> From what I've heard about farming for profit
it is not easy. A friend of mine said that trying
to make money on a farm was almost
impossible, because what you make selling
crops or produce in the fall is usually ate up
paying for loans on farm equipment, food for
the rest of the year and payments on land.

My parents farm, and I don't know all the
nitty-gritty, but I do know that (at least in
Indiana, and I believe it holds true for most of
the midwest), it's becoming almost
impossible for small farms to stay afloat. My
parents have about 600 acres, and are
considered a small farm. They're struggling.

For crops, you have to know about maintaining
equipment, when/how to fertilize, spray
insecticide, herbicides, ect. There's a good
deal of equipment to buy. You'll need a place
to store grain, both for feed, and if you're
selling your crops, for sale.

For livestock, if you're breeding them, you have
to get up at all hours of the night to take care of
animals giving birth and take care of the
young. My parents had hogs until recently, and
my mother says that they lifted every pig that
was born at least 3 times, in giving shots and
moving them from one pen to another. My
parents are both in their 50s and have bad
backs, and that was a big part of why they
don't have livestock anymore.

In short, I'm not trying to squash your dream,
but farming for a living is a very hard life.
There's not a lot of money to be had, and
unless you're going to inherit some land,
there's a lot of money to be spent getting
started. I know there's more than money to be
considered, of course. But for many reasons,
what I can see in my community says that
farming is a life people are currently getting
out of, not getting into.

Lu " just trying to provide information, but feel
like I've been a real downer" isa