Farmers Find More Demand to Work Land for Others By John Seewer Dick Kraus couldn't shake the itch to farm, so he moved home to Wisconsin and started picking up jobs farming for others. Eight years later, Kraus makes his living as a custom farmer – someone who gets paid per acre to plant corn, make hay or harvest wheat. The demand for farmers like him has grown as more owners who know little about farming inherit farmland or buy it as an investment. It's also less expensive and faster for some landowners or farmers to hire a custom farmer with bigger equipment, rather than spending $100,000 on a new combine. "They can put their money back into cows or land instead of equipment," Kraus said. "It's also a quality of life issue. Instead of never getting a day off, they can go fishing now." The demand for custom farming also is growing because it's harder to find and hire people willing to work long hours for just a few busy weeks, said Tim Baker, operations manager for U.S. Custom Harvesters, based in Hutchinson, Kan. Most people in the harvesters association are full-time operators who travel with a crew of combines over hundreds of miles from field to field during harvest seasons. Kraus, who lives near Elkhart Lake, Wis., hires about 45 temporary workers to help with fall harvests. "In the beginning, we took every job we could," he said. "Now we're a little more cautious." Custom farming isn't without its costs and risks. Land owners pay for seed, pesticides and other supplies. Custom farmers still have to cover the cost of their equipment, insurance, workers compensation and fuel. "One of the pitfalls right now is these skyrocketing fuel costs," Baker said. "If you're not careful, you can give it all away in fuel costs." Many farmers have added fuel surcharges to their contracts with land owners, said Baker, whose organization represents grain, cotton and forage harvesters. Setbacks to custom farmers in recent years include the increased size and efficiency of grain harvesting machines, which have reduced the need for harvesters. More farmland has also been taken out of production for conservation reasons. Yet, many thrive. Woody Martin, of Shippensburg, Pa., said his business has grown by about 25 percent over the past two years. He now has about 200 customers. Martin said it is less expensive for farmers to hire him to haul manure or mow hay than to try to hire full-time help. But he said it takes a lot of planning and bank loans to make money at custom farming because the returns are small. "But that's agriculture," Martin said. "You earn every dime." Kent Pickard runs a custom farming business in Wilmington, Ohio, and does some of his own farming. "The custom operation is one of our tools for survival," he said. "We can't live without the cash flow."
|
|