We had a weak cold front come through on Thursday. The rain all went North of us, but the temps dropped about 10 degrees and there is almost no humidity. We'll take it!!! lol Wednesday and Thursday both set records with 103 and 105 respectively. And put very high humidity on top of that and it was almost unbearable. But you take what you get in the weather department.
Rick and me took advantage of the "cold snap" and chopped silage all day yesterday and today. The silo is almost full and we will let it settle tonight and make a little more room. We have about 4 more wagon loads to chop if we can get it in the silo. We will do that about noon tomorrow.
We had been wondering if there was even gonna be any silage, or corn too, for that matter. This drought has really hurt the local farmers here. Poor crop production, livestock woes and the tobacco is not being helped by it either. It has just been a very rough year all the way around. But we will all make it, we have no choice but to make it.
Showing posts with label tobacco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tobacco. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Still Hangin' in There...
Well, I don't have to tell anybody who has been within 500 miles of here in any direction but it's HOT! We have set record after record here for the number of days in a row that it has been over 90 degrees. I think it has been almost 4 weeks now like that. It always gets hot in August, but hardly ever stays that way relentlessly.
Even that would not be too bad if we had gotten any kind of rain at all. The last good rains we had were in late June and a few minor events in early July. Since then....nothin'.
Tobacco kinda thrives in hot weather, but it still needs a good rain now and then, not as much as corn or soybeans, but some. My tobacco was bearing with it til about a week ago and then it started 'firing'. That is when the bottom leaves start dying, turning brown and crumbling up to fall off. Then it moves up the plant the drier the weather gets. Crops across the state are losing tens of thousands of pounds per week as this continues on. Tobacco that was topped before it began will fare better, but there is a large segment of the total crop that is just now being topped. Tobacco gains about 1/2 of its total weight in the last 1/3 of its life except when something like this happens. It is not going to be a very good year for tobacco farmers, I fear. We will have to cut it before full maturity just to stop the losses in the field. But there is always next year, eh? rofl
And I ain't even gonna get into cattle and pastures and the lack of hay for this winter. Just understand it is not looking good for the home team there either. "But what about government aid programs?" Yeah, right...and then you woke up. rofl.
Oh well, you pays yo' money and you takes yo' chances, as they say.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
February 6, 2007
(Just bringing this forward from my old Word Press blog to get things kicked off here)
It has been a pretty eventful week here in Hooterville. The markets for corn and soybeans are back up again and we (the farm I work on) have been hauling grain to the grain elevators. I talked to my boss yesterday and it looks like we may get to move more in the upcoming weeks, if the prices hold. Sure hope so. The Power Company and Telephone Company love it when I get to haul grain. I am, after all, out here working for them by proxy. Right about now they ain’t real happy with me but they can get glad in the same shoes they got mad in, it’s been a tough winter all around. It ain’t a crime being poor but it sure is inconvenient.
We got a newer tractor and a brand new trailer to haul with this year. It has over 400hp and pulls 1k bushels of grain like you were pulling a boat trailer. No more huffin’ and puffin’ to make the hills between here and there. It’s a real nice rig. Power everything and air-ride all around.
There is a cell phone gonna be put in it this week and that will be good to have. Anyone that knows me much at all knows my opinion about cell phones. For the most part I wish their inventor had every one of them up his hind-end and all ringin’ at once. But I broke down twice last year and had to walk a pretty good piece for a payphone (if you can even find one these days) so it will be nice to have in the event of a breakdown or something. Outside of that, I doubt I ever pick it up to even look at it.
I liked the old truck we had too, but she was about worn out and starting to need therapy a lot. I feel safer in this new one. You can see out of it much better and it rides quieter. Not only that, but you get a respectful nod from the other truckers out on the road as they pass you, instead of that scowl that says, “Get that ol’ rust bucket out of the way, Vern.” Of course, me being me, their looks were always met with a glare of my own that said, “Kiss my Irish ass.” Fact of the matter is they pay no more or less at the elevator regardless of what you bring it in.
I still have about 100 sticks of tobacco to strip yet and need to get on that soon before the market closes. It was hit with a little frost before I could get it in the barn and had a hard time curing the green out of the leaves. Be that as it may, talk of this year’s crop has already begun easing into conversations and will soon appear on daily work schedules. It is my intentions to turn the ground for my tobacco and corn during the first little warm spell we have when the ground is dry enough to work. Seems it works up better at planting if it has been turned and allowed to freeze and thaw several times to soften it up.
Time too, to start prepping the tobacco float bed and getting it in order for this season. I plan on seeding mine by the first of April, but will buy enough plants from work for an acre. That will allow me to spread the work out a little. First setting early May, second late May-early June. Puts the harvest about a month apart too. Two acres on one man is a stretch of capacity.
