Slowing Down

There's only a couple more crops to harvest and the season will be over. I'll continue posting when I have pictures but posts probably won't be on a weekly basis until spring. Thanks for reading and be sure to check back.

October 12th to 18th

We received funding from the county to help with the cost of installing a frost proof hydrant and an all season pig drinker that won't freeze.

The water and electrical lines were buried approximately 6-7 feet deep.

Thursday was bulk pork order day. Cool weather and an insulated trailer make it a lot less stressful.

We have 50 and 100 pound options. Each customer receives an assortment of cuts.

We just purchased an Oliver 1855. Before then our largest tractor (the Kubota) was a utility tractor that wasn't designed for heavy field work like tillage. The Kubota is great for baling hay and loader work but didn't have enough horsepower for some of the jobs.

We had planned on getting a tractor next year but this deal came up. A few of the selling points were a rebuilt engine with 1,000 hours on it, operating hours is similar to the number of miles on a car. It has new hoses, a engine block heater (essential for cold weather starts), new belts, new hydraulic hoses, and it was available locally. There are good used tractors around but they aren't always close by. Even a 4-5 hour drive can add a few hundred dollars to the cost to haul it back.

October 5th to 11th

Our grain drill needed new seed tubes and funnels. The seed tubes are reasonably priced but the funnels (pictured at right) are $30 each! That would amount to around $700 total. So using some tin and rivets I made replacements for a couple cents each.

The frost hasn't affected the greenhouse and the peppers are ripening.

We've had a few eggplants this year.

Frost!

The first frost of the season put an end the summer squash.

We had an unusually warm fall and frost came late this year.