# Diversify



## Tim/South

Reading a post by Mike got me to thinking about diversity.

What does diversify mean to you?

To me could mean making and selling different types of hay or making different size bales to offer. It could be owning a few head of livestock. Some might put up most of their hay to sell during the winter months.

Diversity might be a niche market.

I believe most of us in agriculture are probably more diversified than we realize.

Do you consider yourself diversified in your hay or farming operation?

If so, in what way?


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## rjmoses

Diversification to me means not putting all my eggs in one basket, but having a whole bunch of related baskets that tie together.

To wit:

My primary interest is in horsemanship and teaching.

To support my horses, I grow my own hay with the idea in mind of selling excess hay to other horse people. I grow more hay than I can use for my own horses, but I recognize that I will have good years and bad years. I want to have enough hay production such that I don't have to buy hay in a bad year because everybody else will probably be buying at the same time, translating into high prices!

But, I know I going to have to marginal hay each year so I have cattle that I can feed the non-horse quality hay to. Then, to rotate my fields and keep them as weed free as possible, I grow corn, beans and wheat.

My cycle is corn/beans to beans/corn to wheat to hay ground. A field will be in RR row crops for 2-3 years then rotated into hay for 4-6 years. Growing RR crops depletes the seed bank and makes for a cleaner hay field.

I contract out the planting/combining/etc. for the row crops because I don't want to mess with it. But I do plan and supervise it. I do the hay myself because I want to be pretty doggone particular about that.

So, diversification works for me as a rotation to support my primary interest and to provide risk avoidance. If I have a bad hay year, I will probably have a decent row crop year and vice-versa.

Ralph


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## deadmoose

My diversity is quite different. And evolving. Theoretically one day I will retire. I have a 401k, stocks, etc. But have within the past 5 years or so moved most of my current and future investment dollars away from there. I invest in land, equipment, and cattle. As well as paying down my mortgage. I still invest in other ways but am diversified. As Ralph says above about eggs and baskets.


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## IHCman

Diversity to me is about having different sources of income if one commodity is down in price. Cattle and grain is a common one around here. Sell the grain if the price is high or feed it to cattle if the price of grain is down. Having cattle to feed lower quality hay is also a good idea.

Custom work or a job in town might also be another form of diversity.

Many grain farmers around here sold their cattle a few years back when grain farming was starting to look up price wise. For some it had to do with getting older and not having any children that wanted to farm/ranch with them. Most are kicking themselves now with the price of cattle today.


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## swmnhay

Corn,Beans and Hay.There has been times when hay was way more profitable then grain.

Cattle.They use up some odd hay bales,also feed HMSC and save on drying cost.Out now because of time restraints this yr

Custom work.I used to do a lot before I expanded hay acres.The income carried me threw some tough times in the 80's.

Ag related sales.Netwrap,Hay preservative,Seed,generators fill in the rest of my time.

I've also grown soybean and oats for seed back in the day of public varieties for a premium.


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## Vol

All very good answers. One component that is seldom considered in diversification is the best health insurance that you can afford. Think about it....how many times have you seen individuals build up their ag operation and then be forced into dispersal because of health or health related issues. A woefully weak health insurance plan can lead to catastrophic agricultural futures. Quality health insurance is a key component in diversification. You young guns on here will have a tendency to think it won't happen to you....or, I'll get it later(Quality Health Insurance), but time rapidly moves on and good intentions can and will get lost in the shuffle. So, my advice to you is that get good health insurance if you get married or, by no later than 35 years old and be extra careful about operational machinery until you acquire quality health care.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay

Vol said:


> All very good answers. One component that is seldom considered in diversification is the best health insurance that you can afford. Think about it....how many times have you seen individuals build up their ag operation and then be forced into dispersal because of health or health related issues. A woefully weak health insurance plan can lead to catastrophic agricultural futures. Quality health insurance is a key component in diversification. You young guns on here will have a tendency to think it won't happen to you....or, I'll get it later(Quality Health Insurance), but time rapidly moves on and good intentions can and will get lost in the shuffle. So, my advice to you is that get good health insurance if you get married or, by no later than 35 years old and be extra careful about operational machinery until you acquire quality health care.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Thats no shit.Last hospital bill I opened was for $261,000 looking between 400-500K for the yr.I'd be hanging up a sale bill if not for insurance.

Had a part time employee that didn't have health ins,he said he would just file bankruptcy (again)if had hospital bill.


