Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
------" I could die tomorrow and be happy--I have had an excellent fullfilled life--"
Surprised someone at age 35 could say that knowing his death would leave a 3 year old without a father.
You shouldn't be surprised at all when that person believes in God. When God no longer has a purpose for you, your time is up and you die! While I do not relish the idea of my daughter having a step father, if that is God's plan then who am I to judge? Incidentally my greatest fear is not to die before my daughter, but for me to outlive my daughter. I lost a sister and I saw the anguish that comes from a parent burying their child.
One of my favorite past times is going around to these old cemeteries and reading the names and dates on the head stones. Its pretty funny because every stone has three things on it. A birth date...the day they died and a little tiny character known as a dash in between those two dates. Its pretty sad if you think about it, an entire life is simply represented for all time as a simple dash.
I'll give you a little piece of advice...from a 35 year old no less...always make the most of your dash because you sure the heck do not know what the date is going to be on the right side of it!
BrokenTap -
Please do understand that I do respect you, sir.
I intend you no insult.
I wish that I knew of a way to bring prosperity to your farm, I simply do not know how.
Quote:
... my greatest fear is not to die before my daughter, but for me to outlive my daughter. I lost a sister and I saw the anguish that comes from a parent burying their child.
I agree.
Quote:
... One of my favorite past times is going around to these old cemeteries and reading the names and dates on the head stones. Its pretty funny because every stone has three things on it. A birth date ... the day they died and a little tiny character known as a dash in between those two dates. Its pretty sad if you think about it, an entire life is simply represented for all time as a simple dash.
I'll give you a little piece of advice ... from a 35 year old no less ... always make the most of your dash because you sure the heck do not know what the date is going to be on the right side of it!
This thread is bumming me out!!What taxes are you all talking about that are so high?Like i said i really don't know much about the taxes there except for the excise tax.I've looked at numerous houses(online) that list the property taxes and many of them are well under 2K.I pay 6500 here for a 60x100 lot.My electric bill goes up EVERY time i get a bill.Its up to 260 now for a family of three that basically lives in the dark!If it goes up a lot the next bill they WILL tell me whats going on.Its out of control and CORRUPT.
Maine can't be more expensive then here.
Did you ever look up the house I'm selling? You can click on my name and search for my thread in the classified section. You can choose about 4 acres or 6.5 Ac. There's plenty of room for your dogs or whatever you want; no animal restrictions. It's a very nice house and we're only a mile from a commuter train that heads into DC. Salaries in the area are fairly high (DC suburb job market) but my taxes on the house with almost 4 acres are only $1600 a year. I think the additional 2.7 AC building lot tax is about $500. And WV has one of the lowest electricity rates in the country. I think WV income tax is fair compared to many states and there is no county income tax. We do have personal property taxes on cars, boats and RV's but typically that only adds up to a few hundred a year. Sales tax is 6% and the food tax is being phased out. Auto gasoline tax is relatively high, but many folks here in the panhandle fill up in VA where it's a few cents cheaper.
Like I mentioned in my post earlier; WV is pretty good when it comes to rural living and general freedoms. Even with some of the issues here it's still far better than most places. I'm a real estate appraiser here in the eastern panhandle of WV and am licensed in VA, so I plan on moving just a little south-west and expanding my work in VA and commuting back to this area of WV for work.
Did you ever look up the house I'm selling? You can click on my name and search for my thread in the classified section. You can choose about 4 acres or 6.5 Ac. There's plenty of room for your dogs or whatever you want; no animal restrictions. It's a very nice house and we're only a mile from a commuter train that heads into DC. Salaries in the area are fairly high (DC suburb job market) but my taxes on the house with almost 4 acres are only $1600 a year. I think the additional 2.7 AC building lot tax is about $500. And WV has one of the lowest electricity rates in the country. I think WV income tax is fair compared to many states and there is no county income tax. We do have personal property taxes on cars, boats and RV's but typically that only adds up to a few hundred a year. Sales tax is 6% and the food tax is being phased out. Auto gasoline tax is relatively high, but many folks here in the panhandle fill up in VA where it's a few cents cheaper.
Like I mentioned in my post earlier; WV is pretty good when it comes to rural living and general freedoms. Even with some of the issues here it's still far better than most places. I'm a real estate appraiser here in the eastern panhandle of WV and am licensed in VA, so I plan on moving just a little south-west and expanding my work in VA and commuting back to this area of WV for work.
$399,000 would buy hundreds of acres if you looked rural.
We bought 105 acres for less than 10% of that, so really it could buy a thousand acres or more.
BrokenTap -
Please do understand that I do respect you, sir. I intend you no insult. I wish that I knew of a way to bring prosperity to your farm, I simply do not know how.
I never took any offense to anything that you said. In fact you are correct, its the chasm between the tax burden and the income levels that makes life in Maine so difficult. I just wish the Maine people would stop voting in all those bonds...my goodness in 40 years none has ever been turned down. If you read the back of the voter card it clearly shows the costs of obtaining them are higher at maturity then the original project costs. In short Maine could be in a much better spot IF Mainer's voted more conservatively.
But despite my never ending whining a fact holds true...I love to farm, both in dairy farming and with sheep, and so ultimately that is my decision and a burden I must bear. I could change the commodities I farm I supposed, but it would lack the passion that I have for cows and sheep. Okay that did not sound good the way that came out but you know what I mean. (LOL) A successful farm is only one someone is passionate about. I could switch to organic veggies which statistically has a higher profit margin then either dairy cows, beef cows or sheep, but my interest level would be incredibly low.
The one thing I love about farming is that you reduce what is truly complex down to the very basics. All that really matters is that today I am in a better position then I was yesterday. It really is that simple.
