Working as a Farmer for Survival Preparedness?

[MasterrEugene]

Hello Calgunners,

I currently work in the Social Work Field and my Bachelors is in Business/Accounting. My organization has to do with money management in the Social Work field like SSA/SSI social security benefits or whatever.

However, I am discontent with my job and have sent out multiple applications to different kinds of job positions.

Well, I have a 2nd job interview with this one farming organization. The job pays somewhat decently (65K to 70K). Most of us have probably heard about potential food shortages coming later this year or so due to fertilizer shortages or whatever. My question, then, is, would it be a good idea for me to take this job if they offer me a position?

Working with a farming organization might be helpful in hard times if food becomes scarce. I might be able to grow my own food or get food from the farmlands. I am still somewhat young and i'm not deep in my career. I am only 29.

Is it worth it at this time for me to career shift into this position and join farming if food scarcity will be a real issue later this year, or should I perhaps look elsewhere for work and try to just land some office manager or accounting job somewhere?

Edit: Im not sure if i would be farming in this position, but the job title is "Farm Collective Coordinator" and it is a farming organization or w/e

Thanks

[user120312]

Up to you if you want to play the corporate farming game. Is the organization privately or publicly held? How many acres are under cultivation? What crop mix? What's the geographic diversity? Is this a stop along the path or something you want to do long-term? Do you get along with government?

I was a nobody vendor for a few large orgs on the west side when running my shop, mostly fab work and hydraulics. I found the gladhanding and corporate politics to not be to my taste. YMMV.

[MasterrEugene]

Thanks for the response! It is not large, only 8 acres or so total for all land the company owns.

If I joined them, whether I stayed with them long term or short term might depend a lot on how the food supply in circulation is looking in 1-2 years.

If the food situation is manageable and theres food at the grocery stores at the end of this year and all of next year then I might not need this job. I live in an urban environment. There is not much land to farm here. The food storage in my house might be enough for 7 people for 6 months.

We do have some food in our backyard but its just supplemental (1 apricot tree, 1 orange tree, 3 lemon trees, 1 calamani tree, etc)

However, if there is a severe food crisis situation later this year due to fertilizer shortages etc, then at least I will be part of a farm company where I can get and grow food (maybe)

If you were me, would you take the job if the company gives a job offer? Do you think the food situation this year and next year will be bad enough that itd be worth it to be part of a farming company?

[MasterrEugene]

Is this true?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...8-fc38a116b5c0

[Dano3467]

Wait. You can earn $67-70K/yr farming/related 8 acres ?

Did I miss something ?

[MasterrEugene]

Originally Posted by Dano3467

Wait. You can earn $67-70K/yr farming/related 8 acres ?

Did I miss something ?

Im not sure where they get all of their revenue from. Maybe they get help from the city.

But if im not mistaken its only 8 acres and the job would apparently pay 65 to 70k

[strakill]

I am a pick your job and stick with it kind of guy but as you stated you don't like your current job so a change seems inevitable.

The farming thing will be helpful as far as learning the trade, if you get that far into it, to help you jump to something else down the road. The more experience the better.

Do I think it will be helpful for a food shortage issue? Probably not, unless you learn how to grow and manage food production from this job. 8 acres of publicly available farms will be over ran pretty quickly.

Whereas growing my own food is an easy task for me since it's kind of been a part of my own life trying to survive from a young age I realize it seems like a very hard task for most. A decent sized garden and learning to store food is key to food security. Maybe you can learn and be able to get supplies for cheap with this job and who knows, build your own network of like minded people and if nothing comes from all this economic garbage you might be able to branch off on your own.

You are only 29 so this could lead to an opportunity.

[MasterrEugene]

Originally Posted by strakill

I am a pick your job and stick with it kind of guy but as you stated you don't like your current job so a change seems inevitable.

The farming thing will be helpful as far as learning the trade, if you get that far into it, to help you jump to something else down the road. The more experience the better.

Do I think it will be helpful for a food shortage issue? Probably not, unless you learn how to grow and manage food production from this job. 8 acres of publicly available farms will be over ran pretty quickly.

