Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road
- Thread starter jblnut
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Things are looking great!
Just a quick question if you wouldn't mind - what's a "Smart Cow Activity System" do for you? Is it like a fitbit for dairy cattle? Counting steps? Feeding patterns? I can imagine a whole bunch of data coming in from something like that. What the heck do you do with it?
Thanks!
Just a quick question if you wouldn't mind - what's a "Smart Cow Activity System" do for you? Is it like a fitbit for dairy cattle? Counting steps? Feeding patterns? I can imagine a whole bunch of data coming in from something like that. What the heck do you do with it?
Thanks!
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Instead of tackling that question I'll direct you to a couple websites. The first is a press release that describes the system fairly well and the second is the SmartBow website itself.
http://i5invest.com/news/smartbow-zoetis-start-partnership-smart-eartag-system-dairy-farming/
https://smartbow.com/en/home.html
Farmall450
Well-known member
It must be nice walking through a sea of chicks (the small yellow kind, of course).
Hard to stay in the low 90s when it's 95 + full sun out.
Hard to stay in the low 90s when it's 95 + full sun out.
The girls are quite excited to have a rather empty room !!
Almost as excited as their Dad is to have an "empty" shop again !!!
It fit's in tightly and looks pretty good we think. The kiddo's climbed all over it for an hour once we got it in there. They approve and that's what matters.
Whilst doing chicken chores I heard a hell of a racket outside and wouldn't'cha know it, there was a NASTY thunderstorm overhead. There was some quarter sized hail but mostly pea/dime sized stuff for about 10 minutes. Didn't seem to do any major damage but I haven't looked in the fields much yet ...
Those after thunderstorm clouds sure do look neat.
Round two is rolling in just as the sun was going down.
Almost as excited as their Dad is to have an "empty" shop again !!!
It fit's in tightly and looks pretty good we think. The kiddo's climbed all over it for an hour once we got it in there. They approve and that's what matters.
Whilst doing chicken chores I heard a hell of a racket outside and wouldn't'cha know it, there was a NASTY thunderstorm overhead. There was some quarter sized hail but mostly pea/dime sized stuff for about 10 minutes. Didn't seem to do any major damage but I haven't looked in the fields much yet ...
Those after thunderstorm clouds sure do look neat.
Round two is rolling in just as the sun was going down.
ABSTIFFGS
Well-known member
OH man I didn't even think about your young crops with the hail. How did it work out?
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Fingers crossed that the hail didn't do too much damage to your crops! At least they got a good bit of watering. 
The kids' bed/castle turned out pretty nice! Now if only they wouldn't outgrow it in a couple years...
The kids' bed/castle turned out pretty nice! Now if only they wouldn't outgrow it in a couple years...
The little corns are mostly okay. There are a few with split leaves but all is well.Fingers crossed that the hail didn't do too much damage to your crops! At least they got a good bit of watering.
The kids' bed/castle turned out pretty nice! Now if only they wouldn't outgrow it in a couple years...
As for the girls outgrowing the bunk bed, yeah I'm sure it'll happen but it'll be fun for a while and then they'll just have to deal with it
BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
Hey Mom and Dad, great work on the castle bed!
Dad has been spraying corn for a few days now. We spray it when it is under 6" tall with Roundup and SureStart. The Roundup knocks down just about everything that has started growing and the SureStart is a pre-emerge herbicide that will prevent the growth of any new grass based weeds until the crop is grown enough to shade the ground and prevent weed growth naturally.
I ordered the cheapest Budge cover off Amazon for the Jeep and I am quite impressed. I think it was $54 and it is very nice.
Miss Lily was leaning on the wall a while back and some tiles fell off. The 60yr old glue was not holding very well so on goes some new stuff. This glue only has to hold for a few years (hopefully) until we can afford to build a new house.
I ordered the cheapest Budge cover off Amazon for the Jeep and I am quite impressed. I think it was $54 and it is very nice.
Miss Lily was leaning on the wall a while back and some tiles fell off. The 60yr old glue was not holding very well so on goes some new stuff. This glue only has to hold for a few years (hopefully) until we can afford to build a new house.
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Miss Lily helped with chores today and had quite a blast. She was tending to the few chickens that jumped over the migration fence overnight.
