"Hobby Farmer"?
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=139601
Printed Date: 07 Aug 2025 at 6:22am
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Topic: "Hobby Farmer"?
Posted By: DennisA (IL)
Subject: "Hobby Farmer"?
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 8:30am
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I was just thinking about what everyone's definition of a hobby farmer is. I've read comments in other posts would suggest that hobby farmers do things differently than "professional farmers ". So a professional farmer who farms 5000 acres may view a 500 acre farm as a "hobby farmer". Just curious that's all. ------------- Thanks & God Bless Dennis |
Replies:
Posted By: Hubert (Ga)engine7
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 8:39am
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Anyone who farms to make a living or even make a profit is definitely not a hobby farmer in my book even if they only have a small tract to farm. The ones that have a "farm" and only come out to play on the weekend would be a hobby farmer. ------------- Just an old country boy saved by the grace of God. |
Posted By: CrestonM
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 8:52am
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I know a guy who's a doctor who farms 40 acres...he went out and bought a bunch of fairly large equipment (Deere 4440, 6600 combine, Chevy C60 grain truck, etc.) for it....I'd call that a hobby farm because I know he definitely isn't in it to make money. I always thought a hobby farm was when someone worked a good paying job, then used their equipment to farm a few acres on weekends, and definitely didn't depend on it to supplement their income. |
Posted By: drobCA
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 9:07am
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I'm a "self-confessed" hobby farmer. I use that as justification for acquiring, refurbishing and running pre-1960 AC tractors. almost works, too... but Joyce still wants to know why I need so many tractors for a little 5 acre "farm". I just shrug & grin.
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Posted By: CrestonM
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 12:10pm
Because changing implements is HARD work!! Just get one machine for every implement!  I heard a story about a guy who did that with Minneapolis Moline U's back in the 50's.
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drobCA wrote:Posted By: HD6GTOM
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 2:15pm
| Anyone who has a 2-8-9N Ford for his main use is considered a hobby farmer. |
Posted By: Ray54
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 2:34pm
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I tell folks I am a hobby farmer every time I do something that has little hope of making a profit like planting barley with current prices. But I have never had a real job so to speak. I lease 2000 to 3000 acres to run less than 100 cows so by some standards a large farmer but never been doing it just for the money. If money was the motivating factor you would have to call me crazy farmer rather than hobby farmer. There have been plenty of times I wondered how I was going to keep everything together,and in the end the Lord has always provided. I see people I went to school with retiring and wonder if I made some bad choices,but have really enjoyed my life for the first 60 years. Waiting to see what the next  60 have.If I could find someone wanting to work on pig iron (crawler tractors) for a hobby I could do as Creston suggests and never hitch and unhitch implements again. Well maybe I need just a few more old Cats. |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 4:24pm
On my hay equipment I have two of everything ready to go most of the time hooked to tractors. 2 NH 456 mowers hooked to 1)yanmar 330 2)Long 460 2 NH 256 rakes hooked to 1)David Brown 780 2)A-C CA 2 NH 851 balers hooked to 1)Oliver 1550 diesel 2)Oliver 1600 Utility 1 NH 847 Baler hooked to an Oliver 1550 gas 1 Oliver 62-T baler hooked to an A-C D15 Plus 2 more spare round balers and several spare tractors |
Posted By: Bill Long
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 4:31pm
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When we were out selling new equipment for a farm that was owned by an Accountant, Lawyer, or any other professional we always tried to get the professional owner to drive the equipment. Made the sale evey time. They loved it. Good Luck! Bill Long
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Posted By: Pilot172000
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 4:49pm
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I farm 5 acres and run a bank. My dad farms 80 acres of Soy beans and is a Judge. WE are hobby farmers ------------- Behind every great farm is an orange tractor! |
Posted By: mdm1
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 7:41pm
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I couldn't afford to be any kind of farmer! ------------- Everything is impossible until someone does it! WD45-trip loader 1947 c w/woods belly mower, 1939 B, #3 sickle mower 1944 B, 2 1948 G's. Misc other equipment that my wife calls JUNK! |
Posted By: CrestonM
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 8:36pm
Guess that's my excuse to get a Jubilee! Lol Then I'll be a real farmer
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Posted By: Ranse
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 9:54pm
| I always thought a hobby farmer was someone whos farm was not their main source of income. I know a hobby farm is classified deferent on your income tax than a professional farm. |
Posted By: Alex09(WI)
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2017 at 10:48pm
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With milk prices so low, the "hobby farmers" are doing better than real farmers nowadays. The real farmers (dairy farmers) are barely scraping by whereas the hobby farmers have their main job to support them. ------------- www.awtractor.com A&W TRACTOR 920-598-1287 KEEPING ALLIS-CHALMERS IN THE FIELDS THROUGH THE 21ST CENTURY |
Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 4:47am
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Methinks the real difference might be who takes a gov't loan and subsidies...
