harveyc

Hi Tog, this will avoid the constant repairs required due to the coyotes (and to a lesser extent, voles) but also make it much easier to get the volume of water I need for each "check" (27'-39' wide section) so I can get them irrigated well. The pipe is costing about $6,000 but the valves and fittings will be something like another $8,000. A small section of this is on the neighboring parcel so my partner is helping cover a portion of that since we rent that together and then the company that owns the natural gas rights on my property and drills for gas is paying me $1,500 since I need to go around a pad they put in my field a couple of years ago (they've spent about $8 million dollars drilling three wells and have not hit gas but have ruined about 3 acres of my land, they still have an old well that's been producing for about 60 years).

Hi John, we hope to get 7 cuttings but got 6 last year and will probably 6 again this year. We end up getting delays trying to avoid rain storms and then delays in getting rain-damaged hay baled up so we get behind our ideal schedule. If weather stays cool like we've been having growth is also slower, though quality is higher (more leaves, less stems). We can keep a stand in for 5 and maybe up to 7 years before replanting, usually having a rotation crop like wheat before the next planting. Prices suck but I'm still making some money unlike the dairymen who are having a very tough time and losing lots of money. Worldwide demand for dairy products is down and there is a big over-supply of milk. Some dairies are losing sickening amounts of money right now and many cows will be culled early to try to bring production into balance with demand and this is also reducing the price beef cattlemen receive for their cull cows. I bought 2 gallons of nonfat milk for $3.19 the other day and thought that was crazy. We pay more than that for bottled water! Last year dairy prices were a little better but alfalfa prices were ridiculously high, over double of this year and at all-time highs. I knew it would not last but wished it did not drop so low. Our last cutting of 2008 had some rain damage and we got $170/ton for it. Our first cutting this year had bad rain damage and we got $65/ton and we pay about $36 to have it baled and stacked. Our second cutting had some slight rain damage so I hope to do a little better and hope for something more normal on the next cutting in a few weeks. I'm glad I'm expecting to do well in chestnuts this year and have a wife with a good job and we have little debt!

__________________