Dad and I went to an auction today to look at a rotary brush mower. Cars were lined up for damn near a half mile in both directions !!
The rotary mower went crazy high but it appears I have found a late 1944 Delta DP600 17" drill press. Someone went nuts with a spray paint can and ruined a bunch of it's cool old look but it runs out great and everything is smooth with very little play in anything. I don't know a lot about it other than the build date from the serial number.
From the little bit of Googling I did (100% directed me to GJ threads) this would appear to be the slow speed pulley set. This is quite exciting because I may not need to convert dads to a 3ph with a VFD after all.
Neat little Pittsburgh made in China vise bolted onto the table.
Not sure if this was standard issue back in 1944 but it's got a 3/8" chuck ???
Dad and I went to an auction today to look at a rotary brush mower. Cars were lined up for damn near a half mile in both directions !!
The rotary mower went crazy high but it appears I have found a late 1944 Delta DP600 17" drill press. Someone went nuts with a spray paint can and ruined a bunch of it's cool old look but it runs out great and everything is smooth with very little play in anything. I don't know a lot about it other than the build date from the serial number.
From the little bit of Googling I did (100% directed me to GJ threads) this would appear to be the slow speed pulley set. This is quite exciting because I may not need to convert dads to a 3ph with a VFD after all.
Neat little Pittsburgh made in China vise bolted onto the table.
Not sure if this was standard issue back in 1944 but it's got a 3/8" chuck ???
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Well, number one congrats on that find. Can I come over and refurb it for you?
I would change out that 3/8" chuck for a 1/2" Jacobs.
Oooow baby I would have fun restoring that puppy.
I would change out that 3/8" chuck for a 1/2" Jacobs.
Oooow baby I would have fun restoring that puppy.
Yes you can certainly come up here and fix it upWell, number one congrats on that find. Can I come over and refurb it for you?
I would change out that 3/8" chuck for a 1/2" Jacobs.
Oooow baby I would have fun restoring that puppy.
I don't think I'm going to do a complete tear down and restore at this point, too many other things going on. I gotta build the shop it's going to reside in before I go nuts fixing things up. I cleaned it up last night and ran it for a bit. Other than being painted with a spray can it looks pretty good. I paid $200 for it, don't know if that's a good deal or not but this thing is built like a tank !!
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1949 caddyman
Well-known member
$200 sounds good to me. I paid that for my no name Taiwan one 25 years ago. It works ok.
Sunday was rather busy. Leo turned the big 1 last weekend so for some reason we needed to have a birthday party which meant I had to cut the grass .... for the first time this year
I did some measuring and math'ing to figure out the RPM's of the 5 different belt positions on the ol' Delta. I decided to write them on the motor as I couldn't give two flamingo's about the motor as it's not original anyway.
I also made a removal tool for the chuck so I could put the new one in when it comes.
Doesn't get much easier than that. A couple light taps and out it came.
Decided to see if it works. Spoiler alert !!! It does
This morning Miss Lily helped with chicken chores again. She had a good time again
I came home from work to dirt work being roughed in for the stacking slab project.
The same guys that did the dirt work for the chicken barn are doing this as well.
As usual, pictures don't do it justice ...
I ordered a permanent service for a 4yd dumpster by the chicken barn. It's gonna be nice not having to stuff net wrap from the steer barn and all the chicken barn junk each flock into my little 60gal cans !! When all is said and done it'll be around $105/month. Dad and I each pay $30/month for our cans so it's not that much more for WAY more space !!
I did some measuring and math'ing to figure out the RPM's of the 5 different belt positions on the ol' Delta. I decided to write them on the motor as I couldn't give two flamingo's about the motor as it's not original anyway.
I also made a removal tool for the chuck so I could put the new one in when it comes.
Doesn't get much easier than that. A couple light taps and out it came.
Decided to see if it works. Spoiler alert !!! It does
This morning Miss Lily helped with chicken chores again. She had a good time again
I came home from work to dirt work being roughed in for the stacking slab project.
The same guys that did the dirt work for the chicken barn are doing this as well.
As usual, pictures don't do it justice ...
