with brome in places. I'm wanting to get everything to a more desirable grass like a brome/timothy mix is what I have in mind.


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## CockrellHillFarms (Aug 30, 2011)

KSTIM......I'm not too far from you. If you need some advice, feel free to ask. I also have some older equipment laying around that I'm not using. So I would be interested in selling some of it. If your looking for anything, let me know. (10 wheel rake, 346 JD square baler, and some other stuff) I also work a full time job (50 hrs/week) and I farm close to 1000 acres. You can do it, you just have to have the desire to do so. I run cattle on 400 acres and hay the other 600 +/-. When I got out of school I gave it a shot full time. However, I needed to upgrade equipment, etc. I couldnt make any money. So for now, its a full time "day" job and full time farming until I can get everything settled. Then hopefully.....farm full time. I'm doing about 12k sq. bales. If I can get that up past 15k then I feel I will be able to "pay" the bills so to speak on that and make my profit on cattle, few crops, and whatever round bales I sell. Also by having a day job I'm able to save up to buy more land. If you need any pointers, let me know. I cant say I've got it all figured out but I have a pretty good plan in place...and so far.....Its worked out. Being that your from Gardner, your about 45 mins from me. If your looking for some extra work, let me know. I might be interested in adding some more help.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

How else would you afford to make hay without the day job? I am sure most of us have it. I do.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

deadmoose said:


> How else would you afford to make hay without the day job? I am sure most of us have it. I do.


I did have one until last April. 33 years with the state, then they wanna start taking away my benefits.... I had just enough to tell 'em where to shove that idea.
At least for a couple years...then I might have to go back to "work" some where, but until then...

Hang in there kstim08. It's hard, but do-able, & helps take your mind off your 'day job' for a little while.


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## KSTim08 (Jan 22, 2012)

urednecku - I have worked for the state of Kansas for almost a year now. I'm looking to upgrade to the county cause they get paid more.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

Tim, I don't know about Kansas, but most of the Florida counties, and at least some of the cities, are also on the state retirement system. For most of my career I loved my job, then politics got in the way of the way things were *supposed* to be, and it went to "hell-in-a-handbag", fast.


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