[near horse]

In the the CPL thread did you say you felt they WERE getting enough exercise?

I’m thinking that you might be able to justify having a treadmill to give them regular daily work with enough constant motion to get blood flowing well. And maybe get something from the exercise – electricity or what have you.

[near horse]

One design that I liked was in small farmers journal – maybe it was Nordell’s – used rebar and PVC and braced solid plywood ends, I think they used some lumber as the “footings” that rebar went through. At season’s end they would break them down and move to another area that had been planted with a green manure crop recently turned under.

One of those links I posted lists a jig for bending conduit – probably can make one that would work fine.

[near horse]

Sure thing – I’ll try and see if UWYO extension has that info. I met the guy in the above video at a WSU extension oilseed workshop so there was some data associated with that.

I think the German presses are from a company KOMET – now there’s a US company in WI that handles presses (although they have some German parts) – Agoilpress is the company name.

Also, the commercially produced biodiesel processor from the video was built by www. usfreedombiofuels.com – although many people have built their own.

[near horse]

Hey Reb,

I’ve been avoiding reading this post ’cause I too have an old friend whose days are probably drawing to a close soon and I just don’t want to face it yet. My condolences on your loss of Tripp Dog – I assume he travelled with you as does my dog. They’re good listeners and always glad just to be with us. Keep the good memories and retell the good stories to the kids. Once again, sorry for your loss.

Geoff

[near horse]

Wes,

I know where you’re coming from and I hope it was clear that what I was railing about was the attempt to keep the information – good or bad – from being available. All I ask is that I have a shot at all the info, unbiased, and then I can make an informed decision as to how to proceed with my operation.

Grass-fed, like organic and natural and all that has gotten a lot of hype making a variety of claims that some folks use to market the product. IMHO – what I like about grassfed production is that it allows some of us smaller producers to stay in the game, keep more of the profits and most importantly, continue farming/ranching in a way that is good for our land.

I visited w/ the meat dept manager at the local food co-op yesterday and he still had the same issues that the Safeway manager would have – uniformity of product and a steady supply. Uniformity might not be so much of a challenge as steady supply would. It’s pretty hard for a small guy to provide say 20 carcasses per month all year round.

So, it seems like we’ve got to do some creative thinking in how we both produce and market – and might have to form some cooperative or alliance with other small producers in our area.

Those big plants are dealing in volume, like much of ag today. So small margins. ones small producers can’t come close to tolerating, can still make big money due to sheer numbers. As I’ve mentioned in other posts here, IBP in Pasco WA (now Tyson) kills 2050 per day (not sure if that’s in one shift or two) or was in 1999. That’s a lot of cattle. In the main office there are guys on the phone the whole day selling off the days production – the primary “money cuts” ribeye, tenderloin etc are easy to move and bring a good price and then they start a “fire sale” on the lower value cuts down to burger. It needs to move. Crazy stuff.

At the end of the day, a lot of work (and risk) goes into raising cattle from calves to feeders – work that isn’t compensated well enough in my mind. S**t – you’re the one out feeding and calving in subfreezing weather, you know what I’m saying.

So, have your heifers started calving yet or do you wait longer into early spring due to your weather in WY? At the UI we started in early Feb w/ heifers and then cows came on later and ran into Mar – but we’re warmer than where you are.

[near horse]

Tim,

I agree and I hope you don’t think I was indicting all of academia but those large producer groups carry a lot of clout with both the university administrators and the state legislature that provides monies for the university. It’s just unfortunate that economics has overshadowed our quest to find the “truth” and in the end, it doesn’t really change facts but distorts or conceals them.

[near horse]

Thanks Michael. I’m really not even sure what this friend has in mind for said horse. I agree the ad has lots of the “buzz words” that make one question the reality of the situation. I’m not sure how long said owner has even had this horse since it apparently some type of rescue.

I also think that for the “best” likelihood of developing a satisfactory experience/association with drafts is to start with both animals and a teamster that knows what they’re doing.

I think my biggest concern about the ad is that all of the other comments made about the horse go out the wwindow when the owner says the horse “knows I’m uncomfortable” – if she’s uncomfortable around the horse then I don’t feel very confident about her ability to evaluate much more about the horse.

[near horse]

Welcome chickade!

