Farmerjan's journal - Weather
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Ridgetop
Herd Master
Big loss on the bull. Particularly hard since it was a nicely tempered and tractable bull. Any loss is hard but if it had to happen, can't help thinking it's a shame it wasn't Roscoe.
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farmerjan
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Thursday night... Been another 2 long days... Went with DS yesterday to deliver 125 sq bales of OG hay to a long time customer... she is a really nice person... then left the trailer and went on to the Richmond area to look at the skid loader that DS was very interested in... Had to take some bolts out in order to get the cab lifted up.... to see the pump etc to find out what kind of system it was.... and it was NOT the high capacity system he wanted... looked at some other stuff he was interested in... bidding was through 6-7 pm that evening...all online... and he bid on some other things...we had left to come home... Turns out he got the steel beams/trusses and a "bush hog" that goes on the front of a skid loader and you can use it vertical to cut back sides of fields and such... not a grinder forestry mulcher... but still something he said would be handy... It was a fair bit under what used is worth... the beams were at the top limit of what he wanted to spend... but he figured if he was going for one thing, he might as well bring both home... The skid loader, on tracks, was a 27 gpm hydraulic pump which is low capacity... talked to a guy there that had one just like it and gave DS some advice/pointers about the one he has, and is using his forestry mulcher for himself... and that it is okay for small jobs but not for any scrub/small trees of much diameter... the high capacity pump ones are something like 36 gpm, so a big difference... SHAME because this one only had 750 hours on it....and in pretty nice shape.... it brought right at $30,000. If it was high capacity DS would have bought it....
So we stop back, pick up the trailer... and get half way home and DS says, there is no sense in dragging the trailer all the way back home, to come back all this way... so he finally decided to leave it at the co-op main branch store in the back near their big spray rigs... and he sent his friend that is the manager a text about it... and we came home... It was still in the upper 70's....
He decided to do all the feeding and such since it was calling for rain Thursday (today).... and said it was after 1 when he got done with everyone's silage and hay....
Good thing he did since it was really coming down steady this morning and would have been a mess this afternoon to try to get around in the mud.....
So he was tired when he got to my house at 8, and I drove and he took a nap.... it was pretty crappy rain all the way, until it changed to snow... and it came down..... Covered the grass and left alot of thick slushy stuff on the roads...
Got to the dr office... he went in for his appt... came out and had to go by his lawyer's office to do some paper work and updates for the upcoming hearing that has been put off until May... for a possible wage settlement.... they will still have to cover his dr/medical stuff... this is only his wage settlement which will result in the workman's comp paying less and the state having to pay more of his disability wages.... it is sooo convoluted... that is why he has this personal injury/workman's comp attorney.... but it will free him up to be able to openly farm and stuff..... lawyer feels that this is in his best interest with it having gone on so long..... and give him some freedom for doing stuff with them not watching his comings and goings... seems they had someone "investigating him" watching him....way back a few years ago when he first was off work, then went back and then was off again... but the funny thing is... they actually got pictures of JIM that used to live and work for him.... coming and going... never got DS on pictures or video... lawyer is going to have a field day with this once they try to present it at the hearing... seems their investigator didn't even know WHO they were supposed to be watching... DS and Jim are like mutt and jeff... TOTALLY ..... different everything...6'6" to 5'8".... short light brown/grey hair to jim's longer curly thick grey hair... jim has tattoos on his arms (short sleeve shirt) and DS doesn't have any.... it is really rather amusing that they spent that time to try to catch DS doing something and they didn't even have the right person.... and they never "caught" jim doing anything but driving the truck into and out of DS's driveway, into the farm driveway, stopping at the convenience store to eat.... not doing a lick of work.... which he never did any of the farm work with the equipment... he did most of the mechanic work/ fix it stuff ....
