[OldKat]

@lancek 11643 wrote:

You know old cat there is a place thats perfect but its south of you, its name is coasta rica some of my amish freinds were down there and they said it never grew colder than 40 and nerver grew hotter than 80 so thats pretty good weather to me!
And Taylor its not the winters that got me up there in wisconsin its that dog gone alfull spring time where it would not warm up untill june thats the time of year that I hated! lancek

So I understand. My interest in that “easy living” climate goes back a ways. My college friend, Ricardo, was from Uruguay and he told me the same thing about Uruguay that you said about Costa Rica … or at least parts of Uruguay are that way. I looked into it earlier this year after I found that I am too old to immigrate to either Australia or New Zeeland. Unfortunately, Uruguay’s government is an even bigger train wreck than ours is, so weather isn’t the only consideration.

Parts of the pampas in Argentina sure look nice. Guess I’ll do like the old Harry Nilsson song says; “Going somewhere where the weather suits my clothes”! Wherever THAT may be, it sure ain’t HERE.

[OldKat]

@Scott G 11617 wrote:

This past week 12-14″ snow with freezing rain mixed in for fun, below freezing every day, everything iced, all day, all week…

Had to wear my pac boots with calks to cut & throw 10 cords of 4′ boltwood down the north face of a godawful 50% very rocky slope…

Took off my calks and put on reg boots for firewood delivery to town with the truck. Climbed on the back to finish off the load, forgot I didn’t have the calks on after being used to the traction for the past week and promptly took a major air backflip off of the truck and landed on my head/back on rock hard frozen ground…

4WD went out on the truck and I haven’t fixed the chains from last year…

Not whining, I’m just not in the mood yet…

All Summer long, and I mean all 120 miserable, wretched days of it 🙂 or 120 Days of Hell as I call it, I have been telling my wife that I am too dang old to put up with this heat and humidity & that we should consider selling out and moving north. Then I read things like this …no offense, but YUCK.

There is bound to be a spot that isn’t too far north, nor too far south … THAT is where I want to live! 😀

[OldKat]

@James 11571 wrote:

Irrigation, cost about $175, per. Its thru the irrigation co. And theres 2 months you don’t cut , Heat stress.Most folks here who used to raise it cut every 28 days on avg. and that was 70 # bales 5 yrs. ago the price was $5.00 A bale now it can run up to $10.00 The market is strong. The preacher is bringing bales in from Ca. at A cost of $2,000.00 for shipping. and he can’t keep them in stock . He sells the bales for $30.00 each. And is making A decent profit off of 125# bales. the 70# bales can avg 100 per acre per cutting.

James is that Rio Grand water you would be using to irrigate with? What part of Hidalgo county are you in? Are you close to the Valley, or are you up toward the north end? Are blister beatles a problem in alfalfa down there?

It is too hot and humid to grow alfalfa in my part of the state, I guess you don’t have that problem. I suppose the drought has really pushed prices up down there, too.

One thing you could do, and you probably have already thought of it, is to sell truck loads of small bales to the horse markets in and around San Antonio/Austin and Houston. I would think you could get freight up to Houston for $600 or so, if you could find someone that needed a backhaul out of the Valley. I might even be interested in buying some myself.

[OldKat]

@Vicki 11609 wrote:

Thanks for the link and the info. I had heard about high-rate stocking or mob-stocking to rejuvenate grazing. The problem out west is not too many animals, but too few with no rest periods; so only the desired plants get harvested leaving the junk.

Even in small scale paddock you can see the mob-stocking benefits, if the area can rest and regrow. In Ohio, dormant clover and bluegrass come in right away unless it is way too acid.

You just described the county I live in and probably 90% the cattle operations in our area. With 60,000 plus cows in our county, there are quite a few. BTW: ours probably has the smallest number of cattle of any of the nearby counties; some go well in excess of 100,000 cows for January 1 inventory.

The practice of overgrazing is so prevalent here that I once had a land owner that I lease land from ask me why I left the grass so long on his place (it was maybe 3 to 4″ tall), because everyone else would graze their places short and he liked “the look” of a place where the grass was eaten down to the ground! This summer when we experienced the worst drought that has hit us in at least 50 years, some say 100 years … his was the ONLY place within probably 15 miles around that had cattle on it AND green grass. It was short, because they were hammering it pretty hard … but it never turned brown. He now understands why I do the things I do.

