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deddyinfo · 3 years

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7 Things You Can BURY in the GARDEN to Improve the Soil

Janay i’m mark from social eyesight me and i love to bury things in the garden it not only cures the environment by reducing waste and landfill it saves on buying fertilizer and other expensive additives to improve your soil so here are seven of the main things i like to bury in the garden

let’s get into it[ Music] number 1 swine as an animal carcass decomposes in the garden it turns into a rich fertilizer that can be utilized by your weeds the beginning system of your weeds in this case banana trees will literally “re going through” and suck out the nutrients it needs I’ve submerge my bazaar share of animals in the plot such as chickens doves toads fish heads

and now even a kangaroo at the end of last year Nina my wife was driving to work early in the morning went out of nowhere hop-skip a kangaroo right in front of a automobile she did everything she could to avoid it but unfortunately just like numerous Australians knowledge at least once in their life she concealed the kangaroo and it couldn’t be revitalized of course Nina rang me and she was a bit shaken so I drove out to check that she was okay and instead of leaving the animal on the road I took it back home and the one thing I had at the time which was a reusable supermarket pocket which I never reused after that I might supplement then I submerge the kangaroo in the pet cemetery and it came back to life no that fraction isn’t true I lay the kangaroo right here underneath the banana trees and since

then we’ve had a banana boom simply a few points to note when you do this make sure you dig a penetrating enough hole and treat with enough clay relevant to the size of the animal to prevent any bad fragrances and I recommend flooding further with a roadblock such as ball rock-and-rolls to stop wild puppies or other animals trying to dig it up also for gigantic animals this method works best with result trees or large flowers like bananas and of course I’m not saying you should fling off a perfectly health animal exactly to use it in the garden-variety but if the circumstances grow such as an age-old chicken stops off the perch well you might as well get

that one last-place employ out of it yes it is sad when swine get ill or come to a premature intention like young Skippy the kangaroo now but on a positive mention he did make good bananas number two is eggs as we know eggs are so versatile they can be used to establish mayonnaise cakes pasta hashed out to move more fowls or simply gobbled as is in many different ways but did you know that eggs likewise make an excellent

fertilizer for plants it’s true eggs contain calcium phosphorus magnesium nitrogen zinc copper and many other nutrients beneficial to plant growth you’ve probably heard about the benefits of eggshells in the plot but entire eggs are even better except who wants to waste whole eggs in the garden-variety well firstly you might find using eggs in this way cheaper then buying commercial fertilizer pound-for-pound however we tend to use eggs that have been soiled cracked or age-old I’ll take up and testify you a really good example real experience I left out duck to collect her eggs in the hope that she might be participating in them and hatch out some ducklings for us but she’s a little bit young and instead she’s compiled some of them but the majority of members of them ought to have sowed around by the chickens and she’s not sitting on them so instead what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna collect them all they’re all around the place one there three here one over there one

near where you are I’m gonna collect them up and use them in the garden-variety and the last one check them out look at how unclean some of these are just rolling around on the poop storey gardeners will often dig a excavation like this you know about 30 centimeters deep like a few eggs in interrupt them and then cover that fault over delightful and good pat it down then use a affix so they can identify where that defect is for later then come back in about several weeks maybe a month or two and then they know that they can plant a tomato capsicum or any vegetable certainly over the priorities in that and they don’t even need to use fertilizer personally I simply drivel them anywhere in the plot excavate a opening at random don’t even bother marking them and often I will only plant tomatoes straight

immediately over freshly seeded eggs into the garden and I’ve had good results with that number three animal trash or dungs one of the most common and natural ways to fertilize the plot is by using animal manures that have been left to break down and compost and get really old in a neat cool smudge like this under some Hessian for several months until they’ve broken down and then they can be applied into the garden you are eligible to submerge fresh manure in the garden you just can’t originate anything in that place for several weeks maybe months until it breaks down if you get managed business dung fertilizer it’s usually scattered on the surface around flowers but when we collect

our own excrements from animals the material is larger and less center often these kinds of excrement is best dug into the garden and combined with the clay basically buried into the garden berthed so that it does not clog burn or crust up meeting it better overall for the seeds my favorite manures are cow horse poultry but other shoot swine like sheep and even rabbits etc are good to cat and pup poop can be composted down but not embed instantly into the garden on purpose regardles I’m not a big love either way of feline and puppy debris it’s too close to human waste for me to use in the garden and I’d be worried about spreading nasty pathogens throughout the veggie patch but that’s just my view whereas farm animals have a enormously different compost compatibility because they eat little protein and have a more plant-based diet number four is kitchen scraps you may remember my video what happens when you submerge kitchen scraps in the plot well in this spot here is where the beginning of that video was and where I moved a batch of kitchen scraps in a gutter here and that awfully season I ripened a bumper cultivate of tomatoes so what we should do is dig this up and see if there’s anything left of those scraps that I put in there get in there I can start accompanying some eggshell that’s probably the last thing that would ever break down not basically nothing except for a few eggshells

but you have to remember this was buried a good 12 months ago and it’s not surprising to me that you won’t discovery any real fragments of anything except for a few calcium segments of eggshell which are a lot harder to break down but it gets still utilized by flowers believe it or not and they only need a little bit micronutrients to boost their own immune system and change better yes we also compost kitchen scraps in the usual way in a compost pile ora tumbler but this reductions out the middleman and I calculate is a marvelous practice to do it number five is coffee and

tea debris both coffee and tea are good to use in a plot either dug in sprinkled around or implanted altogether into the garden bed most people know about the benefits of used coffee feet and whether “youre using” your or get them from a neighbourhood cafe it’s all good honestly we use chocolate pods and precisely can’t chuck them into the garden however we do use two tea leaves have about twice as much nitrogen phosphorus and potassium than coffee grinds all these elements are key fertilizer parts for bushes tea also contains calcium magnesium cast-iron and zinc which all are good for seeds and help them to absorb nutrients they’re for submerge coffee and tea

trashes in the garden is worth the effort but do go easy on the beverage in the garden-variety because a little bit is good but too much in one spot might up the asipi of the grime and if that happens that can make it difficult for bushes to actually assimilate the nutrients so it has the opposite effect so I would recommend if you are going to add coffee anchors and tea leaves into the garden spread them around a bit number 6 is garden squander the first instinct of most gardeners is to compost this down and that is a top route to recycle but light-green litter like this can also be hid directly

into the garden berthed old floras and even weeds that have not gone to seed can be dug into the ground as a light-green excrement to rich the clay I even go one further and very larger green litter such as adheres and logs to create Hugo culture style grew beds that help to retain moisture and create a healthy environment for beneficial animals microbes and fungu digging in certain floras can even help to eradicate pests for example excavating in agricultural crops of marigolds to further reduce nematodes in the grime list seven are lice yes I know that insects are technically service animals I could have clothed them in number one nonetheless when I applied these lice into the garden they’re alive so I think it’s different

