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Much of the rest he cautiously set aside. "It was a successful year," said Hadden, a 38-year-old with two children, ages 11 and 9. "But most farmers would tell you that just because you're flush with cash, you don't spend it all." In Oregon, 79-year-old Warren Haught sure didn't. With four decades of farming under his belt, Haught -- socked by the high cost of electricity to irrigate crops in high desert country -- unloaded his 1,500-acre operation a couple of years ago. He pocketed $1.7 million on the land sale and $300,000 from liquidating everything from haying equipment to plows and tractors, using some of proceeds on two new homes -- one of him, the other for his son and his family -- while saving much of the rest. "It was a pretty good deal at the time," said Haught, who now has just 72 acres near mountainous Klamath Falls on which he grows alfalfa and grass crops. He'd like to get at least 100 more acres, saying demand for hay in China and other Pacific Rim countries is boosting prices. "It was kind of the perfect storm -- what you had this year brought a good price," he said. "Everything seemed to be a good price." In western Iowa near Kingsley, Jeff Reinking and his brother -- partners in a 2,500-acre operation evenly split between corn and beans -- recently traded in a 2006 combine for one three years newer -- spoils from what Reinking called "the best year for me." He also paid off some debt and put some money aside in case things aren't always so rosy. "I guess we're getting the better end of things right now," Reinking said. "That has not always been the case."
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