[raffraffraff]

Oof, never become a farmer. Farming is generally something you (reluctantly?) inherit along with the farm. It's insanely expensive to buy your way in. Even if you inherit the land, the cost of buying and upkeep of machinery is extremely expensive. Everything you invest after that point (in livestock, seed, fuel, time) is a risk. Bad luck or bad weather can ruin a crop. The hours are long. The stress is monumental - suddenly you really care about the weather. And unlike some small tech startups you absolutely have to employ people, but the people who end up working as farm labourers "fall" into it because they can't do anything else (kinda like the building trade). Not that you'll be complaining when you have to pay their wages. No you'll complain when the umpteenth stupid costly mistake is made.

Unless you're thinking about larping as a farm labourer, runaway.

[daemin]

I think when tech people think of becoming a farmer they're thinking of doing something small like this https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/gourmet-farmer and maybe something like Clarkson's Farm (Series on Amazon Prime) rather than going to build and manage a modern industrial farm.

In some ways this idea of becoming a farmer can be thought of as rich people cosplaying at being a farmer rather than actually running a for-profit farm. For some this might work out and be an actual career that they are good at, but for others it might just be a hobby.

Though both the TV shows I mentioned show how much hard work there is in actually running a farm and producing food.

[sandworm101]

Hence the term "hobby farm". It is a retirement dream: buy some land, hire some locals to do the lifting, and spend a few months each year pretending to be a farmer ... but one not fettered by financial concerns. Such people toy with various farm-related schemes but invariably settle in to a low-work pace with a few farm animals as pets, a back acre strewn with the various implements they bought and discarded after a season or two. Clarkson seems pretty open about this. I'm not sure whether he means to be entertaining, to show the absurdity of the process, or whether he actually enjoys it.

[lostlogin]

> Clarkson seems pretty open about this. I'm not sure whether he means to be entertaining, to show the absurdity of the process

He has made a career out of his behaviour. He seems to have mellowed now, and hasn’t punched anyone in the face lately.

His views on climate change, race, homosexuality and probably anything else you can name were aimed at being funny or offensive, depending on your perspective.

[tempfile]

Worth noting that Clarkson's farm would have been a catastrophic failure but for the money pumped into it by the TV show.

[daemin]

I think it's made clear in the show that just running the farm by itself would not be profitable, and if lucky would break even. Other farmers in the area are in far worse situations financially as they do not have a TV show as a sponsor.

Granted he did go and try things which seemed nice but were ultimately unprofitable - big tractor, sheep farming, etc.

[tempfile]

Yeah, it's a good show. I just mean that regarding the original point (tech workers fantasising about farms are deluding themselves) the counter "they are thinking of something like Clarkson's farm" still conforms with them deluding themselves.