We got a few timely showers in July and August, just enough to keep his grass alive, and decent September rain so that his place just exploded when the grass got a drink. The other nearby places are just NOW starting to green up, but the growing season is done. I was there yesterday and his grass is lush (primarily K R bluestem) and the seed heads are 8 to 10″ tall and setting seed. So it was stressed a little, as they should be probably 14″ to 16″ tall. Point is there is SOMETHING there for the cattle, everyone else has zip.

His neighbor, whose place I also lease was commenting yesterday afternoon on how nice the other guys place looked and he asked “How come my place doesn’t look like that?” I told him that he never wanted me to set up any smaller cells, so I basically can’t control the cows on his 120 acre place; they eat the good stuff and leave the junk. He told me “Do what you want to do!”. Touchdown!!!

Guess it is time to start setting up some more cells! Amazing what seeing results will do for people.

[OldKat]

Looks nice and handy. Does the tongue articulate left and right, or only up and down?

[OldKat]

@Does’ Leap 11482 wrote:

I need to make a couple of adjustments to my harnesses and have a couple of questions for those of you who work leather. I have no tools for working leather and in the past have drilled extra holes when I needed them. Anything wrong with this or do I need to buy and punch? Also, what is the best way to cut leather using everyday tools?

Thanks.

George

George,

I’ve used the drill thing before too, it works. I’ve also used a large nail heated red hot and burned a hole where I wanted it. Works well on leather or nylon, but stinks like heck.

However, for about $30.00 (US) or so I recently purchased a a fairly nice stainless steel leather punch at a local saddle shop. The saddle repair person (actually a very petite lady) told me that for her purposes the one I bought would not hold up, but she is punching probably dozens of holes every day. I have had it about 6 or 7 months and haven’t punched a dozen holes total so it works for me. After using it I wonder why I never owned one before. I would suggest buying one if the finances aren’t too tight.

I just use a heavy utility knife for cutting leather, but if I were to buy more leather tools the next thing would be a good knife … easier to control than the utility knife.

Hope this helps.

[OldKat]

You are correct bivol; when I said I kicked them in the mouth, I suspect that I actually hit the front of the mouth AND the nose.

Ever noticed when you have cattle in a squeeze chute or sometimes even in an alleyway that they put their heads down? They do NOT like their nose getting banged around, they are trying to protect their noses from getting bumped. That is why I go for that part of the face to establish dominance. Trying to “spank” them on the rump, the shoulder or worse yet the top of the poll will only result in broken blood vessels in your hand and doesn’t deter the beast in the least bit.

I understand what you are saying about Junior not moving away fast enough. I fully expected him to challenge me again, and he may. So far however, he wants no part of standing up to me.

[OldKat]

@Scott G 11441 wrote:

Estes is just across the “hill” from my place. Just a few miles as the crow flys…

That town is packed this time of year with tourists for the elk rut/bugling season.

Fat bulls with Snickers & Twinkie wrappers hanging from their mouths… :p

Okay Scott; OldKat will take the bait!

Fat bulls with Snickers & Twinkie wrappers hanging from their mouths…

WHAT does THAT mean? 🙂

[OldKat]

@Scott G 11441 wrote:

Estes is just across the “hill” from my place. Just a few miles as the crow flys…

That town is packed this time of year with tourists for the elk rut/bugling season.

Fat bulls with Snickers & Twinkie wrappers hanging from their mouths… :p

Okay Scott; OldKat will take the bait!

Fat bulls with Snickers & Twinkie wrappers hanging from their mouths…

WHAT does THAT mean? 🙂

[OldKat]

@bivol 11473 wrote:

guess one’s gut feeling turns out to be more valuable than is commonly given credit for. i always listen to mine, and mom never to hers. she always says she should have…

i don’t know who told you that butting was only play, but he/she is WRONG.
cattle test their dominance by butting like play, it’s how it starts, but it’s no game, not ever, no matter how small they are, they’re looking to undermine your authority, and it should be dealt swiftly with.
aggression towards humans is a big no-no.

still, i wonder, if one starts a calf, could it work to train them to stop, to get into a situation where a calf can butt you, and when he does, he gets it. and i mean really gets it. i know that might sound cruel, but maybe that’d sour him off trying to display agression towards you. it’s what a bull would do, more or less.

hm…. or ,maybe, if one can, get a new calf after all…:confused:

bivol, I think the answer is yes. I have a yearling Red Angus bull calf in a lot with 3 horses and his father. Dad, named “Oklahoma!” weighs about 2400 to 2500 pounds when fleshy, “Junior” weighs maybe 1,100 pounds right now.

