Byron, Farm costs were significantly less than what you have guessed in the 70s. But there were reasons our fathers did not grow that were ligament in their eyes. My fathers did not grow either, some of the neighbors did. Some made it though the 80s and some did not, the ones that did are the farms that are very aggressive today. They are also the individuals that want to come here and tell the rest of us how easy it should be to be aggressive. Buying a 1/4 of overpriced land when you already have 1000 acres is not difficult, buying a 1/4  with 300 acres is a different story.

In the 70s our fathers dealt with machinery that beat the heii out of you day in and day out.(a contributor to my bad back) Credit was very difficult to come by and managing risk was very different. If you think that they made big mistakes by not buying land at $100/300 dollars per acre you are right but hindsight is perfect. My father owned 450 acres and lost it all because he got sick early in life, my father inlaw never grew as he had daughters and didnt like risk because he had heart problems.

That being said we can grow ourselves but it is more difficult largely because we battle the successful farms of the 70s. Not impossible but we who have the long road to climb have to be more creative. You would probably view me as a pain (in your growth strategy) if I were your neighbor. How I would deal with me is gain my respect and I'd probably leave you alone. Maybe even help you, I have done so with young neighbors already. One thing about guys like me is we respect NEIGHBOR and most do, make sure you identify the ones in your neighborhood.