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Posted By: dt1050
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 7:19am
Heck that'd rule out about everybody, most folks who farm around here have to have another job just to keep the farm running. lol. In PA. in order to be classified as a farmer on your taxes you must show a profit from the farm a minimum of every 5 years. to me if you put the time most of your time in to the land/livestock your a farmer. ------------- Just cause it's orange don't make it a tractor, there's only one..Allis Chalmers |
Posted By: Gary (sw Wis.)
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 7:49am
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I consider myself a hobby farmer. (My neighbor that milks 500 cows calls me a Saturday farmer). I have a full time town job. On the "hobby farm" I have 5 to 7 sow I farrow out. I have about 100 hens we sell eggs from, I raise 10 turkey a year both for us and give a few to close friends. We also have one horse and we rent some pasture to my neighbor. Anytime I'm in need of more farming I can always help the neighbor, the problem is he has blue tractors. ------------- 190XT - D17 - D14 - WD45 w/loader - WD - (2)B110 - 616H - 610 - B-208 - WD with 190 Mounted Corn Picker - All Crop 60 |
Posted By: copyrite1972
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 2:47pm
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I have been called a "Hobby Farmer" and a "Gentleman Farmer". We have 6 acres, and try to grow the bulk of our food. We also give to friends, and barter for things we can use. I work a full time job, and come home and sometimes work till dark. Our farm isn't a hobby, it's a way of life my wife, and I have been working towards for years. We don't use our farm as a tax write off (Nun the Guvments Binness!) We wanted our kids raised like we were, to know where their food comes from, and to value life. They don't waste any food because they grew it, named it, played with it, and told it "Thank you", and "Goodbye" as it left. My hat is off to all the "Real Farmers" who have to bust their asses to put food on their tables, and roofs over their family's heads. Worse case happens here, we buy food from the store, we don't loose our life's work. ------------- D15 Series II |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 4:27pm
There are very few farmers that rely solely on the money they make farming with no other income or help.Some have off farm jobs,some do custom work,some do mechanic work for other farmers,some collect Gov't Subsidies,many get Federal Crop insurance which is subsidized heavily by the Gov't,many get conservation payments and the list goes on. |
Posted By: Sugarmaker
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 7:35pm
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I don't even come close to calling myself a hobby farmer! I just like having a bunch of old iron around to play with. I have 4 acres, daughter has 200+. I can play on that. i did grow up on a farm We grew almost all our food. Also helped Dad on his dairy/ crop farm growing up. But worked in mechanical design office for 40 years. I appreciate the folks that work full time growing crops or milking cows! Closest I get to production is the 150 gallons of maple syrup we make each spring. Most of the equipment is used for different thinks in that hobby business. Creston, Go buy that Jubilee! They are nice tractors! Regards, Chris ------------- D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet. |
Posted By: AC6080MAINE
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 7:47pm
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We did our taxes this year for the first time with the schedule F. It included a lot of purchases and very little income due to acquiring equipment mostly in the fall. This year wont be too much better because we are starting small. Our accountant told us that if we were just "hobby farmers" as opposed to being "for profit" we would not be able to file the schedule F and pass the straight face test. Farming isnt easy to be successful in so i guess my definition would be someone that makes a profit (taking time invested in to consideration!) isnt really a "hobby farmer". The folks with a small farm stand or visiting the farmers market on saturdays to sell a few goods might be real little farmers, but i dont think i would use the term "hobby" if their intent is to make money and they are able to do so. My intent is to make money in this endeavor. Our accountant warned us that if we were to go a few years without showing a good farm income to offset all our expenses, it would be considered a "hobby". I guess they have never heard of a bad farmer. I hope i'm not the one to show them they exist! I will consider the first few years a big investment and like anyone starting something for the first time, i expect losses so I wont let it get me too down. We are going to be a hay farm, by the way.
