[Michael Low]

Whoops- Just saw the October post on this same exact question.
Thanks for that thread.

[Michael Low]

Tedders are sold.

As is dump trailer.

[Michael Low]

Hi Donn,

Yes it is a nice fleet of equipment.

We run goats, cows and two equines. Equaling in total at our seasonal peak around 15 cow units.
We will be able to extend our grazing season a little but already push into late November and snows.

I don’t think we could pull off winter grazing with our snow loads – just get a longer season if the snows come late.

From the Kick the Hay Habit book we are thinking more in line with yearly stocking rates based on the winter stocking rate. For us this is a 5 cow average.

To deal with the spike in growth June to August we will graze our oxen more, run a few more seasonal meat animals and mow if we have to (brush hog and leave).

Some of these strategies will work right off like grazing the oxen. Running additional numbers seasonally will be a learning curve. Getting healthy animals at a good price, moving them on at the right times and off at the right times etc.

Bottom line was that with our scale of under 1000 bales running and maintain the equipment did not pan out on a dollar per bale price. The margins were so tight a $200.00 part could throw the season into a loss. We had good local help for free or cheap with mechanical problems, and honestly the equipment is basic and in good shape too. We probably could have ‘made’ it work but not really from a marginal reaction test of time and resources for the time of year.

[Michael Low]

Thanks for the replies.
Mark , where did you buy your corn pro?

I am interested in buying something with lots of miles left before repairs. I plant to put about 6,000 miles on it the first year. I had an old bumper pull and was lucky to find a woman whose husband was a professional metal worker to buy it – cause that’s what it needed. He seemed excited for the project.
I would rather spend the money up front tbis time.

[Michael Low]

Pic of round bale is being hauled by arch – another great use for this tool.

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[Michael Low]

Michael Low
802-274-7826
E michael@vermontbiochar.com

[Michael Low]

Michael Low 802-274-7826
E michael@vermontbiochar.com

[Michael Low]

Thought I would add what I do for bedding/ comfort. I use baled shavings in the winter, sawdust in the summer. Sawdust freezes in my barn after November. The floors are wood with rubber mats- pros and cons there- easy to clean off the mats but they actually hold moisture onto the wood. This seems really comfortable. My cows look like beached whales in the morning- chewing cud laying on their sides little grunts and moans and slow to get up and leave bed…

I spend $800- $1000 per year on the bedding. I get lots of nice compost, they stay clean.
Right now in our area bales of shavings from the mill are actually getting cheaper than sawdust which is pretty sad. The farm store bedding is ridiculously expensive- they sell a bagged shaving with a running horse on the bag-I joke that it should have a wallet in it’s mouth…

[Michael Low]

I have a similar setup right now for my mixed herd of Jersey/Dexters and Devon cattle- transitioning to Devons. We have three cows, a bull and two teams: 1 older team and a pair of younger ones coming along.

My barn is 36′ x 24′

I have 5- 4’x 8′ tie stalls.
2- 6’x 8′ tie/ box stalls
2- 6’x 8′ tie stalls
I like tie stalls for the ease of clean up in the morning. I like each animal to have their own stall so I can feed them what they need with no competition. I use the box stalls for cow/calf pairs and for pairing young stock loose together on cold (-20 or below) nights with deep bedding. The biggest stalls are for my big team and the 4′ are for the rest.
I picked these sizes because of the pre-existing size and layout of the barn. I would give a big pair 5-5.5′ and box stalls would be wider around 8′.
Also I would build so that all the animals faced the middle alley and I could feed right into their bunks.

I turn out first thing in the morning except for 1 or 2 wicked bad windy, stormy, crappy days in the winter.
I generally don’t have the cows back into the barn all grazing season. Teams come in nightly for handling. Also steers in training.

I keep my oxen separate from the cows and bull for several reasons. I keep them yarded up close to the barn so they are handy for work- the cows pasture up to one mile away in summer. The older team gets way to fat even with regular work on the cows pastures. At a certain point oxen get big and heavy- they can injure themselves and the cows/heifers if they are all messing around and competing with the bull to mount whoever is in heat.
Michael Low

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[Michael Low]

Nice

I can almost hear it and smell it.

Or in the case of animal powered forestry: I can actually hear it…and everything else too.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Michael Low.

[Michael Low]

Hi,

Yes I do have more pictures, in fact I got a catalog from the company circa 1910. This has great letters from users and many more pics. Will post when I have some free time.

I plan to use this tool for road maintenance, plowing snow, and mostly for digging swales into some hill pastures for better water retention.

I know it’s the company catalog but the tool sounds amazing, and there is some modern corroboration on that fact from Tiller’s international. I don’t know why it was lost to history but I plan to resurrect it here anyway.

I plan to get copies of the catalog for Tiller’s and Pioneer equipment I will post when I do that, if anyone wants a copy at that point I’ll charge cost + shipping, whatever that runs to.

I did also see more catalogs on E-bay if people can navigate that online bidding.

Michael Low

[Michael Low]

For some reason when I did the original post it never came through.

I notice that Donn’s ode to George is also not coming up with any content

Photo of Martin Ditcher

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[Michael Low]

Wanted: to buy Martin Ditcher

Please contact
Michael Low
michael@vermontbiochar.com

[Michael Low]

Dave’s Sawmill Hardwick Vermont
472-6373

He is looking for large diameter Hemlock logs- has more post and beam orders than he and his son can keep up with in terms of current log supply.

I really like dealing with Dave.

[Michael Low]

I have gotten a nylon D-ring harness from the langdells. They make nice harnesses. Fun to visit with too.

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