[blue80]

Rope lights might be an option too if that hasn’t been discussed. We have rechargeable batteries and use them for led headlamps. Wonder what we ever did before without them…..

[blue80]

that is awesome. you have a lift dump or back out of it?

[blue80]

Boat anchor and rope to get the round bales on, when I do it properly I can hand role them off… This bale ended up a little farther forward on the rack than I wanted, but the ladies needed and enjoy the work. We take a few breaks over 1000 ft. to correspond with the 200- 300 ft. ideal max. twitches I’ve read some of you recommend.

Started using a buckback through the v opening in the pole strap and under the bay and she is working far better than when I had the buckback over the hames.

Note the ducktape on the hames! akin to the saying, “if the women can’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!”

let me know what I’m doing wrong, I already see I’m throwin some slack:o
Kevin

[blue80]

Without putting all genetically engineered food projects in one bag, I’d have to as a whole be quite skeptical.
There are no quick fixes in nature, this has been proven in the past; though improvements, usually land infrastructure and simple hybridization has been a blessing to cultures through history.

The problem in Africa/”3rd world” ( and this is a term I hate but use for simplicity) isn’t their inability to grow food or the quality thereof, its that the outsiders dump cheap subsidized goods on their market so cheap that the local African farmers can’t compete. But now “we” provide them with solutions to their problems. What good neighbours we are “solving world hunger”!:rolleyes::eek: They are supplied with food to control them, enough said…..

I don’t see ge as solving any problems, rather just attaching the producer to the corporate teat so to speak, so that ge/gmo are common and accepted, the producer has no choice but to continue with the programs. For instance, we see a plethera of weeds resistant to glyphoshate already, and the original roundup patents for glyphosphate have largely expired. So to keep up Roundup sales, engineered plants are Roundup ready; (one must use Roundup on Roundup ready crops, not generic competing glyphosphate products….
Of course I see the next logical step as a new roundup type product that will kill the roundup resistant weeds, and then new crops resistant to that spray. Ever while, the available seed bank in the world is dwindling faster than ever before in history. Spray spray spray, it’s easy and profitable!:rolleyes::eek:

I feel the need to simplify often in life, to get things to make sense for me. So the question I ask in this case, is “Do genetically engineered products increase or decrease options for the consumer and community?” I believe the answer is that options will be decreased, and that makes me think that genetically modified is overall bad, though on paper with discerning scientists and ethical businessmen this technology could benefit society. I am not holding my breath, I saw what the bunnies did to Australia…..

Do genetically engineered foods provide the same or better nutritional levels so that organisms can grow and increase immunity? The answer is no. In most cases, nutrition values suffer. Not all bushels of wheat are equal…

So Andy thanks for posting your view, but I think I disagree with you on this one, largely because I don’t have faith in the establishment to make good decisions.

Kevin

[blue80]

Price I think is $350 ish if I remember correctly. I would think their is a litre of water loss per use, if the animals aren’t lined up. The water takes maybe 20 seconds to drain out.

Every animal put on the waterer has been trained within a day, even the new dog. I left a hydrant beside each waterer so I can have a seasonal stock tank if we get too many animals.
Great drainage at the bottom of the sump is imperative, and I would think extra attention not to install it in a low spot would be helpful.

I see the animals drinking a lot in very cold weather, which is healthy for them. In the summer their is not a hint of moss or scum or mosquitoes. I put a five gallon pail on the waterer when they are turned out in summer so they don’t get too much cold water before they’ve properly cooled.

Couple times I found the waterers flow restricted. I gently poke a thick wire down the 3/8 supply while tripping the lever and the water flow flushes small rock up to the bowl. The kids have been asked not to pour rocks and sand into the waterers anymore.:rolleyes:
Speaking of which, the kids drink from them too.

Just one of those products that works well. Created by a farmer/rancher after all…..:D

[blue80]

Excellent helpful information, thanks, and we’ll take it all into consideration.

