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Farming, no matter what production methods are used, works in concert with nature. Even the most complex biotechnology works only when used with the partnership of Mother Nature. Nature can also deal some pretty tough challenges to our equipment, both in the field and back at the shed.
Good fences make good neighbors. Good fences also serve as “curb appeal” for your farmstead. I sometimes find myself in the unenviable role of a farm business analyst and, frankly, one of the first observations I make about the future prospects of a farm is the state of its fences.
Oh no, there’s a pool of something under my tractor. What could it be? Where could it be coming from? Maybe it isn’t too serious – it may have already stopped.
They say experience is the best teacher, but is it? How many of you would recognize a rattlesnake if you encountered one? If experience is the best teacher, the only way you would know to leave that rascal alone would be to let it bite you, but that isn’t too wise, is it?
Often when we think about putting time into proper operation, maintenance and tool safety, our thoughts turn to the expensive power tools at our disposal.
For years, my colleagues and I have been preaching the benefits of cutting our area’s cool-season grass lawns at 4 inches to improve lawn health and control weeds. On the farm, the same logic holds. Leaving more stubble in our hay fields can have similar results.
Okay now, first things first. I do know the difference between “weather” and “whether.” I debated on the misspelling as an attention-getter, and if you’ve gotten this far, it worked! Thus far, 2019 has been an interesting weather year to say the least. My heart goes out to my fellow farmers who have seen cropland besieged by rain.
If you have been actively farming for as long as I have, you have seen more than a few changes in the machinery we use. Today’s farm machinery is more powerful, faster, “smarter” and more comfortable than ever before. To be fair, they are also more complicated and expensive.
Have you even been looking for a bolt, found what you thought was the correct bolt, only to find it would not thread up? Or have you ever looked at the top of a bolt and wondered what those numbers or lines meant?
