Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[greybeard]

Yeah that makes a WHOLE lot of sense. We'll pay for 2 nights but not 1. Way to save money, having people make SURE they are there past midnight twice. Are the hospitals in cahoots with the insurance companies??

It usually doesn't work that way either. Too much chance of being caught by medicare and medicare supplement auditors.
In Cahoots? No exactly..and in fact, it was the opposite. Hospitals in the 90s realized they could make a LOT of revenue by admitting emergency room patients regardless of their ailment or injury. True for medicare/medicaid patients too as well as traditional private insurance or group ins thru the workplace. They'd admit them for even the most minor things, release them the next day with instructions to see their PCP and bill the insurance co or medicare for a night's stay. Insurance companies and medicare/medicaid were seeing costs go thru the roof and insurance companies started raising their rates to try to cover it. Medicare tho, instituted the 2 midnight rule, and private insurance soon followed suit, with stricter monitoring of reasons for admitting the patient for a full day's observation. Nowadays, when you go in and are admitted either thru day surgery or because of an E-room visit, you have to sign a form that informs you of the 2 midnight rule and that if there isn't cause to keep you 48 hrs (or past the 2nd midnight) you can be responsible for a significant part of the bill. One day surgery I had, they sent me one certified mail for me to sign and return before I went to day surgery.
Documentation for keeping someone past the 1st midnight is pretty rigidly kept track of by medicare.

There is also a 3 midnight rule, but I'm not up on what it is for.

 

[Bruce]

That makes no sense. There should be a way to determine if a 1 night stay is necessary and the ins co should pay for it. Fraud is fraud and should be prosecuted.

 

[farmerjan]

It's been awhile since I have posted much. Have tried to read some of the threads and journals and made a few comments but things have been busy enough here that I haven't had time to be on much.
Went to look at a repo HUD doublewide, that was pretty cheap and thought about it some. $35,000.... It needed some work, but not falling down or rotting away. 3/4th acre but mostly wooded. The roof had leaked and the neighbor said it had been re-roofed a couple of years ago. They had done some "remodeling" but never finished it. I was not sold on it although it might have worked out. With a possibility of another 10-20,000 to finish it/fix it.... Decided not to make the offer as the RE agent was pretty sure it would be bid up more. There was also an "easement" for the septic, and those type of things can just be a headache, so I decided not to pursue it.
Just found a nice little place, also close by but in the opposite direction....just went on the market. 3+ acres, nice little "cottage", with mostly open ground, a couple of "sheds/storage" buildings. It's 139,000 asking...much more what I would like and more than I really want to get tied down with. But, I had a bit of a run in with the landlord here about the chickens because they were out on the lawn and he just wasn't going to "have it" because they made it look trashy.... Now this is a 1750's stone farmhouse on a 200 acre farm.....he hasn't gotten the porch roof fixed from a storm 2 months ago, (several sheets of the tin roof are torn off) but the chickens on the lawn make it look trashy and they "stink".... I don't know if I would qualify for a mortgage of that amount.... but a mortgage is looking better and better than things here. I might see about getting pre-qualified and see what I can do.... I wanted to stay well below 100,000 so i could make extra payments, like 1 1/2 to 2 x what I pay now for rent, and get it paid off quickly... I'm just a little P.Oed right about now.

On a better note... found a Mennonite that is doing chicken killing. So they are supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know what day this coming week. They were going to have to go to a funeral and were not sure what day it was going to be when I talked to them, and they will not call on a Sunday and "do business" so will have to wait til tomorrow. That will get the "stinky" chickens gone. Problem is I just went and got about 60 more the other day that were "left" when they shipped the 2 houses on the broiler farm. I planned to raise them and sell at the poultry swap in mid-Sept as there are tons of different ethnic people who come and buy them. I will not have a ton in these birds and they will weigh in the 4-8 lb range when the time comes. So we are going to move the pen I have them in to my son's property where his barn is, and raise them there. I hate to turn them down as I could lose my "connection" if I don't take them. Any I don't sell, can go in the freezer too.
Another reason to be on my own place.

