D6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 4,1983 Jerry Webb Agricultural Editor Do Farmers Retire? What happens to farmers when they reach normal retirement age? Do they actually retire, or do they go on working? Retiring from farming is not like retiring from a nine-to-five job. In most fanning situations, the farm business and the family living are so intertwined that they’re difficult to separate. Besides that, the typical farmer is so involved m his business that he seldom thinks of anything else. If he takes a tnp, it’s to look at livestock or machinery. If he takes an honest vacation, he usually plans something agricultural along the way. He’s not like the factory worker who when he puts down his tools gets as • BARN PAINTING • ROOF PAINTING • BIN PAINTING • MASONRY & EPOXY COATING • Sandblast preparation Barn Painting In Lane., York, Adams, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick Counties All work is guaranteed satisfactory. 6EBHART ft ROMMEL’S Agriculture - Industrial - Commercial P.O. Box 7 Hanover, PA 17331 Ph: 717-637-0222 C.W. JOHNSTON CONSTRUCTION RD 1, Box 673 Central City, PA 15926 (814)754-5754 Full Line Guaranteed Service' • Acorn Barn Equipment • Finance • Leasing • Parlor Feeding Systems • Madison Silos Equipment • Beco Parlors Milking Systems • Chrom alloy Farm Systems • Martin Grain Storage & Handling • Van Dale Equipment • Bedding Choppers • Zook Manure Handling • Humane Equipment • Insolare Panels & Buildings • Sharon Steel • Timber Column • Block Buildings • Sunset Milking Equip. • Thorp Stainless Steel Equip. for Cows & Hogs Everything For Barn & Dairy Farm Talk Jerry Webb Delaware Extehsion tar away as possible from his daily routine. Surveys show that most farmers hardly ever take a vacation and not many of them make solid plans for retirement. So what usually happens when they reach an age that they no longer feel like working on a regular basis? They turn over the farming operation to another family member. Usually this happens over a period of years, and it’s hard to tell when the farmer has finally retired. In retirement, he’s more apt to be there doing something everyday but perhaps not worrying quite so much about the big decisions. Few pack it in I suppose some farmers do pack it all up and move to Florida where they play shuffleboard and bask in STOUFFER BROS.. INC. BINKLEY & HURST BROS. 133 Rothsvilie Station Rd Lititz. PA (717)626 4705 E. W. 6ILEWICZ EQUIP., INC. ZIMMERMAN'S FARM SERVICE PEOPLES SALES & SERVICE the sun. But most tarmeis vMio have been successful and have followed an active, involved far ming career find the Florida sunshine lacking. They prefer to stay right where they are with some interest in the farming operation while they live in the farmhouse where they more than likely spent most of their lives. Some farmers do go about retirement in a very organized way, setting up retirement funds and turning over farm assets to family members. They have a specific date in mind, and they plan toward it. But they are the exceptions. The more typical farmer sees his land and buildings as his retirement program. He invests extra capital in im provements and in expansion, knowing that someday when he grows weary of farming, he can cash in. Whether he actually sells out or gradually relinquishes control depends on his own family situation. If at least one of his offspring wants to farm, it’s easy to turn it over and still draw some retirement income. Selling out may be somewhat more of a shock, but it does produce a mountain of cash which, if carefully invested, allows him to live in relative comfort. Surprisingly, some retired fanners who are millionaires on paper live in poverty. A recent survey in North Carolina indicated the average income of retired V^ 7 fly to your choice of over 80 cities to your choice of 10 cities in in continental U.S. or Canada* Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean* and get $4OO in travel cash and get $BOO in travel cash from Case on your purchase of a from Case on your purchase of new Case 1190 1290 1390 1490 a new Case 2090 2290 2390 or or 1690 tractor 2590 tractor In addition, take Option #1 Your choice of Case 8.8% APR financing for up to 48 