[AT] The real cost of fuel...

[Indiana Robinson]

Hi Cecil:

	I too have almost stopped doing a lot of things I used to 
do. I let the grass get a little taller. I don't bother 
spraying  as many weeds. Heck I am not even baling any hay 
so far this year. It is almost worthless here this year 
since we have had so much rain which is also making it 
almost impossible to bale since the rain is every couple of 
days. It takes a lot of fuel to mow, rake, bale and haul 
hay. All for hay that is worth little on the local market. 
My yard is growing about an inch a day... We mow a lot and 
it takes about $10 to fill the tank on the little 20 HP 
lawn tractor and it takes a bunch of fillings to cut it 
all. I have been using the Yanmar 1500 more and more since 
it sips diesel so lightly but it still isn't all that 
cheap.
	Like you say we would normally be doing all sorts of odd 
jobs that we are just letting go now. We have also cut down 
on tractor shows and are just going mostly to close ones. 
Sadly we are also I think going to have to cut back on what 
I had hoped would be expanded participation at the Conner 
Prairie Living history museum. We have in the past made 
multiple trips to and from the museum hauling tractors and 
implements to the "Country Fair" event. The cost has just 
kept getting higher and higher. This year I need to do 
something that I can haul in one trip but still be 
educational and entertaining.
	One big cost to society is coming from folks cutting back 
on travel and recreation. That is a HUGE industry that 
brings income to millions of people including lots and lots 
of Mom & Pop operations.
	Of course we do still "burn" a little extra fuel on 
"special" activities that are important to us but we cut 
back where we can so that we can still afford to do those.
	I just saw a news report on oil company profit % so far 
this year and while my car is still running smoothly I 
personally have been sputtering a lot.   <(^¿^)>



--
"farmer"

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be 
continually fearing you will make one."
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)


Refurbished Shopsmith's
Good used SPT's
http://www.indiana-robinson.0catch.com/


Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net