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## JD3430

Vol said:


> All very good answers. One component that is seldom considered in diversification is the best health insurance that you can afford. Think about it....how many times have you seen individuals build up their ag operation and then be forced into dispersal because of health or health related issues. A woefully weak health insurance plan can lead to catastrophic agricultural futures. Quality health insurance is a key component in diversification. You young guns on here will have a tendency to think it won't happen to you....or, I'll get it later(Quality Health Insurance), but time rapidly moves on and good intentions can and will get lost in the shuffle. So, my advice to you is that get good health insurance if you get married or, by no later than 35 years old and be extra careful about operational machinery until you acquire quality health care.
> 
> Regards, Mike


The good thing is now you get great health insurance FREE from the govt. lol


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## swmnhay

JD3430 said:


> The good thing is now you get great health insurance FREE from the govt. lol


For people that don't work its free,the rest of us get to pay more.More socialism


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## JD3430

swmnhay said:


> For people that don't work its free,the rest of us get to pay more.More socialism


Surely you jest!!! the president of the United States, Barrack Ebola, promised we'd save an average of $2,500 per middle class family!!!!


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## haybaler101

My diversification.
Corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa.
Just added 90,000 sq. ft. Of turkey grow outs last year. Manure directly impacts row crop production.
Some custom baling, not as much as a few years ago.
Sell Ag bags and bunker covers as well as a full time commissioned job with a nutrition and inoculant company. My sales jobs also get me on to dairies to market my hay and most importantly provides excellent HEALTH INSURANCE.


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## panhandle9400

I grew up in a diversified operation , stocker cattle, State Farm insurance, custom haying , custom harvesting, aerial spraying and also a long haul livestock trucking . I do know that a guy can get too many irons in the fire if your not careful . In the last few years I have turned back some of my lease land to be able to make my life more manageable . I kick myself for letting some of it go , but at the time it seemed to be the right move. We are still spread out over 45 miles and it can be hectic at times . When pot gets legal everywhere I will grow 1 circle of dope then retire off the profits.


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## SVFHAY

Jack of all trades, master of none.

My dad grew every crop that could be done in our climate at one time or another. Livestock included hogs, registered cattle, layers,and broilers. He worked away in early years and did custom harvesting and lime spreading in later ones. Only real disaster was potatoes. That one about sunk him in early70's. He got by and raised a family but never made much profit .

I loved hay makin' and trucking of it, the further the better. Wealthy folks and their horses seemed like a good plan to pay bills and somewhere along the way my operation has become rather one dimensional. The last 10 year's have been financially rewarding and there are a lot of factors but the big ones have been efficiency and relationships.

Modern equipment offers amazing productivity but takes serious capital. How can you afford the equipment, land and labor to be competitive at the scale modern production ag is at and be diversified across multiple crops or livestock? I admire those that can, especially if they do it without subsidies.

I think it was easier to be diversified years ago and the whole system may have been more stable. It's easy to be nostalgic while sitting in an air conditioned cab......


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## JD3430

Summer=farm
Winter= construction & sell hay.


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## 8350HiTech

SVFHAY said:


> Jack of all trades, master of none.
> 
> My dad grew every crop that could be done in our climate at one time or another. Livestock included hogs, registered cattle, layers,and broilers. He worked away in early years and did custom harvesting and lime spreading in later ones. Only real disaster was potatoes. That one about sunk him in early70's. He got by and raised a family but never made much profit .
> 
> I loved hay makin' and trucking of it, the further the better. Wealthy folks and their horses seemed like a good plan to pay bills and somewhere along the way my operation has become rather one dimensional. The last 10 year's have been financially rewarding and there are a lot of factors but the big ones have been efficiency and relationships.
> 
> Modern equipment offers amazing productivity but takes serious capital. How can you afford the equipment, land and labor to be competitive at the scale modern production ag is at and be diversified across multiple crops or livestock? I admire those that can, especially if they do it without subsidies.
> 
> I think it was easier to be diversified years ago and the whole system may have been more stable. It's easy to be nostalgic while sitting in an air conditioned cab......


I could not agree more! Growing many crops either means extra investment for what is, in most cases, terribly inefficient ownership of equipment. Either that or lots of custom bills to pay. Neither of which appeal to me.

As long as you have multiple markets for multiple grades/types of hay, that may be as much diversification as can be realistically expected. (In farming anyway. If you want to be invested in other non-farm areas, do that. I'd rather be making mortgage payments on duplexes than trying to grow corn)


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## treymo

Not very old at all but my diversification at the time being consists of haying, and cattle. Got into the haying deal during high school since my father always hired our hay work done. It kind of exploded and just kept picking up more work to do. Put up close to 11,500 rounds so far this year, primarily custom work, and another 4-5000 to go. I put up a little hay on shares and then also rent some government land to hay. Have around 2000 rounds of grass to sell this year. I also picked up 240 acres this past summer to farm, sharecrop, and seeded it to alfalfa in August.

