[near horse]

Hi Ethan,

Welcome to DAPNet. As you might have already figured out, you’re working for a good man in John Plowden. Make good use of that opportunity! With all the Vermonters here on the site, I’d say you have a good chance of finding someone who could work with you during the school year.

Best of luck and glad you joined us!

[near horse]

I read through this for the second time and it reflects things as I saw them. Approved w/o amendment from me.

BTW – did we just forget the transfer of the BOD task list (so it’s tabled) or is it a formality that we can deal with via e-mail/forum?

[near horse]

My best to you both and hope you heal up quickly.

BTW – there’s also a condition known as tick paralysis in which the patient has a reaction to the tick bite or saliva that can cause a temporary paralysis of an area of the body. A student who worked for me woke up one morning w/ one side of his face paralyzed = lasted about a week to 10 days. Caused by various tick species. But hardly as bad as Lyme disease.

[near horse]

Wow – neat thread. I must have overlooked this the first go ’round and have never heard of extending lactations. I can see how it might mess up heat cycling somewhat. Sorry I can’t help but I’ve got lots of questions.

Did they give you any idea of conception rates (or ease) when they did try to breed back?
How about body condition after 2 or 3 yrs of lactating? Which, in turn can affect conception.
Other management related info? Like maybe, mastitis (any) and if so, more in one quarter vs another (nursed vs hand milked).
Estimate of total milk production from an extended lactation?

Sad part is not only do modern dairies stay on the general 305 day schedule for lactation, but also cull cows around the 3rd/4th lactation.

Thanks Ed.

BTW – do they process their own milk? Into what – yoghurt, ghee, cheese …?

[near horse]

@Demented Donkey Dame 27823 wrote:

….. Our first donkeys came this way on Columbus’s second voyage in 1495…..

Dang – just how old are you?

[near horse]

Hi Kristi,

I’ve not had that happen either but also don’t have a “heart drop”. How small is the ring on it? I’m a cheap SOB and end up using an old snaffle bit (rings are pretty big so I don’t see it ever getting caught on the buckle as you saw).

Just thinking – you might be able to rig one of those slobber discs to go on your lines near the buckle.

Hope you’re still up for the playday – now being advertised as “Moonshadow’s Mule Madness and Mayhem”, although other draft animals are also welcome.:eek:

[near horse]

@martha 27857 wrote:

PM is ok or my e-mail is ond111@catskill.net. Thanks so much!

It’s Done!

[near horse]

Not to make light of the situation but don’t forget “the path to success is built and paved with the failures”. As Andy said, experience is invaluable but also built on a lot of trial and error.

Sicklehocks – weed populations left over from or generated via previous farming systems can be a real pain to deal with. I’m an advocate of using whatever means you need to get it under control.

[near horse]

@Carl Russell 27828 wrote:

I think you can create a survey with the forum tools. Otherwise how would you like us to get the info to you?

Carl

I could only find a way to create a poll. Different from a survey in that you’re limited to one question.

Martha – How/where do you want the data? E-mail to you might be best or PM? Probably better than doing the survey within the thread.

[near horse]

Hi Erik,

I don’t know if you wanted/needed any photos I had on here, but you are/were welcome to them. Also, since our photoplog is “missing in action” right now, I’ll be glad to send you any pics that might be appropriate.

Good luck.

BTW – you should see if Pat Palmer has a clearer picture of their “garbage collection” rig. There’s a pic on their website but it didn’t copy so well. Also, not sure that they’re still doing garbage collection but cool application of HP.

http://www.vthorsedrawnservices.com/history.htm#

First pic is Pat’s garbage hauler.
Second one is from Tiller’s International using the Martin ditching plow for road ditch maintenance and construction.

[near horse]

@Robert MoonShadow 27811 wrote:

Found a better deal on urine {something I never thought I’d say…}
Bear urine = 16 oz. for $8 + S & H.
http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NWS001&Product_Code=NWSBEAR&Category_Code=
Have shot them an email to find out what they mean by “economy” and “standard” shipping (besides a big difference in cost).
The deer here are finally getting used to the cougar urine, and are starting to ignore it….time to switch to bear. One fat doe, and of course, she topped my brandwine tomatoes (bypassing 4 other types – must prefer the heritage strains to the hybrids).

Standard = bear urine in a bottle; Economy = bear urine still in bear!

