How We Care for Cattle in the Winter 

Amazing easy crank start on that tiny tractor. I love to listen to it run so well!. When our Allis C push-button start quit working, my dad would start it with the crank. But it would kick back sometimes. So he always would have a Jumbo farm glove in his hand as another farmer had told him to do. If it would kick back it would take the glove out of his grasp and not break his hand. Dad's long gone and the Allis is so in need of repair. It is mine now, but it just sits there waiting for some love. I did buy another Allis C ten years ago that I'm hoping to bring back down this way, as my older son was using it up north for a while. Everybody down here is kind of crippled up or not feeling too good anymore. Sure wish we had some able-bodied help, but that is hard to come by, and might have to wait till next spring now anyway. My dad got sick of all the mud and manure and sold the dairy herd when I was little (as my brothers would be moving away when they got out of school). After that he either had Springers or beef cattle, depending on the market. My sister did the inside work with my mom. But my mom threw me out of the house when I was just little as she said I was always underfoot. My dad said to just leave me out there by them. Between my brothers and my dad, I learned how to help out by throwing down hay, pumping water for the cattle, teaching calves to drink from buckets till they were ready to go with the rest of the young stock, picking rock, fixing fence, getting firewood, etc. But my favorite job was driving tractor. My brother taught me how to steer between the windrows so both brothers could throw the hay up on the wagon from both sides. Mom didn't want me to drive tractor, but she put a wide-brimmed hat on me and went back to the house. When it was time to go mow the hay, my brother would jump up with me because my legs were too short to reach the clutch or bakes. It was understood that I would need to learn to do the jobs my brothers did as they were leaving when they got out of High School. I was so proud to help out my family. By that time we had a baler and a hay elevator. I missed seeing the workhorses as only a few of our neighbors still had them anymore. I did learn a bit about riding on them when the neighbors got finished with fieldwork and left the horses to graze in the yard before us kids rode them to the creek for their water. I didn't get my first horse until I was six years old. I thought I'd never get one as I had waited so long. LOL! Later on, I had more riding horses and used to go riding all over the place on logging roads, etc. I love watching your videos as it reminds me of the cattle we had when I was little. Now we just have a nanny goat, 9 chickens, a couple rabbits, a dog, and 2 kittens. My granddaughter takes care of them.

Editing is a great thing.lmao

ImmovWb

Q

I wish that I could purchase Haying for $40 a bale. Here, in a good year, it’s $70 a bale. For times like this where it might be up to $200 a bale.

@Rick - it used to be, but then 'get big or get out' happened, and former farmers became lawyers...and everything went downhill from there LOL

Most Members of Congress and legislators from the big states that have full-time legslatures (incl. NY, CA, and a few others) are former "staffers" and/or attorneys. The is true in both parties. Agreed, the legislative branch at both fed. and state levels would greatly benefit by having more farmers - along with people with all kinds of different private sector backgrounds.

@@RechargeableLithium I did hear Bill Gates has been buying land along with others.

Cool!