It finally rained and I am sick...

I have been planing like mad for the last week.We have had a dry fall. I should have plowed.

But plowing takes time and money. Although, making eight passes with a heavy disk also costs a lot of money and doesn't bury the straw.

Today I had planned to help Muddy Valley with packing. However, I suspect he doesn't want me to show up with a serious cough, body aches, head ache, minor temperature, and no energy. (I doubt he minds if I am also grump.)

Crop prices or terrible. There is nothing to grow that will make any profit at this point for next year.

We have ten acres of grain corn which part is going for whiskey and the rest to the local feed mill for maybe $250 a ton. I was going to grind some for my neighbor. He has been setting on it for a year. I have very glad I didn't buy any for $450 a ton as I would still have it.

I have a friend with cows and I think I am going to put all my bags of grain together and make him a mix, sell it cheap, and sell the mixer grinder and pellet mill. It is not so much that there is not money in it. I am just tired.

We planted Timothy for hay, K31 Fescue (which can go for hay for seed) and Annual Ryegrass. Annual Ryegrass is not a good price but it is cheap to grown and seems to actually sell. Annual is used for cover crop and as long as there is price supports for cover crops in the Midwest I am hoping for a market. 

I want to grow buckwheat again next year as it is an excellent rotation but the people we grew it for this year are pretty sketchy so I don't know.

I experimented with Birdsfoot trefoil as it is nitrogen fixing and tends to reseed itself in hay fields. $250 for fifty pounds so it is an experiment.

My next project is hopefully 40 acres of Orchard Grass but it is getting late and we need to spray out the annual ryegrass in the field (annual ryegrass is a weed). They sprayer is broken and it is mid October so who knows.

My neighbor who grew lots of Orchard Grass before getting a real job has been giving me advice on planting. It is much different from the advice other people have. 

I guess it is a difference in attitude. This guy is precise and methodical. What I have found do work really well is just planting really heavy.

He suggested a seed inoculant which contains soil microbes. Sort of an instant compost tea. It is called Recharge and it is really super expensive, (as all good snake oil should be.)

It is mixed at 4 oz per 50lbs of seed. I was going to buy a cement mixer from Harbor Freight to mix it but they were sold out. I just used a stick. I put the magic powder on one side of the drill so we will see if there are trails in the field.

The product was a little short on application instructions and long on propaganda so I don't now if I did it right. The first mix I made for the Timothy I mixed water with it to make a liquid and then stirred it in. The rest I just dumped in dry. I can't remember if I used it on the K-31. 

I got another miracle grow product from the local Co-Op for that and planted half the field using that product in the liquid fertilizer.

Who knows....

The phrase "form over substance," describes a lot about the 21st century. 

Although, "form," is probably a little bit too optimistic. It is more like, "bullshite promotion of the most pathetic over anything having to do with actual productivity or sensibility." Unfortunately this does not have any sort of nice ring to it. 

Not really a statement you can put on a meme.

Last night we got together we from some University Expatriates. We all have sort of a survivor bond. It is really kind of amusing.

I have run into several former University people, students and staff alike, and generally it is the same statement... "I can't believe I spent (...) years at that place. Then we all start telling funny stories about the stupid stuff we witnessed. 

Friday, I saw a retired neighbor whose wife had attended Linfield in the 1940's or 50's. They used to be supporters and donors. He was very happy I no longer worked there. He expressed a common sentiment I hear when I tell the locals I am a farmer now. "Well, I was starting to worry about you..."

I am not sure what that means. It may explain some fundraising issues though.

When I look back I do have to laugh. 

I have been gone six months and already they have killed the tractor I babied for six years, and were also able to kill every plant in the greenhouse. 

I know this as I get frequent updates from current inmates.

I was just sent the below picture of the greenhouse. It is dead and brown. I do see that someone found the watering system parts that were under the bench for eight years. It was a great idea although it only took 15 minutes to manually water the greenhouse and it only needed to be done twice a week. However, I am sure there is a rationalization for this. Probably it has been declared off limits due to cost cutting. No one ever admits they are just incompetent.

Of course the real reason everything is dead is there is because initative is discouraged, and there no is incentive to learn or take on extra duties. There was a minor problem and no one could solve the problem so they just let everything die. I suspect i could have solved the issue with no cost and no loss of plants.

