How'd it go today?

Jeez, Jim. What keeps you from going crazy from boredom, I wonder? I have no reason to think I know better, this is an honest question.
 
Burnham, when I was a kid I used to go nuts from a half a day's tractor driving. Then after while I got a satellite radio. That helped pretty well.

Anymore I dont even listen to the radio. All day long I am trying to solve problems. My mind is whirring around all day long. Weather, prices, marketing, costs, plans, tactics, kids, family, life......you name it.

They say when you have a big decision to make or a problem to solve you should sleep on it. I dont sleep worth a shit.

I dont sleep on it.....I farm on it.
 
I couldn't do it for but for a couple, three hours tops. My membrane would go insane.

I'd HAVE to have a radio playing or maybe an audio book.

What does one of those bales sell for, Jim? 50, 100 bucks? More? Less?
 
I used to be the same Butch. Now that I have to make all the decisions I have no trouble passing the time.

I guess each bale would be worth about 80 bucks. Hay is being advertised for 130 bucks a ton or so. Each bale weighs about 1150 pounds.

The terrible drought we are in has risen the price of hay. Normally up here it would be worth from 65 to 85 bucks a ton.
 
Enjoyed the vid Jim.

Big country.

When it came to harvesting wheat or hay baling my dad jumped out of bed to get to work. I guess it was the culmination of a lot of effort and preparation, everything else was getting ready for that day, machine, trailers and barn space.

Him and my brother would go through numbers in the evening about this year against last year etc.
 
I'm the same way Jim, but the crazy dreams don't phase me. Half the time I know I'm dreaming and sometimes I can kinda steer the dream in a certain direction. It's an odd thing, I kinda have fun with it.

I can sleep only on my sides, and I average about the same times having to shift.

If only I could sleep on my back! My beard would be awesome upon arising...
 
In those days there were only square bales which were loaded by grab loader onto the trailer where a bloke would stack them ready for transport to the barns.

The hand stacking in the barns was a job I hated. I was right up top, as I was the weakest, stacking and my brother was on the trailer throwing the bales which got harder as the stack got higher and the trailer lower.

The boss hired half a dozen other guys who came in the evenings from various factories for extra money.

Late 60s early 70s, a bit of a golden age in UK farming before we joined the EU and things changed.
 
This whole country was small squares back in the day Mick, before that it was loose hay. I dont think much hay was made with a scythe, this country was not settled very early. Late 1880's I think. Some mechinization even then.

They would cut a field with a team and mower. Then come along with a buck rake. The buck rake would gather hay and then dump it. The hay was then pitched onto wagons and hauled to a stack where workers would make the stack.

Some folks had what they called an Over-shot. It loaded the wagon mechanically.

A big sheep outfit out here was sold in pieces back in the 60's. Grandpa bought some loose hay stacks from them. Some of them would have been over 10 years old, but the hay inside was still green.

Grandpa had switched to round bales by the time I came along.

I have seen some videos and read some articles about farming in the UK. Very interesting indeed. One thing I could not get over was all the damn mud.


When I dream Butch its sort of like watching a movie. If the dream is unpleasant or too weird I change the channel.


I posted this earlier this year, but this is how we convert valuable hay into cow shit.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9o2o7O6CoE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Sturdy fences!

So, you gather it all up to distribute all of it somewhere else?

Wow.

Are there predators???
 
Thats about it Butch. The really clever guys take the cows to the hay, rather than taking the hay to the cows.

There is not any water in the field where we were making hay today, so we have to haul it off. We are working hard to change that though. We have another 40 thousand feet of pipeline to put in. Plus a 30,000 gallon cistern to feed the whole system. After that is done I will have flowing water to every acre on the place.

As far as predators go, we have coyotes, eagles and the occasional mountain lion and very rarely a wolf. Coyotes are the biggest threat. No bears though!

That day was pretty nice Mick. Some 20 below F days with sun and no wind are great.
 
It's odd...

The coolest guy at a tree forum isn't even a tree guy in the least...

Go figure!

QaOD1zt.gif
 
For real! Great farming videos Jim, gives us small country people half an idea what it's all about.

Brian, you know why you got given that hedge trimmer right? Something to do with a nice new helmet I'm wearing maybe...:)
 
I didn't watch the video, i will later on Wi-Fi. Looks like an 86 series, Jim? Maybe a 14? That's probably just your small chore tractor.:lol:
 
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