I also wanted lice to be last-place to make this one particularly important point one of the main reasons I embed all this stuff in our menu garden-variety is to feed our lice I analyse our entire garden-variety like it’s one big worm farm and now I’m gonna leant these foals back in so I don’t stress them out too much how do I use these insects in the plot well whenever I find a worm outside of the garden such as digging around the property I’ll collect them and inter them into the veggie patch but I’ve also found another way to grow and lent snakes and that’s through inoculation I buy some worm eggs and seed them into a collection of dung for them to hatch out and have a worm party this does two things it breaks down and directs the manure over to become better plant food and then when

I go to use it in the garden it populates the bunks with extra lice now I’m not independent experts on insects thankfully and I do know that composting worms are often different to the insects that you get in the regular garden but there is a common belief out there that compost lice won’t survive into the regular garden-variety and that is simply wrong there are many different types of insects including different types of composting worms composting snakes will merrily live in the regular garden-variety as long as they have food and lay things in the garden

variety gives your snakes all the food they need for them to turn those pieces into better soil structure and nutrients for your seeds you don’t have to buy insects most of the time if you have a dung pile that’s open or a compost locality that’s open to the field you will attract snakes from around your belonging and they’ll multiply in those areas although if you do want to head start or if insects are scarce in your arena buying some lice or worm eggs and computing them to your compost compost pile

or garden bed could be worthwhile time remember to feed them one final point about embed things in the garden don’t overdo it don’t turn your plot berthed into a minefield of crumbling material because that won’t do your embeds better now as that cloth breaks down in mass generates gases and heat and that’s not helpful for your embeds swelling so hurl all your excess waste in here besides my top seven do you hide other things in the garden to reach your plants develop better if you do whack them down in the comments segment below so we can all read

and learn from them and don’t say your grandparents I’ve heard that one before if you liked this article

Read More: Planting& Growing Flower Bulbs: How to Dig Store Tuberous Begonias

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vincentvangoatsmilk · 7 years

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Thank you to @z-oologystudy for tagging me!!!

Rules: Answer questions in a new post and tag 20 blogs you would like to get to know better.

Nickname: I don’t really have any? My dad calls me shortstuff?

Starsign: Leo

Height: 5′3″

Last thing you googled: My Favorite Murder shirts

Fav music artist: Empire of the Sun, Purity Ring, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Fleetwood Mac (and Stevie), etc.

Song stuck in my head: “DNA” by Empire of the Sun

Last movie I watched: Girl on the Train

What are you wearing right now: leggings, long shirt from aerie, and big grey sweater

When did you create your blog?: almost 2 years ago

What kind of stuff do you post?: anything I like pretty much. studyblr stuff, art, animals, funny stuff, nature, a few fandom things here and there

Do you have any other blogs?: I had my first blog in like 2013 but don't have the login anymore

Do you get asks regularly?: literally never. I’ve gotten like 1 or 2 since I made my blog

Why did you choose your URL?: I basically just copied all the other ~artsy blogs~ on here in artist name puns

Gender: female

Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff

Pokemon team: I don’t remember... I don’t play anymore

Favorite color: green, but also light/baby pink, blue, purple, and yellow. I like a lot of colors

Average hours of sleep: 7-9

Lucky number: idk 12?

Fav characters: oh yikes from Shameless I love like all of them except for Frank, Karen, and Monica pretty much. Ian is precious and Debbie and Lip even though he's kind of annoying sometimes. I love Simon and Baz, CREDENCE AND NEWT, basically everyone on Criminal Minds, Rory Gilmore, Castiel, Donna Noble, MULDER AND SCULLY!!

How many blankets do you sleep with?: I have my comforter, a bigger blanket from costco, and a small pink one from brookstone. (I sleep with my fan on)

Dream job: I just want a farm with cows, sheep, dogs, chickens, goats, horses, ducks, cats, llamas, alpacas, bunnies, turtles, and like basically every other animal in existence, and a cute farmhouse where I can do art things. Maybe a little cottage somewhere in sweden or ireland with a garden and cows? idk I have big goals for my animals

I tag @dumhinger @watermelemoons @ofallthefishinthe-sea @sharkkyd @cloudiebub idk anyone if you want to do it go right ahead!!!

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s

By Kathy Belt – In the September/October 2012 issue, a reader wanted to know what homesteading life in the 1800s was like. Here’s my reply. I am a bit of a history nut. I have spent many years engaged in accurate historical re-enactment. (Think Ren Faire but with no turkey legs.) So your question about what simple homesteading life in the 1800s looked like prompted me to write.

First—when talking about life in the 1800s, do you mean the early 1800s? Before the advent of canning, telegraph, railroads, and sewing machines? Or are you talking late the 1800s? If the latter—just talk to any member of an Amish community about their simple homesteading lifestyle. If you are talking about the early 1800s—that’s a completely different matter. I would recommend visiting historic Williamsburg, Virginia.

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There are numerous diaries that have been left behind by the folks who “traveled West” and the hardships of simple homesteading they endured; as well as diaries of those who “stayed behind” in the civilized world of chamber pots and chimney fires. Reading these diaries gives a very good insight into how people lived.

Are you interested in the day-to-day life of agrarian people as opposed to those who live in the city? If so—I recommend becoming a homesteader without electricity, power tools or indoor plumbing.

Also take away modern medicine, familiarize yourself with a healing herbs list and learn to recognize gangrene. Go to the grocery store for only flour, coffee, and sugar. Grow your own linen (hemp is preferable to flax for durability and comfort), and wool. Simple homesteading of this era means you learn how to knit, spin and weave, and use only your own feet (or those of a horse) for transportation. Dig your own well, do your own blacksmithing and starve in the winter when you’ve had a bad crop year.

If you truly want to try life in the 1800s, be expected to have 18-20 children, all born at home, and have half of them die before the age of five because of dysentery, typhoid, scarlet fever or measles. Be prepared to get up with the sun and read by the light of your drafty fireplace. (Yes, the Franklin stove was invented in the late 1700s, but it weighed so much, most folks who went west didn’t take it with them. Of course, if you stayed in one of the “big” cities, you would have access to whale oil or kerosene for your lights.)

Be prepared to slaughter pigs and use everything except the “oink.” (Think pickled pig’s feet.) And you had better spend all day Sunday at church.

Let’s see—what else—oh yes, hygiene. It didn’t exist. There was usually a pan with water in it (that you carried from the well in a bucket) for rinsing your fingers before meals and washing your face in the morning. Everyone washed in the same basin of water. There was one bathtub full of water that everyone used for their Saturday night baths.

And ladies—would you like to know the origin of the phrase “on the rag?” Just one of the many uses of the rag bag. I heard a nurse tell a story that happened in 1950. An old “bachelor farmer” came into the hospital and had to have both pairs of long johns cut off him. He had had them on so long, his hair was growing through them.