The weather was calling for rain and possible t-storms for several days so we did not cut any hay. It poured rain about 5 miles south on Wednesday last week and we didn't get enough to settle the dust at my house. Had rain a couple other days around, but not right here near me. There are 3 hayfields we make hay on right next to where I live. We could have had it cut and baled but were afraid to cut and have it get soaked. So started cutting yesterday, have about 40-45 acres on the ground and will be cutting more. There is another chance of some storms tomorrow, but then there is about 5 or more days of sun forecast. We would like to get most of the rest done. 2 places are custom, but they are about 40 acres total, I think. There is about another 20 acres total, in several small fields, of "ours" to do too. Plus another place that if it hasn't been cut, we are going to make it. It won't be the best of hay since it hasn't been cut for 2 years; we used to make the hay there, then it was sold and we were out for 2 years and it got grown up terribly. It will be trashy for 1st cutting, but if we get short of hay, it will be decent for them to pick through. We fed out more this past year than ever, and only are carrying about 50 rolls over when we usually try to carry over 150-200 as a cushion. It will be good to roll out in the cold weather for the cows to pick through and lay on and add organic matter back into the soil.

Work is erratic, tested 5 days straight, then only 1 farm last week and maybe 1 or 2 this next week.... guess that's good to get the hay done. Weather has not been terribly hot like I am reading for many further south. 80's days, 60's many nights. Has been alot worse.

June 21st has gone by so now days will be getting shorter..... can't believe we are already half way through the year....

 

[greybeard]

That makes no sense. There should be a way to determine if a 1 night stay is necessary and the ins co should pay for it. Fraud is fraud and should be prosecuted.

It was. Some hospitals had to pay huge fines when the investigation was over.

 

[Baymule]

So chickens in the yard are trashy, but a porch roof half blown off is innovative Architecture?

I hope you can find just what you want, for the right price.

 

[farmerjan]

He makes no sense, wants the farmyard to be "pristine".... yet grew up on a farm and inherited this place from an uncle. I have heard there were some "shady dealings" with the inheritance. He was a banker by "trade" and now "plays" at being a farmer so he can get the tax advantages. And moans about the cost of equipment, but then went and bought a BRAND NEW Tractor a couple of years ago, 4wd, and then put a front end loader on it in 2018..... a new 5 wheel rake 2 years ago, and the discbine was new in 2014 or 15..... all nice tax write offs.... I guess we are doing something wrong because we don't have all this new equipment.....he'd have a heart attack if we had this place and all our "OLD" equipment was in the yard.

He and his wife eat out all the time too. He has made several comments about they are here or there eating.... then complains about the cost of eating out, and about the cost of groceries.... but he never gets enough for his cattle. Drives me nuts.

The chickens go tomorrow eve for butcher on Wed morning. They will vacuum pack and put into the walk in cooler to chill, for me to pick up on Thursday morning. Got a few more things to move out of the freezer so have plenty of room for them to go on the shelves to freeze.

