Working Class Hero is Something to Be

Working Class Hero is Something to Be

Whatever don't kill you will most likely make you bleed.  If you don't get the lyrics then you may have already let your dreams die.  There's so many minstrels that have tried to tell you the truth, and in some cases their words are carried on backs of the bards that follow, except it still escapes the masses as it should be.  The mistresses and fools are lined up in the firing line, awaiting the hangman, who is courting the queen, if you know what I mean.  Do you still want to stand in that light, with your head all lit up with the opium and disease.  I can't see you any more, you are just a fool on the hill, and I am trying to find my way through this haze.

There are some great song writers that lived and are living today.  Some of them were more recognized for their talent in music, or other bands in which they existed at one time or another, but either way, there have been many to stand as bards of their generations.  I don't know if it was the times, or what, but the sixties and seventies seem to have given us many very influential minstrels.  One such is John Lennon, but he is by no means the only one.  I have spent a lot of time listening to these artist, and no one stands out, although certain songs may.  John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" is one such song.  There are many others, that when understood have as much weight, but often the writers are unaware of the weight they bare to the world.

I never made my living as a writer, which is what I should have been, but I made a few choices that changed that to some extent.  It still creeps into my life in various ways, but not to the point of consumption that it once occupied.  I only make this point as to demonstrate that I do have an understanding of words, and their intricate meanings when strung together.  I have felt the power I can have over someone when I address them specifically in a writing, especially poetry, but do I really address them, that is the question they are afraid to ask of me.  I have written many things just to test this theory, with various results.  I still use this to some extent even in verbal communications, but it is less effective on an individual as on a mass.  I have turned to poetry on occasion to manipulate situations, and to influence readers, but it is limited in effect to the moment, for the most part.  For true longevity there needs to be something more universal, such as music.

The story is told and then it is sold, often to the highest bidder.  The artist does not know why, but they must eat too, so they sell their soul and hope to buy back some sort of peace with the profits when and if they are given a piece of the pie.  The peasants are all in for the ride, they know not why, but it is better than crying alone.  They will give a bounty of their rice for a moment in the bard's embrace.  The tax man will take his share, and give the rest to the fools and masters, who will carry the rice in wrappers to the man on the hill, cause his priest told them he will bless them if they feed the hoar.  I wait here in this mix tape, splicing the words into the darkness, laughing on the inside.

Don't take this sad smile as a mask, it is the true face of a scar with slit through the light.  Here in the shadow land I can see you there, in your light and airy mind, scared to think, to think what they will think, if you think, then you stop and think, did they think I thought that.  In all that bright and sudden world, you are pretending to understand, but all you really have is a apple core, and the man took away your meat.  It is not so easy to see from your work-a-day cube, where you are burning the past so no one will know who they are, and what you do, but it is there inside you.  Toil away in the fields of deception, while on the rail way to your cartoon cut out house, which you won through hard labor in the machine.  You have paid your price, so lie down and take the rest you have been promised as long as you keep turning that wheel.  Did you take those hard earned grains of sand and bury them in your sack, or did you cast them on the wind, to resend them back from whence they came.

So you don't like this kind of talk.  It makes you weak in the knees to see the woman on TV.  What can I say, open up your jeans and let your mind wander to where there are no codes.  As the book tells you, you need to do what you need to do, when it is time to do it, so you can carry on.  You had better find some way to carry that stone, if you don't want to be alone, and if you don't want to be let down, you have to look ahead, don't let your eyes wander or you will miss the turn and break from the pack.

So what has this to do with anything.  Well I honestly can't say, but it runs that way, so let it be, sister Mary, let it be.  Brother John and cousin Kevin, have gone on to see Captain Jack, in Sufferjet City.  And the man who sold the moon, is now right behind you waiting for the idiot wind to blow through your mind again.  Carol is waiting on Saturn for Arnold Layne, and if you look at that way, you will be back through desolation roe before the men who know, even know you have gone down to the river.  My name is unnamed, here in lies the truth, cause you know not what to do, when the tower falls, and the walls come tumbling down, and the girl you just met is there beside you through thick and thin, but gone again when you realize that you are just spring shower sunshine friend.

This is for the girl who always plays the loot to close to the heart.  Her music is asynchronis to the wind, and the harp is damming up the box of rain.  Are you sure you want to open that note, it may give you to much to fast, but you want it that way, or so you think that is your kink, but is it.

You know who you are... and this little ditty in the middle is for you, or is it... maybe it is just for anyone who might feel a way that you can feel, when someone strums the right cords on your heart strings.  At least I came right out and provided that doubt for you right off, so you wouldn't have to work to hard.  Well there it is, can you take it, or would you rather leave it alone.  You know it is on the edge and you are just hoping that it will come to you, so you can blame it if it doesn't really feel the way you imagined it would.  And you close your fingers around the cold steel, it feels so warm in your hands, you tremble at the feel of it against your thigh.  You don't need this, it is just because you want to, that is what you will tell yourself, and that will move it closer to the edge.

Ah, I jest, as I am just the jester, and you know he is the king of fools.

JD

Doud Dairy Farm Journal 12112009

Ok, so this is just some thoughts. I need to raise either $50,000.00 or $350,000.00 to get the farm going. I have no money, I guess I never have. I have tried to save money, but it just doesn't seem to happen, something always comes along that eats up any money that we try to save. So I have been thinking about it for a while. What I have come up with is that if I could get a bunch of people to lend me a certain amount of money on the basis that they thought it was worthwhile, well then I could buy the farm and put the farm into action. My problem I think is that this is different world. I believe that most people are self focused and do not think about the future.

That is not exactly it, but I am uncertain how to put it.

Here's my take on the whole thing, or at least the best I can do. Okay, I am moving over to Google Docs for a minute to produce the text, then I will post the whole thing here, attempting to explain what I am into agriculture for in the first place. BRB

Doud Dairy Farm Journal 11192009

DDFJ_11-19-2009
Time slips away from me, slowly sliding off my pate, to land quietly in the deep forest of sleep, where I do not often find myself peaceful. Here I find this bit of peace I seek, in a few feathered friends.
I am but given to wonder, if it will make sense to me tomorrow. As I wait, and wait for the weight to fall out from under me. I try to not think of this, but keep telling myself that it will uphold the frame of my dream, but is it really my dream after all, I wonder.



