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Producing a bounty of U.S.-grown food to sell and share beyond our borders remains a matter of deep pride to America’s farmers and ranchers. A growing body of evidence suggests, however, that Americans who do not farm or ranch really don’t give a rip that America’s farmers and ranchers are striving to feed the world.
In this age of engagement-based communication, it is vital that each precious minute farmers and ranchers have to connect with other American eaters is appealing and meaningful. Frankly, farmers talking about American agriculture’s ability to feed the world no longer fits that category.
Fire, flood, feed contamination, foot-and-mouth disease. Farm and ranch disasters can come without warning. Is your crop, livestock or poultry operation secure? Is it biosecure?
A team of Extension professionals from across the U.S. came together to develop an educational tool to assist farm and ranch managers become better prepared for any disaster. The tool is called ReadyAG – Disaster and Defense Preparedness for Production Agriculture.
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Summary: We've featured four "Repurposed corner" ideas in our Progressive Dairyman Extra e-newsletters, thanks to Damon Carson of Repurposed Materials Inc. in Denver, Colorado. Carson recommended using a 275-gallon tote to store grain or water. to see comments from producers with additional ideas for the totes.
[Click here or on the image above right to see the full list of the Top 25 articles of 2011. Click here to see the list from 2010.]
ARTICLE
The byproduct of industry:
275-gallon, steel beam-reinforced, plastic totes are manufactured to hold a variety of liquids from fertilizer to agave syrup. They are filled through the large, screw cap-covered opening on the top of the container and the contents can be dispensed using the spigot on the front. This makes for a very functional storage container that is easy to fill and dispense.
So if these totes are so functional, why don’t the original users take them back?
This is really a logistical issue as the companies often sell in bulk to a distributor who then sells to locations spread around the country. Once the contents are used, it is not economically viable to ship the totes back to the manufacturer, which becomes the genesis for the secondhand market.
The repurpose:
Discarded in near mint condition, once washed, the totes can be filled with practically any liquid or solid that can fit through the 1.5” diameter spigot. For dairy applications, the totes could make for excellent portable grain or water storage.
I have also seen people sink the totes into the ground as septic systems or used in a variety of aquaculture and hydroponics applications.
As always, if you have a unique “repurposing” idea, please contact me through the website. PD
Damon Carson is the owner of www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com in Denver, Colorado. The company has a diverse selection of repurposed products for sale. Its motto is: “recycling by re-using byproducts of industry.”
Check out other 'Repurposed corner' articles:
• Conveyor belting
• Street sweeper brooms
• Recycled billboard tarps
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COMMENTS
What if I showed you a free tool you could implement today that would have the potential to make your farm 21 percent more profitable, without spending a dime?
U.S. farm journalist John Phipps said his business generated more income when he used the tool. The top-shelf farmers in more than six states who were studied by Virginia Tech grad students became 21 percent more profitable with it.
For more than a month, the CME spot cheese trade was able to maintain pricing above $2 per pound. That marks the third-longest stay in the history of the cheese trade above this very closely watched threshold. (See Figure 1.) Much of the thanks goes to a sudden squeeze on available supplies that came in late May following a hold put on 15 million pounds of cheese made in Hilmar’s Texas plant.
Additionally, a very dramatic spring planting season created concerns over available feed supplies in the coming months and year. All of this preceded the seasonal summer heat, which often reduces supplies of milk. Together, these factors presented the cheese market with good cause to move to such levels. It was not alone.
Blair and Kim Sanders, the owners of Black Hollow Dairy in Dublin, Virginia, made the switch to seasonal grazing a decade ago. Seasonal grazing has led them to find something that many dairy farmers do not have an abundance of – free time.
Kim did not hesitate to say it’s the best part of their seasonal operation.
Producers often think of themselves, with considerable justification, as stewards of the land and the environment. With that responsibility comes the task of balancing business goals with regulatory compliance. Ideally, the ultimate goal should be to maintain a perpetual state of proactive compliance.
Though it is almost always less costly over time to prevent an environmental problem than to fix it, producers can run afoul of regulations. Chemicals and nutrients, which producers work with regularly, can pollute.
In a recent edition of El Lechero, I wrote an article for your herdsmen clarifying that following treatment protocols is not only a guideline, it is the law about treating sick cows on your dairy. I identified that when protocols are not followed, overuse (unnecessary expense), violative residues and illegal use of medications prescribed by your veterinarian are costly consequences. But to get to that point, you must write, train and monitor treatment protocol use by your herdsmen on your dairy.
Write treatment protocols
Whether an excuse or well-intentioned confidence in your herdsmens’ experience, too often I find no written treatment protocols on dairies that I visit. “He knows how to treat sick cows” or “My vet handles that” or “Those are just picky details” are not adequate explanations for lack of written treatment protocols.
Are you a “people” person? No, not that kind. I mean ... are you a person who focuses a lot of time and energy on finding good people and helping them succeed? Basically, are you a good talent scout?
In January, FOX began its 10th season of American Idol. Each week, the goal of the show is to find the nation’s next singing sensation. With the help of viewers across the country, a panel of industry insiders will use their eye for finding talent in order to sort through thousands of young, aspiring superstars.
It’s a soggy day in late spring and four dairy producers from different parts of the U.S. check their positions in the trading simulator, then connect with each other via phone. As is typical, they begin the teleconference by discussing weather and crop progress – or frustrations – in their various locations. Then these dairy producers dive into something they feel even less control over than the weather – the markets.
Month after month since February, nine participants keep coming back to two trading peer groups. The groups are facilitated and coached by Mark Ludtke of Stewart-Peterson, and participants use a simulator from the University of Florida to experiment with trades.
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