Throughout my 50 some years as a farmer, I have attended dozens of auction sales. At every auction sale I have attended, I have heard or been asked,“Why did they sell?” Often close friends and neighbours know several reasons why the farming operation stopped and the auction was called.

Most of the auction attendees are just there out of curiosity and because it was a nice day for a sale.

For decades, many farms kept a few turkeys, geese, ducks or chickens to sell at Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter to bring in a few extra dollars. The farm wives in granny’s time usually kept some hens so they had some egg money stashed away for those little extras.

Many farms sold a few quarters of beef throughout the year to supplement the cash flow.

Our wedding cake was made by a farming neighbour who was known to be the best wedding cake baker in the county. The wedding cake was excellent and yes, we kept the top layer for the christening of our first child. This masterpiece of culinary art was not only delicious and the top tier kept for four years until Scott’s christening but it was much less expensive than the decorated Styrofoam that is used today for a wedding cake.

For years, some of my neighbouring farmers were known for their carpentry skills and helped build some of those landmarks that have withstood snowfalls of the century and winds that flattened buildings that have been designed by certified engineers and were only a few years old.

In an attempt to idiot-proof our society, our various levels of government have imposed laws and rules on everything from not allowing any baked goods to be sold unless they are made in a certified commercial kitchen, to making it illegal to cut a tree unless the tree cutter is certified.

Many farms today spend more time and money filling out forms, maintaining environment plans, maintaining animal health records, getting approval and permits for everything, taking compulsory training for milk production, use of chemicals and even animal welfare. The mental stress and frustration placed on the farmer is usually caused because the person in control here usually has more authority than common sense.

Once while attending a management seminar, an agricultural economist from Iowa told us about the five m’s of success:

• Your mate;

• Money (a banker or lender that understands farming);

• Your mechanic;

• A mentor you can talk to;

• Management.

The best chef that I know once told me that the most important member on his team was the dishwasher. An excellent dishwasher not only could do a spotless job, but could help out with other food related, time sensitive jobs and was priceless!

A successful farmer keeps a close watch on the seven bank accounts of a farmer:

• Soil;

• Seed;

• Education (continuous);

• The team or family;

• Neighbours;

• Politics (local, provincial, federal, general farm, production specific);

• Money. A farm lender must be able to name and explain all seven.

Back to why. Most young people whether they are farm raised or not, can find a higher paying job with much less stress and investment involved, working off the farm. Some farms are designed and built for tomorrow, some not.

Recent off-farm investors have been buying land instead of other investments. This has driven farm land prices up enough to discourage future and existing farmers.

In many US states land taxes paid by farmers are based on how much money the land can produce. This is not the case in Canada.

Sometimes an untimely death can end the life of a family farm. A farm auction is always a sad day for the community. It usually means one less family to send kids to the local school, one less family to attend the church, one less family to support the local businesses.

A local general store owner once told me every farm that quits, means less rubber boots to order next spring.

Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com