Are all my ducks in a row
or scattered, barely held together by paste, and hide glue.

I hate doubt, it creeps into you like the cold of winter, slowly, but ever still, it is there, chilling you until the spring breaks its grasp with warming sun light.

So there really is nothing new on the farm front. It sits there taunting me, just out of reach, but so close now I can almost smell the acrid flavor in my mouth, watering, wanting to pour milk on the floor, just to swim in the depths of my approaching exuberance.

If anyone is reading this and wondering why the pictures, well I really don't know, they are actually old pictures and they have not been messed with, just snapshots of the animals from a few months ago. I keep telling myself I should take some more recent pictures, but every time I get to work with the animals I am just doing my job and then when that is over, I don't take the time to wait. It is where they are located, there is an urgency to get out of there as fast as possible, because we don't want to hang around there. Besides there always seem to be something else we have to do. I don't want something else to do, I want to take care of the animals and watch them do what they do, and work on my photography, and the other things I do. I am going back to film, because until I can afford a really expensive digital camera, like a Nikon D90 or something, although I always thought I would not own a Nikon, I guess they won, film is better, and I can turn it into digital pictures. I won't set up a lab though, as I think that is worthless at this time. I really would like to move to large format, and then I guess I would need a lab, but I digress.

I wish, I pray, I whatever, that it should be.

Peace;
JD

DDFJ_11-12-2009

Why don't I write everyday, like I was for a while? Hmm, that is an interesting question indeed. I guess it is because I lack discipline, or maybe because I feel I have other things that I am doing that seem to be between me and the writing. I used to write a lot, but now it seems it is really sporadic. I really need to write more often.

So anyway, what's going on with the farm. Well not much to report on the farm really, at least as it stands now. We have been offered a farm lock stock and barrel so to speak. Well the cows, and feed, plus a lease on the barn, at least until spring, when we will buy a near by farm and continue from there. Now I only have to get the money to buy everything, and I need to move quickly, so I can get this running on before winter really hits hard. What I need is for someone to come in as my partner with some money and good credit, so that we can get this show going. I have the contract to sell the milk, and the offer to buy the farm, now I need a good partner who is willing to come on with some cash and run with the plan. Okay so I am a little short on the plan now, as the previous plan does not apply, and I haven't really wrote a new one yet.

This is an opportunity for the FSA to actually help me out, but it is doubtful that they will, even though they indicate that they have the farm start type of program just for such a situation. I can only hope that they will see the opportunity and understand that the loss of another farm will not be good for the economy, and if we don't buy it, it will be lost.

As far as the future is concerned, well that is still up to the wind. No really, once we have purchased this farm, we will operate it from its current location until spring, and then we will have to refinance to buy the farm down the road. When we buy that farm, we will need to cut cost every where, so we will look to building wind power on the farm to cut our input cost. We have other plans though for the farm. We will increase the diversity by many fold to decrease our exposure to economic factors. We will buy 10 Tamrac sows and a boar to produce pork and piglets (which will be increasing in demand in the near future). We will buy an additional 9 Sanien goats, and 10 Oberhalsi goats (does) and a few Nubian goats to round out our dairy herd and for pasture health. We will buy 40 sheep to provide fleeces and lambs for market. We will also fill out our chickens with about 60 more standard egg breeds, although for the most part we will be looking at heritage breeds. We will also purchase about 10 Muscovy ducks, added to our current ducks and chickens for pest control and pasture health.

We will also be buying Milking Devon cattle, Kerry Cattle, and a few other dairy cattle, to begin to build the dairy herd towards 100 head of cattle by January of 2011. To assist in the animal control we will be looking to acquire two more boarder collies (females only) and at least two horses, Belgian would be preferred as I would like them for farm work, although we will also use a tractor for some of the work, we will do as much as we can with the horses.

I still have some pretty ambitious plans, but we can do this if we can just get started. The hardest part seems to be finding a partner that will ride with us to make this happen. I am not asking for much, but I am not doing much to find that partner either, so I guess that may be why we haven't found them yet. I have to be more social, something I am not very good at. I need to write more, in the hope that maybe I can write enough to support the farm until the farm can support its own growth.

Well that's all for now, have a pleasant day.

DDFJ_11-07-2009

Well we have been searching for property, and we may have found some we can rent in Mexico, NY. I hope we can buy it in spring. I am only putting everything I have into this, and I do not know if I can take much more.

DDFJ_09-26-2009

Still searching for a new farm property, with very little luck there. It always seems like we are close to a deal, and then something happens. This last deal just seemed to evaporate. The land owner seemed to be on board, and we seemed close to closing the deal, and then nothing, no returns of our calls, nothing. So I am looking again, with little success. I am trying to get EcoContracting running, but that too, seems a little retarded. I can't get to the sites to make bids, and I don't have the capital to float the cost of materials. The job I did for ServiceComUSA seems to have gone dead, so I will have to try to force them to pay me for the work I have done. This is why I required them to pay for the materials on the job, because I sent in my quote, and they have ceased to contact me. Not some type of refusal or even counter offer, just nothing. I hope to get this other work from Easy to Own Homes, but I don't know about them either. The lack of capital is hurting me, but I think if they agree to the bid with a 50% deposit, I can get a loan for the materials and operating cost, so I can move forward on that.

The rest is going as it goes, I don't get out to the farm nearly early enough, and the animals are still just getting by. We are getting no eggs from our chickens, but I am not certain of why. I need to build so many things, but for that I need to build a building, but for that I need a piece of land, and for that I need to work to get the money, and for that I need to spend money, so that's where I am at. I have got to go, maybe I will try to post again later.

DDFJ_09-12-2009

Doud Dairy Farm Journal
Saturday, September 12, 2009

Well we didn't move the fence again today, but we did get four (4) eggs. So the production reds are at least producing. I got about 2/3 the shelter built, and will finish it today. So that's the scoop for the day, at least as far as the farm is concerned. At least the animals got out for a while yesterday, so they could eat well, and swim and all that, although getting the chickens back in was a bit of a chore. I still have the nest to build, and roost to install in the shelter, and other such modifications. There doesn't seem to be enough branches to cut, but I have only just begun I guess. We really need to move the animals to our new land, but we are still waiting on the final agreement to be drawn up. I hope it don't take to much longer, because winter is coming, and I am pretty certain it is going to be a rather cold and nasty one this year.