There was a  problem I had to deal with in the greenhouse.  The automatic temperature control is not working correctly. The reason it does not work is because someone decided to screw with the controls but did not ask the operator of the greenhouse (me( how those controls worked. As a result they over extended the mechanism that opens the roof and did serious damage to the mechanism and broke several windows. The solution is not complicated. But it does require someone who can do basic trouble shooting. There is a temp sensor which controls a motor which raises a vent on one side of the roof. This vent runs the length of the greenhouse and is a continuation of the glass panels which comprise the green house roof. (You can see it in the picture below.) 

There is a broken part which is setting on the desk of a technician in the Utilities department. In fact, the new part is probably on order. But, no one bothered to even ask about this issue. It was not a secret. I didn't follow protocol and I told anyone that would listen what was going on.

If the automatic system doesn't work there is a manual control for raising the roof panels. It is pretty obvious. You can see it in the picture. There is also a sun shade to cover the roof. Since we all have access to weather information you can predict when it will be over 90 degrees during the day. So.... If  you can't figure out how to make the electric panel raise, or if you don't trust the electric panel, (in my case) you manually raise the roof, you leave the door open, you put up the sun shade, and you leave fans running day and night to circulate the air.

This does not take a lot of time, but it does require intelligent thought and an ability to look ahead. Those things are somewhat frowned upon from upper management at the college, although this allegation is vehemently denied by everyone in leadership at the University.

I do find it amusing that people who really coveted my role as greenhouse manager and thought there was some sort a favoritism that I got the job were unable to actually make the greenhouse work when they had the opportunity. I also recognize that if I were to confront management about the failure of the greenhouse they would have a BS reason that it was purposefully shut down. Not enough time, shortage of people, cost, but really they are either lazy or stupid or a combination of the above.

When I left they had just installed plants in the new science building. When I took over the greenhouse I also took over care of all indoor plants. This included the old science building and the library. I maintained replacement plants in the greenhouse and rotated the plants if there were problems. (I was not that great at the job)

In a masterful example of supervisory effectiveness it was decided that one person would take care of the science building plants, another person would take care of the library, and I would continue with the greenhouse as I had extra duties on the athletic fields.

When people tell me about these failures I feel bad. Sometimes I feel I should get a little angry about being fired. I just feel like I spent eight years dealing with mentally handicapped people and they really couldn't help that they were idiots. I feel kind of sorry for them and find it hard to hold a grudge. I obviously should not have insulted a manbun-dumbass.  Sometimes I feel like I should go fix stuff that they screw up. (Just for the good of the students) Or when I get a text about conflicts with the Cartel, I feel I should go over on their break and get both sides of the story and try to explain. My wife says I am not allowed to do this. She is correct. 

Pearls before swine. On the top left is the chain hoist that raises the roof. Also on the left are the Philodendrons I babied that is the replacement for the library plants. The front right shows the Begonias that were used by the science department. But, I think that professor got a better job so they are irrelevant.

Hay season, my unlikely sprayer, the state of Oregon thinks I am always on vacation

When I decided to build a sprayer to fit in the back of my salvaged John Deere Gator I never thought it would be as handy as it has proved to be.

My imaginary plan after my daughter's graduation was to complete my Agricultural Turf Certification, buy a few key pieces of equipment and do work for local parks and school districts and conservation districts. It was probably a good plan but after breaking my leg and then launching into the farming season I suspect this will never happen.

Building the Gator Sprayer was as far as I got.

I use it a lot. It is perfect for spraying fence rows and field borders. I have used it to apply hay preservative as the auto rate control is really useful. 

Friday I used it to apply Glyphosate to our five acres of Bourbon grain corn. The wheels fit down the rows! 

I need to build new booms as the one I bought do not hold up to rough fields and I need to put a bigger battery in it. If I don't have 14 volts on the meter, the electric valves start closing on me and mess up my spray rate. Of course I had to use five boom sections which at 1.5 amps per valve does add up to a voltage drain.

Spraying the booze corn! (and wishing for rain)

Hay season is not as fun as it once was. I hoped to pick up some custom stacking but the jobs so far have not been great. Hillsides and swamps. With breakdowns included.

A hydraulic line under the cab leaked all day without me seeing it and I lost brakes and steering at the top of a steep hill. It was not that bad a ride. But, after that I went home.

I did have a great view!

Now I must write my weekly letter to "Frances," explaining that if I were still employed by the University, I would not be on vacation.

Oregon Frances Unemployment-my fiasco continues

Have you ever spent 5 hours on hold? 

Last Monday it rained and so I decided I should work on my Unemployment benefit payment which is an utter joke.

There is a toll-free number which if you ever succeed in accessing, will solve all your problems.