[near horse]

@mitchmaine 27792 wrote:

everyones comments have something important to add to this thread. i been thinking alot about things that have been said. not very long ago, hay was made with a knife and a rake. tedders were only brought out to flip hay after a rain, mostly to break open a windrow. you’d mow and let hay lay and wilt, and rake the next day and let the wind make it. and when the dew was off the ground the next day rerake over to a dry spot and continue drying til it had a rustle and was ready. since then, crimpers, conditioners and tedders and balers have developed to bring hay in earlier and presumably greener, all with the effect of beating the grass to peices, shattering the stalks and so on in the process. so it seems like the same old story. we give up quality for quantity and the result is being able to put up more hay quicker and thats great, but some here, not me, still must put up loose hay. we used to have a ac rotary baler that made a 40 lb. round bale, it took 3 balers to keep one going, but when you rolled out a bale and the heads of the grass and clover were still blossomed and sweet. anyway, just ramblin’ here.

I hear ya Mitch but I think there would be an argument made that rapid drying of hay traps/ preserves the nutrients in the hay and crimping/rolling/macerating the plant speeds up drying.

Maybe Tim can wade in here, but as I recall, the thinking is that right after cutting the plant down, it continues to undergo respiration (using up energy that’s in the cells) until the moisture conditions in the plant are low enough that the plant ceases respiration. How long that takes can, theoretically, impact the nutritional value of the hay. Is that anywhere close, Tim?

BTW – IMO and experience, the difference for me is getting the stuff dried, baled and out the elements before mother nature decides to mess things up.

[near horse]

I’ve been reading some more “stuff” on the benefits (or not) of tending hay. Most of the material is looking at commercial tractor farmed alfalfa operations, so the value of various practices will vary but here’s my take.

1) In modern ops with multiple cuttings, the value of tending was highest in first and last cuts – presumably due to lower daytime temps, angle of sun etc and, in the first cutting, moisture of the stand.

2) These guys were tedding to toss hay out of a swath or windrow left by the haybine/swather etc to: increase the drying surface (obvious) but ALSO, in the early season TO MOVE THE DRYING HAY ONTO DRY GROUND. Apparently, after even a few hours of exposure, ground surface moisture will diminish on the cut ground if there’s not hay laying on it.

3) Most suggest tedding (again more important in alfalfa) after a few hours so that the crop has wilted but is not very dry at all – to reduce leaf shatter.

4) Obvious again to you experienced folks, although we call them all tedders, the different styles do actually provide different options/applications. Example – kickers, old and Grimm style are more “fluffers” when compared to those newer “basket style” (like Krone). The basket style can spread your hay out rather than just fluffing it up to allow more air movement.

Dew can work for or against you depending on the situation. If you’re dealing with something that’s pretty dry, I think handling (baling/raking) hay in the AM w/ dew on can help reduce leaf loss/shatter. Also, remember there’s 2 general moisture locations were talking about when curing hay – internal (stuff that was in the plant at cutting) and external (stuff on the outside of the plant – dew, rain etc). The internal stuff is the more challenging one – the outside stuff will evaporate pretty rapidly given the right conditions.

So, this year my plan is cut, let it wilt down some (say a few hours) and tedd. After that, we’ll see.

I might even try running my swather over a strip and then tedding that to see how it works. I’ve only got a kicker so we’ll see.
Anyway, here are the links to the articles I looked at: (can you say obsessive/compulsive disorder?)

http://hayandforage.com/mag/farming_try_tedding/

http://www.haytalk.com/forums/f2/tedding-questions-1130/

http://www.progressiveforage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1006:0507-fg-test-your-tedding-know-how-what-you-need-to-produce-high-quality-hay&catid=90:equipment&Itemid=124

[near horse]

@Donn Hewes 27791 wrote:

Clipping a very rough piece of ground today I folded a poor evener on one of my mowers! Two seconds later as I was trying to steer my way home my seat post snapped. All you can do is laugh! That little piece of a seat post is really hard to get out. It was rusted in and I cut the pack rust out with a saw z all and got it moving with a punch.

When I first read this Donn, all I could think of was “where did that little piece of seat post end up?” And “was a sawzall the most appropriate method of ….ummmm, …. extraction?” Ouch!

I hope I can keep the good humor you’re demonstrating when things go south. It’s a gift.

[near horse]

I’m with you guys on this one! Nice looking hay crop is lodging now with any more rain/wind. That might make haying a little more challenging.

Waiting for sun.

[Author]

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