Babies wore cloth diapers (if they wore anything at all) and the diapers had to be boiled before hung on the line to dry. Yes, even in the winter. You’d hang them out so they froze, take them down and snap them so the water crystals would fly out, then bring them in and hang them from rope you strung from one side of the house to the other.

Clothes for the rest of the family? One dress for momma for church, and one dress for the rest of the week. One pair of pants and a shirt for poppa for church, and one outfit for him for the rest of the week.

The rest of the simple homesteading family— hand-me-downs. Clothes were remade and remade and remade until they ended up in the rag bag. Remember those funny pictures of baby boys wearing dresses? Yup! The ultimate in recycling. By the way ladies—there’s no underwear from the waist down—but there are chemise, corsets, corset covers, and then a blouse on top, and the skirts were multi layered—up to 16 layers.

Animal husbandry for simple homesteading? You’d better like being pecked by chickens, trying to solve mastitis without antibiotics, treating thrush (on your horses feet) with iodine, and trimming the hooves of everything that walks. Roosters need their spurs clipped, dogs need their claws shortened and so do cows, goats, horses, sheep and just about anything else you can think of except fish.

Don’t forget you should not drink water that is “downriver” from where the animals drink. And if you want your animals to work for you, they need to be fed before you are. You had better have good neighbors to swap seed and semen with. Remember, this is before artificial insemination and top seed companies. And animals are dangerous. Just because they are cute, doesn’t mean they are safe. Horses kick and bite. Bulls can gore you. A pig will eat you. Roosters’ spurs are sharp. I do hope you know how to sew up cuts and have alcohol (that you made yourself) to wash out wounds.

Housing. If you are living like a “pioneer,” expect a drafty cold house with snow on the bed, no glass in the windows and two rooms. One room is the bedroom, the other is for all other functions, including mending the harness, sharpening and oiling your tools, spinning, and weaving, cooking and relaxing in the evening.

If you were smart, you put in a loft (heat rises). Up there you will find two beds. One bed is for mom and dad and the baby, and the other bed is for everyone else. Half the heads on the pillows at the “head” of the bed and half the heads on the pillows at the “foot” of the bed. The bed will have ropes tied about every foot going across, and three or four ropes going from head to food. This is your “box spring.” Your mattress will be a piece of thick cloth (ticking) that is stuffed with straw or corn husks or something of that ilk. The featherbed (if there is one) goes on top to keep you warm.

If you are “city folk,” instead of simple homesteading you’ll have curtains around your bed to help keep body warmth in. You might be smart enough to make a house that has good chinking between the logs. In which case, you have to worry about “cabin fever”—which is really another name for carbon dioxide poisoning, because you haven’t opened the door enough to bring in oxygen after the fire and all the people use it all up.

Here’s something else you can do in your spare time—boiling the horns from the cows so they can be flattened and used to make into spoons and the “glass” in the lantern. That’s after you oil and mend all the harnesses, clean all the glass lanterns of their soot, and drop a live chicken down the chimney to break loose all the creosote. (Yes—I know folks who do it.)

Cooking. If you are living “out west,” you’ll be using dried buffalo dung for fuel. If you happen to live where there is plentiful wood, you get to chop down trees. As in, with an ax. There are saws, but most of them take two people. Look up bucksaw and “Swede” saw. Then you hitch up your horses to haul it out of the woods, chop it into smaller pieces, stack it and haul it into the house whenever you need heat. (Cooking, keeping warm, keeping the wool warm so it will spin, etc.) Ten cords of wood should last you a winter. A cord is 8′ x 8′ x 4′. With a chainsaw it takes me two weeks solid to cut 10 cords.

And the only food you have is what you grow or kill. If there is a drought or a flood, or the locusts hit your garden, or you get sick and can’t carry the water from the well to water the garden, you’re going to go hungry. By the way, you will probably only have two or three metal pans, a Dutch oven (or something that can be covered with coals), a frying pan and a boiling pan. (For 17 people, remember). In simple homesteading, lots of cooking is done in crockery or wrapped in leaves and stuck in the coals.

Expect to eat a lot of soup, especially for breakfast. And if it’s before the time of Napoleon, nothing canned. It’s all fresh, dried, salted, or fermented (think sauerkraut). Hopefully you have dug yourself a well wide enough you can keep stuff cool if you don’t have a springhouse or a root cellar. One of the reasons to make cheese is to use up all the milk you ended up with by milking by hand—after you weaned the calves. Another chore that isn’t fun—flour. If you grow your own grain, you’d better know the difference between a snath and a blade and how to sharpen the latter.

Have we talked about shoes yet? Before the American Civil War, there were no “left” and “right” shoes. Or rather, they weren’t made that way, but after wearing them often enough, they developed “left” and “right.” The country songs that talk about getting a “brand new pair” when the kids go off to school is pretty accurate—for the 20th century. Before that, you went barefoot most of the year. If you lived in the city and were a lady, you had satin slippers to go dancing in. Yes, satin material. No insole. No sole. Just a piece of satin material sewn into a slipper shape.

By the way, did I discuss disease yet? You know all those vaccines that are pushed on you as a child? All those were diseases that killed or crippled. Polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox, small pox, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, whooping cough, trench mouth, milk fever, goiters, warts, and worms. All those and all the “little” problems that we face such as arthritis, heart attacks, and diabetes, were out there with no cure. But there was opium!

Because of the high death rate among children, the “average” lifespan was 35. If you survived childhood, you had a good chance of living to be 60 or even 70. But by that time you were so worn out by all the work, you were ready. By the time you were 40 your skin was very wrinkled, you had lost most of your teeth, and every joint hurt—all the time.

Yup, life in the 1800s: the “good old days.” I’ll stick with homesteading today.