I ordered a permanent service for a 4yd dumpster by the chicken barn. It's gonna be nice not having to stuff net wrap from the steer barn and all the chicken barn junk each flock into my little 60gal cans !! When all is said and done it'll be around $105/month. Dad and I each pay $30/month for our cans so it's not that much more for WAY more space !!
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Skeetobite
Well-known member
Ha ha ha, your mower.... you must have been filthy head to toe! lmao
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Did you have a little mini tornado above your head, following you around during this event?Sunday was rather busy. Leo turned the big 1 last weekend so for some reason we needed to have a birthday party which meant I had to cut the grass .... for the first time this year
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That really is hilarious.
Ha ha ha, your mower.... you must have been filthy head to toe! lmao
Did you have a little mini tornado above your head, following you around during this event?
That really is hilarious.
If you see that clean spot on the seat ... yeah, that stuff went on me
It was extremely windy and whenever I cut in one direction it pretty much blew on top of me. Also, I had a drive belt break and it took a week to get another one so I was a week behind already. I put the new belt on and it busted right away so I brought it in to get looked at. That guy had it for a week so some of the grass was three weeks behind and some was not cut yet this year because, well, I don't like cutting grass.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
red
Well-known member
OR we could move down by you and comb our yard once a year to get rid of all the critter tracks
Just don't forget to bring those "chicks" with ya all 43,000 . . .
Oh boy that would work pretty good. They like it HOT and DRY so Arizona would not be a bad place to have themJust don't forget to bring those "chicks" with ya all 43,000 . . .
I would REALLY miss all the benefits about living in Central MN. Ya know, plowing snow, mosquitoes, 34F one night and 95F the next day, -20F for weeks on end sometimes ... ya know. I don't know if I can pull the plug and move down there
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
C'mon down!! It's only 104° right now. 
But it's a dry heat.
All hail St. Freon!
But it's a dry heat.All hail St. Freon!
C'mon down!! It's only 104° right now.
All hail St. Freon!
104° is still 104° no matter how you slice it !! When it gets hot up here it is almost always 80% humidity so it is quite miserable. Today it's in the 70's but it's 85% humidity so we're still sweating like crazy !!
Looks like he missed a few spots !!
We are adding a few pieces hardware to the ID system we've been working on for MONTHS now to hopefully make it work better. The heifers are some of the most curious animals you'll ever meet !!
I ordered a brand new (used off eBay) Jacobs 6a 1/2" chuck for the drill press. It doesn't really look it in the picture but this thing is huge compared to the 3/8" Rigid that was on there !!!
That looks better
We are adding a few pieces hardware to the ID system we've been working on for MONTHS now to hopefully make it work better. The heifers are some of the most curious animals you'll ever meet !!
I ordered a brand new (used off eBay) Jacobs 6a 1/2" chuck for the drill press. It doesn't really look it in the picture but this thing is huge compared to the 3/8" Rigid that was on there !!!
That looks better
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice!
We are finishing up the SmartBow Activity system on the farm where the parlor is FINALLY. I thought this was a neat pic showing an antenna and the double 24 stall parlor in the same shot.
A Bobcat T590, a Bobcat laser grader and a compactor attachment showed up today to help out on the stacking slab.
It really seems like they're moving along but there is WAY less to do for this project than there was to level out for the chicken barn. I think there is around 1,500yds of dirt to move for this project and they moved upwards of 40,000yds for the barn
They hauled in 15 loads of sand today and will bring in more tomorrow I guess. Concrete/builder guy called today and said they'll get after it hot and heavy starting on the 18th of June. Works for me !!
A Bobcat T590, a Bobcat laser grader and a compactor attachment showed up today to help out on the stacking slab.
It really seems like they're moving along but there is WAY less to do for this project than there was to level out for the chicken barn. I think there is around 1,500yds of dirt to move for this project and they moved upwards of 40,000yds for the barn
They hauled in 15 loads of sand today and will bring in more tomorrow I guess. Concrete/builder guy called today and said they'll get after it hot and heavy starting on the 18th of June. Works for me !!
cvairwerks
Well-known member
Question on the chicken side of things... Without giving actual numbers, about how many batches of them does it take before the initial installation cost is recouped? I know it’s probably amortized over a large number of years in reality, and there are a large number of variable expenses that go with it that will drive the true numbers.