I also plan on putting out a pretty good size garden this year and may order some baby chicks to raise too. I have not had chickens here for a year or so now and kind of miss them around the place. I think something caught my last old rooster I had here, I ain’t seen him or heard a sound from him in a week or two now. Have some fencing that needs repair and the driveway graded. Just no end to it. Seems this place eats better than I do. Just hope I get enough work this Spring to bank roll it all.
I bought 10 bred cows back in December and three have already had calves; the last day before yesterday. One was born the 22nd of December and another on New Year’s Day. It is not the best time of year for it, but you take what you get sometimes. If they make it they will just weigh more this Fall when I sell them to pay the Notes around here. I check on them 2-3 times a day and so far they are fine. Better if they are born in Mar-Apr though. I will breed them back to be synchronized a little better for next year. This gives me 12 cows total and that is enough for now, ’til I get them straightened out and poppin’ and snappin’. 12 are about the limit for the pasture I have to raise really good calves without having to supply feed too. I didn’t want to have a Spring and a Fall calving herd but it looks like that is what I have until I can adjust it.
I have been doing what freelance writing work I can and working on getting these three Internet businesses up and running in the background of the farm and work. Anyway, as you can see, I have it in front of me to do. Lol And on that note…I’m outta here.
Plowboy
It has been a pretty eventful week here in Hooterville. The markets for corn and soybeans are back up again and we (the farm I work on) have been hauling grain to the grain elevators. I talked to my boss yesterday and it looks like we may get to move more in the upcoming weeks, if the prices hold. Sure hope so. The Power Company and Telephone Company love it when I get to haul grain. I am, after all, out here working for them by proxy. Right about now they ain’t real happy with me but they can get glad in the same shoes they got mad in, it’s been a tough winter all around. It ain’t a crime being poor but it sure is inconvenient.
We got a newer tractor and a brand new trailer to haul with this year. It has over 400hp and pulls 1k bushels of grain like you were pulling a boat trailer. No more huffin’ and puffin’ to make the hills between here and there. It’s a real nice rig. Power everything and air-ride all around.
There is a cell phone gonna be put in it this week and that will be good to have. Anyone that knows me much at all knows my opinion about cell phones. For the most part I wish their inventor had every one of them up his hind-end and all ringin’ at once. But I broke down twice last year and had to walk a pretty good piece for a payphone (if you can even find one these days) so it will be nice to have in the event of a breakdown or something. Outside of that, I doubt I ever pick it up to even look at it.
I liked the old truck we had too, but she was about worn out and starting to need therapy a lot. I feel safer in this new one. You can see out of it much better and it rides quieter. Not only that, but you get a respectful nod from the other truckers out on the road as they pass you, instead of that scowl that says, “Get that ol’ rust bucket out of the way, Vern.” Of course, me being me, their looks were always met with a glare of my own that said, “Kiss my Irish ass.” Fact of the matter is they pay no more or less at the elevator regardless of what you bring it in.
I still have about 100 sticks of tobacco to strip yet and need to get on that soon before the market closes. It was hit with a little frost before I could get it in the barn and had a hard time curing the green out of the leaves. Be that as it may, talk of this year’s crop has already begun easing into conversations and will soon appear on daily work schedules. It is my intentions to turn the ground for my tobacco and corn during the first little warm spell we have when the ground is dry enough to work. Seems it works up better at planting if it has been turned and allowed to freeze and thaw several times to soften it up.
Time too, to start prepping the tobacco float bed and getting it in order for this season. I plan on seeding mine by the first of April, but will buy enough plants from work for an acre. That will allow me to spread the work out a little. First setting early May, second late May-early June. Puts the harvest about a month apart too. Two acres on one man is a stretch of capacity.
I also plan on putting out a pretty good size garden this year and may order some baby chicks to raise too. I have not had chickens here for a year or so now and kind of miss them around the place. I think something caught my last old rooster I had here, I ain’t seen him or heard a sound from him in a week or two now. Have some fencing that needs repair and the driveway graded. Just no end to it. Seems this place eats better than I do. Just hope I get enough work this Spring to bank roll it all.
I bought 10 bred cows back in December and three have already had calves; the last day before yesterday. One was born the 22nd of December and another on New Year’s Day. It is not the best time of year for it, but you take what you get sometimes. If they make it they will just weigh more this Fall when I sell them to pay the Notes around here. I check on them 2-3 times a day and so far they are fine. Better if they are born in Mar-Apr though. I will breed them back to be synchronized a little better for next year. This gives me 12 cows total and that is enough for now, ’til I get them straightened out and poppin’ and snappin’. 12 are about the limit for the pasture I have to raise really good calves without having to supply feed too. I didn’t want to have a Spring and a Fall calving herd but it looks like that is what I have until I can adjust it.
I have been doing what freelance writing work I can and working on getting these three Internet businesses up and running in the background of the farm and work. Anyway, as you can see, I have it in front of me to do. Lol And on that note…I’m outta here.
Plowboy
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