Stan,
Very true! My friend cut one of his fingers pretty good while sharpening, 6 stiches :'(. I wore a glove on my sharpening hand when he told me that.
We'll have to give it a go next spring, even working as it was we were still faster than a string trimmer. 8)
Corley5,
I like your way of doing things! We too try to sell all our surplus hay during the summer. It sure is easier loading someone's truck in August rather than January. All our square bales are gone, and we have about four hundred round bales left. Those are alot easier to load, and should be gone by New Year's Day.
We didn't get any fall-sown crops in, on account of rain, so we'll try to put oats into those fields next spring.
Well yesterday we finally finished picking corn, and are done with fieldwork for this year. Just in time, as last night and today we have gotten at least one inch of rain, and its still coming down. How are the rest of you doing with your fieldwork?
Wheat is drilled and up.
Feed is baled and off the field.
Calves are weaned and turned out on wheat pasture.
Send some of your rain.
Now I have time to go to the canyons and get me some big cedars to saw.
Everythings is pretty much done around here. Few guys putting on fall anhydrous. Few doing some ripping. Lots of lime being spread.
We've got the skidder on the tractor and have been doing some logging the last couple of weeks.
Gave up on farming this year and went back to fighting fire for the state. The tobacco market started this monday and only one buyer showed for the sale. Most all of the tobacco is being contracted dirctly to the companies now. Looks like the tobacco farming is on its last legs.
Stacked my hay loose this year, thats done. Went faster than baling. Pitching them over the fence already, dry here.Neighbors crops are all in. All I got is hay. Would love to find some picked corn to buy, everyone around here combines these days.
We recieved 10" of snow a while back but its melted now. Supposed to get more this week end. Moisture may be more plentiful this coming year. Can only hope.
Gus
Do not plant much anymore as 99% of Tree Farme is tree'ed in. We had about 1 1/2' of rain yesterday around here. From the looks of the flat landers yesterday and day before, looks like all seed is in and some comeing up. Toured a last load or two logging job of one of my past students yesterday. Some of the stumps were 6' across. ;D From most of the 750,000 bdft, we were getting 3 40' logs plus some shorts. 8) 8) Everything is cleaned and burned already. several one log load and numerous 3 logs loads. The land owner is another of my past students as well as his children. Wow, they grow up fast. :'(
Everything's out of the garden but the last of the brussels sprouts and kale, and I let the cows in to finish that as we've had temps TOO low for the quality of the veg anymore. Rye up and being blasted by deer. General pasture fall seeding came up spotty- Mike did a project with that and used seed 2 years old.. :-/ Young pines are bushing up all over the place. When is the first time you should thin them? lw
Gus,
I'm curious how the loose hay works. Are you using any machinery to get it on and off the wagon or just pitch forks?
What kind of volume do you do with it?
I'm going to get into some hobby farming soon and will need only enough for a few goats, and a mule. Skipping the bailer part should save some $ 8)
Anyone use a scythe here? I borrowed a friends once but I don't think either of us could sharpen it properly. It still worked ok but I couldn't see doing too many acres with it! I'm sure with some good sharpening technique it would work well though.
Ian
My crop is all most all out of the barn. I'm a hay producer and all but a couple hundred of the 6,000 small squares I put up this summer are gone 8) 8) 8) 8). That means no snowblowing to the barn this winter etc. I sell out sooner every year. I could sell double what I produce but 5 to 6 thousand is more than enough.
The trick to sharpenin' a scythe is goin' fast enough to allow some time for cuttin' hay, and slow enough to leave enough fingers to hang onto the handle. 8)