Starting about a month or so ago when I would bring out feed for them Junior started getting aggressive; because he wanted to eat before his dad pushed him aside. Sure, I could have put a fence between them, but I want my cattle docile no matter what the situation is. Anyway, he started putting his head down and tossing it at me and bellowing. He NEVER touched me, so I let it slide. That was a BIG mistake. About two weeks ago he butted me, HARD, in the buttocks. Luckily I was moving away from him, so no damage was done.

However, I decided to put a stop to this nonsense before it went any further. I had on a pair of heavy work boots and I kicked him as hard as I could right in the mouth. He looked stunned for a second, then put down his head again and bellowed. When he started moving toward me, he got another pop right in the mouth … again, as hard as I could deliver it. He got the message and walked away shaking his head. Sound cruel? Probably does, but in another year or so when he weighs a ton or more it will be a little too late to correct the problem. He could seriously injure someone and I just cannot allow that.

Interestingly, just today Oklahoma put his head down, pawed the ground and bellowed at me. He is almost 8 years old and has NEVER displayed any aggression toward me or anyone else. He is also the best out of 5 bulls that I currently own. Guess what he got? Yep, the size 12 Timberland work boot right in the kisser. He bellowed again, and got his discipline again. It took four times, but I don’t care if it would have taken 400 times. If anyone has a bovine of either gender that seriously challenges you and you cannot bring yourself to discipline them, you best send that individual to the slaughter pen least someone (and it may be you) ends up grievously injured if not killed. I know many people think this isn’t true, but my four decades of handling cattle tells me otherwise.

[OldKat]

@TBigLug 11383 wrote:

The firewood market is alot better where you guys are than here. Out here I can get a cord of split wood delivered for $55. One of the drawbacks (or advantages depending on whether you’re buying or selling) of being in a state that seems to have more people selling firewood than gasoline.

We’re gonna skid some logs out of the back woods with the horses and cut and split it up for some friends who are down on their luck hopefully this month. Make a day of it with barbeque, chainsaws, splitters and horses. No money changing hands, just some old friendss having fun.

Now that sounds like a good idea! Have some fun; see some friends, do some work, use some horses AND help some folks out. Can anyone think of a better way to spend some free time?

[OldKat]

@Hoss 11380 wrote:

I have a Van Brunt Model F grain drill that needs the two gears that are on the axle. I was wondering if anyone might know where to locate two. Thanks for any information.

I suspect that the F is way too old for John Deere to supply parts for, but they do have parts for my Straight B which was built in the late 40’s so who knows?

If no one on here has a source you might try some of those forums for folks who restore that kind of stuff. I’ve Googled into them before looking for specific stuff, but I can’t think of the names of any of them.

There is a guy in my town that broke two gears on a JD Van Brunt B-G and he wanted me to sell him the gears off mine; which I promptly laughed off. He told me that he could buy them from JD at about $250.0 EACH … ouch! He also said there is a place that will custom make gears for you, also not cheap … but still less than Deere. If you don’t find them elsewhere, let me know and I will get the name of that company for you.

Good luck.

Oh, and BTW; the most common cause of those gears breaking is letting the drill set up for too long and then trying to use it without making sure the gears will turn. If you have an old drill like this that has been sitting idle for a long time, lift it onto a sheet of plastic or something similar and then soak the heck out of the whole drive mechanism with kerosene, diesel or penetrating oil for several days before attempting to pull. Then jack the thing up on one end, and try turning the wheel by hand. Do the same on the other end. If they don’t turn, keep at it until they turn freely. Otherwise you too will be out looking for these hard to find and expensive gears.

[OldKat]

@Vicki 11377 wrote:

OldKat, thanks for describing your system. I want to try that next year to improve my rotational grazing by breaking up into more cells.

I guess you could put so many in and make them so small that it wouldn’t be practical, but that would be hard to do. I think the more cells the better.

