Hello Everyone!
Even though I do not get to post on here like I wanted to in the past I still like to keep my new year's posts and some really big posts here due to the format and structure. In today's world, everything is geared towards quick statements and pics and not really toward conveying much more than a one or two-sentence statement! That being said, let's begin!
So 2019 kicked off seeing my take on a full leadership role at my new career and move into Director Of Operations. While waiting for a meeting with our new accountant one day in January I was browsing my favorite time-killing website, tractorhouse.com, and came across a tractor that fit the need for the farm that I was trying to fill.
I was elated to find out they were having a once in a lifetime promotion on leasing this tractor and we ended up making the deal. I got the tractor in late February and it immediately went to work. It has been a great addition to the farm and we are extremely happy to have it in the line up!
Spring of 2019 brought us the wettest spring in history and was preceded by the wettest year in history for our area. Suffice to say it was very wet! Work was slow to get going and we spent our spring dancing between raindrops to get first cutting in when no one else was able to!
Due to the extremely wet year there was a lot of damage to pastures and fields alike. With the addition of the new Kubota M7-151 we were able to add our new seeder to the lineup as well, the APV GP300 M1. It is a great tool and does a wonderful job. We were able to quickly pick up some custom work for the new pair reseeding pastures and getting oats in for use and others when, once again, it was too wet to use anything else!
The one plus side to the moisture was great hay crop growth! Each year we keep getting a better products and this year was a great step up!
The cows are doing well eating this feed, most of which went to my dad to feed his cattle, and they are doing well also!
For the record, every single batch of 1st cutting we made in 2019 was either cut, baled, wrapped, or a combination of the three, in the rain! We literally had no more than a 48~72 hr window without rain for more than a year.
Amongst all the rain, haymaking, and trying to keep things rolling at T&N Excavating, we also had a record-breaking year for calving! We had 25 calves born and we only lost one, and that was to pneumonia caused by the extremely wet weather and temp swings we had in the spring.
We also had another terrific customer party this year and almost broke the 100 guest mark at 96 total guests this year!!!
The weather finally gave us some relief in July for the onset of second cutting and we had a great crop!
One of the best perks of my new career is getting to take Zeus to work with me. He is absolutely terrific and behaves very well. I also never have to worry about anyone messing with the truck when at a job site either! Below we were waiting for service on the truck and we were sitting in the lobby and checking out all the really expensive sports cars and calculating how much equipment could be purchased with the money surrounding us!
Summer vacation was a blast and the fishing was great. We got some much needed time away and time with our extended family! My brother and his Fiance handled everything at home while we were gone. For the record, that consisted of making all the second cutting hay, all of it, and getting it stored and/or sold!
As summer went on we saw the wettest spring in history turn in a drought, as my brother and I felt was coming, and hay season shut down at the end of the third cutting. Most people were lucky to get two good cuttings and most only got one.
Summer also saw us to another very unique experience. We were featured in the Progressive Farmer Magazine!!!
This was a great honor and a chance for us to spread our knowledge to many more people. It is also opening up some other opportunities for the farm as well that we will discuss shortly!
Due to all the changes and the new equipment we tried some different ideas for feeding the cattle. We seeded down 12 acres in a forage bean milo mix for a fall forage crop. We were amazed when we went to harvest it!
This brings me to our last farm equipment change for the year, our new McHale V660 Baler. Hands down the best baler ever made! You can see the BR7060 in the background. Both are crop cutter models, however, the McHale is hands down the only one that actually does what it says it will.
We started 2019 with having to put $2000 worth of parts on the New Holland, I hadn't even had it a year and it only had 5000 bales on it, which, for a baler that is supposed to make 50,000 in its lifetime isn't very many. After speaking with new hollands engineers, all of the issues I fixed are known and are common and have to be addressed every 10~12,000 bales. The other issue is that every bale we made in the spring was supposed to be chopped and as we are feeding them we have yet to see anything chopped. The hay just bypassed the knives and went straight to the bale. The other major issue was constantly plugging the pickup head and feeder unit.