As far as cattle, I do an awful lot of wheeling and dealing. Usually buy old cows and the fall and calve them out over the winter then feed the cows to go to slaughter and wean the calves. Also have piddled with replacement heifers. Not very big but as much hay as I put up on top of farming with my father and school I keep busy. Have 41 short solid mouth cows right now.

Trey


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## Bgriffin856

Milk check is the main source of income. So I find having a good diversity of crops in rotation is best as mentioned as on crop will do better than others or vise versa each year. Having enough quality forage is key to staying profitable. Also livestock sales make up a good part of income as well. Firewood sales pay taxes

Having mechanical and construction skills are important too saves alot of money when you can fix and build what you need. Common sense is a must


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## stack em up

Diversity keeps me busy. We do a lot here. Raise 800acres of row crops, 60 acres of various feedstuff for silage, 78 acres of alfalfa/grass mix, have a herd of spring calving cows and a herd of fall calvers. Work at a machinery dealership for health insurance, moonlight turning wrenches in the slow season, and just started selling seed corn. Also have a 6000 gallon slurry tank to pump hog poopie, as well as the rigmarole to agitate and pump. And I also build hi-tensile fence if I get the notion. There's never a slow day in this farm...


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## haybaler101

haybaler101 said:


> My diversification.
> Corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa.
> Just added 90,000 sq. ft. Of turkey grow outs last year. Manure directly impacts row crop production.
> Some custom baling, not as much as a few years ago.
> Sell Ag bags and bunker covers as well as a full time commissioned job with a nutrition and inoculant company. My sales jobs also get me on to dairies to market my hay and most importantly provides excellent HEALTH INSURANCE.


Also, just added custom combining to the mix. Already done almost 250 acres and may be able to cut that much more in beans. Cutting for a BTO that has 7000 acres this year that runs two combines with 40' drapers and 12 row corn heads. They still have over 1000 acres to go and are trying to rent 3 to 4000 more next year.


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## JD3430

Mowing fields helps me bring in another $15-20 k/yr. snowplowing yet another $15-20k/yr.
Yeah I know, it's peanuts, but it gives me another use for the tractors and helps me get to know more customers, make more connections.


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## Bonfire

JD3430 said:


> Mowing fields helps me bring in another $15-20 k/yr. snowplowing yet another $15-20k/yr.
> Yeah I know, it's peanuts, but it gives me another use for the tractors and helps me get to know more customers, make more connections.


Those numbers are much, much more than peanuts. That's gettin after it there.


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## JD3430

I'm going to take snowplowing to a much higher level next year.
Sure ain't going to making it only farming 150 acres of hay. 
Someday I'll be at 300 acres!!!!


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## barnrope

Diversity is great in farming, not so great when the government gets involved and thinks everything gov't related ( especially schools) has to have diversity in different sex, different races, religion, different sexual orientation or someone who just wants to dress like the other gender and use the opposite sexes rest room. I got a lot of that diversity crap shoved at me at Iowa State University back in the very early 1990's. I can't imagine it has let up any since then.

Anyway in farming I prescribe to it by raising corn, soybeans, oats, different types of hay, cow/calf, hogs, dogs, and custom work of differing types. A lot of the local farmers are just corn or just corn and beans.


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## JD3430

I sort of wish I could get into baling cornstalks. I don't farm any corn, but there's lots of it around. I have a good heavy duty 15' batwing for cutting them and a silage special baler to bale them. Pretty sure all the corn farmers around here bale their own.


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## swmnhay

JD3430 said:


> I sort of wish I could get into baling cornstalks. I don't farm any corn, but there's lots of it around. I have a good heavy duty 15' batwing for cutting them and a silage special baler to bale them. Pretty sure all the corn farmers around here bale their own.


You could advertise for custom baleing.When guys get behind or chance of bad weather comeing in they may hire a custom baler and keep combine ing,etc.


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## Lostin55

I have a "day job" in oil and gas. I work a rotational schedule with 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. On days off I farm, among multiple other interests.
On the farm we raise alfalfa hay, and rotate feilds with a row crop neighbor. That puts one feild at a time in either barley, beets, or beans. My interest and equipment line are only hay.
I have a dozer and bobcat and have been known to rent them and myself as an operator out.
We run way too many nags, and some cattle. The cattle get the crappy hay if there is any, and there usually is. The way I see it, they don't cost much just because the value of the bad hay is negligible. The calves bring a nice check in the fall.
We also invest in the stock market, and have seen good returns in that regard.
My goal has been to get the place to completely pay for itself and thus far that has not happened. It has come close, but just not there yet on a year to year basis. We bought the place in 06 as bare ground and started building, including the wife and I building the house. We had to build it from scratch, including a few miles of fence, corrals, horse barn going up currently, and purchasing equipment. It has been a long road, but we are gaining on it. My goal is to be able to take or leave the day job.


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