Gold'n'Plump rents the barn from me by the square foot and they give the growers a supplemental rent increase for ten years to help pay for the barn. If they didn't do that I'd owe more money for the payment each month than I'd get in my rent check.
For the first ten years they must still be making money or they wouldn't have it structured the way they do. After ten years I figure it takes around 8 more years for them to get the supplemental rent money back so they are back at even. So the short answer is, from my possibly miscalculated calculations, it takes 18 years for them to be back even again.
We have a "summer family gathering" this afternoon so we can only have fun this morning. Oh well.
We got the smallest steers their second round of vaccines without issue. We've been working on a chute design for a while and aren't quite there yet. This layout isn't bad but still needs refinement.
One animal in the chute and one in the preload chute. This part worked AWESOME.
Dad running the front end.
After the cattle were taken care of we put a few miles on to pick up a few things I acquired over the internet. I used the 4wheeler to pull the silage blower onto the trailer. I got it for $100 !!! Damn good deal !!! The lawn mower I got from the guy I got my Hustler from. It was a decent deal and he talked me into it before I could say no. It'll be nice to have a little lawn tractor around again to use to pull the garden trailer. Plus it's always nice to have a spare if something happens to the Hustler again.
We got the smallest steers their second round of vaccines without issue. We've been working on a chute design for a while and aren't quite there yet. This layout isn't bad but still needs refinement.
One animal in the chute and one in the preload chute. This part worked AWESOME.
Dad running the front end.
After the cattle were taken care of we put a few miles on to pick up a few things I acquired over the internet. I used the 4wheeler to pull the silage blower onto the trailer. I got it for $100 !!! Damn good deal !!! The lawn mower I got from the guy I got my Hustler from. It was a decent deal and he talked me into it before I could say no. It'll be nice to have a little lawn tractor around again to use to pull the garden trailer. Plus it's always nice to have a spare if something happens to the Hustler again.
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Is it guaranteed to leave you covered in grass?
Man, $100 for the silage blower sounds like a smokin' deal even to me! Sweet!
Leo and I took short afternoon naps before the big family bash and needed our post nap bottles
When I was done with the "new" mower I grabbed the Hustler again to do the rest. I went under a few of the pine trees and all of the sudden the entire deck started to vibrate and shake like crazy !!! Turns out a pine cone got into the pulley and the belt was jumping over it each time it went around. Good grief.
There was a thick dense fog in the meadow last night that looked WAY neater than the picture shows !!
I used it in the ditches and slopes for about an hour and I can't tell if it got dirty or not ... it's the came color as the grassIs it guaranteed to leave you covered in grass?
When I was done with the "new" mower I grabbed the Hustler again to do the rest. I went under a few of the pine trees and all of the sudden the entire deck started to vibrate and shake like crazy !!! Turns out a pine cone got into the pulley and the belt was jumping over it each time it went around. Good grief.
There was a thick dense fog in the meadow last night that looked WAY neater than the picture shows !!
It was work on the bus day today. Miss Lily put screws in holes and I drove them in. It worked pretty swell.
After we had the wall secured I got the bus fired up from it's winter nap and moved it in front of the shop to weld the door in.
About halfway through the welding event it was decided we needed to go for a walk. I pushed the sleepy little guy while Mama Bear pulled the girls in the monster wagon.
After we had the wall secured I got the bus fired up from it's winter nap and moved it in front of the shop to weld the door in.
About halfway through the welding event it was decided we needed to go for a walk. I pushed the sleepy little guy while Mama Bear pulled the girls in the monster wagon.
Skeetobite
Well-known member
Man, I need an RV trip out there for a work vacation. My wife would be over the moon if we did something like that. I just need a 50amp connection.
Here's my resume: I'm getting old, but I can drive tractors, watch people do heavy work, tell great jokes, fetch beer, touch everything I'm not supposed to and provide a reasonable amount of moral support.
Thanks for the updates and the "miscalculated calculations" - LMAO!
Here's my resume: I'm getting old, but I can drive tractors, watch people do heavy work, tell great jokes, fetch beer, touch everything I'm not supposed to and provide a reasonable amount of moral support.
Thanks for the updates and the "miscalculated calculations" - LMAO!