[ArtieT]

Rosa DeLauro is behind this bill – her husband’s law firm is corporate council to Monsanto.

[ArtieT]

Got a pm today from Dennie. Did not send read receipt, did not follow links, and deleted message.

[ArtieT]

Joshua – I have a book titled ” Timber Framing for the rest of us – a guide to contemporary post and beam construction” by Rob Roy. It was published by New Society Publishers. http://www.newsociety.com I have used some of the techniques described in the book to build a sugar house here at the farm. I am using rough sawn hemlock and white pine. Not true timber framing but it doesn’t look half bad.

[ArtieT]

Try the Forest Service or the Ohio Forestry Association links on the site. You could also try the Northeatern Loggers Association. They put on the “train the trainer program” that I was part of. Also check out the listing of trainers on the site – you may know someone or someone might be from your area.

[ArtieT]

George – As has been mentioned here before, meeting with a log buyer on the landing is a very important first step. Have 4 – 6 logs out and have the buyer scale them in front of you. Have him / her explain to you what they are looking for and what they are seeing. Get a copy of their spec sheet and go through it thoroughly with them. Some critical points will be species, lengths, tip size, and trim. Then call a couple of other buyers and have them look at the same logs and then compare notes. You should know the break point between firewood vs. sawlog. For example – if white ash #2’s are paying $150/mbf delivered to the mill and tree length firewood is $75.00 per cord on the landing which is the better deal for you as the seller? A very simple and loose rule of thumb is 2 cords per 1 thousand feet of logs. So in this example firewood may be the best option for you the seller. This brings up another critical issue in selling logs – who is paying the trucking? Is the price being offered on the landing or delivered to the mill? Knowing this price and who is paying it before any logs leave the landing is absolutely necessary!

Here is a website to check out – http://www.hardwoodvip.org . I was involved with this project a few years back. I am not sure if they are still functional. The website does have some bucking tips on it. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[ArtieT]

For many years I have worked as a log buyer and scaler for a hardwood sawmill – scaling millions of board feet per year. Black Cherry on the left, White ash on the right.

[ArtieT]

Firewood here too! Chunking up some decent sawlogs because what the mill would pay after trucking is less than what I can get for firewood. I do know that the sawmill I worked for (until I was laid off last winter) has made a slight increase in their price sheet, still not enough to ship logs though!

[ArtieT]

Unforunately we have 3 different fungi attacking our tomatoe plants this summer here in New England. Septoria and early blight both exist naturally in our soil and take advantage of the cool wet conditions we have had this summer. Septoria affects only the foliage while early blight attacks the fruit as well. There are some easy methods of control of these but it is probably too late for this year. As the fungus is physically moved up the plant through the splashing of rain drops from the soil and upward you can slow or stop it by mulching heavily with straw or plastic or best is salt hay if you can get it. Also – when heavy rain threatens cover the plants with any type of row cover you can find. As for late blight – it is not too common in New England. This has been brought here in seedlings sold at some warehouse type stores. This was the cause of the potato famine. This fungus is transferred through the seed and into the plant. Where did you get your seed or seedlings? Also – you should move your plantings of tomatoes and potatoes regardless of the type of blight. If you do have late blight you should burn those plants asap and avoid planting potatoes and tomatoes in that area for quite a while!

[ArtieT]

If this is not a hoax – I hope they learn something!

[ArtieT]

Selling? – you bet we are! We are selling a way of life that is rapidly going extinct. We are selling healthy food alternatives. We are selling to the very people our existance is dependant upon. We are selling to those people who were compelled to testify to our local planning and zoning commission that the pzc’s proposed agriculture regulations were ridiculous (they were, but that’s another post). We are selling to those people that told our local politicos that we should have a farmers market in town. We are selling to those people that took the time to show up at town meeting to elect me to a full term on our planning and zoning commission. Yup – we are selling and proud of it. In my opinion Jason was selling as well. Jason has an outstanding product that needs to be sold. The frustration is that what ultimately was sold was garbage. Anyone who has a business and holds themselves to the highest standards knows that frustration – but we can’t give up – none of us can!!!!! We need to sell ourselves and what we do. We cannot just plod along and hope it all works out.

[ArtieT]

Thistledog has a huge point! We need to be blowing our own horn. For the past 4 years we have had an open house at our farm showcasing animal power – in particular logging. We have had over 100 people each year here to see what we are doing. At the outset I always ask “who is here for the first time?” and at least 75% answer affirmatively. So we have exposed over 300 individuals to sustainable farming and forestry – just us! These are people who have no idea where their meat, eggs, dairy and fibre come from – we are not preaching to the choir! After each event we get letters – and this year gifts – of thanks from some who attended. Most thinking individuals really do need to know that there are those out there like us – all of us – doing what we do. The mentally numb folks that watch extreme anything don’t care about where their wood or food comes from and they most likely are not in the position to make any real change, so influencing those individuals is not necessary. We need to be showing those that give a dam what we are doing and then they can take it from there.

[ArtieT]

A short slide show is up with pics of our tour and logging demo, Go to yale.edu/opa Once on the page go part way down the left side to Yale Bulletin and click on that and then follow the links to the slide show!

[ArtieT]

Thanks to all for the clear explanation!!!

[ArtieT]

We had wonderful weather and an excellant turnout. Over the two days we had over 80 people show up. Ray Ludwig was here with his Devons and Jacob Bowen was here with his young Randall Linebacks. Both Ray and Jacob spoke about their teams, draft animal training, and heritage breeds to great rounds of applause. Ray and Jacob moved a couple cords of wood on log scoots. There will be a slide show up soon and when it is I will post the link here. We would also like to extend our thanks to Ray and Jacob as well as Larry Maynard- who was a great help loading the scoots, and Perry Sawyer – a profesional logger who did an outstanding job with a directional tree felling demonstration. Overall an excellant weekend that we will be repeating next year. I will extend the invitation for next year now. Please keep us in mind if interested. Thanks again to everyone!!!!!!

[ArtieT]

Can you please explain what a “Roarer” is? Thanks!!!!

[Author]

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