I don’t like the hype, fads, and gimmicks associated with high priced breeding stock. Emus, alpacas, elk, all wonderful animals but spare me the get rich quick etc. etc.
But the mini dairy cow intrigues me abit more, as some families don’t want goats but want a milk cow and smaller may be more convenient for them. Mini is usually 40% of “standard” size. I see the prices for the minis pretty high, $600 for a yearling heifer to $4000 for a bred cow. Locally in Montana we can get jersey, dexter, longhorn mixes.
I dunno, I have been seeing mini this and that, but the mini dairy cow puts a little different spin on things and makes me wonder.
I had a long talk last year with the only dairy I know of within 50 miles at the local fair dairy barn; The fair dairy class only has one producer left involved in it, but a wonderful multigenerational group all of the same family. The grandpa was inviting people to be involved with the cows, many which were for sale. He spoke with a tear in his eye that they were the “last ones left” locally. Teenagers forked hay, others were washing and brushing. One stall was set up as daycare for the little kids. It was my favourite barn in the fair. It would be fun to get my kids with a couple dairy in the fair with them…..

Like you scyther, I’m leaning toward a guernsey/jersey type. How do the dexters milk by the way?

[blue80]

From history I’ve read the unicorn was most often used when the going got tough or a team got stuck…I’ve never tried it, I don’t think it’s for the faint of heart. A local guy had a wagon flip on top of him this summer when the lead horse jacknifed the rig….

Three abreast is most practical, one can run a green horse in between two shafts in the center, or run an offset single shaft. Their are several options on how to set up the lines.

Do you by chance have any of the
“Farming with Horses” by Bowers and Steward,
“Draft Horses and Mules” by Damerow and Rice, or the many
Lynn Millers books? They are, in my opinion, priceless for their knowledge and options. And I’m a “picture” kind of guy 😀 and Farming with Horses is in colour; and please notice I used the Canadian spelling of color for you. 😀

Kevin

[blue80]

sorry Donn, I didn’t mean to take away from your excellent resourcefulness.

http://www.horsedrinker.com are the Bar Bar A waterers. No power needed. It’s been as low as -20 plus windchill, and below freezing for two weeks and our waterers haven’t ever stopped. After breaking ice for the past two years we are spoiled now, and I just wanted to give their good product a plug.

Kevin

[blue80]

We are super happy with our Bar Bar A waterers after a years use.

Kevin

[blue80]

Erika, thanks for yesterdays “good news.”
Kevin

[blue80]

It’s been a boon to have the trackhoe in the past, done and traded a lot of work with local farmers, and so I try to get their take on how to do things. They are split. Some swear fall seeding, some swear spring only for alfalfa.
I’ve seen a few 100 acre stands planted, and I’m going with drilling alfalfa into barley stubble in early August with a few pounds of oats to reduce competition as the best option. Paying water rights and drainage fees, one can hardly “lose” a year with only an oat hay crop and if your gutsy a fall grazing while waiting for your alfalfa to establish…We only get 2 good cuttings here in the few years I’ve been. It’s min. $20-30.00 per acre whether you use the land or not….

I planning on going with garrison creeping foxtail on a large portion of our tillable acreage. Garrison likes all the water it can get (can stand 3 weeks under water without dying) where alfalfa is always trying to drown or burn out in flood irrigated. A couple local guys said they actually drown out the weeds during establishement, especially barley foxtail which is a huge problem here. Horse farmer in Riverton has not plowed his 300acre garrison ground in 30 years!
Garrison will create a nice turf in a few years and spreads by rhizome, it will give us one big hay crop and then lots of rotational grazing. Garrison has high nutrient value when in its early stages, good for saddle horses when its ripe, I’ll broacast a few pounds of alfalfa in certain areas from year to year to get a bit better protein hay for the drafts. With garrison grass I hope that there won’t be a rush to get all cut baled perfectly on time, which means its more flexible for the horses…. Also good steady market for it at higher prices than alfalfa here; If it is harvested with the seed on, cattle guys love to feed it in alkali wet, low spots, as the hoof action in frosty ground plants the garrison seed perfectly.
We are hoping to have a forage based farm to start, ideally some cattle, sheep, goats, turkeys on an intensive rotational program. Fall butcher and keep mostly only breeding stock for the winter. Ideally we’ll be vertically integrated to sell all our meat to tourists at a roadside BBQ stand.