Two of my many sources are: America Eats, by Williams Woys Weaver, Museum of American FolkArt, Harper & Row Publishers, 1989 Everyday Life in the 1800s, by Marc McCutcheon, Writers Digest Books, 1993

Originally published in Countryside January / February 2013 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s was originally posted by All About Chickens

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joesbrownusa · 7 years

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Houses For Sale in Crawford, NE

Address Not Disclosed

Price: $1699000

Click here to see a video of Pine Ridge Big Game Paradise. The Pine Ridge Big Game Paradise ranch is a magnificent piece of property located in the Pine Ridge of Northwestern Nebraska. This ranch is 1680 acres of the finest Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail deer, and Merriam turkey hunting in all Nebraska. Its varied terrain of rolling Ponderosa pine, White River bottom land, rock outcropping, canyons, and rolling native grasses provide perfect habitat to the local wildlife. Huge Elk frequent the property (located in the Hat Creek Elk Zone) and a semi-resident herd of 40-50 elk stay in summer a nd fall each year. Each year, several 330-390 Boone and Crockett class Bulls are seen. This property is in the “Elk Landowner’s Zone”, which means it is possible to apply for a non-resident’s landowner permit every three years. The genetics in regards to both elk and deer in the area are exceptional. Trophy Mule deer and Whitetail deer are harvested each year and current owners carefully control grazing, food plots, and overall habitat to enhance wildlife of all species. The ranch is extremely well watered with the White River coming through the bottoms 40 acres and Kyle Creek bordering on the east. There is very good Brown trout fishing in the White River. The ranch has a electric well on a pipeline going to all three sections of the ranch. Additionally, the ranch has a new Solar well and 4 windmills. The property is fenced and cross-fenced. Located close to historic Fort Robinson in Sioux county Nebraska, the property was historically home to the Lakota Sioux in bygone days and Indian evidence can still be found (arrowheads, etc). The property is in a oil shale area and current owners hold 40 percent mineral rights which are negotiable. This property is located across the road from out listing Pine Ridge Big Game Cabin. The cabin would be an excellent retreat to go along with this magnificent hunting property.The combined ranch and cabin are available for an incredible deal at $1,799,000.

267 Sandcreek Rd

Price: $675000

Click here to watch property video The High Plains Homestead is one of the jewels of Nebraska tourism. Set in the badlands of Northwest Nebraska, this old-west cow town is perhaps the best Bed-n-Breakfast and restaurant in all of Nebraska. Charming, unique cabins, each with different old west themes provide guests an authentic and a fun experience that cannot be found anywhere else. The Cookshack serves breakfast, a busy lunch crowd and supper. This is truly a destination restaurant, hotel, and tourist attraction, and so well known for their extra-thick, fresh cut steaks and ribs that t hey serve. A supper crowd of 25-60 is served every night. The Owners enjoy nearly full occupancy all summer long in the guest rooms. New guest quarters have been booked up as quickly as the Owners have been able to add them. This business has grown steadily, 10% or more every year since opening. It is a recipient of the following awards and accolades, to name a few; Best of the Midwest Travel Award – 2016 by MidWest Living magazine Nebraska Travel and Tourism Henry Fonda Award – 2009 10 best places to get a burger in Nebraska – OnlyInYourState.com Top 10 best places to eat in Nebraska – Lincoln Journal Star The location is full of rugged beauty, perfectly situated next to both the Hudson-Meng Bison Kill Site and Toadstool Geological Park, and only minutes from Fort Robinson State Park. Visitors come from across the nation and around the world to stay in this charming town while they enjoy local attractions and activities. Aside from family vacationers or family reunions, many of the guests come for the fossil hunting, birding, horseback riding (bring your own horse), mountain biking, and hunting of all kinds, including turkey, deer, antelope, and prairie dog. Many guests just come to enjoy the area. The Owner has established relationships and lease arrangements to accommodate these varied interests of their many guests. The High Plains Homestead is also a wonderful launching point for a variety of Black Hills attractions and activities, including Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and The Reptile Gardens. The star-gazing at this marvelous retreat is another draw for many guests, and the Homestead is already fully booked for the 2017 solar eclipse of the Sun, said to be best viewed from northwest Nebraska. The Owners have spent decades building the traditional log and wood frame buildings by hand. The prolific antique furnishings that decorate the premises are worth a great deal by themselves, and many pass with the property. While this could be purchased as a private retreat, the propertys best and highest use would be to continue the fantastic dream of the Owners. The High Plains Homestead is now one of the most well-known and beloved tourism draws to the State of Nebraska. The Owners would like to find the right people to pass on this wonderful, bustling business, as they are growing older with some health concerns. The current Owners are very willing to stay involved o

Address Not Disclosed

Price: $1400000

This beautiful Pine Ridge property features wooded canyons and undulating hills in balance with bucolicpastures. The pastures make this property a viable cattle grazing operation, while also providing feed for game.This ranch boasts numerous elk, some of which stay on the property all year. Several large bull Elk have beenharvested off the property over the years, and can be heard bugling from all sides during the rut. Mule Deer areplentiful, with large bucks harvested annually. A few blinds are placed strategically around the property. MerriamTurkey are numerous.

Table Rd

Price: $456000

This Pine Valley Cabin is an off-grid sustainable property located in scenic western Nebraska. Secluded yet accessible for year round use the cabin is securely set on a hillside in a private forest of Ponderosa Pine Trees. Currently enjoyed as a weekend retreat, the cabin is a comfortable place to hang your hat. *Covered patios lead inside to a tasteful western design of natural finishes, bedroom, bath, kitchen, pantry and central room. The wood stove is backed by a floor to ceiling hearth, reflecting/retaining warmth day and night. *Solar System, batter/generator shed/storm sh elter, private well, windmill and gravity fed stock tanks. *LED lighting, propane range/oven and alternative propane heating system. *Morton Shop (30×36) w/Rural Public Power, concrete floor, and parking pad adjacent to county road. The property also includes a historic one room schoolhouse, non-habitable but a solid structure with possibilities. *Perimeter fenced for livestock/horses. Abundant wildlife including mule deer, whitetail, big horn sheep, sharp tailed grouse, and occasional elk.

444 Deadman Rd

Price: $280000

A rare and beautiful 16 acre property nestled in the timber and surrounded by some of the most unique & interesting land in Nebraska. Abundant wildlife including elk, deer, turkey, antelope and big horn sheep frequent this area of the Pine Ridge. Live water throughout the bordering properties literally brings the wildlife to your backyard. Add a gorgeous stucco home and a 30×36 Morton building to this scenic setting and you have a dream property in middle of a recreational paradise. The Pine Ridge area has much to offer with its rugged natural beauty including several hundred square miles of ponderosa pine forests, buttes, canyons and numerous small streams. The hiking and hunting opportunities are abundant with over 100,000 acres of public access on state and federal lands; including Soldier Creek Wilderness Area, Chadron State Park, Fort Robinson State Park and many more. This quality custom home has much to offer including an attached 2 car garage and covered patio. Upon entering you will be in awe of the cathedral ceilings, open floor plan and the beautiful family room with fireplace. Attractive arch top windows enhance the view from the formal dining area and a large kitchen offers ample counter tops and an island. The master suite is complete with a walk-in closet, bathroom and patio doors leading to an outdoor hot tub. Also on the main floor are 2 more bedrooms, another full bath, half bath, laundry & mud room. Go downstairs and find another comfortable family room, a bedroom with egress window, bathroom, a huge storage area and another room that could be made into a bedroom. Outside you have plenty of patio space, underground sprinklers, and a 30×36 Morton building complete with concrete floor and wiring. The property border is partially fenced, add a little more and there would be plenty of pasture grazing for a few horses. There is also a nice sized high fence lot for livestock with its own source of water. This would be a great place to call home or to have as a vacation get away spot with much to do and see in the surrounding area. Legal DescriptionTownship 30 North, Range 52 West of the 6th P.M., Dawes County, NE Section 18: PtW1/2E1/4

