Forum Replies Created
- AuthorPosts
dominiquer60
ModeratorI have no pictures and I didn’t see the trailer at all. Dick is 90 and though sharp as a tack I don’t see him taking photos and emailing them, sorry.
ModeratorGreat suggestion Donn! If you can make it to the clinic you will learn a ton with or without your animals, whether you can make it to CT or not get yourself a copy of Lynn Millers Plow Book, it is a great reference for any teamster.
Sam recommends that beginners find a good sulky plow of appropriate size for the team, 10″ may be best for small horses, they will tire slower than with a 12″. A walking plow can be a harder skill to pick up for some, both have risks with rocks. A sulky plow can buck you off if you hit a rock just right, and a walking plow can crack a rib if you hit a rock just right. Don’t be discouraged though, just find a good mentor, a good plow and be prepared to take a little at a time.
I am growing vegetables on 2.5 acres this year and for the first time am using animals for all of the plowing. I will plow at least half of it, .5 A sod and .75A rye cover crop. I anticipate taking a few days to do it, spread over 2-3 weeks.
Best of luck and if you are close enough, we hope to see you at the Clinic.
ModeratorWhat are folks getting for sugar content? so far we are 1.7% to 2.0%
ModeratorWith rocks teach them to stop when you feel one, this can save the point of the plow. If you get real good with a walking plow you can step them up a little at a time and flip the stone up on top of the soil and pick it out later.
ModeratorWe started tapping on snowshoes 2/13, once the barn roof was stabilized from the blizzard damage. 518 taps behind the horse pasture and working on another 400+ today. Using vacuum for the first time ever on 2 rebuilt dairy pumps cobbed together with oil reclaimers and such. The 518 bush is on a Zero bulk tank, we have had some moisture problems but have gathers over 2,000 gallons so far. The neighbor is boiling for us, hopefully next year our new system will be up and running and collecting from all 2,000 taps on the farm. The first run produced some good A, but I am waiting for the B before I start squirreling some away for myself.
ModeratorAndy is a nice guy, he likes to think about things and pick them apart and sometimes that process gets rough, but it results in having a look at a topic from many sides, and that is good.
Good thoughts about the printed discussions, certainly something to keep in the back of our minds as we expand.
ModeratorEllen, this thread was started last year when Jen first started looking into what it would take to change the web elements. Donn Hewes, Andy Carson and 2 others are working on the changes with a VT company. They are hoping to a mock up of the new website soon so that we can see what we think of it.
ModeratorI am really excited to learn more about about the new website and I am glad to hear that emailing and keeping track of members should be an easier task in the future. It also sounds like we will be able to get rid of our $480/yr eNews software with the new web system in place.
eNews has never really had any articles, maybe a paragraph describing an event, but that is the extent of it.
It does sadden me that we will no longer be writing any articles, I was just starting to get into it, and I HATED writing in school. I know that there is tons of content online, but I have a big ol’ soft spot for the elders that only have access to the paper. The recent Newsletter drew the interest of Anne and Eric Nordell and one of the articles will be in their Small Farmer Journal feature this spring. I am not writing this to complain about the reduced newsletter, it is liberating to have less to worry about, I am just sharing that I challenged myself by taking it on and I ended up enjoying it. I look forward to someday when we have the resources to do more with it. Until then, I am glad that we have the folks on this committee willing to work hard on this great new web presence, it will be a huge step in a better direction.
ModeratorSo should we limit our reach and potential membership growth by not emailing people that have signed up for information?
If we email members with our new easier to use technology, who will be emailing them, each committee?
