[AT] Christmas, frost, drought and land

[Cecil R Bearden]

Grant:
The old saying that "a dry year will scare  you and a wet year will 
break you" has proven itself true again here in OKlahoma..
I had a 1/4 section that only got 40 acres cut this year.   The grass 
was just beginning to really cover, it has been yellow clover the last 2 
years.  I noticed today that the blue stem had seeded and the clover 
also.  I am going to bush hog the entire 160 acres this winter and 
pulverize the dead grass.   This should help to re seed the grass.

What does land go for in your country?  I know it is expensive, just how 
expensive??

Cecil in OKla



On 12/20/2013 10:24 AM, Grant Brians wrote:
> I have noted that nearly all of the posts lately have had something to do
> with the weather (cold everywhere except in California and Arizona....)
> Well, December has been hard on our farm here in coastal Central California
> as after the well over normal temperatures up through Thanksgiving weekend,
> then we had nearly three weeks of frosts.
>       The contrast between dry warm weather (highs in 70s and 80s) and then
> one day later low 20s (all Fahrenheit temperatures clearly...), was too much
> for the tender greens that make up much of what we grow and sell! We have
> already replanted 20-25 acres of crops just in the last ten days of crops
> that would normally have been harvested through February or March.
>       Interestingly, Spinach is doing very well with the most amazing sweet
> flavor from the frosts (no surprise on the flavor, but surprise on the good
> quantities) while the customers are a bit slow on their purchases. So, cash
> flow is a problem. We are still dry, with about one half an inch of rain
> since January. The dryness certainly increased the effects of the frosts on
> the physiology of the plants. We are now in full irrigation mode again and
> see no break in the forecasts for now.
>       The Deer are also helping themselves to our greens at one of the
> ranches where there had never been an issue before. They are eating the
> oddest combination of herbs - Fennel, Parsley, Cliantro and Dill! Yet they
> are ignoring 20 acres of other crops. Hmm....
>       This also seems like the time for truck issues, with truck after truck
> of my "fleet" misbehaving. Shift linkage cables, brakes, ignition parts,
> starter mounts, fuel pumps and more have decided to head south for a
> graveyard in warmer climes I guess.
>       I ordered a Carburetor kit from Caterpillar yesterday for my 1953 13A
> D8 bulldozer and they had it in their local California distribution center
> and stock it all over the country, it arrived this morning.... Wow.
>       Merry Christmas to all, back to paperwork, sales and welding for me
> now. Of the three, the sales appeals to me the most because I need to sell
> more produce, but honestly the welding is where I will be as soon as I can.
> Also, I need to get the greenhouse planting underway this morning as we have
> acres of transplants that need to get going ASAP.
>            Grant Brians
>            Hollister, California Vegetables, nuts and fruits farmer
>
> p.s. Anyone know where I can get economical land financing for getting some
> more land to keep up my crop rotations????? I know our list is not filled
> with millionaires, lol.... I've been trying to get some land across the dirt
> road from one of the ranches I farm on.
>
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