The truth is Spring is coming soon too. We are not even ready for that either. We don't have a planting schedule, or a place to start plants. No green house this year, so we will have to start plants in the house and barn, and build beds where we can set them in high tunnels to hopefully get a jump on the season, because we don't have a lot of season. We will however be able to plant lots of greens as we will have great amounts of shade so we will be able to grow greens quite late if we set them in strategic places. Our market crops are a big part of our income for next year, so we will have to figure out how to obtain the seed and get things going early. I want lots of tomatoes set. Mostly heirloom Brandywines, but we should have lots of plum type tomatoes too, because they are the blood of sauces and other tomato based products. I need to ensure that we will have the buyers for the Brandywines, so we can be certain that if we set them, they will be valuable. Next Spring we will build a green house, and grow Brandywines early and late, as we will heat part of the green house to create a sudo hot house. I want to produce about three cases a week for our wholesale customers, plus some for the market. We will also have to produce greens, mostly romaine lettuce and custom greens for our wholesale customers, but we should be able to provide these without much trouble. I will get commitments from our wholesale customers in the form of deposits which should cover our seed cost. We most likely will not have organic status for three years, so we will have to get by on lower cost, unless we can get Eddy to agree to sign an affidavit that no chemicals have been used on the property for at least the last five years.

We also won't have a proper parlor in the barn as we will building a basic New England style barn, with just tie stalls for milking using a swing system with 2” pipeline to a bulk tank in the milk house addition.The barn will be 20'x40' with a 10'x12' milk house addition. Although this diagram doesn't show it very well it has a six tie stall parlor, a storage room and two box stalls. It also includes a free stall and a hay loft. There are four of the cubicles on the roof that act as vents, and will include exhaust fans that can be opened or closed to control venting of the barn. This will not be the final barn, and the installation of the parlor is temporary, in that we will be building a much bigger free stall barn which will have a ATO ARM herringbone style parlor and multi-tank milk house connected by pipeline to the creamery. This barn will then be used for heifers and other animals as well as hay storage. We will also build a horse and machinery barn which will be attached to an indoor paddock which will double as a show ring area. The new barn will be a New England style barn as well in keeping with the current look of the first barn. The horse barn will also be a NE style barn, with a round indoor paddock addition. The green houses will also reflect this same NE style to maintain the basic look of the farm. I had considered the gamble roof style, but the complexity and cost of the trusses would make it difficult to build at least at first, so we will continue to use the NE style just to maintain the look of the farm.

Well that's the plan anyways. I will maybe go into the house/cabin later. I still haven't decided if I will build a salt box style, or cape cod style. Either way, we may build a small cabin >1000' to begin with, and then later once we have purchased the property build a more substantial house. We will also be building dedicated buildings, such as a mill, a soap factory, a forage/kiln/bakery/cannery and some other special buildings which will be used for special purposes. Well that's it for now, I have work to do and daylight is burning.

Peace.

DDFJ_09-11-2009

Doud Dairy Farm Journal
Friday, September 11, 2009

So much for daily updates. I just have been so dam busy lately, I haven't been able to get to the blog much this week.
I have been doing some work in Waterloo this week, for the Gap Outlet in the Waterloo Outlets the past two days, and with all the other stuff that is causing problems, it has been kind of hectic around here. We have rarely got to the animals until late, and that is pissing me off. I need to be in to many places at once.

I contacted Eddy about the property, and he seemed open to the land contract, so we are moving forward with that. I will try to get a hold of Tim this weekend and see if he can cad the plans so I can get them plotted, and then I will only need Eddy's approval before I get the stamp on them I need for the building permit. The buildings will serve as equity for me in the spring. I need my brother David to co-sign a small loan with me, so I can build the buildings, and buy a truck. This will solve some of our problems, although I will still need a trailer to transport animals with, but that should come from my work pay. I think this work will pan out to be fairly decent, if they can give me enough work that is. It works out because I can do the chores in the morning, then go to work, and then do the chores in the evening when I am done with work. I have to DBA EcoContracting separately from the farm, something I was not going to do, but for insurance purposes it has to be done this way. The insurance is killing me, but it should be worth it.

If everything works out good with this job they will give me enough work that I can hire a helper, to help me with the work, namely Brandon, at maybe $15.00 an hour. Because he is my step-son he will be exempt from comp I hope.

The animals are fine, if a little out of sorts because of the timing thing, but it is starting to get quite chilly at night, so I need to build some type of temporary structure for them, which will include roost for the chickens, and nesting boxes, as we just bought some laying hens. Yes we bought some more chickens. We bought eight hens, and one rooster. They are production reds, so they are just cross breeds, but they are producing eggs, or at least that is what we were told. I found someone in Cato that claims to have 22 RIR laying hens, and it would be nice if we could get them too, but they want to much for them, and I am out of money for the week. I need to raise some cash fast as I need to cover some cost, like the storage space, basic cost for the week, and potentially some more animals. I found a person that has Muscovy Ducks, only three, but it would be nice to get them. They only want four dollars a piece, so I should be able to find the cash for them somewhere. The main cost this week that I need to raise money for is the storage, which is close to two months behind. That and I really want to buy the diesel Jetta that the guy has, because it has a veggie system on it. We now have lots of chickens, but we could use a lot more to get us through the winter, as they will all buy stop laying in a few weeks as the light starts to fade to winter. We will need to get them to their new home soon, but we have to wait until all the details are hashed out.

I need to sell some stuff, to raise some money, but if I could find a good partner, who was willing to put up some cash we could get much more done before winter. If I had my way, I would purchase the land and build the barn and creamery before winter, so I could get in the cows, and begin processing dairy products before spring, but that may not happen. I will do some checking around the web, but it is unlikely, considering the economy.

Mary has help emencely lately, considering how difficult it has been for her as well. I hope to help her out soon in the future, at least with some minor cost issues, like the phone bill, and some other cost. She can drive her can now for a while, and we will take care of the other issues later.