52 Breakneck Rd

Price: $550000

Located in the heart of the scenic Pine Ridge area in the Northwest corner of Nebraska approx 8 miles south of Crawford on Highway 2/71 & only 2 miles of county road to the private entrance of this unique property. The home & buildings are nestled back in a meadow surrounded by rolling grass covered hills & Ponderosa Pines allowing for privacy & protection from high winds. Watch & enjoy the beautiful sunrises from the well maintained property with a 2,128 sq. ft. manufactured home w/a 17'x24’ attached covered deck. The home has 4 bedrooms, 2-½ baths, offi ce, living room with an efficient wood stove, dining room, kitchen w/breakfast nook, family room, mud/laundry room. Outbuildings include 30'x50’ shop w/15'x50’ leanto w/power, woodstove & gravel floor. Plus a 50'x72’ horse barn w/6 tall, sturdy stalls, tack/feed area, alley way w/power & water. Chicken house with a fenced yard. A 20'x20’ underground bunker. A solar well fills a storage tank for pastures & gravity feeds water for 2 large gardens. A second well supplies the home & outbuildings. A hay meadow was fertilized & seeded last year & produced well. A diesel generator will run the whole ranch during a power outage. Located at the bottom of a canyon are the head waters of a natural springs & pond. Wildlife include White Tail & Mule Deer, Elk & Merriam Wild Turkeys. Fort Robinson State Park was the site of the Cheyenne Outbreak & home to the Red Cloud Agency & also where Crazy Horse was killed. The buildings & grounds of this State Park have been restored & is located approx 13 miles from this beautiful property.

Address Not Disclosed

Price: $355000

This is a unique piece of Sioux County Nebraska property. It is located southwest of Crawford with good countyroad access. There is a dry creek that runs through the property for approximately ½ mile. This dry creekbottom provides excellent habitat for mule deer, elk and wild turkey. If you are looking for hay ground for winterfeed this would be a possibility for you. There is also a farmstead that has a solid house and steel building with it.With some updating the house could make an excellent hunting lodge. 1,620 sq ft house, including 500 sq ft of finished basement. Two bedrooms up stairs with possible third in basement. There is a concrete floored Quonset building as well as other small outbuildings. AcresRange: 191.62Drycrop: 115.89Roads & Home Site: 7.71 Legal DescriptionTownship 31 North, Range 53 West of the 6th P.M., Sioux County NebraskaSection 34: E1/2SE1/4Section 35: E1/2SE1/4: S1/2SW1/4, SE1/4 Hunting and Recreation Opportunities Elk Deer Wilk Turkey

Deadman Road With #27 12 ACRES

Price: $81360

Excellent location with great sites for home, cabin or 5th wheel trailer only 11+ miles southwest of Crawford in the heart of scenic “Pine Ridge” area of Northwest Nebraska. Deadman Creek meanders all along the east side year round. Rock out croppings, open lush grass meadows, ravines & abundance of mature trees enrich the beauty of the land. There is easy accessibility to electric power w/Deadman county road providing access to the property. Great place to come & play or just kick back & relax. This property is located 4 miles south of Crawford & 4 miles to th e west on Four Mile Road & approx. 3 miles south on Deadman Road. Abundant wildlife frequent this property such as White Tail & Mule Deer, Elk & Merriam Wild Turkeys.

12916 Highway 2 71

Price: $220000

Check out this property located in the heart of Pine Ridge Country only 6+ miles south of Crawford. There is a private well & septic along w/a manufactured home consisting of 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, laundry, living room and kitchen/dining area with a total of 1,024 sq. feet. An 8’ x 40’ shipping container can used for storing bags of feed, lick tubs, salt or tack. The 142.64 acres is fenced for livestock with one stock tank and consists of open grass meadows, canyons, rolling hills and ravines with Ponderosa Pine trees. This is a property you could use as a summer retreat or w eekend get away if you are not looking for a full time residence. You could also live in the existing home while building your dream home or cabin and have the convenience of a short drive to Crawford with highway access.

219 Fremont St

Price: $67000

This charming three bedroom, two bathroom home is made up of a main floor containg two of the bedrooms, a remodeled laundry/utility room, living room and dining room with beautiful oak flooring. Upstairs contains one bedroom along with a sitting area and one bathroom. The basement is an excellent spot to put away extra storage. Outside, the cement patio becomes a perfect area to entertain. Some extra features of this house include: new Lennox HVAC system with gas furnace and central air, new windows, a new water heater, a new dishwasher, and new outside water faucet and electrical outle t. Give Donny Grantham a call to set up a showing

from Houses For Sale – The OC Home Search http://www.theochomesearch.com/houses-for-sale-in-crawford-ne-2/ from OC Home Search https://theochomesearch.tumblr.com/post/157965675045

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s

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Are you interested in the day-to-day life of agrarian people as opposed to those who live in the city? If so—I recommend becoming a homesteader without electricity, power tools or indoor plumbing.

Be prepared to slaughter pigs and use everything except the “oink.” (Think pickled pig’s feet.) And you had better spend all day Sunday at church.

Yup, life in the 1800s: the “good old days.” I’ll stick with homesteading today.

Two of my many sources are: America Eats, by Williams Woys Weaver, Museum of American FolkArt, Harper & Row Publishers, 1989 Everyday Life in the 1800s, by Marc McCutcheon, Writers Digest Books, 1993

Originally published in Countryside January / February 2013 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

A Glimpse at Simple Homesteading Life in the 1800s was originally posted by All About Chickens

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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Synergy for The Most Profitable Farming

By Ken Johnson Waupaca, Wisconsin

These days, the most profitable farming involves a synergy of economics, land use, and understanding livestock.

Maybe there is a gene in us that tells us there is satisfaction in being self-reliant. For many, if not all of us, there seems to be a certain comfort in the ability to raise and process our own food. It’s like: if other food sources fail at least we have something to eat if we raise our own. For those who do not have access to garden space, they must rely on the efforts of others who attend to seed and soil. Public gardening space (“community gardens”) is an alternative, and for me it is great to witness the trend toward urban style meat and vegetable growing. Raising a substantial amount of one’s own food can go a long way toward relieving a family’s budget. Plus, there are other benefits, like personal satisfaction and even stress relief. It may be a stretch, but wouldn’t it be nice if some two-income families could sustain themselves with one income, a stay-at-home parent, and a productive garden?

I have been a farmer at heart all my life, which has been about two-thirds of a century. Even before becoming a teenager, being raised on a 100-acre farm in northwest Iowa, I realized that farming was in the throes of change. Sometime during the year 1947-48 my parents finally gave up their pair of heavy Percheron horses and bought their first tractor, an Oliver 60. Although kerosene and gasoline farm tractors had been around for some 30 years, workhorses had been around a whole lot longer, and although gasoline wasn’t all that expensive, it couldn’t be raised on the farm. Cars were a different matter.

