Quick Hello.

I literally have two minutes to say hi to everyone.   I have been working crazy hours recently and with all the stuff going on with sending animals to the meat processor as well I haven't had time to think lately.   Hopefully I get a break here in the next few days so I can update everyone on what has been going on and how the new calf is doing!  By the way she is doing really well and is growing really fast.

Talk to everyone soon!

Kenny

Finally got a picture of the new calf and new steps for the Farmall.

Here is the only good picture I have gotten of the new little heifer that was born on the 5th.  Her ears seem to be ok so far.  I am hoping it was just the tips that got nipped.  She is up and running around.  She had some problems trying to straighten her feet out when she was born but that is no longer a problem.  I am guessing her to weigh about 105 pounds.  She is a big girl just like her momma!

Charolais x Main Anjou x Angus cross.

Here is a good picture of her momma.  She looks so thin now and I can completely understand why!  She is up and doing well and is pretty much back to normal again.  She was a little sluggish after birth due to the size of the calf and the fact that she just had a foot infection a couple weeks ago.  She is doing pretty well as a momma and I look forward to seeing how her calves do!  I purchased her in March and she got bred the day she walked off the trailer.  So nine months after I bought her she gave me a great looking heifer calf!  Not too bad!

Main Anjou x Angus x Simmental

I have been trying to get some rest yesterday and today after all the snow removal happenings last week and the crazy hours.  Felt horrible yesterday, today I feel much better but with another storm moving into the area I know that will not last.  I couldn't stand to be in the house like a sloth any more so I went out and got the Farmall started and Steven helped me pull it into the garage.  It cleared the door frame by less than an inch!  I have still not gotten my garage completely organized and have some more cleaning to do but the tractor fits with plenty of room to move around it.  

Farmall 706 in the garage for upgrades

 My new steps came in at the beginning of the week when all the cold nasty weather arrived and they have been sitting in my basement since then.  My original plan was to put the tractor in the garage and let it sit and work on it later this week.  However, I couldn't wait so I went ahead and started tinkering around.  The steps actually went on pretty smoothly and turned out pretty nice. 

Old Farmall 706 single step in front of new Double step

The single step was set way back in between the wheel and the deck and was awkward and difficult to use.  So I ordered some new double steps.  There is a bigger set you can get that has three steps and a handle too but I didn't think that was necessary nor would they look right on this tractor.  

Farmall 706 with new double steps installed.

The right hand side of this tractor didn't even have any steps which made it a pain if you wanted to exit or enter that side for any given reason.  For example, when on the side of a hill with the right hand side on the uphill side.  

Farmall 706 before new double step on the right hand side.

 The great thing is that the holes needed to mount the steps were already there I just needed to bolt them on.  They are pretty dang nice and it is so much easier to get on and off the tractor now as well as safer!

There are a few other items I am going to address while I have it in the garage.  First of all I moved the left rear wheel out on the axle to match the other side.  I have wheel weights to install on both back wheels as well.  The other item is fixing a small leak on the back side of the fuel injector pump.  It started as nothing more than some seeping fuel that kept the area moist.  Now it has turned into a slow drip.  I am going to see if it is a simple O-ring fix or something deeper.  A little research should help.  Hopefully it is something I can just do here at home without removing the pump.  

 More pics of progress as it happens.  Off to work soon for the night.  Hopefully the rest of the week is clear so we can all get caught up again!  Still wondering why I don't just move south!

Kenny

Sweet seat cover for the tractor and details on my new New Holland Procart 1225 rake vs. the Sitrex h90-v10.

I screwed up and didn't keep track of the pig feed over break and ran out of feed Friday night.  So on my way home from "snow" work Saturday morning I stopped at the local feed mill to get some of their pig feed to get me through till Monday when my regular batch comes.  I really like this local mill and enjoy stopping once in a while because they always keep some old school toys on the top shelf in the main room.  So, as I usually do I walked in and looked up on the top shelf to see what all they had there today and was excited to see a Farmall 706 narrow front on the shelf.  I figured it was not too early to celebrate my July birthday so I got it and brought it home for the kids  They immediately put one of their Lego kids on it and proceeded to have fun!

I had been up most of the night managing ice control at work so when I got home I was kind of zoned out and a little grumpy.  I took a few minutes to let the rain slow down and went out to put the feed in the barn and my wife asked me to bring the seat cushions for my tractor in for her to make a new seat cover.  I then laid down and took a nap.  When I woke up we went out to feed the animals and she surprised me this sweet seat cover!!!!!!   She is awesome!   Now I am even showing my buckeyes gear when I am in the tractor!

On Friday it was beautiful and sunny and a perfect winter temp of 30 degrees.  I went over to help the neighbor with some more cleaning for his auction and he had some wood he needed to store inside so he and Steven helped me clean my shed up and put it in there.  As we were doing so I realized that with a little loader work to remove some excess soil I could possibly get the tractors in there for the winter. 

Sure enough, they fit.....sort of.  I had to take the flapper off of the Farmall muffler and I still barely got it in.  I will probably shorten the muffler top a couple of inches so I don't have to worry about catching it going in and out.  

