I make a new batch of chicken feed and do a little recycling-with fire...

 I took a couple days off from the bathroom repair to make feed. 

I am a little frustrated with my customers as they say they want feed but half of them don't actually show up. But... They will suddenly appear and want the exact 850lb bag that they saw two months ago. Then there is this discussion in broken English and they try and get a better deal. 

Chicken mix of Alfalfa, Corn, Oats, Barley, Rye, Canola, Peas, Clover Screenings plus Pepper and various seasonings. 

I just tossed the red pepper, oregano, lavender, garlic, calendula, diatomaceous earth into the conveyer along with the pellets from the mouse damaged bags. Like to see a mouse take a bit out of this batch!

I pelletized and bagged 20 forty pound bags of chicken feed a couple months ago for a friend who lives an hour away. I just restacked it and took out the bags with mouse damage. I think she is down to ten bags now. I am not making another batch for a while. 

My wife discovered a mix with red pepper, oregano, lavender, garlic, calendula, diatomaceous earth, and a couple other ingredients I couldn't find. It like a natural medicated feed. I put in some hemp bud, just because.

One of the neighbors drove by and said it smelled good.

I have 500lbs but I think it is going to be like $55 for a 60lb bag and the chicken ladies won't pay that. Need smaller bags.

I have been getting videos sent to me made by supposedly disgruntled farmers and ranchers who suddenly hate Trump. 

The leftist political machine is quite sophisticated and well funded. They are seriously investing resources against Trump. I am impressed.

As to farmers and ranchers who voted for Trump and now think he turned on them, what a bunch of idiots. As a skeptic I did not expect a lot. Export agriculture has been in a three-four year slump. It started with high fuel and fertilizer costs and a surge in commodity prices after the WuFlu that actually resulted in fence row to fence row corn and soybean production. 

I wish Trump could fix it but I didn't have a lot of hope. I was hoping for some good negotiating skills but I don't see it happening. (Especially with the Democrats dedicated to opposition)

The farmer/rancher complaints really hit to the heart of what is wrong with modern agriculture. Farmers are not farming because they want a nice little farm to raise a family and do the best job possible for the Glory of God. They are farming the most acres with the newest equipment because God told them to feed the world and make money. 

The cattle ranchers are at the mercy of four packing companies. Those packing companies will use cheap beef imports to screw the ranchers as they always do. The ranchers apparently have been buying calves like there is no tomorrow and as a result $125 bull calves at the auction are selling for $1,200. 

Or is it the ranchers? I suspect they are not buying $1500 calves but are trying to build up herds. This would mean keeping $1,500 calves back. Or taking advantage of high prices to sell out.

From talking to local cow people, I gather a lot of frustration with a longtime bottleneck of USDA inspections and the difficult regulations in selling beef directly to consumers. Feed prices are high but commodity prices are low. Hay sales are not great. Small producers are reluctant to buy expensive replacement stock when they know prices will crash.

I am not sure Trump is helping or hurting. So I would go with not as good as I hoped for but not as bad as I feared and I am thankful we don't have that idiot Biden or Cackling Kamala.

Fortunately I have been keeping up with my recycling...

I hate it when the starting fluid cans get dropped and the nozzle breaks off. So I recycle them!