|
|
Post by Bryan83 on Jul 25, 2020 10:23:37 GMT -6
Hello all, my name is Nels Wickstrom. I recently got a gift from a distant cousin of mine who runs a large farm in America. Apparently, he descends from our family as well and he's sent some money to me. This is a great gift as times have been hard on me and I wasn't sure how to get out of it. So I've decided to sell my house in Sweden and use the money to buy up some land and have a go at farming, with the guidance of cousin Bryan. I'll be headed out to look at plots tomorrow.
(The scenario, No Man's Land map on medium difficulty, and no bank loan. Not allowed to hire workers until the area "grows" and people move in looking for work. Also have to start with all old iron, no new stuff. EDIT: forgot to mention 6 day seasons w/NML Geo)
Well I found a parcel of 4 plots for €340,000. I paid cash to a rather surprised realtor. He asked me what I wanted the land for, making idle conversation. I told her my plan and she just shook her head. "The reason it's such a good price is that the last time anyone was out there, they said the land was too rocky to do anything with. Might be hard to start a farm on it." I asked her if anyone had tried any development out there. She said not that she'd knew of, and that no one had even really been out there in 50 years.
Perfect.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bryan83 on Jul 25, 2020 11:50:24 GMT -6
So I knew I'd need equipment, so I started looking around to see what I could find. Imagine my luck, as I was heading out to my new property, I found a guy who had an old international 833 with a Lizard S043/2 seeder for sale. It cost me €35,000 for the set, and I had to go rent a trailer to pick it up, but I got my first pieces.  I was a little surprised my truck had the power to pull it. It's just so old for a vehicle. Guess 1978 was a good year in the auto industry. Now I'm heading down the road in what seems to literally be the middle of nowhere, when all of a sudden I almost ran over something in the road. At first I thought it was a rock (I was told there was a lot of those out here) but then I looked closer...  Definitely something man made, and I have no clue how or why it got out here. I tried to drag it out of the road, but the thing must have weighed a few hundred kilograms. Sheesh, I hope whoever dropped that off their truck has a way to get it back on. Anyway, I carefully drove around it and kept going down the road to... What the heck? That shouldn't be here...   I was told this was undeveloped land and that no one had been here in 50 years or more. Of course what I found lent credibility to that, as it was an abandoned old log cabin and parked out front was an old Ferguson tractor with a front loader and some kind of spreader attached. I'd have to guess was at least from the 1940's, probably earlier. I also found a field with what looked like the last remnants of withered crop on it. Instantly that 'rock' in there middle of the road nade more sense. It was a weight for the tractor. Oh well, on to business.   I pulled the truck up and unloaded my international. Then shortly after, a harvester I bought from an online dealer showed up on a truck. Gotta unload that too. When that was done, I took a walk around the property. Sure enough as the realtor told me, lots of rocks and trees. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Interestingly enough, I also found a mechanical power harrow, an old 5 furrow plough, a 3 ton trailer and another one that had been converted into a flatbed. So someone a long time ago tried this too, but they seemed to have given up and just left everything. Weird. Well after all the equipment and a few supplies, I have a little over €47,000 to my name. I got to work on that old Ferguson and actually managed to get it running again. So I hooked it up to that harrow and tilled the field, then I used the 833 to plant some wheat and loaded up the spreader with dry fertilizer and finished it off. Now we wait to see if it grows. |
|
|
|
Post by Bryan83 on Feb 6, 2021 20:02:31 GMT -6
Well, bad news. The crops came in and I didn't even make enough on them to cover expenses. I wrote to my cousin Bryan in America, and he suggested having the soil analyzed. The lab results came back and the soil on my plot isn't any good for farming. I guess I found out quicker than the last guy who tried it. So I asked him what I should do next.
After discussing it, we both decided that it was best for me to sell everything and move. As it turns out, there's an opportunity to get a controlling interest in a farm out in the American Midwest. Bryan has looked into it, says its good land with lots of opportunity to expand. Says it's just as close to a sure thing as you can get.
He told me that if I did that, to sell everything except my old International 833. I guess he wants it at his farm and after all the money he sent me, and all the help he's given, I can't refuse him one request. So I sold all my equipment to the local dealer, took down my buildings and scrapped the metal. Sold the land to an outfit called Spunky Dogg Logging. Says he'll have a small farm, but he's more looking to develop the land. I wish him luck.
So I sit with a little over $600,000 American dollars in my pocket, and a plane ticket to the "corn belt" as they say. Be hoping for a brighter career in The New World.
This is the end of this blog, but not the adventures of Nels Wickstrom. Stay tuned as in the future he will be having a new tale in his farming career, and maybe a few familiar faces might even stop by! Thanks for reading.
|
|
|
|
Post by DEERE317 on Feb 6, 2021 20:15:33 GMT -6
If you need equipment assistance, let me know, either I or my "family" (other savegames) may be able to assist.
|
|
|
|
Post by DEERE317 on Nov 20, 2022 18:10:28 GMT -6
Hello all, my name is Nels Wickstrom. I recently got a gift from a distant cousin of mine who runs a large farm in America. Apparently, he descends from our family as well and he's sent some money to me. This is a great gift as times have been hard on me and I wasn't sure how to get out of it. So I've decided to sell my house in Sweden and use the money to buy up some land and have a go at farming, with the guidance of cousin Bryan. I'll be headed out to look at plots tomorrow. (The scenario, No Man's Land map on medium difficulty, and no bank loan. Not allowed to hire workers until the area "grows" and people move in looking for work. Also have to start with all old iron, no new stuff. EDIT: forgot to mention 6 day seasons w/NML Geo) Well I found a parcel of 4 plots for €340,000. I paid cash to a rather surprised realtor. He asked me what I wanted the land for, making idle conversation. I told her my plan and she just shook her head. "The reason it's such a good price is that the last time anyone was out there, they said the land was too rocky to do anything with. Might be hard to start a farm on it." I asked her if anyone had tried any development out there. She said not that she'd knew of, and that no one had even really been out there in 50 years. Perfect. Something funny, I drilled a field with cover crop that had the same name as your fictional characters last name yesterday. |
|
|
|
Post by Bryan83 on Nov 22, 2022 1:43:42 GMT -6
Not even 100% fictional. I actually have Wickstrom's in my family tree.
|
|
|
|
Post by DEERE317 on Nov 22, 2022 8:02:02 GMT -6
Cool
Anyone from Indiana on that part of the tree?
|
|
|
|
Post by Bryan83 on Nov 22, 2022 18:40:26 GMT -6
Not that I'm directly aware of, but we did have a few out in Michigan, so I couldn't definitively rule it out.
|
|
