The Good Life v.farming

DEEZUZ

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GTPpower

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Jun 5, 2012
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Nebraska
When we have really rainy or really dry years with crappy yield he's said "Yep this is going to be an insurance year". How does that work? Like how does insurance value lost yield?

There was another time a couple years ago (i think) where they had so much rain they couldn't get all the corn planted on time (by June 25ish IIRC), and they were trying to figure out whether to plant beans or claim insurance on the corn they couldn't plant in time.

This probably varies by state, or maybe insurance company. But around here, they take an average of I think the last 5 years yield, and you are guaranteed a percentage of that. So, just for example, if our corn averages 130 bushels per acre, we will insure it to guarantee a 100 bushel yield. So if it makes less that 100, insurance will pay the difference up to 100.

There are plenty of other ways to do it, and you can buy insurance on about anything you want to.
 

FirstWorldProblems

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I'm just joshing. ;).

That russles jummies of every farmer I know :angrys00ls:
Imagine how high your food bill would be if the US had to import a high percentage of our food, or there were no fed subsidies for farms. You’d spend $1000/mo at Dunkin and McD instead of $400/mo
 

GTPpower

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Jun 5, 2012
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These keep the windows closed, but we typically never open the windows. So I was able to pull that screw out and stick a bolt in to clamp the display bracket to it.
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We also got the receiver mounted up top and all the wiring secured.

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These are just some of the display screens to help with future calibrations if I lose the info somehow.

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This is one of satellite pages. It's trying to find WAAS, but so far has only found 3d. Trees and buildings can keep it from connecting, so I'm hoping that once it's out in the field, it can find WAAS.

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GTPpower

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Jun 5, 2012
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I started out yesterday morning field cultivating. Sometimes we no-till, and others we use tillage. That decision depends on the amount of weeds, residue left over from last year's crop, soil moisture level, and erosion.

This field is smaller, but takes a long time because it has terraces.

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You can see the terraces here...they were popular in the 80's and 90's to prevent soil erosion. I seem to recall dad telling me that there was a government program for building them, and you had to keep them for 20 years or so.

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Here's a shot from a far ways away of them. My wife and I are planning to build a house on top of the hill in the next few years if lumber prices ever come down.

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I also did a little bit of spraying on another field. I'm spraying a pre-emergence herbicide, and a burn-down chemical. So it will hopefully kill anything that is out of the ground now, and keep any new weeds from popping up for awhile. This field will be no-tilled, so that's why we sprayed it. We've been trying to buy a new sprayer for years, but haven't ran across one yet that we can both agree on and doesn't sell for stupid money. There is one on auction in a couple weeks, so hopefully we can get that one bought.
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We finished up planting corn for the year yesterday afternoon. I was able to figure out how to get the display to field map...

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But I still can't get guidance to work. It needs to catch WAAS for that, but is only pulling in 3D. These receivers are supposed to get WAAS, but lots of people are having problems with them.

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After we finished planting for the day, I drained the oil on the tractor. We usually change oil every 100 hours.

We had to grind corn for the fat cattle. So the "grinder" takes corn out of the bin, grinds it up some, so it's easier for the cattle to eat and digest.

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The grinder dumps the ground up corn into the auger wagon, and we dump that into the wagon that stays by the fat cattle where their corn is stored within easy reach to feed them.

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Rdrnnr

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Nov 15, 2020
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I just came here to say it was kinda easy to see the 7 dollar corn with our current administration change and I know of alot of big subsidy checks that go out almost yearly.

It's all about workin the system no different than the welfare recipients although one drives new trucks and bashes the other when the checks come from the same place.

GTPpower GTPpower is doin it right if he's not aware of all that bs but the end goal as far as the governments concerned is to subsidize the big farms that suck Monsantos ?, to put the little guys out and they all want robot tractors and farm simulator in real life eventually. If you can't see this your blind.

Also 7 dollar corn hurts as much as it does good. It cause big farms to steal more ground from small farms pushing land prices and property taxes sky high as well as input costs such as fertilizer and repair bills. Then it drops back to 3 in a couple years and if you aren't sittin on somethin the bank can put an operating note against your fucked.

Not that I know anything
 
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Rdrnnr

wannabe racecar builder
Nov 15, 2020
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Yeah, the prices are great, but this will be short lived, and it will do more damage than good.
It always does. It's a bs inflation tactic so Bayer and company can piss back and forth funneling money to other countries and all it does is fall on you guys heads when it falls out and your inputs are tripled and profits halved, hence the subsidy checks.

Snag up some more ground if you can, upgrade equipment and buildings. Whatever you can to hold some equity through the downside of it when the excuses start comin and the piles sit and rot again. Who knows if these prices will even hold til fall when it matters and that it's not just a jump to empty the bins and get people excited...

The worst part is out here when you guys hurt we all do too, but then again there's no place I'd rather be than where we are when moneys no good anymore.
 
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Outlaw

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Mannnn. I love this. Grew up the same way but never really got to be a part of it and when I tried I always got brushed off so I started the tire truck. I'd love to have what you got goin on but it's alot more to deal with than everyone thinks. Keep the side biz every successful farmer I know has somethin to carry him through hard years and after the spike this years gonna create your gonna wanna put as much if that 6 dollar corn into equity that you can get back out if need be as you can.

Side business is key. Old timer I know raises beef cattle on 600 acres in Monroe, Wis. He started working directly with a processor and got in tight with a handful of restaurants in Milwaukee and Chicago. Makes deliveries weekly. He also gets in a van trailer of alfalfa cubes every week from Nebraska, packages them in 50# bags and sells to local feed stores. Says that nets him $80,000-$110,000/year after expenses and paying his four employees that run the packaging operation.
 

Outlaw

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I really want to start getting my hands on some equipment to drag up north with me. If I could get the already cleared 40 acres cleaned up again I’d love to put an alfalfa crop in with the hay prices we’ve been seeing lately. Jokers selling 8 buck small squares around here and get it all day.
 
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GTPpower

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Nebraska
I really want to start getting my hands on some equipment to drag up north with me. If I could get the already cleared 40 acres cleaned up again I’d love to put an alfalfa crop in with the hay prices we’ve been seeing lately. Jokers selling 8 buck small squares around here and get it all day.

If you can bale smalls correctly and sell it to horse people...
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