ASH Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 (edited) April 20 we open for berry season , it will be my last ride as im retiring at end of year ending with tobacco and cotton season . im 49 been in farming starting at 5 lol and im kinda getting sentimental and thinking about it more , berry season runs from april into june , but my grand kid will help out alot and im looking forward to not having to worry bout rain , cold , hail and mother nature so much . i have 2 grown daughters and they did not want to farm which i get . the farm will always be in the family thou . still gonna miss it . my mom passed last july and it made my choice easier , its time to head to beach house and play with grandkid and hopefully more on the way . just venting alittle . lol here is my heart . PIPER she will be 2 in june . waking up lol and easter and giving pups peeps Edited April 15, 2018 by ASH 5 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Good luck to you. I still have farm. Lease it out now. Just the vegetable areas to grow and sell stuff. Still have the John Deere B I grew up with. Cultivating soy beans planted in 36 inch rows with mounted 2 1/2 row mounted cultivator. Pulled 2 12"s plow on wheels. JD Van Brunt planter. Combine was a 12A , engine mounted canvas feed. Later converted to PTO. Last was JD 30 big time auger feed 8 ft...... The Ford 4000 considered a big tractor back then. Pulled 3 16"s. Those were the days my friend.. I would not trade those days for anything..... What a life I still miss... Dave.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 And yes you will always remember those days like me..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 yeah some equipment will be sold . my nephew wants to run the farm and ive been grooming him for 5 years , I think he will do well . nice to see and talk to another farmer here . I will keep busy , I was asked by NC STATE to help with some of their new projects and I'm looking forward to some of the young bucks to show me the new stuff lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Thanks ASH. I grew up a farm. I would not ever trade the growing up on a farm as a boy for anything. Even though the chores each morning and night for the animals. Were you in 4H? I had my heifers, Holsteins. My Black and White pals and sometimes pain in the ass to tend to... We could stay at the fair all night then unsupervised for a week. Was 12 when was first let go to stay by myself. Dad put tarp over pickup truck parked it on fairgrounds and I took care of myself for a week. Sometimes slept in the barn with the barns there. These days no way could be done.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 yeah i was and also FFA in high school . im like you i would never trade it ever . i started my farming skills picking up tobacco leaves that fell from stick barns and then it was on lol when i grew enough and legs long enough to straddle the poles to hang tobacco i thought i won the lottery . priming tobacco in the mornings when its wet and stinging eyes . the smell of freshly cured tobacco , so much has changed tobacco used to be the biggest cash crop and now veggies have caught up . berries really took off . it gave us a good life and set us up for the next chapters in life but it is a ride for sure . i actually have a buddy of mine make his home from 4 stick barns , i told him if he ever got married id get him a house , so i gave them to him lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Yep it was a good ride for me also. Something many will never see... But I was blessed to see and do... Those days in the field watching the sun come up and then set... Priceless.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 this is one meme i found few years ago that just fits 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 13 hours ago, ASH said: this is one meme i found few years ago that just fits Hell Yes... Been there many times... Thanks for that, made me smile Hahaa... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy969 Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Enjoy it. I bet you will be working within 2 years. A greater at Wal-Mart maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 16 minutes ago, Troy969 said: Enjoy it. I bet you will be working within 2 years. A greater at Wal-Mart maybe. nope we are done , our money will out live us , grand baby age 2 and more grand babies to come . we are set . farming is a great life but it takes it toll on your body .the curtain call is final . no more 4 am wake ups unless the grand baby is crying lol . my joints are wore out ive had several injuries over the years and i want to enjoy what we got left . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silentpoet Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 The county south of us is known for cash crops. And some of it may even be legal now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 toker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeorge Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Good for you . You just have to take life's changes in stride 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 thanks , yeah gonna be different but a good one lol. i learned alot from my dad he passed when i was 24 and he suffered with cancer for 7 months and he always told me his biggest regret was working his ass off and not stopping to enjoy alot and for me to do what i have to but stop and smell the roses . he was bitter til he died and after he retired 2 months later found out he had terminal cancer so i got a lesson in life from a tragedy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minervadoe Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Adjusting to retirement has many phases interspersed with boredom and research about the new you and the new activities you want to pursue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minervadoe Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 btw: I lost my father suddenly to a heart attack when I was 27. Like you, it was a major paradigm shifting life experience. He had been talked into signing a document that would have given my mom a five percent bump in his retirement pension if he had lived to retirement. But, since