Nobody went to town in a buckboard anymore. Although there were some huge grain farms around the lower Midwest and some in the far western states, most farm tractors in the middle decades of the 20th century were built for farms operated by individual families. A typical farmer might own one or two horse teams, and the typical farm tractor was built to replace them. They were pulling tractors and often pulled the same equipment that the horses pulled, and tractors didn’t have to be curried down after a day’s work. Innovations did come along for the most profitable farming.

Although the technology had been around for several decades, in 1920 International Harvester put into production a tractor engine-driven “power-take-off” that provided propulsion for harvesting machinery that was previously wheel driven. Other farm tractor manufacturers followed suit. Improvements to PTO systems continued including a separate clutch for independent operation, different rotation speeds, and other innovations.

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The year 1938 saw the inclusion of Harry Ferguson’s three-point hitch hydraulic system on Ford farm tractors. The combination of a tractor with a PTO and three-point hitch system in effect made self-propelled units out of any farm equipment attached to them. Remote hydraulics, which can control a ram for lifting and lowering farm implements from the tractor seat was also a very useful invention. By the 1950s the combination of these inventions and cheap petroleum fuel for the most profitable farming pretty much destroyed the trade in farm horses.

It wasn’t long after Dad’s first tractor that he wanted a different one. He had a nephew who happened to be a farm implement dealer and he sold Dad a newer Farmall C. It had about the same horsepower as the old Oliver and it proved to be more reliable, however, it did not perform well with a two-bottom plow in the heavy soil. One day Dad had delivered a really old McCormick 10-20, probably a late 1920s version. It was a heavy, blocky, vibrating machine. It did have rubber tires though. The fat back tires were of the knobby variety. It had big, wide rusty fenders upon which I could sit as we slowly but steadily plowed the “rounds” (up and back across the field). One round and my entire little body was pretty numb as I recall.

This pair of tractors sufficed for another couple of years, then Dad traded for another Oliver, a six-cylinder model 70 which he kept until we bought a farm of our own in central Wisconsin. This was 1953 and I was 10 years old by then. I was aware of what was happening to farmers around our area. They were getting bigger; farm equipment was getting bigger, and farmers were leaving and/or going broke. My parents and our nearest neighbors, my Dad’s brother and his family, and my uncle’s in-laws who also lived just a couple miles away, all moved, the aforementioned to Minnesota, but we went to Wisconsin. At the time I was of the opinion that it was the cost of the machinery that broke so many farmers and the farmers’ incessant desire to one-up their neighbors with newer, bigger, better equipment and most profitable farming. I may not have been that far off in my assessment.

As the years went on in Wisconsin, we had some learning to do. Dad’s first year of corn turned out to be nothing but nubbins. The sandy loam soil needed fertilizer. The rich Iowa soil needed none. We couldn’t grow 110-day corn either. Eighty-five-day corn with its smaller ears and lower yield were more in order. In Wisconsin we had a small herd of dairy cows and replacement stock, so we had to learn how to fill a silo with chopped corn or silage.

My little brother and I went from a big consolidated school in Iowa to a small one-room country school in Wisconsin. We went from picking corn with a tractor-mounted picker to picking corn by hand, and from using a combine, to bundling and thrashing oats. Dad seemed to take it all in stride like he was in his element, and the rest of us went right along with it. Mom still had her chickens. She milked with a milking machine now. In Iowa, she milked by hand, although fewer cows. In Iowa, my folks had a cream separator, sold the cream and fed the skim milk to the pigs and chickens. In Wisconsin, we sold grade B whole milk in 10-gallon milk cans. We had what’s known as a “general farm.” We had a variety of enterprises: pigs, sheep, chickens, sometimes geese, a huge garden, lots of blackberries, gooseberries, hazelnuts, an apple orchard. We rarely seemed to have much in the way of spending money, but I can’t recall ever wondering where our next meal was coming from. Thinking back on it, we worked pretty hard and long hours compared to what’s expected today, but I don’t think we noticed it back then. Some of my fondest memories are of those days and I only wish I could share them in some meaningful way with all children. How different are today’s “farms.”

There was a time during my teens that I wondered how I was going to get a start in the most profitable farming. I divided farming into separate but related businesses. First there was land; then livestock; machinery; buildings; operating capital.

Capital

First, you will need to raise some capital to buy or leverage finance some portion of your most profitable farming enterprise.

Land was and is very expensive. If you own land, you can rent it out or sharecrop it, but if you do the math, ordinary farmland will never pay for itself, let alone generate an income. Over time your land should increase in value. This is why speculators buy land and drive up land prices beyond the point of anyone making a living on farming it. You can “improve” your land by putting a building on it, such as a house. You’ve got to live somewhere, right? Put a fence around your land, and raise some sheep. The sum of all the parts is usually greater than the worth of the individual parts on their own.

There are substantial up-front expenses when buying land. Can you rent land to farm? Not likely, especially if you are not related to or are a stranger to the owner. I’ve heard of an instance or two where a young person was helped by a relative. One operation rented a large dairy barn from an uncle, and the young woman raised milk cows from calves. The last I heard she was milking 60 cows and growing. She bought all their feed.

Livestock

There’s a lot to raising livestock; there are all kinds of challenges. First you need a place to put them, which requires land and usually some kind of shelter. If you can graze them, so much the better. Buy young stock in the spring, graze them until about snow time in the fall, and market them. Good fences and the ability to rotate pastures is a big plus. Your choice of livestock will determine your profits.

The idea of having to feed grain to finish out livestock has proven not to be absolutely true. Livestock may take a little longer to reach market weight by finishing on forage alone, but the profit margin could well justify the extra time. You can graze sheep, cattle, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, rabbits, pigs and horses. Certain breeds do better on grazing than others. Some pig breeds require grain supplements, others only minimal. There is more to raising healthy animals than just sufficient food and shelter, but that’s a big part of it.

Some countries like Argentina and the U.S. eat a lot of meat, but the trend is changing in the U.S. because of health concerns about cholesterol and heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other issues. Vegetables don’t have cholesterol and have far fewer calories than meat. The more profitable meat animals to raise are currently geese, especially during holidays, and guineas (on restaurant menus). Goat (called “chevon”) and rabbit are becoming more popular, especially in restaurants. Just about any appropriate fish (perch, bass, trout, etc.) raised in tank arrangements is gaining popularity and is apparently lucrative for the moment. These are potential opportunities for the more flexible “general” farm.