Went from there to Rural King... got feed for the jersey's.... some chicken feed on sale $4 off a bag for broiler/ meat bird feed as it is higher protein... and about 6-7 5 gallon buckets of hydraulic fluid and some other stuff that was also on sale.... to the tune of over $1100... But we normally spend 500-1000 when we go there once a month....
The explorer was stuffed full...
Came on home, he has a guy that wants the smaller of our sq balers... we have a bigger one with a kicker on the end.... to throw the bales into the wagons... this one we used to use and haven't used it in years... but it was a good spare to keep around... he has 2 sq balers with kickers so don't need this one and said it is stupid to keep it... It's also taking up space in the shed as they are all under roof.... so he wanted to get it out... stuff moved out from in front of and around it so he can get it out...
I went up, let the cows out, had left them in last night because I knew if it was raining I would not want to go up and fight to try to get them in this morning... so they stayed in the barn/lot .... They were glad to go out... fed grain and hay in the barn for the calves and for the cows to come into tomorrow before I go test... I will make sure there is enough grain, but I fed extra so the calves could eat and the cows should still have plenty... and hay for them tomorrow... DS should do silage for them tomorrow too... but they won't starve if he does not get to it...
He is taking the 14 calves to the stockyard in the morning... that they sent the video in for... then drop the cattle trailer, pick up the flat bed, go to Richmand to get the stuff and come on back for the sale by 2 pm.... he's a little concerned because of the spike in OIL prices and gas and diesel went up this aft at the pumps..... .... with Iran's threats of not allowing any tankers to pass through the straight of hormuz... but then trump posted that he has a financial group that is going to pick up the cancelled insurances on the tankers that Lloyd's of London cancelled... and that if there is any problems, the US ships will ESCORT the tankers... they are spoiling for a fight in Iran... but Trump is 2 steps ahead of them... it seems that they thought if Lloyds of London cancelled their insurance on the tankers... that those shipping the oil would have to beg... and SETTLE with Iran someway.... well, Trump knew this was coming... got things lined up... and then when they found out they don't have a leg to stand on... all the nations over there are holding their a**es in their hands without a single bargaining chip... BUT... the prices spiked this morning... and it will take a little bit to get that all quieted down.... and all the democrats are kinda being left speechless because they can't find things to criticize him for... He drives me nuts sometimes... BUT ... that is one smart world knowledgeable BUSINESSMAN..... of course if this leads to Iran trying to even blow up one tanker.... then we will go in and finish off things and annihilate that country... been a thorn in our a** for over 40 years .... and they will never change as they .... the gov't leaders... are crazy zealots.....
But DS is a little worried if it will hurt prices much.... and it might take a week or 2 for things to come back down a bit so cattle prices will return to early this week prices... we'll see... Oil had come down below $80 a barrel 2 days ago so things were settling out... it's going to be a yo-yo for a bit....
All according to what tomorrow looks like as to whether he will take any on Saturday....
And there is a new refinery going to be built in Brownsville TX... first one to be built in 50 YEARS.... so our own oil and from areas around here... will be able to be refined here...
There is supposedly already 100 million gallons of oil from Venezuela sitting waiting to be off loaded... can't go to Calif due to their restrictions... so the $8.00 gallon I saw on a sign at an Exxon station is not going to get better there...
I have to go to bed... my back is not happy and I need some sleep. Got the bottles ready for 200+ cow herd tomorrow... have one scheduled for Sunday aft...and Wed aft .....and Thurs aft....
So we stop back, pick up the trailer... and get half way home and DS says, there is no sense in dragging the trailer all the way back home, to come back all this way... so he finally decided to leave it at the co-op main branch store in the back near their big spray rigs... and he sent his friend that is the manager a text about it... and we came home... It was still in the upper 70's....
He decided to do all the feeding and such since it was calling for rain Thursday (today).... and said it was after 1 when he got done with everyone's silage and hay....
Good thing he did since it was really coming down steady this morning and would have been a mess this afternoon to try to get around in the mud.....
