On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:56:36 -0500, Duane Bozarth wrote:
Dave Hinz wrote:

Right, I only have 30 acres total. So, I'm happy leaving it in the long
term crop it's growing now (trees).

30 acres here is just almost enough to turn the combine around in...


I understand, believe me. Not many people out here have a full quarter,
though. Lots of family farms, lots of custom farmers working other
folks' land.

In my part of Wisconsin, no-till is just getting to be common in the
family farm setting. So things move slow. Like I said, it's not that
they're ignorant of it, they're just chosing not to use it in some
cases.

Not everyone is in full no-till here, either, of course. But there's
nobody still turning enverything over w/ a oneway plow four times a year
like was done in the 50s, either. Anyone farming here is using modern
practices or thy're not surviving--fact of life w/ $3 wheat and $1.50
ag diesel...

It's very spotty, and surprising which people are doing new stuff and
which aren't. Again, the custom for-hire guys seem to do the tech more
so than the guy who's using his dad's stuff from the 1950's.

At 38-40/A, I didn't either. At 28-32/A it starts looking different.

Is that what it's down to now? My contract is good for a few more
years, I didn't know it was that low.

Contract levels are based on conservation district and soil type, etc.
Back there where it rains, conditions are grossly different than this
dryland. But, for us, yes, that's what current are...what'll happen in
2007 is anybody's guess.

Well, I was thinking about this last night; the effort I've got in those
trees, combined with the fact that I've got to keep the weeds down
_anyway_, well, I think I'll renew at whatever price I can get - within
reason.

We got
an infestation of sericea lespedeza from the forb seed they required us
to overseed into it for improved wildlife habitat. Now that has been
placed on the noxious weed list and it is incredibly difficult to
eradicate and at $80/gal (including the County Noxious Office kickback),

Nice going to whichever idiot told you to plant it then, eh? I bet he's
not real popular...

Was part of the last CRP practices to "enhance recreational use"...out
here, of course, that means pheasant hunting, primarily. The forbs were
required practice to add to the seed availability. The lespedeza was
weed seed in the forbs, not an intended consequence.

Ah, got it. I thought that it was the species they wanted you to plant,
but I admit I didn't read it twice or anything.

That I can live
with--shxx happens. What PO's me is no help in fixing a problem not of
our causing.

Me, I'd like them to help with the purple loostrife problem. Sure, I
can _buy_ the beetles to eat it, from the DNR, for LOTS of money, or I
should be able to call 'em up, tell 'em 'Hey, your 180 acres behind my
house has a problem, come fix it" and they should. But, they seem not
to. But, God Forbid if I have some of it on my land, or I get the
letter. AARGH.

I'm almost to the point where the trees make changing my mind a
non-option. I've got (thinks....) maybe 5-6 acres in native
wildflowers, the university sent out a couple of people to do a site
survey and plan & got us started. Looks nice, keeps the weeds out.

Here, trees are a no-no...they're exotics. This is short grass prairie
(although there was significant bluestem and other taller grasses.
Coronado's journals talk of shoulder high in his wandering around.)

Well, the trees I've put in are Spruce, Pine, Fir, Oak (Red & white
around here), Walnut, Maple, and the Ash trees have just decided that
they like it here so there's many thousands of those. A few cherry
trees, but I'm not sure which variety. Looks like maybe chokecherry,
I'll know in a few years. Way I look at it, the lumber-worthy trees, I
trim up for straight trunks; the non-lumber trees I let be whatever
shape they want so they can do the whole "turn CO2 into Oxygen" thing.
At some point, the prairie will decide it's a forest, but I figure I'll
let the plants work that out amongst themselves. I mow a 4' path around
the wildflower areas to keep the weeds out; the wildflowers seem to be
expanding about a foot per year so I move the mowed path out that much.

Current project is picking rocks, and a closely coupled project of
building a rock wall. Want some rocks? My hill is a glacial deposit...