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Getting started in farming is costly investment
, By Kevin Field
The farm of yesterday and today is in the midst of
drastic change, and double digit inflation is the culprit.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for young people
to get into farming even with an inheritance, said a UNL
associate professor of agricultural economics, and it is a
"very difficult struggle" for those without any land to be
gin a farm, he added.
'The cost of resources needed to get into farming are
increasing each year as much as an individual can save,",
Ron Hanson said. "Each year the price of land jumps,
it becomes that much harder for the young person to buy
Agricultural Economics Professor Larry Bitney des
cribed trying to get into farming without first owning
land as a "tough goal."
It is necessary to live, provide shelter and fight infla
tion while also trying to accumulate capital. Many times it
is necessary to have two jobs to create the necessary cash
flow, Bitney said.
Taxes a consideration
' Taking control of a farm also can be difficult for those
who do inherit land. ,
Without proper planning on the part of the retiring
generation, taxes could be substantial, making it necessary
to sell the farm just to pay, them, Bitney said, n more
than one heir is involved, the one wishing to keep the
farm may not be in a position to buy the others out, he
said. . (
People with enough determination can find ways into
the market, though they may have to accept a lower stan
dard of living while they are building an operation, Bitney
added. ,
And the agriculture industry is too unpredictable to
estimate how long it would take before the individual had
a profitable operation once he invests.
As agronomy student Alan Vybiral said, "Everything
is so. unpredictable that the farmer must depend on
everything. Someone can sneeze in Washington and the
prices will change." '
Vybiral is a sophomore from a farm near Wahoo, and
says he probably will inherit his father's farm someday.
In the meantime he plans to go into research.
Land prices
He added that he considers himself lucky to be inherit
ing a farm. "If you try to buy land, you will spend your
whole life trying to pay it off," he said.
Bitney said; "At today's-prices the land will never pay
for itself if it is being bought outright. Profits from some
other enterprise are needed."
Hanson also said that land is overpriced in terms of
earning value, but not in terms of market value.
Bitney said that he thinks the trend toward fewer and
fewer farms will continue, though it is beginning to level
off. Nebraska has lost 1 ,000 farms each year for the last
three years, reducing the total to 63,000.
Inflation has made it necessary for the farmer to either
expand his operation or get out, Hanson said. Farm prices
have not followed the inflationary trend of the last few
years, so in order for a farmer to maintain his level of net
income, he must produce more each year.
"Land is being owned by fewer and fewer people, and
those that already own some are the ones in a position to
buy more," Hanson said.
Small farms fewer
He added that some people are saying larger enterprises
promote greater efficiency, while others are saying the
big operations limit efficiency.
Hanson also said the statement, "the days of the family
farm are limited," is true to a certain extent, in that the
number of partnerships and corporations is growing while
the number of sole proprietorships is declining.
Many agriculture students are realizing the difficulties
involved in farming today. The number of College of
Agriculture students returning to farms has been declining
since the mid-1970s.
UNL graduate student Jim Ducey said that farming
would be an interesting opportunity but the expenses
involved would make it too difficult to get into.
The natural resource major and part-time farm worker
added, however, that the impression he has, "is that
people get trapped into large operations feeling they need
to buy large machinery. That ties them into large opera
tions in order to get the needed return on their invest
ments." Agriculture education major Dennis Sturek sees two
ways to acquire land: either be rich or inherit it.
He added that in order to get into farming it is neces
sary to find people who are willing to provide some back
ing and the individual must be willing to go through some
hard times.
"If I was set up to farm, I would. Farming has a degree
of self-satisfaction that goes with it, but right now it is
not in my plans," he said.
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