I will buy a truck, most likely the one from Brian, if I can't find some thing else better on craigslist that will suit my needs. Ideally it would be a four wheel drive diesel full size truck with an extended cab and a full length bed. This would of course be ideal, and if that is not possible, well then it just has to be big enough to tow a two horse trailer for animal transport, and at least ½ ton so I can haul farm and other materials. I wouldn't mind a plow either, as I could use that to make some extra cash this winter, but that is not important. I will let Brandon drive it when he needs it, or he can drive the Jetta, but only I or Arleta can drive the Kia. Speaking of the Kia, I need to fix that as well to get through the winter. I need to do the tune up (plugs and wires+) at about $120.00 for the parts. I need to fix the rear suspension (springs, coil over shocks and helper springs), at about $250.00, to provide stability for the winter, and towing ability. I also need to fix the brakes and passenger side wheel bearings at about $100.00 to give the Kia the stopping power and stability it needs to get through winter. I think it can make it on the U-joints and clutch it has as long as we don't beat it to badly this winter. I will fix the rest this spring. So the Kia will cost me about $470.00 to put right, not bad considering we only paid $600.00 for it in the first place. I may need to do some welding on the frame in the spring to, just support joints, nothing critical, and by spring I will have my own welder anyways.

I need to purchase three Devon cows, and a Devon bull for the winter at the very least. As registered cattle will cost me about $2400.00 each, this will be a major expense for the winter. I would also like to buy some pigs, but they may have to wait. The trouble is that with winter approaching so quickly, I will have to buy in feed and hay for the winter, with very little winter forage for the animals on the new land, at least until we buy in the spring. We will however need fencing, as the animals will be out every day that they can be, so we will need to build fences, and that will cost even more. Next spring we can get money from the FSA to build new buildings, buy more cows, buy hogs, and other such animals. We also should be able to roll our loan over, and get money from Pioneer Farm Credit, to purchase the land, to build buildings, and afford some basic machinery. We will also try to purchase the additional acreage that Eddy has over there (an additional 44 acres), giving us a total of 88 acres. I will also try to rent some land from the people across the road for pasture of the heifers, and beef cattle (steers). We will apply for fencing grants from the USDA in spring as well. We will also apply for grants from the EPA and DEC to build a bio-gas digester in the spring. When I build the cabin, I will build it to accept hot water radiant heat in the floor, although, we won't use that feature until we are producing our own hot water from the digester. We will utilize both solar and wind power as well, and any potential hydro power as well to produce energy once we have purchased the property. I will most likely make some deal with my neighbor to sell him energy from our power plant in exchange for land use, and other such in kind goods. We will get through the winter and then begin the planting and other work in the spring to make our living from the farm and what work I can get off the farm building or repairing stuff for people and other service providers.

Brandon still is questionable, but if he decides to stay with us through the winter, he can have the extra bedroom on the ground floor, as I am certain that Justin will want to stay in Mexico this year. He will be fine in the loft for the winter, and anyone else can have the other loft for whatever time they stay with us. Mary may want the room, but since she will be in and out all winter, she can use the loft when she needs it, but if Brandon stays, he will get the bedroom, as he may have an additional person with him. Once we have fixed the Kia, then maybe I will let Brandon drive it, but not until we have fixed the clutch and U-joints, because he is hard on clutches and drive shafts, as I once was too. I will want him to continue to work though, at least until I can hire him, or he can find another source of income that is legal. If he can make enough doing other things, well then I can't see any reason why he should have to drive to Syracuse everyday just to make less money. We will have to continue to drive to the market every week, selling what we can, to make what we can, besides what I can make with my work for theses service providers. As soon as we can afford it we will have to start processing soap, as this will be a bread and butter product that we can sell at the market, and hopefully through a few boutiques in the area. Mary will also help to sell the products, and I will ask her to do some advertising so we can sell it on the web. We will not go low end this time, charge a decent price, and get a solid following, of people who can afford the product, that way we can afford to grow.

Well I digress, and this is supposed to be about the farm. Although everything revolves around the farm, I have strayed far from the core aspects the readers are interested in. This often happens when I begin to write, but I catch myself sometimes better than today. I don't even remember what I have told you about the farm, but I will provide an update later that will be more farm centric.

So that is all for today, peace.

Away from the Farm

We had to get away from the farm we used to share with another sort of farmer. Well he wasn't and isn't a farmer at all, not even a little bit. He is a biker who thought he would like to be a farmer, but he isn't one at all. I could go into great detail, but I won't right now, we just had to leave that place, and the animals show it. Before our goats were stunted in growth and starving, even though we provided all the grain for his entire farm (cows, chickens, calves, and whatever else) our goats were still starving. They didn't get their grain although we had to buy it every week, so it must have been used or eaten by something. We don't know, but what I can tell you is that since our animals have been off that guys farm they have flourished and grown by leaps and bounds. We lost most of our ducks and chickens on his farm, we have lost none as of lately, and they have begun to grow much faster and fatter. We didn't have proper fences on his farm, and the goats were everywhere, now they stay in their fence, as small as it is, and we move it to keep them with fresh forage. We did lose one goat to my own stupidity, but had this guy not gone ballistic for at least another two days we would have not lost our goat, or had to scramble and put our finances in the spin they are in.
I will rant more about the non-farmers I find and have found along the way at some other time. Things that make me go hmmmm.

Doud Dairy Farm Journal

Doud Dairy Farm Journal
Sunday, September 06, 2009

I missed a couple of days, with all that has been going on. I am not sure where I left off, but I think I didn't write entries for the fifth and the fourth, and the third is on another computer, waiting to be loaded to Frontier Spirit blog. So anyway, today we got a late start because I had a couple of things to do at the house, and we had to pick up Justin, my step-son and Arleta's youngest son. We went out to look at the property, and it is basically just woods and a couple of trails running through it. I am ready to provide Eddy with an offer. We will offer him 450.00 a month for 6 months, with an option to purchase at the end of the lease terms. We will then discuss the building thing, as we will offer to build a small barn and a cabin on the property, as well as dig a well. We will use this as equity if we buy the property in the spring, but if we do end the contract in spring we will leave the buildings, thereby providing him with more value for his property. I talked a minute with the next door neighbor, and he says they have 88 acres, so there may be potential for purchasing more property in the future. This would be good to discuss with Eddy as well. In lieu of a security deposit we will dig the well and put in a septic system, as well as build the buildings, which will benefit him if we leave the property. If we do decide to purchase the property in the spring, we will offer him $1,000.00 an acre or $44,000.00 plus what we have paid him for the rent.