There are grazing strategies or synergies that may lend themselves to the most profitable farming. If your grazing land is cross-fenced to allow for rotation grazing, you can graze goats with cattle. The two species eat differently. (Cattle graze while goats browse.) Rotate the cattle and goats out and follow with sheep and geese. Follow the sheep and geese with chickens. Sheep and geese are grazers (geese are vegetarians). Chickens eat almost anything, including larvae left behind by the sheep.

Pigs are a little different. Some breeds are good grazers, especially the heritage breeds like Large Black, Red Wattle and Tamworth. My dad raised Durocks and Tamworths. Tamworths are rooters, which is what pigs with long snouts are supposed to do, but they can also root up fences and invade your neighbor’s garden or get into trouble with your neighbor’s dog. Large Blacks and Red Wattles on the other hand, don’t need such an impenetrable barrier of a fence.

Goats too, unlike sheep, need extensive fencing unless one opts for the Myotonic breed. There are several varieties of Myotonic goats, some small, some with long silky hair. The Tennessee Fainter or Myotonic is the large, muscular meat goat of some 200-pounds, more or less. Texmaster goats are a cross of Tennessee Myotonic and Boer, another meat goat. Myotonic goats have been crossed with all kinds of other goat breeds with no guarantee of the myotonic feature of not being able to jump fences. Such a cross with a dairy goat that could produce a non-jumping, good-milking dairy goat seems to me to be a good idea. Wethers of such a combination might be worth something for meat too. Newborn dairy goat bucks are worth little to nothing to dairy goat farmers. Check Craig’s List, they are often free if you don’t mind bottle feeding them for a month or two.

Sheep come in different varieties, too. Some are raised for their wool, some for meat, some for milk or a mix of the three. Meat sheep can be of the wool variety or hair variety. The hair variety do not need to be sheared. There’s lots of readily available information about sheep.

The wool our sheep produced, without the government subsidy, would have run our operation in the red. The sheep had to be sheared, but there was no market for the wool. Our wool competed with cotton and synthetics and cheap wool from overseas. Cottage enterprises using wool have remained for specialty markets and there is some renewed interest. We need a new use for wool.

Milk from sheep is not yet very popular in the U.S. Commercially, it is usually collected, frozen and shipped to a processor for cheese. Milking sheep can be quite lucrative in the U.S., and sheep are usually a pleasant animal to work with. Milking sheep also are wool-bearing sheep and need periodic shearing. A cross between a hair meat sheep such as the St. Croix and a dairy sheep such as the East Friesian, could produce a high milk-producing hair sheep.

Cattle: dairy and meat choices. Holstein dairy cows dominate the milk industry in the U.S. There are markets for special cheeses made with milk from specific breeds of cattle. Jersey milk is known for its high-fat content in small globules. Jerseys are small cattle compared to Holsteins and are easier to handle. Dexter cattle are smaller still. Dexters are a heritage breed with an interesting history and like Jerseys are very productive for their size. Raising purebred heritage breed cattle can be a lucrative enterprise. Google ALBC (American Livestock Breed Conservancy) on the Internet for heritage breeds.

Learn how you can register the progeny of your purebred bull and grade cows. Raising beef cattle can be interesting too. Dexters are considered to be either beef or dairy cattle. They are a stocky breed, with smaller cuts of meat. There is some interest in miniaturized cattle, but so far I think more as a novelty and not for the most profitable farming. (Some can be quite pricey.) Some meat and some dairy cattle have retained their genetic ability to thrive on forage alone. These are the cattle I am most interested in.

Chickens: We can talk about chickens and other poultry including waterfowl. Eggs have traditionally been very cheap at the grocery store. If you know the story behind most grocery store eggs, you probably feel a bit squeamish about using them. Despite their high cholesterol content, eggs are a convenient source of animal protein and a key ingredient in many dishes, cakes, and breads. There is not much profit in raising chickens and selling their eggs.

The profit from organically produced eggs is only marginally better. If possible, buy from a local producer and buy fresh. I have purchased organic eggs at a supermarket only to have flat yolks and runny whites. Not very appetizing. If you want yolks that sit up and thick whites that don’t run, buy duck eggs. Selling fresh duck eggs vs chicken eggs to bakeries and restaurants can be lucrative.

Factory farm meat chickens do not appeal to me either. The chicken is crossbred to produce fast growing, oversized breast portions. The chicken breasts grow so fast the chicken’s legs and internal organs can’t develop fast enough to support it. Life expectancy of these birds is measured in weeks. A normal chicken can live several years. Do the research, find out the rest of the story behind factory chicken.

Healthy chickens are easy to raise, colorful and fun to watch. Dual-purpose chickens have not been crossbred for heavy breasts and quick growth. You can have both meat and eggs from the same chicken. Just because it says “free range” on the egg carton doesn’t mean the chicken has access to an outdoor environment or pasture. Geese are grass and weed eaters.

Have you priced a frozen supermarket goose lately? Geese used to be more popular than turkeys for holiday meals. They may be somewhat noisy but there is no domestic animal prettier than a flock of geese grazing in a pasture, and the potential for most profitable farming is encouraging. Geese need protection from predators, especially at night.

Organic turkeys are not cheap but still a better value than factory turkeys in my opinion. Guineas anyone? A dark meat bird, guineas are more difficult to raise because they are flighty and may decide the best roosting place is the roof of your house. Having a broody chicken hatch and brood guinea keets can solve several problems. Guineas don’t usually attend to their young like chickens do. Most keets are usually lost if left for their parents to raise them. Keets who think they are chickens behave more like chickens, at least initially. Clipping some flight feathers of young guineas will keep them grounded, but also make them more vulnerable to predators. Guinea meat can serve as wildfowl or pheasant in restaurants.

Buildings

The question becomes, “What am I going to use the building for?” One barn building can suffice for all your animals, or you can build several animal-specific buildings. Even during inclement weather, horses and most cattle can get by with a three-sided structure that faces south or southeast. Highlander and Galloway cattle often prefer to remain outdoors during any weather. Sheep do not like to get wet, especially wool sheep, but they do fine in snow if it’s not too deep.

Buildings can be expensive to build, and then there are the property taxes that also discourage putting up buildings. There is a tendency of late to keep livestock outdoors regardless of the weather, including dairy cows. Such a practice would have been unheard of during years past. Not only do I think livestock suffer while out in inclement weather, they undoubtedly are less productive because what they eat has to provide more energy for just survival alone. All livestock need shelter at least some of the time for protection from the elements or predators.

Ken has a seven-foot International Harvester sickle mower for which he paid $325. He also has a back blade, three-point quack digger, and a few other pieces for the tractor.

Machinery

This may be an area where a beginning farmer may be able to skimp, to achieve the most profitable farming. New machinery depreciates quickly. Older farm equipment may still get the job done and may already be more or less fully depreciated. There is lots of old machinery available at close to salvage or scrap iron prices, and lots of parts available to keep them going. If you don’t mind doing the maintenance, it’s pretty hard to lose a lot of money on old machinery. Fixing up and using old machinery has its own rewards, but if your farming operation is kept as simple as possible, you won’t need a lot of machinery.