We moved some equipment in anticipation of raking and baling starting on Tuesday; I went and got the 4600 Ford tractor and the wheel rake and took it down to the orchard grass field near my house. My son had stopped and checked the hay, said it is dry, go ahead and rake, he was going to get the baler. It was way past prime, it had gone to seed, but there was some decent undergrowth. We normally roll all the first cutting anyway so not the end of the world. So I started raking, and then it got "black" and clouds looked like rain. Remember, we had held off cutting for a week, due to forecasts of 40-60% and never got a drop here although there had been rain 5 miles south and some about 6-8 miles north. Kept missing us. So he had mowed all this hay Sunday. With a 30 % chance of thunderstorms for Mon aft. That is the weather that all of you had gotten, the Tn crowd, and others, here just a day or 2 ago. I texted him, said I had 4 windrows raked and it was getting really dark skies. Granted this was at 6:30 p.m. but we have sun until nearly 9 p.m. right now. So I waited til he got there, got the baler hooked up, and he told me to stay only 2 rows ahead of him in case it did decide to open up. Well, the first set of clouds stayed west and traveled along the ridges and then we saw sun peeking through but then it clouded up again. I stayed 2 full rows ahead of him, and we got the whole field raked and baled by 9 p.m.
Unfortunately, it has rained since; started about 10 p.m.. Some thunder, quite a bit of lightning, and a pretty good shower/rain. So there is about 25-30 acres on the ground that got wet. I did see about 4 more farms that had cut hay today all laying on the ground so don't feel so bad. We gambled and it hit us this time. Not a wash out, probably didn't get but a couple tenths, I will look in the morning. The good thing is we are 1 big field ahead with the baling since that was not originally in the plans for tonight. The weather forecast is for 20% or less for the next 7 days, but temps are going to be in the 80's and 90's. It will dry anything we do cut very fast. It's going to be a very long week with all that he wants to get cut and up. It would sure be nice if we could get most all first cutting done though. It has over matured due to the crazy "spring" weather we had and how fast it grew. Won't test very high in protein, but is sure will beat snowballs.
With the flooding, field damages, and then so much rain in some areas, there are many mid-west farmers that will not be able to get anything planted for this year. They are taking a huge hit; with the grain losses, field damages that are costing to try to fix, and now not being able to get a crop in this year either. Corn futures are already up over $5.00 a bushel, from somewhere in the $3.25 to $3.60 just this past year. Soybeans also will really jump. I think that you will see a rise in the over all cost of groceries, but if anyone can, you might want to buy any extra pork or beef that you can manage now before prices do go up. It will be a bad year for us cattle producers due to the fact that feedlots have budgets. If they have to pay alot for the corn and other inputs, like soybeans, then they pay less for feeder cattle. There are less cattle due to the devastating losses from the March/April flooding and the cattle that were washed away and all the calves that were lost or even not yet born; they would be going into the "pipeline" this fall and next spring. So that might help some to keep prices up a bit. But I am reading on the CT forum, that producers are seeing mediocre prices for their 5-6 wt. steers.
We have one group left to move off pasture; Later born fall calves, many late Oct and Nov. We are planning to sell the steers as soon as they come off the cows in about 2 weeks. After we get the bulk of this hay made. We are losing this pasture and usually move them the first part of July anyway, so wanted to take full advantage of the place for as long as we could. The cows will get preg checked, and I am of a mind to ship most of any cows that come up open. We are probably going to wean and keep most of the heifers. See if the heavier feeder heifers of 6-800 lbs bring more in the spring. May just go on and breed some too, to calve at 2 yrs old. See how the markets are playing out later this fall.

Rain has stopped and I see a little clearing in the sky. Think it may have moved off east, so maybe we are done with it.

 

[Baymule]

There is nowhere here that will do poultry. We are going to slaughter 10 more tomorrow, hope to get the other 7 done Friday, plus 2 mean roosters that I hate. Glad that you don't have to slaughter yours and have somewhere to take them.

It's a good thing that you and your son got that field rolled up before the rain set in, too bad about the field that got rained on. Last year, it got dry here and we scrambled to find hay early in the spring. It finally rained in the fall and the hay cutters were working overtime.

Hope you get a good price for your steers.

 

[farmerjan]

Took 45 big broilers tonight up to the Mennonite's that are going to do the butchering. SO GLAD to have found someone. And now they are off the ground so I don't have to listen to the landlord. Kept 2 in that group that were on the small side. They will go with the ones I just got.