Well now we have to see if he accepts the deal we present. Or if he comes back with a counter offer, we will have to consider that as well. I want to talk with him about the additional acres, to see if we can include that in the spring purchase option.

As far as the animals are concerned well, last week I couldn't get a chicken at all and this week we are in the process of buying chickens from everywhere. We bought 6 last night (RIR) from Williamstown, and we will be buying another 7 or 8 today from Homer. Now we will have 16 RIR chickens, and if we can get the 11 Orpingtons we will have the 20+ chickens we need to winter over with.

All the other animals (Goats, Ducks) are doing well, and getting fat on the land.

I need a truck, as there is just to much that I could do with a truck that would be helpful that I can not do with the Kia. Although the Kia is cute and it really is a nice vehicle, and all that, it will not accommodate the needs that a truck will. That or I need to get the Kia fixed, and a tow hitch attached so we can pull a trailer. I like the trailer idea, because a trailer is more versatile than just a truck, but it may be easier to get a truck than fix the Kia at this point.

That's all for now, more tomorrow when I get everything in its place.

Peace.

DDFJ_09-02-2009

Doud Dairy Farm Journal

Thursday, September 02, 2009

 

Feed the animals, no real events. The Swedish Blues seem to get the pattern faster than the Pekins. When they are done eating their grain I drive them down to the pond. The Blues took a few times to get it, but today they just headed out the gate and on down to the pond with very little direction. The Pekins still have to be given direction, at least until they get about half way down, then they seem to get it. The chickens stayed in the pen and scratched at the newly exposed ground, I have been making by raking the hay and weeds up everyday.

 

We waste a lot of hay putting it on the ground, I need to build a manger for the hay, so it won't get used as bedding. We should get straw for bedding.

 

We got contacted by the person that owns the 44 acres in Williamstown, NY. They haven't said no to the lease idea, so this may be the place. I will go out to see it tomorrow after we finish up with the animals. I want to see how the power lines run through the property, as this will be a deal breaker. If I can live with the location of the power lines, and this guy wants to lease for the winter, it is a done deal.

 

The trouble with the property and financing it is that it is empty land, just woods and a couple of open spots. This is fine for my animals, but makes it difficult to get financing for. We can build on the land, if we get the lease terms we want, and then in Spring we would purchase the property, using the animals and improvements as collateral. I would want a continuous lease agreement, at least a month to month with automatic renewal, with the option at any time over the period of the first two years and any end of a year after that. I would also want to lock in the rent for the first two years, before there could be a raise in rents, so that I don't lose my investment. I would consider $10.00 an acre for the rent to be reasonable for the first two years, as it would be unimproved property. If I drop a well and septic on the property, at my expense, then I want some assurance that with that and any improvements I otherwise make are mine until they pass to the original owner through default at the end of the lease terms. I also want our lease payments to be considered as part of the down for the property, so that there will be no down payment at the time of option, or at least very little. I would finance through Pioneer Farm Credit for the land next spring, after we have leased through the winter, and made improvements, as well as purchased additional animals.

 

We would need to build a barn, and a water system, which would include a well, a grey water system, and black water (waste treatment) system. I would need to do a grid tie in with the energy network, which would include a power station (most likely bio-gas digester), connected to a hot water (steam) turbine, or a methane generator, which would also make use of any additional power generated through solar power or wind energy. As I have said before certain energies produce certain types of energy more efficiently. Wind is better for mechanical energy, although it can be used to generate electrical power, it is not as efficient. Solar energy generates heat better than electrical energy, so it may be used to boost the energy of the hot water system, or as spot energy for remote operation of electrical systems, like fencers or pumps. We would need to build a DC plant, that would then convert the energy to AC at the locations of use, or at the power plant and then provided to the locations as AC current. I would build a bank of batteries that were in series and parallel to provide the best conditioned power to the system, and back on to the grid as provided overage allows. For now I would go with a grid tie in for solar energy on several banks of solar panels I build from cheap solar cells. I am only looking for minimal energy usage, as we will only be milking a few cattle and maybe a goat or two for the winter. Next spring, if we buy the property, which we most likely will, we will reconsider the energy equation entirely. We have no choice but to sell our milk products direct, as we will not have the facilities to build the milk parlor or milk room until after we get the financing for the property, as that will be part of the financing package.

 

Over the winter I will work independently to earn enough money to pay the cost of living and save some money for purchase cost, so we can purchase the property in the Spring. I will build a basic free stall barn for the winter, of at least a barn that could be easily converted to a free stall barn, while I wait for financing in the Spring. I will build a basic pole barn, with stalls for the goats and cows, and pens for the other animals (mostly roost and nesting boxes for the poultry). The idea will be to build one of sufficient size that it will be of use as a heifer barn next year, and have enough overhead storage to accommodate hay and straw storage. I will build in a few tie stalls for milking stations, but as we will be bucket milking for the first winter, it will not be bulk tanked, at least not in a standard bulk tank. We will have to meet some criteria to sell the milk, either raw or processed, I think we will have to sell privately for the winter, using a small insulated tank as a bulk tank(s) until we can build the milking barn next Spring.

 

We will be seeking funding for many projects in the Spring, the energy project (DEC, EPA, USDA), the AWI certification and NOFA-NY certification, and other more ambitious projects like a creamery, and meat processing and packaging plant. We also will by Spring need to build a plant for the personal care products, as they will have out grown the processing in the kitchen stage. We will have to build a house as well, as the cabin we will build to winter over in will be inadequate for our needs by Spring. I will look at building a partially subterranean house, to take advantage of the geo-thermal properties, and to provide us with a better living condition without losing land use. We will not get the green house done this year, so we will have to establish beds, and begin our plants in our cabin and barn, setting them in tunnels as soon as the ground allows. I am going to use raised insulated beds, with high tunnels on them to simulate the conditions of the green house that will be built by next fall when we have arranged for the financing of the improvements.

