Well readers I am or we are all still locked up and it is impossible not to look at what the stock market is doing or how we are all going to fare when we are released from our homes. The one thing that I have thought about is that this is really the third time that I have experienced this economic disaster. There was the farm depression in the 1980’s the 2008 economic disaster and now the Coronavirus. The one that made the biggest impact of my life so far would have to be the 1980’s and the farm depression which many believed to be as bad as the Great Depression for farmers.
I had just bought a 500 acre farm for $500 per acre with a FMHA loan and everyone kept telling me how smart and rich I was going to be. Who in the world would have thought that we would have embargoes and in a year’s time the land would be appraised at less than $100 per acre. I was flat out broke with a wife and two kids and another on the way. There were so many great people who lost farms and families broke up. It was hard as the disaster was isolated to the farm economy.
People think differently when they also have skin in the game. When someone you know gets sick or loses their job it should make you think twice. There were good farmers who deserved to keep farming but lost it all because we were not all in the game.
Thank you,
Drennan Bailey
About Drennan Bailey
Drennan Bailey, the President of Bailey Properties, Inc, is a St. Louis native with a lifetime commitment to land management and ownership. After earning his business degree from Westminster College, Drennan followed in the footsteps of his family, who have been in farming and ranching for over a century. His early experiences on his family’s Missouri farm fueled his passion for the land. A pioneer in no-till farming during the 1980s, Drennan has both brokered and personally owned thousands of acres. His expertise spans agriculture, ranch, wildlife, and outdoor recreation land sales. Drennan’s extensive network includes trust departments, banks, attorneys, CPA’s, farmers, and landowners. He’s facilitated transactions for clients globally. Married for 40 years, Drennan is a father of four and a grandfather of six, valuing family and tradition.