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Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 8:42pm
| I know several farmers that farm in the thousands of acres, and they still have a job in town. does that make them hobby farmers? |
Posted By: wekracer
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 9:41pm
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Let me start off by saying the IRS views the difference between farmers and hobby farmers as "the intent to make a profit." They do not say has to make a profit. Dad worked in town and farmed the whole time and now I work in town and run the farm. We pay our income taxes on our earned income. But the farm has not shown a profit since the early 80s. Every year we reinvest in new equipment. If your accountant tells you that you have to show a profit every 5 years then you need a different accountant. There is nothing illegal. Just using the tax code as it's written. Dad still holds the checkbook and that's fine. But I have farm expenses simply by driving my truck to look at equipment. My accountant told me he has no problem filing expenses against a schedule F with no income as long as the intent is there. And it is easily justified that it is. We share crop 300 acres and run 60 head of mama cows. We feed out 10 calves a year and sell by the half with the corn we grow and alfalfa from the neighbor. We trade services with the neighbors for veggies and eggs. We do all square bales and haul with a self propelled bale wagon. We have a lot of nece equiplent. I slways tell people we are not getting rich farming. In fact I've been doing it for free for 35 years. But I've got a lot of cool toys. And I love my way of life. Some say we are overkill. We are running a kinze planter with GPS control with an 8010. Most big farmers in this area aren't running GPS. We have an 8050 and 8070 Fwa. We run a 13' hydroswing diskbine along with a Vermeer r2300 rake and we put less than 100 acres of hay. We've got an L3 Rwa, F2 Rwa and F3 for 300 acres. So all things considered we are more high tech than most of the big boys around here . Dad always told me work smarter not harder. We are hobby farmers compared to a lot of our neighbors and big time compared to others. I say it doesn't matter how much you farm. If you put in a crop and harvest it or look after livestock your a farmer. Oh yea. We don't have crop insurance. Or get subsidies. |
Posted By: CrestonM
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2017 at 9:53pm
They are! I'll probably have one someday. Great-granddad bought one in '53, and that was his only tractor until he died in '85. (He mounted an LP tank on the front and ran LP most of the time) He farmed about 500 acres and never had another source of income other than farming. Dad grew up with an 8N, and he said it was always fun driving his grandpa's Jubilee. He said as similar as they were, the Jubilee seemed like a monster. He said it just ran better, pulled better, etc. He said there was a certain toughness about it the 8N didn't have. |
Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 12:30am
| I don't think....an 8N had anything, cept maybe it was better than walking? LMAO |
Posted By: Dusty MI
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 6:38am
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I always figured that the N seres Fords were only good for going to get the cows. Dusty ------------- 917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express" |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 6:38am
Now if it would just go more than 1 day without rain!
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Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 6:49am
Thank you!!! Together me and a family member farm 1100 plus acres of corn, beans, wheat, hay, a very few hogs, and a couple beef cows. Since we both have town jobs are we hobby farmers? Odd part is most of the "full time" farmers near me call it a day before 6pm here if it's daylight out I'm going. Last fall had a 20 plus hour days harvesting. ------------- 8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760 |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 7:44am
You are basically correct here.....Have you been actually audited? I have. It's a real hoot. On one hand, we did "win" our audit. We actually were initially ruled against, appealed, won the appeal. We won by showing not only intent, but things we were doing differently in very recent years to turn things around. On the other hand, showing profit in 1 out of 11 years was the IRS's trigger for us to be audited. I guess you could say our ratio was better than yours, "not since the early 80's". I think if ours were that bad, we surely would have lost the audit, and likely all the livestock and most of the equipment to pay the bill. I was just talking to an ag trucker a few weeks ago. Says me and 2 other guys are the only farmers he's talked to that were audited, the thing in common was an in town job. The IRS thinks we're using the farm as a tax shelter. I'm not saying you're wrong, at all, in fact I'm saying you are right. Technically. But it is a very thin line you're drawing, hard to describe in writing. I get what you're saying.
