Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[Bruce]

There ARE worse things you could be doing STA
If it is a specific line could you not have one made up, install it yourself and save money?

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

If it is a specific line could you not have one made up, install it yourself and save money?

I may could have had one made up. I didn't even think to check to see if it could be done (slap forehead here). I did think about perhaps sealing it with some kind of clamp, had it been a hole in the line, instead of being bent. But once I saw what it was, I decided that buying a replacement line was what I should do. But when I called the parts department at Alma Tractor, they told me that they were not even sure they could get the part. That's when I decided to take the tractor to the shop and have them look for the line.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

All,

I have a question for all of you folks who may know: how can I find out about all of the different programs available to help farmers and ranchers with improving their places or help with food or livestock production? I remember when I first asked for advice for what I should do with 100 acres of pasture and someone suggested to grow trees. I wasn't interested into looking into that at the time, but I saw a "Kapper Outdoors" YouTube video recently where he mentioned getting a check from the government for those trees being planted on his farm. Early on Mr. @greybeard mentioned that there were government programs for helping pay for the costs of installing new fencing. While I wasn't interested in having livestock at the time, I may one day. And Mr. @Mike CHS had some kind of assistance in building/improving his sheep handling facilities. So there are definitely programs out there to help farmers and ranchers. I am just not sure where to look. Would it be the Dept of Agriculture web site? Maybe Arkansas Agriculture web site? I feel at a loss on where to look.

Thanks, all, for your help.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[B&B Happy goats]

it's ok STA your tractor will be out of surgery soon and come home fully recovered , and ready to go back to work go have a bowl of chicken soup, you'll feel much better

 

[Mike CHS]

STA - the ag enhancement program here in Tennessee is called exactly that. Dept of Agriculture is the controlling entity but our Extension Service (ran out of University of Tennessee) handles all of the direct liaison with the farmers. Their web site and the Ag Dept web site has all of the details on the various things they offer. I would guess that you can find out what you need to know from the University of Arkansas. Every state that I am familiar with has various programs for more things you can imagine. Our ram originally came out of the University of Arkansas Ram Lamb Parasite Resistance Program. The ram that @Baymule now has came out of a similar program at Virginia Tech.

There are too many things to list in a forum post but it should be easy to find the info for your state. It has been a long time ago when I first started looking but it was easy. Besides being equipment or livestock improvement related there is info available. Our UT extension agent has a mailing list that we got on and get monthly or sometimes more often email schedules with everything that is coming up. In the case of our building mod, (other than the original request to enter the program) all we had to do was take before and after pictures and adhere to the states specification.

Arkansas may be different but here in Tennessee we have to participate in the Master Small Ruminant Certification Program every three years that is held by UT.

 

[Mike CHS]

I forgot one other thing. TN also has a program where you can get literally hundreds of sapling trees to reforest property but there are restrictions to how you can use that property down the road so I won't go down that road.

 

[farmerjan]

Your county extension agent should be able to get you started. They call my son when there are programs that they think we would benefit from but realize that we have been dealing with them for years for different things. But like @Mike CHS said, you have to get on their radar, get an initial contact with them. There should be some sort of website for Dept of Ag - Arkansas.... there will be some sort of office in the county office building for ag related stuff. There is also the soil and water conservation group that works along with some of the programs that doles out money for fences and water resources and such. That will mean totally fencing livestock out of water and drilling fences, which then requires electricity and another bill to pump a well pump to water the livestock. I don't think that it is the best way to water livestock if there is a natural source available. I don't like to see creek banks all broken down and torn up and soil winding up in the water. But some developed and controlled watering areas are not so bad.
We currently have 8 electric bills; 6 for water from wells at pastures. And there is a charge to turn them off for the 6 months that the animals are not at the pastures, so it is cheaper to leave the electric on and pay the monthly minimum charges. That's crazy...... and expensive; considering it is a minimum charge of 35.00 month PER ACCOUNT. Since the wells are at different pastures, different owners we rent from, it gets a little ridiculous.
Do people really realize what it costs to "pay them rent for their land" and then they get the land use tax breaks ?????
We have one place that all she asks for is to get the taxes paid, as the rent. She is a peach. We try to do whatever she wants done as she never asks for anything that is unreasonable. Have to rebuild her board fence around the yard this year, she will buy the boards and posts, we will do the labor for nothing as a thank you for the wonderful landlord she is.

 

[Baymule]

I may could have had one made up. I didn't even think to check to see if it could be done (slap forehead here). I did think about perhaps sealing it with some kind of clamp, had it been a hole in the line, instead of being bent. But once I saw what it was, I decided that buying a replacement line was what I should do. But when I called the parts department at Alma Tractor, they told me that they were not even sure they could get the part. That's when I decided to take the tractor to the shop and have them look for the line.

Senile Texas Aggie

I take it that the line is a metal line? You said it was bent, if it were a hydraulic hose, it could be easily replaced. Metal lines are specifically fitted to the equipment and are not easily made-they must come from the manufacturer. Hydraulic lines also cannot be sealed, repaired, duct taped or patched, the hydraulic fluid is under pressure and will thwart any futile effort to repair a hose. But on the bright side, if you bust a hydraulic hose, tractor places and O'Reilley's Auto parts make the hoses. Take a picture or pictures of the hose before taking it off so you know how it goes back on.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Regarding the power steering line, yes, it is a metal line. It is shaped to fit closely to the tractor. It is the return line that goes from the steering wheel to the coupler, which in turn runs from the left side of the tractor to the right side to connect to the return port on the power steering pump. Had it been a hydraulic hose, I would have tried to replace it, but being a metal one, with special bends where it connects to anchor points to the tractor, I didn't see me buying metal hydraulic tubing and getting it to fit. It never occurred to me that a hydraulic shop may have been able to make such a line. I talked to Alma Tractor yesterday and they already have the line on order, arrival date TBD.

Regarding the Arkansas department of agriculture, I will look into what they have to offer.

Thanks, everyone, for your help. And Happy New Year to all!

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

All,

Good news on the tractor -- it has been repaired and is ready for me to pick it up. The shop didn't finish until late yesterday, too late for me to pick it up yesterday, and the dealership is closed today, so I plan to pick it up tomorrow or Friday (it's forecast to rain tomorrow).

Also, I finally uploaded two short clips of the tree shear in action. The first one is where I cut down a small tree. I was recording with my phone, holding it in my left hand while I tried to drive and operate the tree shear with my right. The second video is of my cutting off a limb. This time I got into position before I started recording, so it is not as jerky and also is shorter. These two films will show what we have been doing recently.

Senile Texas Aggie