Whereas growing my own food is an easy task for me since it's kind of been a part of my own life trying to survive from a young age I realize it seems like a very hard task for most. A decent sized garden and learning to store food is key to food security. Maybe you can learn and be able to get supplies for cheap with this job and who knows, build your own network of like minded people and if nothing comes from all this economic garbage you might be able to branch off on your own.

You are only 29 so this could lead to an opportunity.

Thanks for the input! I think it might be an opportunity for me to learn more about farming which could be a useful survival skill

A lot of whether or not I get a job in farming or even how long i might stay depends on the food situation in america

Alternatively I might be able to land some accounting job instead and try to grow vegetables at my familys house to help to help address the food situation. Im a noob and still somewhat young so hopefully im able to get some guidance from those of you who are older and more experienced and have a better understanding of the food supply in america than i might

[FeuerFrei]

There is no value in being a cog in a corporate ag operation. You will not learn how to grow anything. It's all planned out and segmented parallel operations going on. Lots of stress and pressure in the office. Fuel and fertilizer costs are eating up margins now. It'll get worse.

In the last 5 years I have lost 2 childhood friends in their 50's. Hearts went.

Your best bet is to diy a small veg garden at home for now. That'll have real value moving forward. Learn to grow food by growing food.

[user120312]

Originally Posted by Dano3467

Wait. You can earn $67-70K/yr farming/related 8 acres ?

Did I miss something ?

Depends on the crop. However, in my response I was thinking more on the level of Boswell or Simplot, that type of farming, which apparently is not what OP is looking at.

Forex, a neighbor in CA runs a commercial MJ farm on small acreage and does quite a brisk monetary business on a plot of land smaller than the OP referenced. More generically, the local Vietnamese community often farms small parcels as truck gardens with specialty crops which bring handsome monetary returns. I met some of them last year when they bought equipment out of the machine shop for their own shops to maintain their stuff. It depends.

If that job was local in Oregon I'd have no problem taking it, but not as a career, rather something to do in retirement. I would expect it to disappear at a moment's notice or quit when I'd had my fill of the DEQ. Nothing better than Commie .gov to take the fun out of any job and CA is pretty much full Commie.

[KevinB]

Something isn't right. They are not hiring him as a farmer. Unless they are growing pot, 8 acres isn't going to cut it.

About 11% is average return on most farming op's. Numbers don't add up.

[Big Chudungus]

As it turns out, 8 acres is cutoff for "Kulak" so you will be accused and targeted for "hording food" by the Biden regime. Note that virtually EVERYTHING happening in USA today is based on Soviet model and on same time frame. Farmers are POLITICALLY assumed to be opposed to Biden regime so its perfectly expected some food shortage hoax will used to seize their crops and "hordes" and punish them in various ways.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulak

but to more seriously answer your practical question:

No, I don't think working as a "farmer" will do much if anything to improve your Food Security and you'd be much better off making more money with more TRANSFERABLE (Unix Guru) skill set and spending that money on "Midnight Gardener" and some SHTF and Bug Out plans. I'd guess no matter how skilled you get in CA's world famous farming, you'd have a very hard time breaking into farming anywhere else as a new comer/outsider, just because.

However, I did hear that at the end of WW2 in Nazi Germany people remarked that kids in cities were all malnourished but well enough dressed but kids on farms seemed OK physically but dressed in rags. But that was Nazi regime not Communist regime.

[Citizen_B]

I'd start with the premise first. Food isn't going to be scarce over the next few years due to fertilizer supply disruptions. Certainly not in the US. Potentially more expensive sure, but not broad supply scarcity. Things like supply chain and distribution disruptions (like covid) or severe weather issues could do some temporary damage, but the modern ag industry is robust and large enough to not collapse. I think the crowd here has interest in food production from the off-grid independent, homesteading, SHTF perspective. That's a little different from commercial ag. Not saying you wouldn't learn anything useful from commercial ag, but if you're concerned about gaining skills in independent food production, there's probably some better ways to go about that (that may not pay as well).

I suppose it depends on where your passions are. My general advice to young folks is do a job you like that pays decent, then learn useful skills on the side. If the job is comfortable enough, you'll have the spare time and money to learn stuff flexibly and efficiently. Then one day after some experience you might realize where you really want to be and can choose to pursue that (or not).