So he was tired when he got to my house at 8, and I drove and he took a nap.... it was pretty crappy rain all the way, until it changed to snow... and it came down..... Covered the grass and left alot of thick slushy stuff on the roads...
Got to the dr office... he went in for his appt... came out and had to go by his lawyer's office to do some paper work and updates for the upcoming hearing that has been put off until May... for a possible wage settlement.... they will still have to cover his dr/medical stuff... this is only his wage settlement which will result in the workman's comp paying less and the state having to pay more of his disability wages.... it is sooo convoluted... that is why he has this personal injury/workman's comp attorney.... but it will free him up to be able to openly farm and stuff..... lawyer feels that this is in his best interest with it having gone on so long..... and give him some freedom for doing stuff with them not watching his comings and goings... seems they had someone "investigating him" watching him....way back a few years ago when he first was off work, then went back and then was off again... but the funny thing is... they actually got pictures of JIM that used to live and work for him.... coming and going... never got DS on pictures or video... lawyer is going to have a field day with this once they try to present it at the hearing... seems their investigator didn't even know WHO they were supposed to be watching... DS and Jim are like mutt and jeff... TOTALLY ..... different everything...6'6" to 5'8".... short light brown/grey hair to jim's longer curly thick grey hair... jim has tattoos on his arms (short sleeve shirt) and DS doesn't have any.... it is really rather amusing that they spent that time to try to catch DS doing something and they didn't even have the right person.... and they never "caught" jim doing anything but driving the truck into and out of DS's driveway, into the farm driveway, stopping at the convenience store to eat.... not doing a lick of work.... which he never did any of the farm work with the equipment... he did most of the mechanic work/ fix it stuff ....
Went from there to Rural King... got feed for the jersey's.... some chicken feed on sale $4 off a bag for broiler/ meat bird feed as it is higher protein... and about 6-7 5 gallon buckets of hydraulic fluid and some other stuff that was also on sale.... to the tune of over $1100... But we normally spend 500-1000 when we go there once a month....
The explorer was stuffed full...
Came on home, he has a guy that wants the smaller of our sq balers... we have a bigger one with a kicker on the end.... to throw the bales into the wagons... this one we used to use and haven't used it in years... but it was a good spare to keep around... he has 2 sq balers with kickers so don't need this one and said it is stupid to keep it... It's also taking up space in the shed as they are all under roof.... so he wanted to get it out... stuff moved out from in front of and around it so he can get it out...
I went up, let the cows out, had left them in last night because I knew if it was raining I would not want to go up and fight to try to get them in this morning... so they stayed in the barn/lot .... They were glad to go out... fed grain and hay in the barn for the calves and for the cows to come into tomorrow before I go test... I will make sure there is enough grain, but I fed extra so the calves could eat and the cows should still have plenty... and hay for them tomorrow... DS should do silage for them tomorrow too... but they won't starve if he does not get to it...
He is taking the 14 calves to the stockyard in the morning... that they sent the video in for... then drop the cattle trailer, pick up the flat bed, go to Richmand to get the stuff and come on back for the sale by 2 pm.... he's a little concerned because of the spike in OIL prices and gas and diesel went up this aft at the pumps..... .... with Iran's threats of not allowing any tankers to pass through the straight of hormuz... but then trump posted that he has a financial group that is going to pick up the cancelled insurances on the tankers that Lloyd's of London cancelled... and that if there is any problems, the US ships will ESCORT the tankers... they are spoiling for a fight in Iran... but Trump is 2 steps ahead of them... it seems that they thought if Lloyds of London cancelled their insurance on the tankers... that those shipping the oil would have to beg... and SETTLE with Iran someway.... well, Trump knew this was coming... got things lined up... and then when they found out they don't have a leg to stand on... all the nations over there are holding their a**es in their hands without a single bargaining chip... BUT... the prices spiked this morning... and it will take a little bit to get that all quieted down.... and all the democrats are kinda being left speechless because they can't find things to criticize him for... He drives me nuts sometimes... BUT ... that is one smart world knowledgeable BUSINESSMAN..... of course if this leads to Iran trying to even blow up one tanker.... then we will go in and finish off things and annihilate that country... been a thorn in our a** for over 40 years .... and they will never change as they .... the gov't leaders... are crazy zealots.....