I've got 400% more sheep this year then I had at this time last year
My winter feed is all accounted for and my overall tonnage is higher too
Milk prices are coming up
Mutton and Lamb prices are holding pretty steady
Now both farms in the family are Gold Star farms (high quality standards)
The big dairy farm is looking to buy an entire farm to expand operations
Overall things are better here then last year, its just been a very tenacious year and incredible hard work to get these improvements. I am not sure we can maintain this intensive level of input though...at least not with some relief in commodity prices. It is just frustrating that the US Gov despite being the biggest consumers of oil and milk in this country, and cannot predict from one day to the other what oil prices will be, but can predict up to a year out what milk prices will be...and regulate them. I know they want cheap food (as do their constituents) but by golly its time farmers got tossed a bone...even if its a small one.
... . I just wish the Maine people would stop voting in all those bonds ... my goodness in 40 years none has ever been turned down. If you read the back of the voter card it clearly shows the costs of obtaining them are higher at maturity then the original project costs. In short Maine could be in a much better spot IF Mainer's voted more conservatively.
I agree.
Quote:
... But despite my never ending whining a fact holds true ... I love to farm, both in dairy farming and with sheep, and so ultimately that is my decision and a burden I must bear. I could change the commodities I farm I supposed, but it would lack the passion that I have for cows and sheep. Okay that did not sound good the way that came out but you know what I mean. (LOL) A successful farm is only one someone is passionate about. I could switch to organic veggies which statistically has a higher profit margin then either dairy cows, beef cows or sheep, but my interest level would be incredibly low.
The one thing I love about farming is that you reduce what is truly complex down to the very basics. All that really matters is that today I am in a better position then I was yesterday. It really is that simple.
I've got 400% more sheep this year then I had at this time last year
My winter feed is all accounted for and my overall tonnage is higher too
Milk prices are coming up
Mutton and Lamb prices are holding pretty steady
Now both farms in the family are Gold Star farms (high quality standards)
The big dairy farm is looking to buy an entire farm to expand operations
Overall things are better here then last year, its just been a very tenacious year and incredible hard work to get these improvements. I am not sure we can maintain this intensive level of input though ... at least not with some relief in commodity prices. It is just frustrating that the US Gov despite being the biggest consumers of oil and milk in this country, and cannot predict from one day to the other what oil prices will be, but can predict up to a year out what milk prices will be ... and regulate them. I know they want cheap food (as do their constituents) but by golly its time farmers got tossed a bone ... even if its a small one.
You are doing what you like to do, which is hard to say for most Americans. and you are prospering amidst it all
I know FBK but it is kind of getting on my nerves lately. In the past this family has always been anti farm subsidies, but last Friday I reluctantly signed up for three more farm subsidies. I am not guaranteed I will get the money, and one of them was a CNMP mandate (Maine has the toughest and they knew requiring CNMP's meant the Gov had to fund them for farmers to be in compliance), but you see my point. There is just no way the price of commodities todays makes it possible to do on your own.
Even the organic people are finding this out as they now have Organic Only Subsidies just for the organic people.
I just could not farm in Maine without that help, just as you could not homestead here without the government pension, veteran health care and the tree growth program. I am in no way faulting you here. My Dad never once stepped into Togus until the cost of living drove him to go to that option. None of that is wrong of course, but it just seems we all require government assistance now in one form or the other, and that is not what my forefathers fought for on top of Bunker Hill, New Orleans, the skies over Germany or the Hou Chi Min Trail! (all of which family members lost their lives).
But it would be one thing if we went to the Government to better ourselves or the farm, but at this point it is just survival. Years ago you could get a FSA loan, start a farm and the profits would pay for the other capital costs. Today they won't even pay for the fencing to keep your darn sheep in.
Daiiy farming is struggling all over the US now, big and small dairies.
Where BT is farming it really is hard because he states they can't grow alfalfa.
When one dairy farms without alfalfa ( a high protien forage) as part of the forage diet, you are left with 2 options--
#1-------add more soybean meal to boost protien
#2-------do without soybean meal and settle for low milk production
Some dairy farmers state----" we strive for quality rather than quantity"
The farmers who are getting--quantity-- are also striving ( and getting )quality
Hard to survive dairy farming.
Very hard to survive if one does not get both quantity and quality
Dairy farming without high quality alfalfa in the cow's ration juist presents more of a challenge regardless of where in the US one is dairy farming.
"....I've been fortunate enough to have worked with animals,something i love and couldn't imagine not doing.I have experience in veterinary hospitals and i'm currently working for a town run municipal shelter.I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to do the same work elsewhere. Sounds like youd be happy in the midwest, cattle country. A good horse or livestock vet is always welcomed, unless you prefer the more domesticated animals, which too, need care in the midwest.
I need change of seasons.The south and midwest are very appealing due to their lower cost of living and beautiful scenery but i need the fall!I can't live somewhere where its 75 degrees on Christmas morning. Wow, I guess that crosses out parts of Az or parts and Fla? I know the further north i go the more snow i'll see every year.I'd rather deal with snow then warm weather all year.In my perfect world it would be spring and fall all year long!
My dream home is an old farmhouse with a big old porch loaded with character.I absolutely LOVE old homes.I'd love a pond or a creek.I've been browsing online for a long time and i know what i want is out there.I just have to be realistic and find a place where i could find employment....."Sadly, unemployment is everywhere. In Calif. S Dakota. Tx. Az. Wi. De. RI. But living close to an area where not having to commute too much could work out. Where I live, its a 6 mile drive each way to/from my work but it sure beats the miles I was using when I worked out in the field, in construction, a few years back. You can live maybe outside of town, and still have that country-style living. The deep south actually sounds very appealing to mee, too.
BTW, your dream home sounds like what Im looking to get into a few years down the road. But a small older cottage style home would work for me as well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