months, Or take Option #2 No finance charges until May 1,1984. Or take Option #3 A special cash option, in’lteu of financing Options #1 and #2 on your new Case tractor purchase. (Cash options shown by model in table) ELIGIBLE CASH ELIGIBLE CASH - MOOEI - OPTION MODEL OPTION 1190 $ 650 2290 $2lOO 1290 $ 750 2390 $2500 1390 $ 900 2590 $2700 1490 $l4OO 4490 $3200 1690 $l6OO 4690 $4OOO 2090 $l9OO 4890 $4700 1066 Lincoln Way West Chambersburg PA (717) 263*8424 Elmer Rd , Richwood NJ (609)881 2692 Millionaire Papers s For 8.8% A.P.R. finance charges or waiver-of-finance charges on new tractors, pur chase must be financed through J I Case Credit Corpo ration. Offers apply from date of purchase. ‘ee us now for full details, CASE POWER & EQUIP. Montgomeryville. PA (215) 699*5871 New Castle. OE (302) 652*3028 (UP. FULTZ EQUIP. RD 1 Spring Mills PA (814)422 8805 Bethel PA (717)933*4114 farmers to be about $2500 a year, and most of that was from Social Security. Asked if that was enough, most of them said it was if they managed carefully. That may not sound like much money and maybe it wouldn’t be for a retired Delmarva farmer, but consider the fact that most of the farmers surveyed owned their own homes, had Uved in the same neighborhood for 30 years or more, and did not have a mortgage to pay. Their priorities revolved around making ends meet, staying healthy, and having some financial security in their old age. Here are some other facts and figures turned up m the North Carolina survey of retired far mers. The average age was 74 years. The mean education level was five years. Sixty-one percent were married, 28 percent widowed, and eight percent bachelors. They had an average of four living children? Why did they retire? The most frequent reasons given was poor health. In other words, they only retired because their health demanded it, not because they wanted to. And like farmers everywhere, they made very little provision for that inevitable day when they could no longer work. Less than four percent reported some kind of retirement pension, and only one percent received regular assistance from family members. Most are happy So where do fanners turn for one of our new i farm tractors - get round trip tickets ,or twOj plus cash — for your tnp A. L. HERR & BRO. C. H. WALTZ SONS, INC. ROl, Cogan Station. PA (717) 435 2921 See us ■ now! Offers expire June 30,1983 / , I ' SL —r J . fly to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, Zurich, Frankfurt or Hawaii* and get $1,500 in travel cash from Case on your purchase of a new Case 4490 4690 or 4890 tractor 'Destinations and points of origin ate limit ed to eligible locations Travel Certificates for two (?) will be issued wilbm 45 days of tractor purchase Certificates must be re deemed loi airline tickets by December 31 1983 and cannot be redeemed lor cash Travel must be completed prior to March 1 1984 Travel dates are subiecl to availability Government Agencies Departments do not qualify Offer void where prohibited by law All offers valid now thru June 30 1983 312 Park Ave Quarryvtlle. PA (717) 786*3521 Oakland Mills. PA (717)463-2735 help in retirement years? The most frequent source of assistance in the North Carolina survey turned out to be the Social Security Administration, 92 percent; followed by Medicare, 68 percent; the church, 63 percent; and the Cooperative Extension Service, 34 percent. How do retired fanners feel about dungs in general? Only 18 percent reported much unhap piness in their lives, while most of the rest felt pretty good about their situation. Almost half said things did get worse as they grew older. Dr. Vira Kivett, a family relations expert who supervised the study, says there are some differences between retired far mers and other retired people. She says they have lower education levels, and more limited sources of income. More of them are widowers, and their quality of life is generally lower. She concludes that strong state and local action must take place to improve the quality of life for retired rural people i r THE WARNER CO. Troy. PA (717)297-2141 PAUL SHAVER'S, INC. 35 East Willow St Carlisle. PA (717)243-2586 Loysville, Pa (717)789-3117
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