But DS is a little worried if it will hurt prices much.... and it might take a week or 2 for things to come back down a bit so cattle prices will return to early this week prices... we'll see... Oil had come down below $80 a barrel 2 days ago so things were settling out... it's going to be a yo-yo for a bit....
All according to what tomorrow looks like as to whether he will take any on Saturday....
And there is a new refinery going to be built in Brownsville TX... first one to be built in 50 YEARS.... so our own oil and from areas around here... will be able to be refined here...
There is supposedly already 100 million gallons of oil from Venezuela sitting waiting to be off loaded... can't go to Calif due to their restrictions... so the $8.00 gallon I saw on a sign at an Exxon station is not going to get better there...
I have to go to bed... my back is not happy and I need some sleep. Got the bottles ready for 200+ cow herd tomorrow... have one scheduled for Sunday aft...and Wed aft .....and Thurs aft....
Last edited:
Baymule
Herd Master
Diesel here is in the $4.49 to $4.89 price range. But it is still cheaper than it was in our previous president's term when he shut down production here and then went begging to Venezuela. It was almost $6 a gallon here. That's when I bought that little Hyundai for the gas milage, I couldn't afford to drive my truck. I actually saved money paying a $351.83 car note. I have another year and few months and I'll get a raise (not paying a car note LOL). I am not worried about the spike in gas and diesel prices, I don't think prices will stay up for a long time.
There are refineries up and down the coast of Texas, Louisiana too. This new one to be built will help with production. Oil doesn't just make gas and diesel, it's in practically every modern product there is. ALL plastics, that in itself covers a myriad of products from medical devices to car parts inside and out, synthetic fabrics that make up a lot of our clothing, shoes, vinyl flooring and furniture, just to name a few. Electric cars are full of plastic, go figure.
There has to be a balance in production and environmental concerns. We need to be conscientious in our usage of natural resources and the needs of modern society. We have environmental laws in place to restrict pollution. We are not perfect, but I think we do a pretty good job of it. I remember when the Houston Ship Channel was so polluted, that you could literally set the water on fire, back in the 1960's. There were air quality warnings in place, hazy smog hung over our big cities that was plainly visible. We have come a long way and cleaned up a lot, all over the country. We still have work to do, it is and always will be, an ongoing project. Baby Boomers get blamed for pollution, but actually we are the generation that cleaned it up and started making laws to keep it clean.
The biggest polluters in the world are China and India. Pollution doesn't just stay in one place, it goes down the rivers into the oceans where currents carry it all over the world. Air pollution goes up in the atmosphere and it too goes all over the world. We pay China for cheap goods and they spew out pollution. Not real smart.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox.
One more thing....... Buy American made whenever possible.
There are refineries up and down the coast of Texas, Louisiana too. This new one to be built will help with production. Oil doesn't just make gas and diesel, it's in practically every modern product there is. ALL plastics, that in itself covers a myriad of products from medical devices to car parts inside and out, synthetic fabrics that make up a lot of our clothing, shoes, vinyl flooring and furniture, just to name a few. Electric cars are full of plastic, go figure.
There has to be a balance in production and environmental concerns. We need to be conscientious in our usage of natural resources and the needs of modern society. We have environmental laws in place to restrict pollution. We are not perfect, but I think we do a pretty good job of it. I remember when the Houston Ship Channel was so polluted, that you could literally set the water on fire, back in the 1960's. There were air quality warnings in place, hazy smog hung over our big cities that was plainly visible. We have come a long way and cleaned up a lot, all over the country. We still have work to do, it is and always will be, an ongoing project. Baby Boomers get blamed for pollution, but actually we are the generation that cleaned it up and started making laws to keep it clean.