If you search the Noble Foundation website they have some really good stuff on rotational grazing that they can mail to you, or at least they use to. Haven’t been on their site in about 4 or 5 years. If you live in Oklahoma or Texas their material is free, otherwise they charge for the stuff they mail to you. However, the cost is nominal.

The most fascinating thing I ever read from them is a study they did where they would vary the stocking density to determine recovery time of the grass sward. When they reached 42,500 pounds live weight or more of animals per acre (obviously rotating every few hours) they began to see Big Bluestem grow in pastures where it had not been known to grow in over 50 years. They speculate that grazing practices they were using simulated the large herds of bison that once were free roaming in the area. Apparently this somehow stimulated the Big Bluestem seed that was laying semi-dormant in the soil. That just blows my mind. It makes you really wonder; “what ARE the possibilities?”

Good luck with your grazing project.

[OldKat]

Yep, you all caught a break. Sounds like it could have really hit the fan, so to speak. That is the kind of deal that always haunts me; when I KNOW bettter and do something anyway. Always seems to bite me in the assets.

Glad everyone came out relatively unscathed.

[OldKat]

@TaylorJohnson 11238 wrote:

What do you all think the answer is to this liability and insurance problem that we are facing today? What is the first step to ending this madness. I mean in this economy they should turn every one lose to make it any way they can. They will not allow you to be a small bizz any more ,, at least it seems that way. I would like to see some common sense back in play. politicians and lawyers have pitted every one against every one and that is the way they want us . So the question is what do we do about it? Were do we go.
I have more wood to cut and more contracts to work on than I know what to do with and if I could hire some help it would be great. And it would make a few young men happy to have something to do but right now I can not and it makes me mad,,, it is not what this country was suppose to be. I might not be able to pay them a high carrier bang up salary but I could pay them more than setting home looking at the wall plus teach them how to work. May be some of them might go on there own and get there own teams and such. What is wrong with that ? Well boys what do you think the answer is ? I think this is a bigger problem than any other we are facing in the industry right now, markets come and go and we have to adjust all the time to that but man power is some thing that is always going to be needed and they are stealing are ability to provide that to are own businesses.
This might not matter to some one doing this as a hobby but if you are trying to make a living at it or run it as a business then it should get you a little worked up. People should have the right to work together at what ever legal activity they want to and be able to come to terms and agree on them and not have some money hungry law man take advantage of it and turn it for his gain . I wish that we had some folks in the government with a back bone to put an end to this BS. Taylor Johnson

Taylor, I know next to nothing about the logging industry. I’ve learned more than I will ever use just by reading the posts that you guys make. However, your question was about insurance and what it is going to take to end the mess we are currently in. You end by saying; “I wish that we had some folks in the government with a back bone to put an end to this BS.”

You titled your post “What do you think”, so here goes; this is what I think. I think there is not anyone in the government (at any level) that has the backbone to do anything about this problem, nor will there be.

How am I so confident in saying this? Simple; the trial lawyers (those that handle lawsuits) virtually OWN one of our two political parties and they have pretty much leased the other one. They make MASSIVE campaign donations to the MOC (member of congress) and they expect and get what they want in return, which is the ability to bring virtually limitless lawsuits against whoever they wish. My proof? The fiasco that is currently being tossed around right now, “health care reform”. It is known beyond ANY doubt that the costs of litigation are adding a massive burden to the health care industry. One that, if controlled, could dramatically lower the cost of health care. Yet there is NO mention of tort (lawsuit) reform in ANY of the 5 bills that are being considered for reconciliation. The reason? One side of the aisle is giving the trial lawyers payback for all those juicy donations. The other side is going along too, but I can’t quite figure out why; as they only get about 7% of the money that the trial lawyers dole out annually. You can bet your mule, ass or other draft animal that they are getting something out of keeping their mouths shut. I just don’t know what that something is.

I guess it would be okay if this only applied to medicine, but unfortunately it applies to EVERYTHING that we do as a society. We are essentially allowing the big money legal eagles to smother our economy. I do not see anyone in government that is willing to cut off the flow of $$$$$ from the trial lawyer spigot. In short my friend; it is EITHER your and my interests (all of us) OR theirs (congress) AND you and I are going to come in a for a far distant second place finish every time.

So until and unless we turn out virtually everyone that is in Congress, NOTHING is going to change. Sorry for the rant, but that is “What I Think”.

[Author]

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