While one rarely has the perfect situation it’s your willingness to follow your passion that is important. Keep it up. It’s not the size that matters!

“In my back yard we are learning Whoa, Gee, Haw, and also Come by!” Who is learning this, your organic couch potato? 🙂

[near horse]

Here’s a couple of sites I saw a while back with hoophouse plans etc. – more on the greenhouse scale.

http://www.lostcreek.net

http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/build-your-own-greenhouse.html

I thought I had more – better search my bookmarks again.

FOUND ‘EM!

http://blog.bolandbol.com/2010/05/12/600-movable-hoop-house-details-pictures-and-cost-analysis/

http://www.northerngreenhouse.com/ideas/how_to/trench.htm

http://www.albertahomegardening.com/an-inexpensive-hail-proof-pvc-pipe-greenhouse/

[near horse]

Donn – that’s not the jack from your floor press, is it? Truly a multi-functional tool.:D

[near horse]

@Rod 24400 wrote:

I think you are supposed to use 30 weight motor oil.

IMO – I’d stay on the llighter weight side of things with the lube. We’re not really running stuff at truly high speeds and too heavy just adds more “drag” to the whole system.

Anybody ever run bar oil in the gear box? I know it’s sort of heavy but bar oil has that “stickiness” that helps it stay on the chain – would that be of value on mower gears as well?

[near horse]

@Countymouse 25256 wrote:

Stop price US supports for exported food.
Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and any other …AFTA.
Tie financial, military and diplomatic assistance to in country support of its people via establishment of sustainable food systems.
Demand that countries that are exporting foodstuffs to the developed world provide adequate food/land to their own people or boycott said product(s) – This should include other importers of the product as well.

Companies that are importing food products from countries whose own population is unable to access food, will be taxed at an extreme rate to provide incentive for them to lobby the govt of country X to make sure its citizenry are able to raise, find and buy decent food.

Rewrite or destroy the Codex Alimentarius. (read it).

I love it when people who berate nearly every government policy in existence look to government to solve problems… I also am amused when people state that it is wrong to interfere with the another countries sovereignty UNLESS said interference fits into their personal goals.

I berate every government policy? Since those are my “personal goals” they’ll benefit me how? Come on Andy – you can do better than that. Since govt IS the game being played, that’s the only way to address the issues you mentioned. You sure like to sort through and only address certain points while skipping over those you have no answer for.

You’ve succeeded – I’m bored with your responses so I’ll quit now.

[near horse]

@goodcompanion 25240 wrote:

Generally VAWTs and Water pumper Aeromotor type windmills both operate at low speed, high torque. Good for pumping water and grinding grain as you said. We had to gear up in order to get the higher rpms needed for generation.

The initial goal is simply to measure output so as to have an objective measure of performance. We will do this with a DC generator, a load (electric heater), an array of sensors, and a data logger. The research objective is to log 3 months of continuous production data. The output will not be used for anyone’s benefit during this time, it’s just research.

Later on my hope is to swap out the DC generator for a squirrel cage AC grid-tied generator, and net-meter the whole thing. This is kind of a separate project. It will be easier to deal with the power co. once we have assessed the performance of the device.

High winds today–that sucker is really flying!!! I would not dare to try and stop it with my hand like I did in the video!

You might need to put some sort of fence around it 😮

[near horse]

Here’s a comment regarding “the golden rice project” (and BTW – why in the world do you think a company like Syngenta would give away something like this – if not for dollars, at least for PR. Remember, they have shareholders to satisfy.)

ISIS believes science as much as scientists should be socially and ecologically accountable, and has launched a sustainable science audit project jointly with the Third World Network

“Some 70 patents have already been filed on the GM genes and constructs used in making the ‘golden rice’. It is a drain on public resources and a major obstruction to the implementation of sustainable agriculture that can provide the real solutions to world hunger and malnutrition. ……..Rockefeller Foundation, the major funder by far, has reportedly abandoned the project to ” shift its agricultural funding focus to support research that will have a more direct benefit to subsistence farmers” Also – note that there are other deficiencies associated with a rice only diet AND that there is such thing as Vit A toxicity and would be more likely in a popultation subsisting only on Vit-A enhanced rice.