This is as “simple” as I can get to start. Biggest problem this moment is I’ve dug through all the land to put in drainage, and hauled in well over 100 loads of draining gravel to backfill the pipe. So the land is no longer level, though the soil has settled down over 2 years. Ideally we have 4000 yds. of scraper work to do to get the spoil dirt and ditch banks from the last 80 years of ditch cleaning redistributed onto the land, compacted and levelled before we start with a long term sod like garrison. So maybe we’ll just start with an annual grass until I have $30 thousand to play with. Or deal with the spoil banks like everyone else. Except down in Worland, those good farmers have cleaned theirs up!
Something tells me my moneymaking construction days aren’t quite over:confused: But at least its not going to the latest cigarette boat…

Best, Kevin

[blue80]

Hi JL, yeah just starting to work on some of the equipment, first on the list is the 12 ft. Oliver dump rake. Then the 2 row culitvator and 4 row corrugator. Some of the other pieces are just going to become picnic tables I think.

Don’t know where I heard it, but lately someone said that tractors took the fun out of farming. Having owned heavy equipment and run on and behind tractors for countless hrs for others I would have to agree. Not trying to knock tractors or those who use them, I just don’t yearn for high HP and high acreage…..

Regarding hostels and why we are trying this, the hostel model is basically that one rents a bed, and has access to the rest of the premises. So its not real North American where we seem to need our special space and separate bathroom. But its a nice option for those interested. Probably the best comparison is an easygoing bed and breakfast, with a full do it yourself kitchen/bbq and often a shared bathroom for several patrons. I want to farm, learn to grow, and offer different locally grown options. Expand horizons, including my own families. I don’t want the gubments help, and although nothing pencils out financially to make the enterprise work, the agritourism arm of the farm may very well be the key to the enterprise being viable. And I enjoy seeing people smile. The draft animals do that without me saying a word!
We needed a low overhead way to see if people are interested in stopping at our place and learning more about draft powered farming options and/or exploring the local fantastic outdoor recreation opportunities at low cost. I’m not interested in competing with the many dude ranches and resorts, rather would like to network with them to help travellers plan and enjoy their stay. I’d like to build some off grid ecocabins for rent for those who want their privacy at higher cost, but we’ll see….
Like last week three spelunkers stayed at the hostel. Turns out some of the best caving in the state is only miles away, I never knew. One guy owns a trucking company, one is a commercial pilot, one owns an electrical company. They are intrigued by the prospect of a profitable family draftpowered farm (our overall goal) something they have never even thought about. Over a couple evenings, we all learn a little from eachother and appreciate eachothers services. We’ll see if they come back, but I sure enjoyed meeting them.
When in Australia, I worked on a 4000 acre sheep and wheat/lupins ranch. It was the owner and me only. Big green equipment to pull the new “deep rippa” Big truck to haul the wheat 400 miles to the port….Always fixing and fueling.
Then I bought an old junker of a car and put a new engine in it and drove it around 3/4 of Australia with a guy from Alberta. We stayed at about 40 different hostels in 50 nights. Could never have afforded to do it otherwise. Met a lot of people with a lot of age diversity from a lot of countries with a lot of ideas. A different “kind” of people than you would meet at your conventional lodging. Most hostels were idea centers that listed tours, bars, churches, help wanted notices etc. etc. that were in the area. The most proactive thing was that these idea centers were all privately funded, mostly by families opening up their homes; a move away the corporate hotel type stay we have become accustomed to. As a silly analogy, a hostel is like driving down a state hwy and seeing the countryside with opportunities to stop and smell, where conventional hotel is like zooming down the interstate.
“Elderhostels” are a cool thing too, where people, predominantly retirees, actually pay to go and learn different skills. Google it, there are some cool ones out there.