 

Well that is enough about the farm for today. Tomorrow we will move the fence, and begin building the first temporary structure at the current location, although we may make it more permanent if it is so determined that such a structure could benefit the owner (Arleta's Aunt Lois).   I was thinking some thing that looked and worked like a little boat house. An inverted U shaped building with a storage space on the north side (this would at this time house the stalls for the goats and nesting boxes for the poultry), an open deck down the south side, this would allow entry to the boat house, and provide a place to sit and look out over the southern face of the water. The cross over would have space for indoor activities including a shower and a composting toilet. It would be built around the slip, which could be built to allow for small water craft to be put in the water, but also kept out of the water in the winter and in bad weather. We may need a permit to build it, but I have to check on the local codes to see what we can get a way with before they have to file for a permit. If Raymond wants to help with the building, as it is on his mother's property, and he would be the most likely user of the slip, that would be even better. Either way, if Lois wants it built, and we can build it with or with out the permit, we will build it from local materials, and she will have a decent boat house for her pond. If she were smart she wouldn't allow motors of any kind on the water, not even trolling motors, as this would damage the ecology of the pond, but I can't tell her what she can do with her pond. I will build it, and buy a small used row boat (john boat) that will stay with the boat house for her family's use. This is of course contingent on what the owner agrees to as to the other acreage in Williamstown, because if we are able to close that deal soon (within the month of September), then I can't see investment in the current property beyond a better lean-to as shelter for the animals. That's all for today...

Peace.

DDFJ_09-01-2009

Doud Dairy Farm Journal

Monday, September 1, 2009

 

Nothing special, the feeding routine went as expected, the goats were let out to eat their grain, while the ducks and chickens got their grain in the pen. I did some raking of the old pasture spots, to encourage growth of the small grasses. I need to get the suspension fixed on the Kia and a trailer hitch put on so I can tow a small trailer, this will allow me to carry some equipment, like a lawn tractor. The pasture needs mowing. I will see if Mary has a lawn mower I can borrow to mow the pasture. I will also need some grass seed to seed the pasture when we are done so that it comes back as lawn. We have about another week at the outside there, before we have exhausted this small pasture space. I hope to have located a farm that we can rent reasonably by then. I may continue to pasture the animals here even when we find the farm, in order to complete the work here, but after they have eaten down the pasture and I have reseeded the lawn, I will move them to the new farm where they will stay out the winter.

 

Oh yea where was I, after the chickens and ducks have eaten their grain we drive the ducks down to the pond, where they get some supervised swim time. While Arleta was with the ducks I started to clean up the current pasture. We will need to move the pasture today, as the state of the ground is such that it needs to rest now.

 

We attempted to build a small lean-to structure to provide the animals with a little relief from the elements, but the goats seen to it that it was destroyed within minutes of their being near it. We will need to build a slightly more substantial structure if we want them to be able to use it and not tear it down so easily. I am removing the canvases from the structure and will be weaving the structure from young saplings to build the walls and roof, on which we will put green branches and pine bows. The trouble we had with the last one is that I was in a hurry, and I didn't go far enough into the woods to find the right materials. So I won't make that mistake again.

 

I will contact the woman about the laying hens today, and hope that they are still available. I also hope that the Buff Orpintons are still available, so that we can purchase them as well. I think having the laying hens will help as they will produce eggs, and that will take the pressure off of us to buy eggs, which we must do today, as well as milk, which is silly, considering we should have at least one cow by now. The trouble with a cow is that you have to get it pregnant to expect to produce milk, so we need a cow and a bull at the very least. At $2400.00 per cow, it is hard to buy a cow or a bull on the limited money we have coming in. We need that farm, so we can establish our work base. I can work, I am able to so many things, and I will advertise this ability once I am at some location that I can be sure that we will be at for some time. I will try to DBA the farm now, and get the tax number, even though I will have to change everything once we do get a location, at least this way we can use our tax exempt status for farm purchases, and I can take work on a 1099/W-9 status.

 

Well I feel like I am rambling, so I will sign off, and write again later, maybe with some pictures this time, as I will be getting some batteries for the camera, even if they are to expensive for what they are worth. I have to go now because I have things to do, so I will process and produce again tomorrow.

 

Peace.

Goats, we have goats

Well we've been working to get the farm, but we had to get the goats, as it was the time to get started. Not a very good picture, but the goats do not hold still very well. They are just kids yet, but they are growing up quick. We will be posting more later.

"How a city was built, starting with a hobby: Baker Creek--a seed house that is changing the course of history"

Goss, Jeffery, Jr. 2008 How a city was built, starting with a hobby: Baker Creek--a seed house that is changing the course of history The Free Library (January, 1), http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How a city was built, starting with a hobby: Baker Creek--a seed...-a0172830071 (accessed October 30 2008)

This article describes a operation that was started by a young person who felt the need for a change. This is how a need can be turned into a business that can be successful. I guess what can be said about it is that he started on a farm, so it would be more difficult if you were to attempt to begin such an operation with out having a family farm to begin from, but it should be possible.

This will be cited in our business plan.

Small Farms Cultivate Way of Life, and Profit

NY Times article on profits being made by small part time farmers. A trend that appears to be developing in the suburban landscape. People are trying to farm even on small 3+/- acres and many are successful at turning a profit, but is it really farming? This is yet to be discovered trend that should be investigated further. It does however demonstrate that profit can be found even in this small scale, and that can be applied to a larger more diversified farming operation.

Community Gardens

Community Gardens

As a idea, the concept of community gardens is great. As an application it is less than realistic. On an individual basis it does work, however in this country, unlike in other countries, such as continental Europe, where such community gardens do work, this country is very self centered, and therefore it is very difficult to get people to work towards a common goal without a catalyzing factor. Can such programs work, yes, they have for centuries work in many places, however in this country it is about competition for resources rather than cooperation for conservation of resources.

This being said, I do believe that we are soon to realize that catalyst that will make such efforts more possible. I have seen some communities that worked, but how long have they worked, and on what scale. They do not work on the larger scale, because people do not feel the need for such and therefore they put greater effort on what seems the more important issues. This is a common circumstance, as it normal in this country to compartmentalize issues as if they are unrelated, and prioritize them as if getting one done will therefore free up the other. It is however only parts of a single problem, and that it will only be solved by taking a holistic approach to the issue.