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Posted By: dt1050
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 7:58am
didn't ya normally end up walking if ya owned one anyway????lol as far as a hobby farmer or farmer call yourself what ever ya want, but if you ever spent a week following a baler in the hot summer sun, call yourself a farmer, you earned it.. I got nothing but respect for anybody who puts in the time and effort to take care of the land or livestock, regardless of acreage or equipment. I believe if everybody worked a farm for at least 1 summer, they would have a lot more respect for were there food comes from. ------------- Just cause it's orange don't make it a tractor, there's only one..Allis Chalmers |
Posted By: JimIA
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 9:15am
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Some could call me a hobby farmer but I actually dislike that term. Im farming on the side because at this time I cannot make enough money to support my family on the farm by itself. If it was a hobby for me I wouldn't be outside working til nearly midnight a lot of nights, I wouldn't be driving myself crazy to make a crop of hay, I wouldn't be trying to expand our flock of sheep or buying 9 more heifers to build up a beef herd, not being able to take a weekend or holiday off all to try to keep it in the family another generation. Anybody who is trying to support their family, pay their bills and better themselves is not a hobby farmer, even if all they own is an old Ford tractor. Jim ------------- An open eye is much more observant than an open mouth |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 9:45am
Ba! Following the baler is easy in comparison to being in the hay mow! That was my job. Still is some days. It's almost as much fun as taking hay out to the cows when it's -20, then you get one of those round bales where the twine starts getting sucked into the bale right away. So you're standing there in the driving wind, -20, frozen snot coming out of your nose, eyes burning in the cold, tears freezing on your face, pulling 300 feet of twine out of a frozen bale in the dark. It's an awesome character building experience. Crazy SOB I am. Why do I do this again?
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Posted By: Harvey/pa
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 10:46am
Thank you!!! Together me and a family member farm 1100 plus acres of corn, beans, wheat, hay, a very few hogs, and a couple beef cows. Since we both have town jobs are we hobby farmers? Odd part is most of the "full time" farmers near me call it a day before 6pm here if it's daylight out I'm going. Last fall had a 20 plus hour days harvesting. [ I dislike the term also. Lots of big Green farmers around here (not all) that look down & scoff at us little guys & make fun of our small/wore out equiptment. I often wonder if they love farming like I do or if its just a job to them...Harvey /QUOTE]
Guess I messed that up, I was trying to agree with victoryallis about working late
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Posted By: TREVMAN
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 10:56am
| I dont think you can ''hobby'' farm. Its like hobby dentistry, or hobby cardio vascular surgeon. Youre either doing it or not. jmho, Trev. |
Posted By: allisrutledge
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 12:02pm
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I figured out about a year before my dad passed away what my purpose in this life is. God put me here to help grow food and also gave me a job to support the farm.as others have said the American farmer works too many hours but very few complain! My hats off to all that work hard to help feed the world whether its a 1/2 acre sweet corn patch to give his neighbors or 5000 acres of wheat..may God bless all( even the ones with green ,red,or blue equipment) . Scott ------------- Allis Chalmers still exist in my mind and barns |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 12:43pm
------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 2:33pm
| Yeah Brian. You can be technically correct, and still be ruled against if they think you aren't correct enough basically. Guilty until proven innocent, very innocent, in the eyes of the IRS. Then, how do you fight it? By yourself? (phew, good luck!) Accountant office help only? Legal help? Every level of defense gets more expensive. What's worth it? Dang good question. |
Posted By: Wayne180d
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2017 at 9:15pm
| When I had my little patches of land I farmed I asked my accountant about being a hobby farmer. He told me to farm it as real or I would have to claim the income but I could not show any expenses. He was a farm accountant actually. I had all small decent equipment but everyone around me farms huge acreages. I had these for ten years and now after the last three years and the weather this year I am glad I am done. |