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I run a family business and I employ lots of family, but it's only owned by my wife and me. The business should be paying for the maintenance of equipment. It should get included in your annual budget. I have a budget for routine maintenance and another for unexpected mechanical failures. I'd...

How is your breeding and calving season coming along so far? Hopefully all herds represented on this board are doing well. I prefer a spring-summer calving season. Do any of you producers operate in the fall instead when calves are weaned and sold at their seasonal high selling price?

I think pigs are tough on beginners too. They look cute and small when you first get them and so many newbies have no clue how to deal with the adult version. They eat a lot and will absolutely destroy the land if you aren't monitoring the pasture and moving them around appropriately. They...

That's what I thought too, Julianna. Apparently, it doesn't become a nuisance when you're removing the duckweed often in order to use it for forage. I can't say that I'd purposefully infect my pond, but if it's already there, you might as well use it. It's like turning something bad into good.

I'm familiar with aquaponics, but never gave much thought to raising fish. I can see how it would be a good way to branch out. Salmon, in particular, seems like a good option to start with.

I attended a discussion today at my local county extension. The topic was about growing different types of forage for livestock. I knew most of the plants that were mentioned by the expert until she got to duckweed. It's the green stuff that grows pretty quickly on ponds and lakes. It can...

Honestly, I don't think your operation will be in any trouble, Pinewood Acres. From what I remember, you've said that different types of trees are your primary crop. People will always need lumber and they're going to make room in their budget for a Christmas tree if at all possible. You've...

That's nice of you to look out for your employee! I bet they appreciate it! We're a family run operation, so all the children are relatives and are used to hanging out here. My wife watches them all at our house. She's done that off and on for years, especially when toddlers were around who...

They typically last a while. Retreads don't last as long as brand new tires, but generally speaking you should be able to get a minimum of 150,000 unless something happens.

My goats seem to like my kids' old play set. There's a slide, seesaw, and storage house that they play with. The goats like anything they can climb too.

I have some livestock for family use and to sell here and there, but my main operation is running a cattle ranch. I do pretty good, but this coronavirus has me very nervous and I'm thinking about adding a flock of sheep to my herd of cattle which will include multi-species grazing. I know this...

Consider what your end goal is and start small. Do you want to raise dairy cows or beef cows? Is this going to be a cattle and/or sheep operation? Are you going to board horses? Will you run it as a vacation place for the city folk? Your expenses will depend on what you're planning to do...

Today it's the coronavirus, but tomorrow it might be something else. Have you all considered hedging your bets when it comes to livestock so that one disaster won't wipe out your income stream? I went all in on cattle and I'm beginning to rethink that strategy. I have other livestock, but...

Not that early, no. I've had some calve up to two weeks early, but not often. I honestly wouldn't mind if they all came one to two weeks early. Have you used the same Angus bulls successfully before? What was their birth weight, do you know? Some ranchers will select bulls that had a low...

@Breadtrk I'm not a hobby farmer. I don't deal with 400 head of cattle, but this is our livelihood. I've done well raising ethical beef. We breed 'em, grow 'em, show 'em. and sell 'em, all right here. I live in Texas and we've had some bad times these past few years. It sounds very granola...

They're great for composting because they allow air pockets to sneak in, which aids in the decomposition process. My wife makes corn husk mats out of them. I've tried to make them too, but I guess my fingers are too fat because I end up breaking the husks before I can weave them together.

Do you think we'll see any new incentives soon for greening up our operations? Where do you think the industry is heading? Any new tax subsidies in the pipeline?

I've read that tomato juice is supposed to help, but when my dog got sprayed by a skunk, I washed him in tomato juice three times and I don't think it made any difference. Like your cat, he basically had to wear it off. It took about a week or so. He wasn't sprayed that badly either. So, I...

Thanks @Kathy and @Muller21QQQ for sharing that information. I never would've thought to look for something like that. It really can get stressful, especially if someone gets injured unexpectedly or there's a major disaster like a flood or tornado that tears your land and home apart. We're a...

I've thought about switching from cattle to bison since bison herds are less hands-on. They're beautiful creatures and I'm in Texas so it wouldn't be unusual or difficult to make the jump. It's a fast growing industry and it seems like a good time to enter the market before it gets too...