It will be necessary to look at the Urban landscape in a different light, as one that is more agricultural than previous thought of. That some percentage of the food needed by the residence living in the Urban areas will have to produce some of their own food, as there will be no food available in the stores they are used to shopping in. This has not happened yet, and until this does happen it will not create theh needed factors to generate the need for community gardens to be more than a novelty. There is ino way that community gardens will completely replace the local farms, which are more dedicated to such programs as Dairy and meat production. Even though a small community can produce a great amount of the needed food, and cooperation will produce even greater community, until the factors that create the need for this, it will be difficult to make this happen for more than select groups and there will be no long term development past the current generation of development. To make this happen for many generations it must include a social shift as well as a holistic vision, which includes agriculture in both the urban landscape (which is only a large group of communities tied together by common networks of roads and communications), and throughout the outlying areas where larger scale agriculture can support the urban communities with products that these same communities can not produce due to space or skill. However it is likely that these same urban communities will be the very areas where artistic development will flourish and therefore provide for theh others the tools and other products that will be needed, in the trade off for the products that can not be developed in the Urban Landscape.

This is possible, yes, probable, not likely in this current environment and economy, but I do believe that it is the way that things will turn in the near future, but only by force of these factors being in place, as Americans specifically do not help each other like they used to, or like the Germans do, because we are taught from the very beginning it is all about what we have and what others do not. After all it is the person that has the best toys and the most glitter that wins right.

I have been a proponent of community and community gardens for many years. This does not mean that it will work, it only means that if you have a visionary person willing to put forth their effort to lead, others will follow, at least for now, it takes a very forceful vision with carefully crafted design to make it happen for longer than their lifetime.

As this is a response to a comment from someone who was not brave enough to even put their name to it, I provide but a slight response. The truth is I have great faith in the human race, but I know that it will take a very devastating event in the social and economic factors for this selfish and self centered society that we have built to make that leap into community, or many generations of slow growth, with a consistent leadership that champions this community aspect.

Let us hope that either or both will work out to be better than the current direction, which does not lead one to believe that we will continue with out dire consequence to our environment and therefore our potential for existence.

RE: Community Garden "Clusters"

From Alchemical Nursery Organization:
About clusters, or local networks of farms, I believe I have discussed this before, if not here, at least somewhere. The point to this is that it is about the community that the agriculture serves. Unfortunately this is a world of individuals, and because of this the idea of clustering will not work well without some catalyst.

As I continue to work through the building of a farm, I realize that what I am attempting is the building a model from which others can then develop from. As this has always been part of the plan, it hopefully will be utilized as it is built to provide examples to other communities that it can be done in any environment or culture. However I expect that no one will consider this until I have shown how it works, and that it can work, without the new age ideas, that seem to at this time pervade all the community projects that I have seen or read about.

The single largest problem I see with all of the "planned communities" is that they are mired in communities and making sure that they represent all the interest of the participants. The truth is what they need is a visionary who can design a workable model that includes sufficient foundation to ensure that the vision is carried forward. There must be a solid foundation and a form of beneficial transfer of the leadership. There must always be a visionary in leadership, in this way the lead continues to be progressive, however there is potential for problems here as well, but it needs this first, then a contingency for what might be bad leadership.

How does this relate to the article about clusters? First these clusters need a vision to be effective. Second because they need a leadership that is capable of moving this vision forward. Third they need an economy that is not representative, but effective regardless of the political economics. They need a system of time that provides them all with a cycle that is stable in regard to seasonal disturbance. They need to enhance each others diversity rather than enhance their specialization. They need to support the support organizations who are based in artistic competition rather than political division. There needs to be a guild system that continues to provide a logical progression of artistic development based on capability rather than desire. They need a network of communication that is outside the normal political channels. They need access to the market through a common market, so that the community is provided with equal access, and each individual organization is provided with equal access, that is stable to the unique vision of the community.

So as you can see it is more about the visionary that can put this in action rather than a group of people who can debate the potential and try to figure it out, but that will only solve the logistics, it will not provide the engine for the success of the program, that must come from a single engine.

The Business of Agriculture

The Business of Agriculture
Issue II Version 1 Series 1

How would a diversified farm earn enough money to pay for its debts. It would have ot sell products produced on the farm. What would those products be. They would be dependent on what the farm is capable of. What is the farm capable of? It depends on what is the basis of the farmers capability. This is the final answer, what is the farmer capable of?

On a diversified farm that is based in dairy operaions, including various dairy types, the farm is capable of consistant income. Dairy operations have a daily output, and if staggered they are able to produce year round income streams. While winter production is lower it can be sufficeint to support the basic cost of the operations, if structured properly to make the best use of the raw materials. A raw producer is only capable of producing income from buyers. If the value of milk products are reduced, the income of the farm is affected immediately. It is also limited by the amount of dairy production animals that are raised. As there is many other factors, the dairy operations are highly affected by many market factors, and by many on farm factors. In the case of dairy cattle, how many cattle the farm has is directly porportionate to the potential income of the operation. If one cow produces a certain volume of milk on average throughout its wet period then the total amount of cows will produce a certain quantity of milk for a given period of time. If the cow is wet for a certain amount of time, they will then be dry for a certain period of time. Given this, a conventional operation will then have times when they are wet, and times when they are dry.

New Plan B

“The Farm”

Starting over, okay, in an old home town. We know the where, we need to discover the how. This is a document to discover how we are going to build, operate, and finance “the farm”.

Where is in Oswego County. Exactly where in Oswego County is a little more difficult to determine as yet, but preliminary searches has identified at least a couple of potential opportunities; however further investigation will be necessary to completely vett out the short list of properties. Some indicators are, that it is East of Mexico, West of Parish, and South of Central Square, although this is not precise enough to determine that it be exactly in an area, or that it is not in any of the particular municipalities, but that our belief is that our opportunity is most likely in an area near or between the Hamlet of Hastings, and the Villages of Mexico and Parish.