Here’s the link which details the concerns with the gene constructs etc- (not wikipedia) http://www.i-sis.org.uk/rice.php

…..”natural” organisms caused??? this would include, of course, pathogenic viruses, bacteria, poisionous plants, poisonous animals, allergic reactions to bees and other agents, etc. These are natural everyday killers that have evolved (in many cases) specifically to case harm

You’re reading things into my responses that aren’t there. For example: I’m not afraid of something I don’t understand – to the contrary, it’s the fact that I do understand the technology AND human beings that makes it scary; also with regard to “scary frankenvirus” or whatever you said – I never said natural was safe and synthetic unsafe – ever. I do believe that natural is just that natural and that sythetic is not natural and therefore is “in addition to” natural – good or bad. In fact, it sounds more like you’re afraid of nature – watch out for the killer bees! “Bees and ivy and oaks, oh my. Bees and ivy and oaks, oh my.”

Breathing manipulates the environment, as does farming, livestock raising, eating, having children, driving, using electricity, etc. Which manipulations are OK, and which aren’t? What are the criteria and who is the judge???

Just because being alive uses resources doesn’t then mean that all manipulations of the environment, like releasing GMOs into the environment is alright. Who should judge, I’m not sure now when science is tainted with private grant money. The public hardly gets enough truth to have a prayer of understanding and deciding …..

Okay – let me try to explain how NAFTA screwed the Mexican corn grower. Senor Clinton and his minions negotiated an agreement to allow US subsidized corn to be sold to mills in Mexico – it’s unclear where the benefits were to Mexico but might be explained in the previous post about Niger – bonus to the gov). So corn producers all over the mid-west got to have their 200+ bushel/acre corn with price supports, loan supports and other taxpayer cash (note no additional jobs created) shipped to Mexico to “compete” – I use that term almost in jest – with a small local producer. What is the straight dollar per pound cost of each? One can hardly make a comparison of heavily subsidized vs unsubsidized grain unless those subsidies are removed. Then, US corn = not so good. Funny that we complain when the Canadians do the same thing to us – they get > $2000 for $600 worth of powdered milk. IMHO – that’s fine IF you restrict sales to in country. Unfair when on a global scale – and that’s why we do it – because it is unfair, in our favor.

Economics produce sad and unfortunate consequences… If the wealthy landowner decides to feed the people instead of growing cattle to sell, he’s not going to be a “weathly landowner” much longer… Still nothing to do with GMO’s here…

Perhaps I should have used the RR soybeans being produced by wealthy landowners instead of beef. I thought you had shifted your focus here from GMOs to global food policy

Also, many of those “wealthy landowner”s came by those holdings under pretty nefarious circumstances and shouldn’t be “wealthy landowners”.

….that same small Mexican farmer could definately grow crops that (if he could get them to the US) would be worth more than his corn. I can guarantee that.

Like what? Marijuana? How can you guarantee this without any idea of his situation? Why not just tell him he can make more money if he’d just move to the US and get a job? Oh, that’s because he already has since his livelihood and community were obliterated by our foreign policy.

Again, I do not think GMOs ought to be patented, but I think this is a venue for the public and lawmakers, not courts.

What? We should allow the legislature to decide whether something is patentable? That’s a slam dunk for corporate interests from the get go. Plus, isn’t there a something called “patent law” with “patent lawyers” who review whether some new idea is considered patentable? Courts aren’t perfect by any means but good grief – the other 2 options can be swayed too easily by “da money”.

….our best technology includes GMO’s.

As long as you don’t let them out in the environment – maybe. The food GMOs absolutley not.

So since you want answers here’s my short list (and I’m no diplomat).

Stop price US supports for exported food.
Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and any other …AFTA.
Tie financial, military and diplomatic assistance to in country support of its people via establishment of sustainable food systems.
Demand that countries that are exporting foodstuffs to the developed world provide adequate food/land to their own people or boycott said product(s) – This should include other importers of the product as well.

Companies that are importing food products from countries whose own population is unable to access food, will be taxed at an extreme rate to provide incentive for them to lobby the govt of country X to make sure its citizenry are able to raise, find and buy decent food.

Rewrite or destroy the Codex Alimentarius. (read it).

That’s what I would do on my first day!

[near horse]

Hey Brad,

I might be interested in that harness. Could you PM me with a pic and a price? I feel another road trip coming on.

[Author]

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