Three Years to Break Even

By Jared M. Smalley.

Duane and Carol Karnatz are back on the farm in rural Minnesota, after spending 21 years in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Like many other persons who completed high school in the mid-1950's, they left their family farms for the growing metropolitan area to seek success and happiness, but found mostly city congestion and frustration instead. They probably would still be trying to cope with the pressures of the big city, if Duane hadn't become disabled with a leg ailment which forced an early retirement from the postal service in 1972.

Between disability checks and Carol's job, the Karnatz family including daughters Patrice and Denise were able to make ends meet, but they yearned for a return to rural living. After much planning and looking, they found a 17-acre farm near Wadena, Minn., that met their expectations and budget needs.

"We moved on Friday the 13th of June, 1975, but we're not superstitious," Duane noted. The girls soon adjusted to their new home, and pitched in to plant an acre of strawberries and raspberries. Hopes for making the payments through raising beef and selling chicken eggs didn't work out as planned, so the family switched their emphasis to a small dairy operation and a large garden under a hand-move irrigation system.

Weather also contributed to the family's early problems, as a severe drought during 1976 was followed by an extremely cold winter that wiped out 95 percent of the berry plants. "I guess we would have become discouraged, if it wouldn't have been for our friendly neighbors," Carol recalls. She found it necessary to take a job as a ward secretary at the local hospital to supplement Duane's pension, as income from the farm fell short of expectations.

The drought passed and the garden flourished in 1977, while the dairy herd grew to seven cows and five heifers. A big planting of peas, coupled with sales of some berries and other vegetables, provided extra spending money. Between produce sales and milk checks the family expects to break even for the first time on its farm operation in 1978, Mr. and Mrs. Karnatz say.

In the meantime, they are getting along quite well by heating their home with wood, milking their own cows, raising their own chickens and eggs, canning and freezing their own vegetables, and sewing many of their own clothing needs.

Adjusting to Changes

The change from city to rural living often creates severe adjustment difficulties. Loneliness may set in for those left behind when the spouse is at work and the children are off to school.

Some people who move to the country find new financial stress. As previously mentioned, many times a second car is needed. Equipment to maintain the place becomes essential since services are so isolated. Repairs to fences where animals are present, and upkeep of buildings and equipment, suddenly take part of the monthly income. Some of the new experiences often become daily or weekly aggravations.

Chances are, if you were happy where you came from and your family has the ability to adjust, you will be happy in the country. Country living can be great, but it may not be as cheap or convenient as expected.

It's relatively simple to close up a city home and go off for a vacation, but in the country you have to consider a number of other factors. If you own animals, you must find someone to care for them. Vacations away from the home may have to be timed to not coincide with the planting, caring for, or harvesting of your crops if a small farming venture is involved. Sudden and severe storms in the winter can cause damage to properties that are left unattended.

None of these problems are insurmountable, but certainly should be considered when listing the pros and cons of city and country living.

You'll have some new and wonderful experiences even after considering the items discussed here and others you may think of. You and your family are the only ones who can determine what you are willing to put up with to gain what you feel you want from life. No one else can determine this.

Jared M. Smalley is Area Extension Agent, Wadena, Minn.