Niece and her Hubs may be in trouble

Farm around 4-5000 mixed use acres outside of Cape Girardeau MO, she lost FIL he his Dad, also the Other set of hands that kept the farm moving and working.  Any words of wisdom as to Max Acreage per body for Help or for working in general?  My Younger Brother's Daughter, her other Uncle, older brother of mine, is also curious what He can do to aid them thru the next months into 2026.

Edited by DMiller - 26 Jul 2025 at 2:21pm

Of the Cuff is acceptable.  

The loss of a family member and business partner can be very devastating. Hopefully they had a business plan in place to cover the financial dealings to keep the farm running. After the initial loss of a person that would be the next most important thing. The row crop farming would depend on how the farm is currently operating. One large combine and a grain cart operator can harvest a lot. Does the grain all get hauled to town do they have on farm storage. How old is this couple and do they have children. How many head of cattle do they raise? Are they more cattle focused. Or crop farming? I think the the most help you can give them if possible would be a hand at harvest. Drive trucks grain carts or combine. They will have to figure out how the farm proceeds after they get over the initial shock of losing someone.

With the upcoming harvest, yea I know it’s still July, but time fly’s, there is the option of selling a portion of their un-harvested crops ‘standing in the field’. This could allow them a bit less stress and anxiety, generating some immediate cash flow.

Sad that they feel they have to sell land to make this manageable but who knows their financial situation and plans for the future. Yes land prices are high now but once sold it's hard to get back. With what they are paying for rents you could rent out some acres for a few years and see how things go. This is also a good reminder for the young and old generation, old guys need to let the young guys get in the planter,sprayer and combine and run them while you are still around. Have them deal with cattle and include them in the financial aspects of farming because you won't be there forever. And then this all falls on them at once. Although some of the best farmers probably started by having things dumped on them and forcing the grit and determination for them to survive or the other side of it is the farm doesn't survive. I will say one thing for this man losing his dad. I lost my dad 2 years ago to cancer. He was 82 and not involved in the farm any more but I would call him in the evening when a calf was born or corn was planted or harvested or hay got made. I always had someone to talk to and share with and dad understood things different then talking to my wife.

I would first look at the infrastructure of the livestock side of things, condition of buildings, feed storage, fences, etc. Look to at cost of production and income to see if the family can survive on that income. On the acreage side if things I would not sell ground to pay bills or lessen my labor load. Once its gone its gone. You pay capital gains taxes on the sale and never get it back. Rather cash rent out the fields that are farthest from the farm to lessen travel time. Cash rent on a short term contract that can be broken if both parties agree and perhaps get a bonus in a good year but be prepared to help the tenant out in tuffer years. You pay for all maintenance fertilizer and have it applied so you are assured that the soil fertility is maintained and require crop rotation so the soil isn't robbed from corn on corn. Charge rent accordingly to cover the fertilizer costs and you can possibly use that as an expense at tax time. Work with a young up and coming farmer that has experience and drive rather than the huge farmers that seem to be taking over. Just my thoughts on the matter. Good luck with whatever you decide, keep the lines of communication open and dont rush into a quick decision. For harvest this year ask a neighbor if they would like to do some custom work to help you out and then you could see how they operate and they could be a good candidate for tenant in the future. Best of luck and ignore the gossip talk in town, its your farm and your family's legacy.