I started doing exactly this in 2014 when my wife and I sold our home in Austin and moved to rural Texas. Built fences, bought cows, chickens and goats, fenced off a garden area tilled and planted a garden.
Here is what stunned ne. When I solicited help from kids and grandkids, crickets
Just toral silence and avoidance. It became just like the story of the little red hen who wanted to plant a garden. After doing it by myself for the next 5 years. I quit. Now I grow only enough for my wife and I. When they all ask about fresh food eggs, or beef I just ask them when they want me to help them start. So far ....no takers.
This is not at all what I envisioned, but this is where I am.
And yet if shit hits the fan, they’ll be at your place in no time. If and when that happens, please give all of them chores. I think the main issue of no work ethic in our society is that parents didn’t give chores to their kids and make them see it through and I’m saying this happened across all generations, even my own and I’m gen X.
This. It amazes me how kids don't have chores. I try to think when this happened and if I had to guess, it would be the 90s when the push that "you must go to college or you will be nobody in life" ramped up, especially with the initial web boom in the late 90s. All of a sudden "good" jobs "required" a degree and the fear of being left out meant that kids had to devote 110% to school. It is laughable. I worked and went to school and somehow managed. The point of work at a young age is that you learn the basic skills. Like show up on time.
I heard something a few years ago that something like 50% of Gen X had a job in high school - even if it was just a summer job. Now it is less than half that. Looking back it is now clear that much of this was intentional, but that doesn't make the current situation something that is a lot of fun to deal with. We had a kid recently who was hired as a project coordinator (construction industry) who if he had done well, could have been promoted to project manager within 12-24 months and would be earning 6 figures. He up and quit last week and everyone was surprised because he had appeared to be happy. He wouldn't talk to anyone but sent a long text to the CFO about how things really needed to change, he was worried about what could happen to rhe company. Dude had been there 10 days. Um, if you just decided it wasn't for you, just say it. But what I think may have happened is he was afraid to fail. Which was a lesson we all need to learn at one point, but we really can't wait for you to be 35 before you do.
interesting about the kid who wanted to run the place after 10 days on the job...i started and grew a very good small business years ago, and a young woman came in for interview, handing me a 2-page resume...the first page was her experience (none other than college grad, no summer jobs, no volunteer, nothing)...the second page was HER minimum requirements FROM MY COMPANY, which included her expected salary, paid vacays, paid sick time, paid holidays, 401k with matching %, full medical insur for her/family, paid family leave, quarterly eval for pay raise and path for advancement, etc, etc...i handed her resume back to her and wished her good luck on future employment search.
This is exactly what we’re dealing. I’ve taught the average kid, if they felt they didn’t know the answer, they wouldn’t even try to answer it, even if they would be given partial credit for showing their work.
I respect you for doing what you have done. Farming is the most important job in the world. I am hoping the President Trump helps to Make Farming Great Again.
He can start by eliminating all regulations that were designed to harm the family and independent farmers and ranchers. There are many other things to be done, but that is the biggest one to begin with.
Same here same area, I raise egg layers, started meat chickens, big garden. Tornado flattened my garden last year and most of my pasture meat chickens. It's hard working full time and maintaining animals/garden at home but my freezers are full and I know what went into it. Older kids are in college, and have 2 littles I try to teach and hopefully set a good example for.
I started doing exactly this in 2014 when my wife and I sold our home in Austin and moved to rural Texas. Built fences, bought cows, chickens and goats, fenced off a garden area tilled and planted a garden. Here is what stunned ne. When I solicited help from kids and grandkids, crickets Just toral silence and avoidance. It became just like the story of the little red hen who wanted to plant a garden. After doing it by myself for the next 5 years. I quit. Now I grow only enough for my wife and I. When they all ask about fresh food eggs, or beef I just ask them when they want me to help them start. So far ....no takers. This is not at all what I envisioned, but this is where I am.
And yet if shit hits the fan, they’ll be at your place in no time. If and when that happens, please give all of them chores. I think the main issue of no work ethic in our society is that parents didn’t give chores to their kids and make them see it through and I’m saying this happened across all generations, even my own and I’m gen X.
This. It amazes me how kids don't have chores. I try to think when this happened and if I had to guess, it would be the 90s when the push that "you must go to college or you will be nobody in life" ramped up, especially with the initial web boom in the late 90s. All of a sudden "good" jobs "required" a degree and the fear of being left out meant that kids had to devote 110% to school. It is laughable. I worked and went to school and somehow managed. The point of work at a young age is that you learn the basic skills. Like show up on time.
I heard something a few years ago that something like 50% of Gen X had a job in high school - even if it was just a summer job. Now it is less than half that. Looking back it is now clear that much of this was intentional, but that doesn't make the current situation something that is a lot of fun to deal with. We had a kid recently who was hired as a project coordinator (construction industry) who if he had done well, could have been promoted to project manager within 12-24 months and would be earning 6 figures. He up and quit last week and everyone was surprised because he had appeared to be happy. He wouldn't talk to anyone but sent a long text to the CFO about how things really needed to change, he was worried about what could happen to rhe company. Dude had been there 10 days. Um, if you just decided it wasn't for you, just say it. But what I think may have happened is he was afraid to fail. Which was a lesson we all need to learn at one point, but we really can't wait for you to be 35 before you do.
interesting about the kid who wanted to run the place after 10 days on the job...i started and grew a very good small business years ago, and a young woman came in for interview, handing me a 2-page resume...the first page was her experience (none other than college grad, no summer jobs, no volunteer, nothing)...the second page was HER minimum requirements FROM MY COMPANY, which included her expected salary, paid vacays, paid sick time, paid holidays, 401k with matching %, full medical insur for her/family, paid family leave, quarterly eval for pay raise and path for advancement, etc, etc...i handed her resume back to her and wished her good luck on future employment search.
LOL, how kind of her to put her demands in writing. Good thing you wished her luck, because she is going to need it.
Saved you the trouble of hiring her and finding out about her lack of work ethic when you failed to meet her demands before proving her worth. Lol.
This is exactly what we’re dealing. I’ve taught the average kid, if they felt they didn’t know the answer, they wouldn’t even try to answer it, even if they would be given partial credit for showing their work.
I respect you for doing what you have done. Farming is the most important job in the world. I am hoping the President Trump helps to Make Farming Great Again.
He can start by eliminating all regulations that were designed to harm the family and independent farmers and ranchers. There are many other things to be done, but that is the biggest one to begin with.
Same here same area, I raise egg layers, started meat chickens, big garden. Tornado flattened my garden last year and most of my pasture meat chickens. It's hard working full time and maintaining animals/garden at home but my freezers are full and I know what went into it. Older kids are in college, and have 2 littles I try to teach and hopefully set a good example for.
Oh, I can tell, you are definitely setting a good example. 😊 You are a lucky person.