CALLING ALL FARMERS: how are things on the farm?

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One of the potential impacts to the food chain that could have come from Y2K is in the area of farming. Farmers: how are things with your equipment, supplies, etc? Do you feel confident that you will be able to plant/harvest this year's crops?

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), January 10, 2000

Answers

Yes.

-- a (a@a.com), January 10, 2000.

La Nina is going to be a bigger factor. We have trees budding already. Taz

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), January 10, 2000.

My garden is doing good.

Hi a!

-- JoseMiami (caris@prodigy.net), January 10, 2000.


a, i didn't know you are a farmer. what do you raise???

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), January 10, 2000.

If the supply chain doesn't crash, we're OK.....except for the apparently forthcoming drought. We are very dry now in SW Okla, and the long range forecast(thru April) is also less rain than normal. Stock ponds are very low. We were going to get 20 acres sprigged with bermuda this Spring; hard to decide whether to take the risk now with that dismal forecast.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), January 10, 2000.


We have had virtually NO snow in Maine so far this winter. The lowest snow fall in 130 years. Combined with last summers major drought prospects look bleak.

-- nancy (nallen@acadia.net), January 10, 2000.

I am preparing my topsoil using the finest in organic agricultural procedures and irrigation techniques. This Spring, it will support battling beauties as they furiously explode in sensual passions. This type of produce may not be edible, but truly is quite satisfying.

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), January 10, 2000.

My farmers don't farm for a few months. (They are still selling hay from the barns and potatoes from cold storage.) Ergo, they aren't using their irrigation or heavy equipment right now. Winter is for paperwork, planning and repair. Haven't heard any problems coming up through the pipeline. Their big issue was always embeddeds and transportation. (Watch those trains.)

Ranchers continue to do fine. They shipped a big slug of head from here last week for the county's annual sale. No truck problems. Cow/calf ranching, (in many places,) still has a leg in the nineteenth century, so it is on good footing with y2k.

Our big problem is weather. There has been little snow in our mountains of N. CA. Snowpack is nature's reservoir. Without snow, we (and the rest of the state) will have no water for the rest of the year other than what is stored in our aquifers and must be pumped to the surface. It is raining this week. Hopefully, that will bring some snow to highest elevations.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), January 10, 2000.


Here in Podunk, Pa a large number of dairy farmers bought into pc's to track milk output, P&L, equipment, etc... Needless to say they are for the most part 386/486 machines running Windows 3.1. I've spoken with many (more than 10) who have had nothing but greif since Jan 1. Systems are now in the closet and Floyd is doing it all by hand again. Its' winter here so it gives them something to do between milkings and spreading. This was totally predictable, but 'puters are an just another appliance here and they don't understand. For the most part they'll end up in the back 40 on the dump. Good pickings for me - I could use a decent monitor or two. And those 486's make great little Linux boxes!

-- Witch Doctor (bobmarley@hotmail.com), January 10, 2000.

Last year we planted our last field into alfalfa. We have kept the corn, oats and hay from the last 2 years and are going to feed it out to the cattle and horses. There was no profit in selling it and it cost us more to produce the corn and oats than if we had gone to the co-op and bought it.

Everyone in our area will be able to plant, but many are saying "what for?" We are in the beginnings of a drought as well. Winter has been too warm and not enough moisture.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), January 10, 2000.



Here in the Heart of the Ozarks, we are about 15-17 inches behind in rain; ponds are way down and grass in short. Neighbor whose family has been in cattle 3 generations sold his cows in the fall (not enough grass and too costly to feed thru winter) and kept back only the calves. He hopes to sell the calves next summer and buy cows -- but, if grass is short, the decision and costs may be prohibitive. It's rough. We have goats and sheep; will reduce numbers in the summer by filling our freezer. Will have a BIG garden, heavily mulched to hold moisture. Could be very interesting this year, if it stays this dry.....

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), January 10, 2000.

We live in Clark county, Wis.(north central Wis.) and there doesn't seem to be any immediate Y2K problems relating to farming in this area. There is concern about long term delivering of supplies and, and price increases for those supplies should the price of oil rise higher as many farm inputs are energy dependent. Actually, the real concern is the extremely low prices currently paid for dairy products as we are in a heavy dairy area.

-- Wayne Peterson (waylmarrp@webtv.net), January 10, 2000.

In Southern Idaho, most of the farming is dormant for the winter. The CAFO dairy operations are operating at full production. (CAFO = Confined Animal Feeding Operation = animal concentration camp--in my opinion). I have not heard of any malfunctioning tractors (embeded chips) or problems with the local freight train--brings grain to local Rangen feed processing plant. Electricity and telephone have been reliable locally and long-distance except we had no AT&T charges listed on our most recent phone bill despite us making plenty of long-distance phone calls during that time. I was GI, and am hanging onto my supplies for now, but I may start using some of the stored gasoline for our cars--keep it rotated. Data corruption still may cause troubles down the line, but all is well down on the farm, so to speak, in Sou

-- One of the Pair (PairoDocs@eworld.com), January 11, 2000.

Does anyone know if the Great Depression was preceded by drought or was it at the same time, or after the market crashes. Read somewhere that drought and dustbowl were large factors in the stockmarket going down, but just wonder if this was fiction. I need to read up on this as it is something I did not give much thought to.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), January 12, 2000.

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