It started out as a not very good day. My son wound up in the emergency room at 6:30 this morning. Turns out to be Kidney stones. He had them once before several years ago. I have never had them but have been told that they are brutal. He's on pain killers, and after x-rays, they said there are 2 coming down right next to each other. The emergency room dr. said he needs to go see a special type of urologist. He had cut out most all sodas a few years ago, and does try to drink more water but they said he was dehydrated this morning. The ac in the tractor quit last eve and you have to keep the cab closed or the dust is horrible and you can't breathe it or it will absolutely ruin your lungs. So it got very hot in the cab and He was sweating bullets when he got done. It didn't cool off until after the rain after we were done. So that didn't help either. He is trying to drink more "real lemonade" and I said that cranberry juice is supposed to help. I also said that he needs to try some apple cider vinegar, like a tblsp in a glass of water every day. He is off work for 2 days, and supposed to drink as much water as he can constantly to try to get them moved out.

Yes, we were very glad to get that one field baled up. We got about .5 inch of rain total. I am going to go rake tomorrow, and see if it will turn up and dry on the underside so we don't have to tedd it out. It was very dry when he cut it. There was a little bit cooler temps this morning, and mostly sun and a slight breeze. Very comfortable overall. But the heat is supposed to roll in tomorrow with temps hitting the 90's they are saying now. If it does, we should get by with only raking the hay to get it dry underneath. One good thing about the wheel rake. It turns the 2 rows over into each other and the underside rolls "up" and it usually will help dry it. If there are "green" spots, they will often dry down real good. With this "water wet" it will hopefully get the "against the ground side" up and it will dry. Won't know til I try. Worst comes to worst, I will have to tedd it out first.

Hoping he will feel better and can get back in the tractor to mow since we have such a good window of "dry time" in front of us. That was his first comment, boy, this is screwing up getting the hay cut so we can bale while it is calling for dry weather.
You know the whole, make hay when the sun shines thing......

Went by the house that is close, that just went on the market. It is nice, decent, not new, but from the outside, and the pictures they show of the inside, just about what I want need. And it is closer than I thought so even more convenient. It is also in an area that makes it accessible and so, "re-saleable". Going to call the RE agent I am working with and go look at it. Got to talk to the bank and see if there is anyway that I can pre-qualify for a mortgage for it. Told my son about it too, and he said to see what is what. The close proximity to all our stuff is a big selling point to me. The fact that it is a little "small" and it does sit close to the road will hurt it for some I think. It is also "ground level" as far as the concrete "front porch" pad, which is one very small step up. Perfect for the "recovery phase of the ankle replacement" There is an upstairs but I believe the bathroom is on the first floor with one bedroom. So I really do need to go look at it and see. Pretty much move in condition by the looks of the pictures too. Definitely a better prospect than the repo I looked at, even at the price. 3+ acres too.

Past time to hit the sack. I went to my son's for awhile after coming home from the chicken delivery. He wanted some milk to eat some cereal because the pills were making him queasy. He was feeling a little better but had slept off and on a good part of the day. I will sleep good I hope and get a decent start to the day tomorrow. All my farmers are in the hay fields now that it is supposed to be dry, so don't have anyone who is wanting to test. I will get hit with it next week probably. Oh well, feast or famine.

Found an engine for my car, Michael is going to call back tomorrow and get it shipped to us. 5 yr or 50,000 mile warranty on it. Has 70,000 on it. Mine had 270,000 when it went. With not as much testing I don't put on as many miles so it sounds good. He will help the guy who put in the last one that didn't last. I think that there won't be any labor charges for this time around. Place has a good reputation, he knows a couple people who have dealt with them so comfortable doing business with them.

 

[Bruce]

I have never had them but have been told that they are brutal.

Um, yep. Having been through it myself, please pass on my sympathies!

The house sounds good, having a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor will certainly make ankle surgery recovery much easier. I would get prequalified "in general" not for a specific house. That way if you make an offer it will have some contingencies but financing won't be one of them. If I were selling property I'd take the prequalified person's offer before the one with that contingency, never know if they actually WILL get qualified.

 

[Baymule]

Hope your son gets better. I never had kidney stones-and don't want them!

The house and 3 acres sounds good, might oughta jump on that.