he died before retiring, they were required to give her nothing. The good old California Teachers Association really opened my eyes to the true nature of organizations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jame Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 (edited) Best of luck to you, ash. I know how hard it is, as we’re winding things up here as well. I’ve had to have a town job in addition to the farming since I went broke in 1983. Dad’s 83, and it’s way past time for him to quit. Hell, I’m 58 and it’s time for me to quit, too. Farming isn’t the same as a job. I’ve been doing both for the last 35 years or so, so I should know. Farming is heart and soul and flesh and blood. You work through blazing heat and bone shattering cold, not so much for the money, but because it just has to be done. It’s part of you. It’s connected to you. About half of the farmers here don’t retire, but just plain die on the job. It’s just part of the deal. its not just about money. We’re asset rich, but cash poor. We own about 300 acres of Iowa farmland, but I drive a vehicle that’s 13 years old. Dad buys shoes at Walmart. We usually eat home cooked meals, and we fix, and repair, and weld, and rewire, and fix again. It’s just how we live. Leaving it can be heartbreaking, but I hope you’re good and can just move on, ash. Those that do are usually better off. Take care and be careful. Retiring with all of your fingers has it’s benefits. And enjoy your retirement, ash. Be well. Edited April 18, 2018 by jame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 11 minutes ago, jame said: Best of luck to you, ash. I know how hard it is, as we’re winding things up here as well. I’ve had to have a town job in addition to the farming since I went broke in 1983. Dad’s 83, and it’s way past time for him to quit. Hell, I’m 58 and it’s time for me to quit, too. Farming isn’t the same as a job. I’ve been doing both for the last 35 years or so, so I should know. Farming is heart and soul and flesh and blood. You work through blazing heat and bone shattering cold, not so much for the money, but because it just has to be done. It’s part of you. It’s connected to you. About half of the farmers here don’t retire, but just plain die on the job. It’s just part of the deal. its not just about money. We’re asset rich, but cash poor. We own about 300 acres of Iowa farmland, but I drive a vehicle that’s 13 years old. Dad buys shoes at Walmart. We usually eat home cooked meals, and we fix, and repair, and weld, and rewire, and fix again. It’s just how we live. Leaving it can be heartbreaking, but I hope you’re good and can just move on, ash. Those that do are usually better off. Take care and be careful. Retiring with all of your fingers has it’s benefits. And enjoy your retirement, ash. Be well. spoken better then i could sum it up my friend and all true . i hope and pray the best for you as well . you are exactly right you gotta love it and feel it or you won't make it . i still use same machinery my dad had lol held together with duct tape and JB WELD LOL . when Piper was born and now talking and hanging with Poppy i knew it was time . ive had 3 shoulder surgeries countless bumps ,and scraps double knee surgery and remission from cancer 3 times , i wanna be able to do everything with Piper and futures grand kids so i will be ok . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silentpoet Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 21 hours ago, ASH said: toker Nope, but I do have to look at a lot of wangs because of drugs. Meth is job security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 On 4/17/2018 at 9:54 PM, jame said: Farming is heart and soul and flesh and blood. You work through blazing heat and bone shattering cold, not so much for the money, but because it just has to be done. It’s part of you. It’s connected to you. About half of the farmers here don’t retire, but just plain die on the job. It’s just part of the deal. Yep..... You got that right... Part of my life also. Glad others farmers here who know. I get old, look at the land and wish I was young again. Hell, I want to do it again. Dave... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 (edited) 12 minutes ago, DrB said: Yep..... You got that right... Part of my life also. Glad others farmers here who know. I get old, look at the land and wish I was young again. Hell, I want to do it again. Dave... i would not go back and do anything else but farm period , you gotta be a farmer or hang out with a farmer to understand farming , it's nothing i can explain if i had the words to explain it , i was blessed to be in a farming family truly blessed . when my dad passed in 95 we still had lot of tobacco in the fields and the barn curing . after the season we took bush hogs to cut up stalks in the fields and we could see each other cutting across the fields and when done we stopped under a mulberry tree in the shade and sit and eat and talk bout next season , well i pulled under the tree and sit for a few and it hit me hard my dad not being there i sat under that tree crying until my wife came over to the fields and thought i might be hurt . i still go down to that tree and even thou i will retired and living i will go back every year and will take Piper and tell her stories . Edited April 21, 2018 by ASH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 My dad passed last year.. He taught me farming, farm animals, care, responsibilities and commitment to it all. Hell of a man... Dave.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 sorry for your loss and i have no doubt he was a fine man and teacher . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 10 minutes ago, ASH said: sorry for your loss and i have no doubt he was a fine man and teacher . Thanks he was a good man, strict but that was good looking back. I thank him..... And his dad, my grandfather I still remember grandpa cranking the flywheel on his John Deere B with the petcocks open to start then closing when the 2 cylinders hit. Kind of a spitting sound. No battery on that tractor I wish I had that tractor. I have my dads B though. Dave.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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