I found it is easier to back the Kubota in but the loader hangs outside a little.  But it is still nice to have the most of the tractor inside.  I will most likely not take the shed down now till after I or the neighbor get some kind of shed built to keep stuff inside.  

Now, on to the new hay tool!  To start off here is a picture of the old rake unfolded from the back.  The Sitrex has a 21 foot max raking width and to adjusting the raking width requires wrenches and a jack and some help.  To adjust the angle of the rakes requires pulling a pin and pulling or pushing the wings back and forth till you get to the desired angle.

Sitrex H90-V10

And the new one.  The Procart 1225 has a max raking width of 25 feet.  Adjusting the raking width requires pulling a pin and turning a turn buckle.  Adjusting the angle of the rakes requires the push or pull of a lever in the cab.  The angle adjustment is made hydraulically for easy adjustments on the go.  There are also lockout valves on each lift cylinder to lock for transport or to keep one side up when needed.  

New Holland Procart 1225

Here is another big difference, the height of the rake frame and cart.  The lowest point on the Procart 1225 is about 26"-27" above the ground.

New Holland Procart 1225

 The sitrex H90-V10 has a very low 14-16" clearance.  I have, in thick hay had it touch the bottom of the cart.  I have also had problem with thick hay catching up under the frame that holds the rake wheels themselves.  

Here is a picture of them both unfolded from the front 

New Holland Procart 1225

Notice how low to the ground the sitrex sits compared to the New Holland Procart 1225.  You can also see how much cleaner and stronger the mounting system is on the New Holland Procart 1225. 

Here are some of the other features that I could not find pictures of up close on the web when I was trying to find more information before purchasing.  Here is a major new feature on the Procart 1225, each rake wheel is independently mounted to the main frame with an axle and suspension spring.  You can adjust ground pressure at each wheel.  When you go over a sharp grade change or encounter a ground hog mound or dead furrow with the old Sitrex the weight of the entire frame and rest of the wheels is put onto the wheel that hits the bump.  On the Procart 1225 each wheel can move up to  two feet to roll over the bump with only its own weight pushing down on it!

New Holland Procart 1225 suspension spring

My old Sitrex has this same feature but I never used it and it worked a little differently.  However, with the extra raking width, if we encounter as heavy of hay as we did last year in some of the fields we may need to use it this coming season.  You can lock the front wheel on both side up and out of the use to decrease the raking width in heavy crops.   

New Holland Procart 1225 front wheel locked up.

Here is an awesome upgrade that I saw immediately that should have been standard from the beginning!   Grease fittings on every point that moves.  All 13 wheels, all the axle pivot points, the frame pivot points, and the cart wheels all have grease fittings.  

New Holland Procart 1225 grease fittings.

Here is a picture showing the turn buckle to adjust the width as well as the angle adjustment cylinders.  

New Holland Procart 1225 angle adjustment cylinders and width adjustment.

This is the last upgrade the new rake has that the old one did not.  Sometimes when I am raking I do not need to turn the center hay over.  This is usually in heavy crop when it is very thick or when I am pulling two windrows together.  The old rake did not have a way of locking the kicker wheel up when I didn't need to use it.  The New Holland Procart 1225 has a hydraulic cylinder and lockout specifically for the kicker wheel.  It also has it's own suspension spring and my old Sitrex did not.  

New Holland Procart 1225 kicker wheel cylinder and lockout. 

I do want to mention that the New Holland Procart 1225 and the Sitrex QR12 are identical.  They are both made by the same company and the only difference is paint color and stickers.  The price of both are within $50 of each other as well.  The main difference is the New Holland Procart 1225 will hold it resale value longer because of the name.  Otherwise there is no difference.  My old rake was an H90-V10.  There is a huge difference between it and the new one as you have seen here.  Out of all the rakes on the market now the New Holland Procart 1225 and Sitrex QR12 are still holding the top slot for strength and features.  All the other brands I looked at took shortcuts here and there to make them cheaper.  I decided with the number of acres and the mix of hills and rough ground I cover I would rather pay for a long lasting machine than pay for repairs down the road.  

Well, all there is to do now is count the days till I get to make some more hay!!!  This year is going to be great I can just feel it.  I cannot wait to take this baby on its inaugural first pass.  

I hope the pictures and information I posted here help someone else looking for more details and information on this model.  If you are looking for more info or pictures just comment on the post what you want to see or know and I will update.  

Have a great day everyone.  Going to be some nasty cold and snow come through over the next 5-7 days.  Doubt I will be around much till next weekend......ugh....whens summer????

Kenny

Happy New Year!!!!!

My son and I got to spend the first part of the last day of 2014 together doing something that makes us both act the same age.......buying new equipment!!!!  We were also blessed with our last day of the year being beautiful and sunny.  That would make the 5th day in December that it was sunny all day.

I went to pick up a new hay rake today.   I told my son he could go along and purchase a piece of new equipment also.  The owner of the dealership, Steve Minor, gave my son his first complimentary hat to go with his first piece of equipment. 

I purchased him a tractor and baler a couple of years ago when I bought my baler.  This time he decided he needed a chisel plow!  He had it out and started plowing up the carpet in the house as soon as we got home!  Needless to say he was very happy.

