Are there any real farmers out there???

[jwcinpk]

How bout a million dollar poultry operation? Soon to increase by atleast half that. Does that mean you are going to add one more chicken house ?

Yes we are talking about adding another set (2).

 

[gemini5362]

Yes we are talking about adding another set (2).

TWo ? wow that is good. From what I understand in this area. By the time you build them to the specifications outlined under the companys that purchase your chickens you have approximately 500,000 per house.

 

[jwcinpk]

All depends on the configuration, size, intergrator, etc.. I'll be adding breeder houses at $750,000 a set.

 

[gemini5362]

A large investment but most of the people that I know grow broilers. When I was younger I used to work in houses with caged hens. That was probably the easiest set up to have. All the cages had concrete runs in them that had a scraper blade on a cable set up. To clean you just turned the winch on and that pulled the droppings to the end where they fell into a auger set up which moved it into a storage tank. The cages had auto waters and feeders. There were rubber belts running under the cages to catch eggs and to gather them you turned on the belt and it emptied onto a table where you just put the eggs in 3 dozen cartons

 

[jwcinpk]

My setup is similar. No cages for my hens. Also no winch system for cleanout. Concrete floor that is cleaned by tractor or skid steer. Hens walk on slats and manure falls through. Trick is keep litter dry to reduce smell. Only cleanout once a year. Nests have belts in the front that run to egg gathering tables. Our eggs are for hatching.

 

[gemini5362]

that does not sound like a bad system. The system I was working at had something like 20 houses. I dont know enough to debate the cage versus non cage approach for the hens other than the humanity of it. It was nice when it came to being cleaned basically you did not have to have any litter or anything the pits were cleaned twice a day and all you did was spray them with a hose and start the scraper. Was still a pretty busy job.

 

[D7E]

Hey, This has been fun!!! Maybe I should not have asked if any real farmers are using Montana tractors.... Maybe the question should have been, Do any real farmers spend most of their day on computers.....

Good point ...We have several months of -30 and early nights so it is "fun" to do this ?

 

[D7E]

This is back to what I was saying earlier. This topic wants to say unless you are a professional farmer you are not a farmer. You are saying farmers use, case, ih, new holland, jd, mf and little else. There are people out here that are farmers. They may not derive all their income from farming but they do farm. I believe the amish are considered farmers and I think they use horses. People who grow marijuana could be considered farmers I guess by your definition and I think they use buckets or hand cultivate. The People in my area that would fit the topic definition of farmer like Belarus tractors or at least some of them do. The People who are PROFESSIONAL FULL TIME farmers probably use the brands you mentioned, I imagine that has a lot more to do with nobody else making tractors in the sizes that are needed to farm 1000+ acres. The other thing is that If my sole income came from farming I would want an establishyed brand if for no other reason that parts support. I understand that reasoning 100 per cent. But if you are not a professional farmer and have smaller fields and are trying to watch your profit ratio one of the other brands of tractors may be a much better fit for you. My montana can do anything a John Deer, or IH or NH of the same size can do and it is a lot cheaper investment. We will see how it holds up because it is a relatively new brand. At one time Kubota was a new brand and look how many people rave about their reliability now

We have not always farmed these acres....I grew up in an area where farms were 100-200 acres with 10 acre fields and i can remember running 5 fordsons ? These were mixed livestock and crops .All alternative brands were tried and belarus and zetor and whatever were never bought twice .......RELIABILITY ?......Regardless of size ,cheaper is not always "cheaper" ?
The badge on the hood means nothing today ...Who built it ?

What car or truck do you drive...Just becuuse you are not a proffessional driver ,Do you own a KIA or HYUNDAI .....Probably not ,You still like the security of owning a chevvy or ford or dodge or even honda ?

 

[gemini5362]

We have not always farmed these acres....I grew up in an area where farms were 100-200 acres with 10 acre fields and i can remember running 5 fordsons ? These were mixed livestock and crops .All alternative brands were tried and belarus and zetor and whatever were never bought twice .......RELIABILITY ?......Regardless of size ,cheaper is not always "cheaper" ?
The badge on the hood means nothing today ...Who built it ?

What car or truck do you drive...Just becuuse you are not a proffessional driver ,Do you own a KIA or HYUNDAI .....Probably not ,You still like the security of owning a chevvy or ford or dodge or even honda ?

Well to begin with it sounds like you tried alternative brands and found they did not do what you needed. My tractor starts every time, does what I need it to do and fits my needs. Whether or not it will last for the amount of time I need it to is yet to be seen. Cheaper might be cheaper depending on the use. If I do not put that many hours per year on my tractor and it last for years and years it was cheaper. If I used it 8 hours per day and it cost twice as much to keep it going then it would not be cheaper. I have never advocated getting one of the less well known brands if your livelihood depends on it but for other uses you may not need to own a deere or ford etc.


AS far as cars go. I buy the one that I like. I have a chevrolet, and an accura and a Porsche. I usually drive my geo tracker to work so I seem to have a pretty varied degree of transportation to be honest I think the most reliable one of the group is the geo tracker. Which is by the way by far the cheapest of the group by thousands and thousands of dollars and the cheapest to get worked on.

 

[massey1433]

Other than being a pipe fitter farming is my only income. But guss what I am 16 and I have to get up at 4 in the morning to check on the cows and every other day me and my uncle feed. We have about 60 head but have about 16 or 17 new heffer calves. I know for some people its harde to beleve I am 16 but its true and I am proude of being a farmer. Ok maybe I am not a pipe fitter my uncle is but I am going to be one.