As mentioned above, your operation could be as simple as having access to grazing land that is well fenced, buy grazing stock in the spring, graze and water them until the snow flies then sell them. If you would rather not work with animals but like working with machinery, buy or lease some equipment and rent yourself out. You may want to choose between tillage, planting or harvesting. The scale of your operation will depend on your initial resources. Modern tractors used for tillage are all diesels of several hundred horsepower. The tillage equipment they pull is often of the one pass variety and you are done. The concept of no-till has been around for decades where seed drills or planters are designed to work up the soil enough to plant without any other seedbed preparation.

There are a lot of large old 60- to 150-horsepower fuel-guzzling tractors available that represent cheap horsepower. A good portion of these tractors are diesel, which are less costly to operate than gas tractors. Although they can’t measure up to modern tillage horsepower requirements, they are still capable of a good day’s work, and because they can be found for a comparatively small investment, the potential for the most profitable farmimg with them is there. For hobby farmers, smaller tractors are much more practical. One 25hp tractor could suffice for up to about 100 acres. Anything above 45hp is probably overkill. The larger the tractor the more fuel it consumes, so it should be matched to your requirements. New tractors within the above horsepower range may run $15,000 to $20,000, and that might include front wheel assist and a loader. I chose a 1966 Massey 150 diesel with a three-point hitch for $3,600. I could have chosen an older tractor without three-point for less than $1,500. Old tractors look great when they’re all fixed up and painted! They are a part of Americana. (Google “old iron” on the Internet. Check out www.tractorhouse.com and Craig’s List for local sales).

My Hobby Farm

Not long ago I bought 20 acres of beautiful rolling hills in west-central Wisconsin. About 14 acres was rented out for cash crops while six acres remained in a mixture of pine and hardwood trees. The farmland is now in the process of recovering. It is seeded with grasses and clovers. My plan is to fence it and graze it with a variety of animals, mostly of heritage varieties. The wooded area has a sloping southern exposure ideal for a basement building open to the south. My Massey Ferguson has a three-cylinder Perkins diesel engine that is very efficient and so far reliable. I have an old eight-foot Van-Brunt seed drill in good shape that I paid $350 for. Behind it, I pull an old Brillion packer: $150. I have an old Danuser posthole digger: $150, that I reworked for the three point on the tractor. I have a seven-foot International Harvester sickle mower: $325. I have a back blade, three-point quack digger, and a few other pieces. What I intend to buy is some hay equipment: a mower-conditioner or just a conditioner, hay rake and a baler, probably a 4×5 round baler, because they are simple, don’t use a lot of twine and I can handle the haying operation by myself.

As you can see, my machinery is pretty minimal, old and inexpensive. I enjoy working on old machinery. I prefer trailer equipment with a hydraulic lift as opposed to tractor-mounted three-point. Trailer equipment (attachment) has its own chassis on wheels that are positioned at the proper lift and pivot points. When mounted on the tractor’s three-point, the pivot point ( the tractors rear wheels) is in front of the attachment which has to be continually monitored and adjusted for depth etc. With trailer attachments, you just back up, hook on, plug in the hydraulic hose and go. With three-point (or two-point on some tractors) it can be a struggle, especially for one person, to get an attachment mounted. The advantage of three or two-point is the ability to get into tight places. If you have a lot of post holes to dig, a three-point digger is almost a must.

If you are in the market for trailer equipment be aware that older models may have a clutch lift and not a hydraulic lift. Clutch lifts usually work just fine but with a clutch lift the wheels must be turning for the lift to work. If you are plowing with a plow with a clutch lift and you get stuck (hung up on a rock or something) and can’t go forward you will have to unhook the plow and pull it off the rock (or out of the mud or whatever) with a chain. With a hydraulic lift chances are all you have to do to get unstuck is move the hydraulic lever mounted near your seat and the plow pops right up, (you may have to back up a little first).

There are all kinds of older wheeled hydraulic implements available of 1940s-50s vintage. My seed drill has a clutch lift. My quack digger is three-point, but I want to trade it for a trailer type. My sickle mower is the trailer and hydraulic variety and it works just fine. A side-mounted mower is easier to watch because you don’t have to be looking over your shoulder to see it but they are also a pain to mount under the tractor. Once mounted, side mowers are handy machines, they are also not nearly as common as other styles.

One other neat thing about trailer attachments is you don’t need a modern tractor with three-point to use them. Some of the old vintage 1940s and early 50s tractors are simple to work on and fun to drive. Many are available for under $2,000. Salvage price is in the $500–$1,000 range. If the old tractors don’t have hydraulic pumps (and some do) it is possible to retrofit a pump on the front of the engine or on the tractors PTO, or some other place. If you use implements with clutch lifts then you don’t need hydraulics. Some of the old tractors have clutch lifts built on them that raise and lower implements like cultivators and other side mounted or rear mounted equipment.

Ken has an old Danuser posthole digger: $150, that he reworked for the three point on the tractor.

There is a movement today for people who want to get closer to nature and to the food it provides. There are many reasons for this, perhaps the main reason being it’s in our genes. It‘s only been recently in human history that we have separated ourselves so far from the land. My parents were perhaps among the last generation of mainstream general farmers. The last 10 years before he retired at age 70, my dad worked for two farmers who owned or were in control of several thousand acres. These farmers were not general farmers, they were potato and green bean farmers. One of these farmers reintroduced potatoes into central Wisconsin in a big way after previous potato failures had diminished their production for many, many years. As a result, two giant potato corporations from Idaho became interested in central Wisconsin. The rest is recent history. With innovation, it’s not too late for small farms to grow and thrive once again with the most profitable farming.

Whatever turn your operation takes, always maintain a ledger of your expenses. Take encouragement from old-timers like Gene Logsdon who have lived close to nature, and listen to what your own genes tell you about the most profitable farming.

Originally published in the March/April 2012 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal.

Synergy for The Most Profitable Farming was originally posted by All About Chickens

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josephkitchen0 · 7 years

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Synergy for The Most Profitable Farming

By Ken Johnson Waupaca, Wisconsin

These days, the most profitable farming involves a synergy of economics, land use, and understanding livestock.

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Capital

First, you will need to raise some capital to buy or leverage finance some portion of your most profitable farming enterprise.

Livestock

Buildings

Ken has a seven-foot International Harvester sickle mower for which he paid $325. He also has a back blade, three-point quack digger, and a few other pieces for the tractor.

Machinery

My Hobby Farm

Ken has an old Danuser posthole digger: $150, that he reworked for the three point on the tractor.

Originally published in the March/April 2012 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal.

Synergy for The Most Profitable Farming was originally posted by All About Chickens

0 notes