I purchased my first disk mower and v-rake the summer of 2007.  I have gotten to the size of operation that allowed and required me to upgrade/up-size my hay making equipment.  I upgraded the mower in the middle of the summer.  I went and picked up my new rake today.  This one is able to rake an additional 5 feet wider than my first one.  It is also built much stronger to hold up better doing the many acres of hay that I cover in a year.  This one also has many options that my first one did not have and hadn't even been thought of yet back then.  I will park them side by side for a detailed comparison tomorrow and post pictures and such then. 

I want to give a big thank you to Steve Minor and say thank you for two great pieces of equipment and thank you for making my son's day!  

I know some of you are awaiting the results of our herd check.  Out of 20 potential pregnancies we have 17 confirmed pregnant.  There are three open, or currently open, females.  One is Frosty, she was open at last years herd check because she had a late calf and was bred late.  She was checked a couple months later and was bred.  The next one is Black Eye's daughter and she is still a heifer and is apparently not ready to settle yet.  

The last one is a disappointment for me.  It is Black Eye herself.  I mentioned in the summer that she had a small premature calf who eventually didn't make it.  Had I known then what I know now I would have had the vet check her after a month or so went by as she was actually carrying twins.  The second was never born.  In cattle and pigs when this happens the small baby will either eventually be ejected or, as in our current case, Mummified by the body and contained indefinitely.  When this happens the only hope is to force them to cycle with a shot similar to birth control for humans.  It is the same hormone the cows body naturally produces to regulate heat cycles.  We just give her a shot of it to cause her to cycle every two weeks to try to get her body to eject the mummified calf and cycle normally again.  If this works she will be fine in a month or so and will continue to have calves again.  If not, there is nothing else we can do for her and we will have to sell her.  Hopefully this works out and I can see many more beautiful calves out of her yet.

Otherwise we are expecting 17 new calves here on the farm this year.  Of those 17, 12 are due to arrive before the end of march!!!!  All but three are due to arrive before the end of May.  I am finally having calves when I want to have calves instead of in the middle of summer and late fall.  Beef cattle seem to have stronger calves and better results when the calves are born in mid to late winter.  By the time the weather gets hot and sticky the calves are already big enough that any illness brought by bugs will not affect them.  

 As I wrap up the end of another year here on the farm I am thinking back to how the year progressed and how things have evolved and changed from what I thought they would be to what they are.  We had a very good calf crop this year, the hay was decent, and I was able to finish a huge project here on the farm.  All of this occurred while also losing our beloved Mario, three of my best pigs and two very nice calves, and breaking a finger and having to learn to rely on others to get things done for me.

I read a quote once that said "everything changes, if things are going good the good times are temporary and will give way to bad times, and likewise, bad times are temporary and will give way to good times".    

This is advise that I think everyone should take to heart and always keep in the back of their mind.  When things are going great and you are really happy remember that that moment is temporary and will pass.  You should always be thinking ahead to the next step and how you can prepare today for the next time when things are bad so those times do not last long and are easier to get through.    As well, when things are at what you perceive to be the worst remember, that moment also temporary and will also pass.  Things are not always as bad as they may seem.  At one point late this summer I started to question whether or not that moment would ever pass.  What I thought were good times were just multiple small little bad things starting to pile up.  I wasn't looking far enough ahead and realizing that it would all pass and how much progress we were still making. 

What was the turning point for me and when I almost gave up hope was when I thought that Baby Girl wasn't going to make it.  At that point I had already lost so many animals this summer that I was really frustrated and upset and my wife and I had tried so hard to save her just like the last two and I was thinking I was going to lose her as well.  I had just fed her and she was unresponsive and barely breathing.  I thought she was slipping away so I went back to the house very upset.  I went back down three hours later to get something I had left in the barn and she was sitting up on her own for the first time in two weeks.  I still didn't hold out much hope over night and went down the next morning before leaving for work expecting the worst and she was standing up on her own.  It was then when I realized I almost made a horrible mistake and gave up.  Every day I go to the barn and she meets me at the door or gate I am reminded not to give up because there is always a chance to make a difference.  

My wife helped me feed and bed the animals last night and I was thinking how different it was to do chores this new years compared to last year.  My wife has also gotten more involved in the farm as we have grown and is starting to understand it much more now than she did before which helps a lot.  There are many changes coming this year not only with my farm but people around me that will allow much greater opportunities for everyone involved and the potential of what is to come is so exciting I can hardly wait.  We all just need to push through the hard stuff so we can get on to enjoying the fun stuff again.  

So, as I look out into my pasture this year's end and next year's new beginning I see a lot more than I did last year.  I now see the things I didn't see last year.  I now see where my weaknesses are, and hopefully, how to plan better for unforeseen things.  I also see those around me that are struggling and need help.  I also see another road that needs to be taken to see where it goes.  I believe it will lead to the same destination just with a much different and more enjoyable and scenic route and will give me a chance to take those who want to ride along with me for the ride!

Have a Happy and Safe New Year everyone.  I already have my first sign that it will be a great one, The sun is brilliantly shining today and it is beautiful out!

Kenny