I started dialing at ten minutes to the 9 a.m. opening time. I would get a busy signal and then immediately get cut off. I hit redial after every disconnect. 

I repeated the process for a hour until I finally got through to an automated phone tree. I put in my info and the automated voice told me to expect a two minute wait.

I was on hold for four and a half hours.

This was not terrible. I put the phone on speaker and I did the dishes, four loads of laundry, fed the chickens, pulled the PTO on a White 2-105, attempted to pick up my tools, and then I saw my wife was home for lunch.

She suggested I drive in to town and show the folks at WorkSource Oregon that I was permanently on hold. I think it might have been that the only hold music was starting to drive her insane. Especially after I started whistling the tune some what off-key.

So I drove in to town.

The WorkSource people were not unsympathetic but went through the whole process of explaining that they were unable to do anything about it and solving benefits issues was not their job. I might as well tell DMV my problems as I would get the same result.

I explained that I knew that this but DMV cannot access my Frances Account and make notes or interpret cryptic messages from faceless benefits administrators.

So they logged me in and made notes and told me to just stay on the line. 

I went downtown to the Liquor Store Harbor Freight and looked at the screwups in mowing the practice field at my former job. I was in the drive through line at Burger King when the line was answered.

I gave my information and explained that I had proved my identity many times and asked for help.

The lady asked if she could put me on hold for 15 minutes while she researched my problems. I said, "no problem!" She seemed surprised but didn't press the issue. I was overjoyed at only 15 minutes on hold. 15minutes is nothing after 4.5 hours...

I went through drive through and got my Whopper.

She came back on the line and said my issue was just a box not checked and asked if she could fix it. I said "please!"

When I got home I saw that my claim status for the week had changed from denied to under review. 

A week later it says "paid."

I still have not seen any money or a payment card in the mail.

This weeks claim has been flagged as due to the fact I worked at an educational establishment they suspect I am on summer break and they can't pay me on summer break...

It is a wonder anything gets done at the State of Oregon...

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail- Planting Timothy with Great Plains 1500 no-till drill

I planted Timothy yesterday. I had worked the ground a couple weeks ago right before a good rain. The plan was to get a sprout, spray out the weeds, and no-till the Timothy into a stale seedbed. 

I had a choice of three grail drills. 

My favorite is the 1953 MM drill but it is only 9 ft. We also have a mid 1970's John Deere that is 12 foot but I hate it. 

But, I do have a Great Plains 1500 no-till drill and it is hooked to a very comfortable tractor with heat and AC and it is 15foot wide.

The problem with the Great Plains is that is has so much down pressure it is hard to regulate planting small seeds.

The small seeds box has separate tubes which drop behind the v-openers and right in front of the press wheels. There is so much down pressure that in loose soil the v-openers dig a trench regardless that I have the press wheels set as far down as possible.

It did not work.  The field looked like I had disked it.

Outside round is with down pressure. Second round is without. You can also see the difference the harrow makes.

Harrow vs no harrow?

I had removed the harrow on one side for repairs and left it off because I suspected that the harrow was responsible for burying the seed. This was true. Without the harrow the seed was the right depth but it was at the bottom of a two inch deep trench. This is good for a dry summer but not good for a hay field.

The Great Plains 1500 no-till system is two parts. There is a three point style drill with press wheels and heavy down pressure springs. This is then mounted on a cart which has no-till coulters and a hydraulic lift.

To decrease my down pressure I added cylinder stops to the main lift cylinders.

I added cylinder stops until the v-openers quit digging a trench. I also blocked down the drill wheels but the small seeds turn so easy there was no problem with the drive wheel slipping

This worked quite well. I was able to reduce the spring pressure on the drill to the point that I was no longer digging a deep trench. I left one harrow off to see it that would help.

After planting I flat rolled the field to conserve moisture. 

Flat rolling to conserve moisture. I suspect it won't rain again until we put hay down

Well Poop...

It was probably too early to cut hay anyway...

I had a plan. Today was supposed to be Sunny! I was fluffing up the hay when suddenly it rained. I suspect hay making is over for today, and for another week...

It was actually really nice looking hay. Had $150 worth of inoculant on it...

Some people don't like Conklin Proserve. We have used it for years. I usually add another quart of molasses to it. I suspect it just makes me feel better. But adding molasses is always a sure bet, animals can smell any amount and they love our hay. 

My current plan is to go fishing. 

My wife went to Church. I stayed home...