If I received random informational emails about each of the following (strictly examples) advertising on the DAPNet website, small regional events coming up and a plea to volunteer at DAPFD, I would think that there were separate organizations or that this Org doesn’t have there act together. Multiple emails are annoying, but a regular emailing with short sweet info (eNews, or look at it as a single email from a unified front) is something that people are more likely to look at. Maybe I am unique, but I subscribe to many eNews, some large, some small, and I generally look at them all. The best ones have a few highlights and links to more info, a picture or two and contact info for the org. The eNews is not a newsletter, it is a different tool that we are hurting from by not utilizing at the moment. If we are only using the print newsletter for advertising, classifieds, calendar and a message from DAPNet, then we are saving a lot of time not writing content. The eNews takes less time than the new reduced newsletter, it is a dolled up list.
If we want to become a 5,000 member organization then we should have a way to easily contact people that are interested in what we are doing.
ModeratorWorking to develop a business plan with a pro is good, but you can do it on the cheap too. I have 11 years experience in others market gardens, but now that I am starting my own, I decided to try to document what I want out of my business, have a marketing plan and so on. I have been using an earlier edition of this book and worksheets. http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-a-Sustainable-Business. It is very farm oriented but even so there are a lot of good ideas and challenging questions that really force me to think about all aspects of my business. There are real life examples and it is laid out in a way that I can often relate to, as opposed to other self help business plan books that never consider Ag a profession. Anyway it is a good place to start and you may be able to order it from your local library if you just want to look at it.
ModeratorScott,
The current administrators are working on a new website design that will include all of the many years worth of discussion here. I am assuming that it makes greater sense to do these changes all at once, there are some other outdated parts of the forum as well that could be altered and updated, while again preserving the discussion. Patience friend, change is a brewing 🙂
ModeratorJust a reminder to all you talented artist that Draft Animal-Power Field Days is looking for some unique artwork for the cover of our program and promotional poster.
Contest Rules
1. One person is allowed up to 3 entries.
2. Must depict working draft animals, may include one or multiple types of draft animals and/or functional draft equipment
3. Artwork can be in any medium other than photograph, that can be scanned digitally at a minimum of 300dpi, 2400 x 3000 (8 x 10), in jpg., gif., or tif.. Event promotions will be printed in color and B&W.Please submit your artwork by digital file no later than February 28th to dapnetinfo@gmail. Winner will receive a T-Shirt and admission to the 2013 Draft Animal-Power Field Days in Barton, VT.
We are looking forward to revealing the winner!
ModeratorIt looks like the Plowing Clinic is half full, with a 6 teamster limit, it could fill fast! A reminder to anyone who would like to attend, you receive a registration and meal discount if you sign up before April 1st, plus DAPNet Members get an additional discount.
Interested in auditing? It looks like we have a small team of horses, a single and some oxen to watch, and our own animals to demonstrate with, both walking and sulky plows will be represented.
Don’t forget the extra clinic day on Friday that you have the option to sign up for, we will spend the entire day in the shop fixing what we can on what you choose to bring us. Last year we did some major work on 2 sulky plows and built up the wing and point on a fine walking plow. If you plan on coming down to the Storrs Plow Match, this is a good chance for a tune up before you compete!
We hope to see you in Abington in April, all are welcome!
ModeratorThe DAPFD committee was just talking about doing an eNews, it is an important tool to advertise to our members what we are doing and offering. The newsletter goes out to members, but the eNews teases non-members and members about DAPNet events and opportunities. Currently we are looking to do an eNews to bring in more artwork submissions for the DAPFD program, draw in more Clinic participants and to highlight Horse Progress Days since we made a huge oops and forgot to print their in-kind ad in the newsletter. Although the newsletter will get smaller with less content but will contain much of this info, the eNews is a great help for last minute or sudden opportunities that don’t make the newsletter, or reminders like “sign up for our Plow Clinic before April 1st for a discounted rate” reminding our audience via eNews can stimulant reaction by creating “buzz.” I see is as a very valuable tool for all events, and may produce some sponsorship and advertising too. We have not done an eNews in a while, but the DAPFD committee sees real value in bringing them back into use, it is advertising our Org to all that sign up for the free info.
ModeratorVitamin E, you can buy the gel capsules, puncture and apply to the skin.
- AuthorPosts