The McHale doesn't have any of these issues. The design of the baler is much different and built around efficiency and productivity! The McHale can process crops at up to 4x faster than the new holland and due to the way the crop cutter is designed you are guaranteed that everything that goes into the bale got cut by the knives. We have verified with finished product and it is for sure cut!!! We have already put 1100 bales thru the new baler and have not plugged the pickup head once, and 800 bales of that 1100 have been corn stubble. Most balers will process corn stubble at 3mph, the new holland would do ok at 2.5~3 and would typically plug up the head every 10~15 bales. The McHale did 800 bales with zero plugs and did it at a consistent 6mph with rows raked with a 27' wide rake so we were making a 66" x 48" bale every 250~300 feet!
This fall gave me the opportunity to see a group of people that many I haven't seen since 1996. We were all in Cardinal Chorale together, a subgroup of the All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir. I was not able to sing with everyone during the concert. I still remember almost every song we sang by heart, however, I sang 1st tenor back then and I haven't been in a choir since. My voice has changed drastically and without having any time to practice and learn new parts I was not able to join in singing but I was able to see some very dear friends which really helps the soul and spirit!!!
For the first time in our farm's history, we have a winter home for all the equipment that needs to be stored inside out of the snow and ice! I remember playing Tetris for hours as a child when computers first came out. My parents used to tell me that I was wasting my time playing such a stupid game. Jokes on them now cause those Tetris skills are paying off tenfold now in hay stacking and equipment storage packing!!! We have two bale wrappers, three tractors, a seeder, lawnmower, two four-wheelers, baler, three pallets of seed, and s sprayer in the shed and room for another tractor and a car!
One day in between batches of first cutting I texted my brother that I needed help for a little bit. As he showed up he asked me what the heck I was doing cause I had several pieces of equipment hooked up to tractors. I told him I wanted a picture which he thought was a waste of time at first until we got all the equipment together in the field. Then after he saw it all together he decided he wanted to add to the photo. That is his truck hooked to my trailer in the front of the picture! It was a pretty cool opportunity and we will be making this an annual thing as well!
One side benefit to being featured in the Progressive Farmer Magazine is we were photographed by a professional photographer. Jodi Miller Photography out of Columbus Ohio did a phenomenal job of capturing us in real life and we were elated to finally have a really nice family photo together! What is even more amazing is that she managed to get everyone smiling and looking at the camera at the exact same moment!
As we say goodbye to 2019 and hello to the roaring 20's we are looking at a lot of opportunities ahead! My wife started a new career with SmithFood's in February and is doing very well. She is still trying to get settled in but is enjoying her new job! T&N Excavating experienced a second year in a row of a doubling of growth in revenue and we are poised to double again in 2020! The farm has also seen a 60% increase in revenue and needs to see another 60% in 2020 to get caught back up to all of the investments made in 2019! 2020 also holds another new opportunity for the farm and my brother. Thru our new experiences and making new friends and contacts,we have been afforded another chance to grow. We are officially starting Conser Run Equipment LLC. We are already working to line up sales to help those around us find what they need as we are getting the final items for the business set up. I cannot wait to see where this opportunity takes us and how it shapes where we are headed. It is a great chance for us to add some extra revenue to the farm and help support my brother and family for the future.
Overall, the past year has been a whirlwind! It is truly humbling to look back over the years and see what has changed and where we have come. As we continue to nurture the seeds we have sown and take every opportunity to sow more we are seeing the returns on our investments and can see the future we are building for those around us! Our pasture is definitely filling up and growing well. The harvest each season is getting better and better. We just need to keep striving to be better every day and great things will happen!
Have a wonderful year everyone and let's get 2020 off to a great start! Every day is a new day, make the most of it for you never know when it is your last!
Kenny
No comments:
Post a Comment