Farming question?

Question

Years ago while vacationing in the western part of the U.S. I read an article where farmers would teach you the ropes and then you would eventually take over the farm, this was not an apprenticeship program. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Answer 1

sorry, i don't have an answer but i just wanted to comment that the FFA is national.

Answer 2

I don't know about out west but in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana there is a high school organization called FFA, Future Farmer's of America, which does act like an apprenticeship program helping people learn about farming and decide if its a career they want to pursue.

Answer 3

Here's a link to Iowa's Beginning Farmer Center. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bfc/

Other states have programs like this. I'm most familiar with Iowa's.

Answer 4

Most farmers idea is to turn their farm over to one or more of their children. This was how the family farm existed from generation to generation. The thing you read about was probably farmers who had no children to pass the farm on to or children who had no interest in farming. Instead of allowing the farm to be sold off, they would rather have someone who wants to farm take it over. You would probably stare off with a salary for a year or two while you learned the ropes, and more importantly the farmer got to know you and see if you seriously wanted to farm.  Then I would imagine some sort of partnership would be worked out which would eventually put you into a position to start buying the farm and allow the farmer to eventually retire from working on the farm.  You would then be farming on your own and continue making the payments to the farmer until you become the owner and farmer of your own land. This would be a lifetime comitment, but would be a way to begin farming where otherwise you would never be able to do.