Search results

Thanks a bunch for all the tips. I also noticed the auction thread that was recently created, so I'm heading there to see what bits of wisdom I can glean. I'm not new to farming, but I never got the hang of buying things at certain times of the year in order to save money. I'm trying to do...

Ah, I really enjoyed that. Where do you find these bits of wisdom and jokes? Is there a book with this stuff in it? It would make a good Christmas gift.

No, you're correct, the rates have gone up. I've been part of the industry, mostly growing cedar and pine, and can explain why you're seeing such a price increase. The droughts, tornados, fires, hurricanes, and floods that have ravished the US this year and last year have wiped out a good...

Snail mail is an apt description for how the postal service is running these days. I'm in the Midwest and It took a full week to get a simple letter that was sent from Los Angeles, California. It used to only take three days at most. I'm just curious if this is only happening to us because...

My wife and I have always used the USPS to handle our shipping because we thought it was important to support the post office. We've never regretted that decision until now when all of a sudden, we can't get our packages to our customers in a timely manner. We're living in the time of Amazon...

What time of year does most farm machinery go on sale? For instance, I've noticed that lawn mowers are typically priced the lowest in September. What about tractors, tillers, combines, and other machinery?

Which piece of machinery has been your best investment over the years? I can't imagine running my operation without my tractor with an auger to plant my saplings. I know some people prefer hand planting and I can see how that's a beneficial choice, but mechanizing the operation makes the...

It's such an uncertain time, Paul. I hope you find a solution. Do you have the phone numbers or email addresses of your customers at the farmers market? If so, give them a call or shoot them an email to let them know how you can serve them moving forward. You could also put an ad in the...

We'll be renting our yearly booth. People have to buy their food from somewhere and since our farmers market is in the open air, it's supposedly okay to have larger numbers of people there.

Which livestock and crops are least likely to be affected by economic woes due to the coronavirus pandemic? Which types of farms are best poised to ride this out?

The coronavirus pandemic is already affecting my business and I'm considering different ways of riding it out. Is there a crop suited for the Midwest that is cheap to grow (water, fertilizer, seed/starts) and usually nets a decent profit? It might not exist, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask.

I'm no mathematician, so this is an estimate derived from retail stores selling propane tanks that size and you're looking at something that weighs between 1,700-lbs. and 1,850-lbs.

Do you have any acetone or lacquer thinner on hand? If so, let it soak in it and it might dissolve the Loctite. They claim only heat works, but what have you got to lose?

Cables often come on those huge wooden spools which can be repurposed for the goats. Just lay the spool flat on the ground and watch the goats jostle for king of the mountain. I have several of these and the goats all love them. I put them in different configurations with various lengths of...

I'm in the United States and the authority over seeds and plants has been debated, litigated, and legislated - basically no one is happy about the end result. What do you think Canada will end up deciding? The proposal process began in 2013, do you think there'll be a decision soon?

I love the idea. Around here, some folks complain about people being on food stamps when they should just learn to garden. I think the lack of land and start up resources is a big obstacle for some. Even those with gardening space might be renters and some landlords won't allow them to...

It really depends on how sensitive you are to it, just like with poison ivy, it affects some more than others. I think it just causes contact dermatitis so wear gloves if you're worried and you should be fine. You have to remove the root system which is also poisonous and those things run deep...

Ah, I hate that happened to you. I could see having one calve early, but not three without there being some underlining cause. It could be the genetics of the bull you haven't bred with before even though he comes from good stock. But it could also be due to heat stress and other weather...

Do you guys use QuickBooks, Tax Act, Quicken or any of those other guys? They seem like handy tools for taxes and financial management, and we're looking to keep better records so things are easier down the road. Do any of them actually work as advertised? Which do you prefer?

We added on a petting zoo when the economy first started crumbling during The Great Recession. I figured that many parents would struggle to take all their kids on expensive trips, especially given the demographic of where we live. So a nice petty zoo with a modest entry fee was just the thing...