The why may be easier to determine. “The Farm” is the base of all our operations, including our agricultural ones. First “the farm” is exactly what it is, a farm. A diversified agricultural operation with dairy and meat purposes, as well as horticultural and grain purposes. The basis behind this is a sustainable operation that supports itself, and its community through full development of all the processes that are needed to provide the basic products that are the result of the operations. For example; grain such as wheat is useless to most animals including humans until processed. On “the farm” we will build a grist mill, to process the wheat and other grains into usable products such as groats and flours. Further we will also build a bakery that will process the flours into baked goods (mostly breads) that then will be used on “the farm” and also sold through our marketing programs. We will also provide a percentage of our production to help support our food programs for homeless and people with low to no incomes (see food bank program). Grains will not be processed for use by the animals as such, as there is very little value in the processing of grains for animals, with the exception of post processed materials, such as shaft and other hard materials which will be processed further for cellulose values, and then the final use will be as filler for animal supplements (see animal feed stock programs). This same processing program is followed throughout the outputs including the building of a dairy and creamery for the processing of raw milk products. In addition we will be building cheese caves, for the processing of dairy products. To facilitate all this building we will build several support operation buildings, such as a large back draft kiln, a foundry and forge, various other shops such as a cabinet shop, a mill wright shop, a blacksmith shop, and the list is continued (see support operations). The additional benefit to this design and building is that we will be providing work for more people in the community that will work the various operations that are on “the farm”. The secondary benefit to this plan is that we will also be preserving talents and arts that are seldom used in current technological society. We will also be providing many educational opportunities to the community to see the operations, to learn from the operations, and to duplicate the same operations in their communities. We will also be providing a tourist attraction, including accommodations and hospitality, appropriate to the programs. Additional support systems include development of a community school, a community health and wellness center, and a knowledge center for independent study of the greater knowledges. We will also be developing energy programs some of which will be traditional and some of which are experimental; such as wind generation and water powered mechanical systems, but also hydrogen fuel cells, and other more experimental solar technologies (see energy plan). This is a multi year plan, with many programs being conducted through a process of appropriate development from one technology to the next. Our first program will be to build the draft kiln and forge to facilitate the processing of local materials into building materials for the other programs. We will also build a wood mill, and supporting shops to enable us to build other structures using those processed materials. We will then build housing for animals, including humans, allowing us to then begin to allocate the animals (see animal matrix) that will then provide the products that will be further processed as we continue to build other programs. We will be continuing the building programs for the first three years as we continue to build the initial functional programs of “the farm”.

The second easy question is when, well sort of. If the question of when is when will we get started, well that is now, or at least as soon as possible. We will work with the various organizations to try to get the operation started and through basic functioning by Spring of 2009. The basic functioning will require certain tools and equipment and focus to enable us to begin with the basic functional constructions while developing the basic living structures that will also be needed temporarily to create a workable foundation. We have nothing to start with, which in some ways is considered a disadvantage; however it also is an advantage. How is it an advantage? On the basis that we can structure our entire operation to be sustainable, and “green” (see “green” initiatives). One particular area where this is evident is in equipment, where we will utilize alternative fuels such as bio-diesel, but we will also utilize electrical equipment, with the energy coming from our initial energy programs. This of course means that we will need to build a bio-diesel plant very early in the process. We will need a skid steer tractor to begin building. We will need to look for one that utilizes diesel to ensure that we can utilize renewable bio-diesel fuels. This will also be the main piece of equipment that will be used on “the farm” throughout its operations. Many field operations will be performed through horse drawn processes, although, some will be performed with mechanical machines, some of which will be electric. So the when is more determined by the completion of this document, the working with various organizations (such as Cooperative Extension and Farmlink), and obtaining the seed capital to begin the process of building after we have solved the where, why, and how problems.

Who is the next question. At this time the program is headed by myself and my wife. We feel the need to begin this program and direct it through its first few years, while we are certain that others will be involved in different capacities as we continue to build “the farm”. I am currently unemployed at this time, so I am collecting unemployment while I search for a job in the area where we are planning on locating. I am also a self employed general contractor, although because we are currently not located where we are planning on being located, I will have to re-build the business once we are located in the area we plan on being located. I am also seeking to obtain my insurance certificate so that I can offer people and businesses in my community insurance products. This will be in addition to all that we are planning on doing with “the farm” and the various other organizations that we are planning or will be involved with. My wife Arleta, will be obtaining her degree in Accounting so that she will be able to offer that service to people in our community. She is also obtaining her tax preparer certificate so that she can offer that service while she completes her degree. She will also be making products for sale, with some proceeds going to our not-for-profit organization. She will be making candles and jewelery which we will sell on-line and in various boutiques in the area. She will also be working to building her soap and personal care products company, as we are able to fund that program as well. We will be selling our agricultural products in various stages of production, continuing to build the diversity of production systems to better serve our community (see farm production).

Lastly is how. This is where I have the greatest difficulty. I have nothing but my knowledge to bring to this. Well that and my determination and physical capability to get the job done. I am not a great sales person, so selling the plan to investors will be difficult for me, but necessary. We will need to find not just seed capital to allocate land and basic equipment, but also operations capital, growth capital, and of course capital for the purchase of animals, seed stocks (see seed banks), and tools and equipment for operations of “the farm”. I do not know how much this will cost, as this is a work in progress. I will work to determine at least how much we will need to seed “the farm”, but there will need to be more cost figures determined. We will need to estimate our potential incomes from all the various steams. Consider that a portion of the production is provided directly to needs organizations through our not-for-profit organization. This is not loss, but overage that will be absorbed by the incomes and funding derived by the members of such programs as the Community Supported Agriculture, and home delivery programs (see income stream plans). We will also market our products in local markets, through local farmers markets, local grocery stores, local restaurants, and local schools. We will also be developing hospitality programs which will include an on farm market, an on farm restaurant, and other such processed food programs. We will be working with local farms to assist us in diversifying our product matrix, and to enhance the local agricultural network. These are but a few examples of our marketing programs, and will be included in our income matrix. I will need assistance in planning this part of the plan as this is not an area where I am very strong.

This is all I got for now, more will be done later, but for now, I must pack our belongings as we have lost our house and have to be out in the next six days. We have by the grace of great friends and relatives been able to afford to make the move from Geneva, NY to Oswego, NY (or actually North Syracuse, NY for the moment) and secure our belongings until we can complete the planning process at least to the point of obtaining the initial seed capital.

This is published on my blog so that anyone that wishes to comment may have that opportunity.

The World Wastes Half Its Food!

The World Wastes Half Its Food!

Getting to this one, whoa, what a source for fire. Ya, know don't get me started. But I will get back to this, and we'll have a good time then, yea, oh yea, we'll have a good time then. Slow and to the tune of whatever is going on in your head.