A plow day would be fantastic, anywhere, with anyone.
Mostly because I don’t know anything, only ran a walking plow a little.
Our ground is quite heavy and hasn’t been plowed in years. I am worried about pulling the guts out of the animals…. I only have a new 14″ Pioneer walking plow but my team and I aren’t ready yet, have been working them 5-7 hrs a day again starting this week, and the ladies are just starting to work together as a team after the first few hrs. The bay mare is a rude jiggin fool and won’t operate without a buckback, and I don’t want to frustrate Roma who just doesn’t know better.
Been told that riding an implement accounts for 1/2 a horse a day. So I’ll feel best if I’m walking plowing with them. They’ll have their work cut out for them. Anyways, one day at a time they say?

Free hostel lodging here for DAP members, if you teach me something or tell me what I’m doing wrong.:D

Pic is Roma the 8 year mare new to harness this fall. She is built and loves to pull. I call her “ma” as the Ro is a little too close to whoa… And No offense mom, if you read this.:D

[blue80]

Hi Grandad, welcome!
I spent some time working on a dairy in Lacombe, and have some family up in Grande prairie but have never made it up there. Beautiful country, and some of the best people. Nice to get some more Canadian ( and western) influence on the site;) I’m from Ontario but now in N. Wyoming.

Oilers or Flames?

Best, Kevin

[blue80]

Been a busy year as usual, lots to be thankful for, though of course nothing has gone as planned.

We sold all our excavating equipment, which has overall been a relief. Now we rent what we need when we need it and get by that way. Not even a tractor is left on our 80acres, so we have real encouragement.neccessity to use the team for everything.
We bought a third mare, Roma, a Shire Percheron 8 yr old who had never been in harness, but was “driving” her owners crazy who wanted her as a showy sporthorse. But they said, “she is way too lazy,” just doesn’t want “to go” Looked like a diamond in the ruff to me, so we bought her with the idea of putting three in the field and going to work. Then our best mare, Maude, died in an accident. So we didn’t get to work in the field much early, weeds got out of hand, my allergies were worse than ever, turns out it was probably the duvet on my bed. Yeah, laugh now…..
Roma is coming along great; strangely, the other mare and myself are the weak links, I believe.

We worked all summer trying to finish building our place so it wouldn’t be hanging over our head and would be at least salable if that’s what things come to.

Decided to do less roadside tourism and opened the upstairs of our place into a hostel instead, and put in a few RV hookups. My wife and I both travelled in Europe and Australia when we were single and younger, and the hostel type accomodation was a real blessing which enabled us to live learn and explore with low expenses. So we thought we’d try it here….

Got my first deer ever this fall, and got my first elk, packing and riding all over the Bighorn Mtns. We did all the butchering ourselves, and lots of canning too with all the vegetables our neighbours bring by.

52 homeschool kids and a few parents came by for a thanksgiving dinner and wagon ride last week. As an aside, these families turned out to be from numerous different beliefs and religions; Good fun nice to see how draft animals can unite a community for a day at least; again Roma better than one could expect.

Lots of once in a lifetime experiences, they just seem to happen every day.

Just want to also say I sure appreciate this forum and all the information that has been compiled which has helped us learn, explore options and make better informed decisions. Which just maybe means we just screw up a little less than we usually do:o

All the best, and have a great thanksgiving! (Although many of us know the real thanksgiving was last month;))

Kevin

[blue80]

well after Tuesdays storm which dropped lots of snow and then blew it to Scotts neighbourhood, we set out on our virgin embarkment, which went, we feel, considerably better than the titanics.

Preliminarily we just wanted to test the weight distribution, turning and maneuverability with the shortened front ski. All is well, we’ll continue to work on the finishes…..
The plane rides like a dream, and floats over the powder and soft drifts with the wide skiis.

Our four kids in the cockpit stayed warm even though it was a stiff 5 degrees, and my wife sitting shotgun with me up top fooled herself into thinking we were on a date. Poor lady, just goes to show how many date nights we go on…..Apparently shes taking what she can get. Good fun.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Kevin

[Author]

Posts