The biggest polluters in the world are China and India. Pollution doesn't just stay in one place, it goes down the rivers into the oceans where currents carry it all over the world. Air pollution goes up in the atmosphere and it too goes all over the world. We pay China for cheap goods and they spew out pollution. Not real smart.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox.
One more thing....... Buy American made whenever possible.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Saw gas up another 20cent at several stations yesterday. $3.39 to $3.59. We wait & see. Just annoying to see, hits our wallets hard for more than just filling our own tanks. 
- Thread starter
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farmerjan
Herd Master
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- Aug 16, 2016
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- 13,561
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- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Agree @Baymule we are not the worst polluters by a long shot... and it does travel everywhere in the water and in the atmosphere.... Everything you posted is true... China has been building coal fired plants for electricity production and no one here complains... but GOD FORBID we build one here with all the environmental protections that are required in this country... which we all know China does not care about...
It was a "balmy" 27 degrees overnight... Only 35 at 9 a.m.
I woke up and then went back to sleep... I was really tired... and this cold congestion... that is really a "cold" and not the alpha gal allergy.... has me all stuffed up and taking forever to break up and get over... My resistance and whole immune system is so compromised, that it is taking forever to try to get back some strength. There is no bouncing back in 48 hours like I used to do... until I get the other somewhat straightened out.
So, I did the chickens last night, filled feeders and waterers, they won't be very frozen with the slight below freezing temps and I will put the bottles out in the car, go to snyder's to put the cows in and have to head to work. 1 hr away and they start milking at 1 AND there are 24 meters to get set up.... It will be 7-8 before I leave there to come home; after everything is done and meters back in the car... we usually try to "visit" a little since I don't get up there but every couple of months... this is where my cows went several years ago and where these 2 holstein heifers are going in the next couple of days... the one is getting very very close to calving...... a little ahead of what I thought she would be.
Well, need to go eat something... and get my butt in gear.
It was a "balmy" 27 degrees overnight... Only 35 at 9 a.m.
I woke up and then went back to sleep... I was really tired... and this cold congestion... that is really a "cold" and not the alpha gal allergy.... has me all stuffed up and taking forever to break up and get over... My resistance and whole immune system is so compromised, that it is taking forever to try to get back some strength. There is no bouncing back in 48 hours like I used to do... until I get the other somewhat straightened out.
So, I did the chickens last night, filled feeders and waterers, they won't be very frozen with the slight below freezing temps and I will put the bottles out in the car, go to snyder's to put the cows in and have to head to work. 1 hr away and they start milking at 1 AND there are 24 meters to get set up.... It will be 7-8 before I leave there to come home; after everything is done and meters back in the car... we usually try to "visit" a little since I don't get up there but every couple of months... this is where my cows went several years ago and where these 2 holstein heifers are going in the next couple of days... the one is getting very very close to calving...... a little ahead of what I thought she would be.
Well, need to go eat something... and get my butt in gear.
canesisters
Herd Master
I'm really sorry about your bull. It's a big loss.... but even worse because he was a good boy.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Gas prices are worrying DH some too. Right now is a bad time for them to spike when we are going back and forth a couple times settling up the CA house. So glad that is almost done with. Hope beef stays high. I would rather pay a little extra for American beef. Besides,steak and prime rib have always been treats for holidays instead of everyday food. DH and I split a seak between us - one advantage to being Prime is our appetites have lessened. LOL I don't understand why the government was opening up the border to import cattle from Mexico with the screwworm threat.
SageHill
Herd Master
They are?? Is this new in the last month or so?
- Thread starter
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farmerjan
Herd Master
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Unless something happened today that I have not heard, the border is closed to all cattle from Mexico... BUT... you need to watch pets for possible sores that do not heal and such... Not sure of the policy of pets traveling across borders.....