Oregon's New Unemployment Program has a clever name but doesn't work. Frances is a slow learner or just more administrative dysfunction

My unemployment misadventure is becoming less entertaining.

I have collected zero unemployment benefits. This is not the end of the world for me as I don't pay rent and I have a freezer full of beef. However, there are people in Oregon losing their homes because of the failure of Frances.

Frances is the clever acronym for the new Oregon Unemployment Insurance benefits website. It went online March 1st of 2024. It was not a complete failure, only a partial failure.

I expect any new software to have some bugs but the problem with glitches in the Frances website are compounded by the structure of the State of Oregon administrative state. 

If something goes wrong with your claim, there is no reliable way to fix it. Sure, the spokesman will say there are several options for help built into the system. That is true. But they actually solve the problems people are having.

There is an online chat icon. I think it is an owl. It bounces with enthusiasm when you ask it a question. I found that despite the nice graphic, it is mostly programmed with stock answers to imagined questions. There is supposedly a live chat also but I have very mixed results with that option.

There is a phone number to call for help. The phone number is always busy. If you get past the first busy signal then you get a second busy signal and it hangs up on you.

There is a message feature that is a little hard to find. This is NOT email or text messaging as you might imagine. You write a message in the Frances website and you are assigned a number. You may or may not get a speedy reply. You must use that number with all correspondence. 

I found it is best to list only one problem at a time and include your phone number. At first there was a really good chance of getting help. I spoke on the phone with a couple people and they really helped me. However, they called me as I had included my phone number in my message. Now they don't even answer my messages.

The live helpers are limited in what they can do. This is also the problem with going in to a WorkSource Oregon location. The live people I talked to were very helpful. They could all look at my account and see possible problems, but they could not fix the problems,. Apparently there are caseworkers behind the scenes who make the decisions and they are separated from the real world by a wall of bureaucracy.

Also, I suspect those caseworkers are actually contract workers in India.

My problems with Frances started March 1st. 

Suddenly, my password would no longer work. I could not prove my identity but I was in the system. It took a month but I found someone who helped me. I can't really talk about that made a promise. I was lucky.

I can now log in. And whhile I missed the March unemployment because I couldn't record my job search, I was eligible in February and April forward.

Every week I log my job search and every week I get declined. 

The letter states that since I worked at an educational institution Oregon law requires that I verify that I am not on spring break. (I swear I am not making this up) I have filled out questionnaires asking me this question. I have written messages stating that I worked in facilities and we work during spring and summer breaks, I went as far as to point out that even if they didn't want to pay me for the week of spring break, there were no Schools that had a three month spring break!

I have written messages online. I tried to file and appeal online. I even wrote an actual letter and sent it though the US Postal Service.

Last Thursday I went to WorkSource Oregon location (again) and I bought my letters and I ask for help. The fellow was a little grumpy which I don't mind. I actually prefer grumpy and effective to happy and a bit dim. He dives in to my file.

After a lot of muttering behind his computer he comes up with this diagnosis. Someone keeps denying me benefits because they think I am on spring break. My former employer may be objecting to my collection. of benefits but he can't tell if that is the case. He didn't think they had responded yet.

So I went home and email the head of the University HR and asked her. I got a very nice and very quick reply. They were not objecting and she was going to log into Frances from her end and see if she could fix the problem. 

We shall see...

In other news:

I have been working like a dog! Unfortunately for me, I cannot charge for my work as I must not have any income or I will have serious insurance problems. I have been helping out neighbors and building a sprayer. As long as my diesel tank is full and someone helps me load bags, I am good.

I no-tilled oats in a little valley that I never knew existed

I am building a sprayer for the Gator. Since I have no income I have been using up all the parts I bought on sale and buckets of leftovers from other projects. It is going to be interesting. A seven nozzle sprayer with a five section auto rate controller, gps speed control, and output for my FarmerGPS guidance system. Pretty much overkill for a 15 foot RTV sprayer and a 50 gallon tank!

Friends from Church invited us to an Alabama tribute band concert. It was absolutely entertaining. There were old folks dancing in the aisles. Plus they totally rocked. They also ROCKED really black wigs. Our friends said they have been going to tribute band concerts. They saw a Eagles cover band and a Led Zeppelin cover band. This might be a good plan. They tribute bands are fans and they love the music. They were not bored with playing the same songs. It is also cheap. You are not paying $150 and up to see a group of 80 year olds mumble through the words. Of course the bonus real bands is might get to see Bono have a heart attack on stage. This is also the bonus when you watch Joe Biden eat an ice cream.. But I digress...