Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

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BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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If you get winter diesel into them when you're supposed to they won't gel up. That said, I had a tractor and a skid steer gelled in late December so knowing that doesn't necessarily save you unless you actually do it :p. Anything with glow plugs will usually start until you get down close to zero degrees but below that they better be plugged in.

I'm pretty interested in the new Ford big block 7.3l v8. I know a guy that has one and he says it pulls pretty well and it's $8000 cheaper than the diesel. I think the 10 speed automatic transmission that they put in the new Fords makes a difference as well.
 
Sludig

Sludig

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On that topic, i was a little suprised one of the upgrades for the gas ecoboost maverick was a block heater. Thought that was only for diesels. Maybe a pointless upsell.
 
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Foler

Asshat Foler

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lurkingdirk said:
I've had a diesel truck in the past. I just don't have any need to own anything with that much towing capacity right now. I like my little truck, and it fits inside my garage.

One thing to think about with diesel in Montana is that they suck in the cold. I had my diesel vehicles gel up when it got to -35 or colder. My solution was to throw a heavy tarp over it and run the caterpillar heater under it for a half hour. What a pain in the ass.
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I don’t deal with this problem but they make block heaters now days as an option. Just plug that bad boy in.

Real trucks don’t have spark plugs.
 
lurkingdirk

lurkingdirk

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BrutulTM said:
If you get winter diesel into them when you're supposed to they won't gel up. That said, I had a tractor and a skid steer gelled in late December so knowing that doesn't necessarily save you unless you actually do it :p. Anything with glow plugs will usually start until you get down close to zero degrees but below that they better be plugged in.

I'm pretty interested in the new Ford big block 7.3l v8. I know a guy that has one and he says it pulls pretty well and it's $8000 cheaper than the diesel. I think the 10 speed automatic transmission that they put in the new Fords makes a difference as well.
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My Ranger has the 10 speed automatic. I'd rather have a manual, but this gives me pretty good gas mileage.
 
lurkingdirk

lurkingdirk

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Foler said:
Trade it in for a comfy lil Chevy Colorado diesel
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Not a chance. Not even one. I love my truck, and I'll never buy another Chevy truck. I know many people like them, I don't. I don't like their size, I don't like how they drive, I don't find their seats comfortable, and they are the lowest on mileage. Just not a Chevy truck fan.
 
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Foler

Asshat Foler

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lurkingdirk said:
Not a chance. Not even one. I love my truck, and I'll never buy another Chevy truck. I know many people like them, I don't. I don't like their size, I don't like how they drive, I don't find their seats comfortable, and they are the lowest on mileage. Just not a Chevy truck fan.
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Meh. I’m not a brand loyalist. Every brand has a bad run at some point. Don’t discriminate, ONE DOESNT MEAN ALL DIRK!
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Sludig said:
On that topic, i was a little suprised one of the upgrades for the gas ecoboost maverick was a block heater. Thought that was only for diesels. Maybe a pointless upsell.
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They were helpful back in the carburetor days. On a fuel injected vehicle it's totally unnecessary. Even if it's -30 my fuel injected pickups start instantly.
 
lurkingdirk

lurkingdirk

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Foler said:
Meh. I’m not a brand loyalist. Every brand has a bad run at some point. Don’t discriminate, ONE DOESNT MEAN ALL DIRK!
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gordan-ramsay-slap.gif


Of course I know that. This is a life-long informed opinion.
 
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Foler

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Fucking camphor trees man. Been trying to go through my property and find the ones I can dig up/kill. Unfortunately some a HUGE to the point that if I removed them and replaced with something else it would take years for whatever I put to grow back to similar size.

You guys have these invasive trees where you’re at?
 
Foler

Asshat Foler

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Hopefully taking delivery of UTV this weekend. Still shopping trailers. What am I missing here on this big Tex? It’s marketed as a UTV trailer but only has a payload capacity 2012lbs. My can am defender limited has an estimated dry weight of 1928 lbs.. Looked at other UTVs and seems on average they weigh 1450-1900 lbs (unless you get one with 6 seats etc). Are these guys just aiming this towards more bare bones utvs or are they pushing the limit on towing payload? My current single axle trailer has a GAWR of 2061. Would you guys attempt towing my UTV with it? Mine will weigh more than 1928 due to adding lights, speakers and a few more things, how much more I don’t know.

2EFA50E8-24D7-48AB-B019-BFD6FD782CEB.jpeg
 
Flobee

Flobee

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Anyone done dairy cows before? We're shopping for a couple Jersey cow/calf pairs right now and hoping to get some on property within the next couple months. Looking into getting my grain bin filled up before feed prices get too high. I have a pretty good set up to keep them on grass for a majority of the year, and I plan to do so, however I imagine I will need some grain to supplement in winter... plus will use it to coax them in for milking.

Any suggestions on grain type or mix? I'm going to avoid soy and will be looking for organic, but besides that I don't really have much direction. A lot of options available. Bonus points if I can use it for chickens as well.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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You will probably want to give them some grain year round at least while they're producing. If you have a feed mill nearby that can make a mix for you they will probably know what's available and know how to mix it into a balanced ration. If you want to feed it to chickens that is doable too but let them know. Organic would be hard to find in this area but I don't know about where you are.

What are you going to do with 20+ gallons of milk a week?
 
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Flobee

Flobee

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BrutulTM said:
What are you going to do with 20+ gallons of milk a week?
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Thanks. Wife has plans for butter, cheese, yogurt/kefir, ice cream etc. We'll can/freeze some, give some away, feed some to chickens, and obviously drink a lot. I live in a state where Raw Milk is legal to sell (with restrictions) and incredibly hard to find. If things go well we may end up selling some as there is demand but no supply. We're pretty focused on generating nutritionally dense foods and raw milk is perfect in that context.

EDIT: We'll be calvesharing as well so we won't really be milking more than we need at any given time.
 
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Control

Control

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Foler said:
Woke up this morning. Checked atvtrader per usual. Found a dealer had the exact UTV I wanted in stock. Just received it yesterday. Immediately put a deposit down on it as soon as they opened and drove down to take a look. Gonna take it. They have to finish putting stuff on it (bumper etc). Out the door total was 32k. Dropping another 5k in lighting, audio, hydraulic bed tilt etc.

View attachment 394331
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I don't know anything about UTVs or farms, but at that price, why wouldn't people just use a truck instead? I guess it being smaller makes it more convenient/efficient? The price versus an actual vehicle confuses my brain a bit.
 
Burns

Burns

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Flobee said:
Thanks. Wife has plans for butter, cheese, yogurt/kefir, ice cream etc. We'll can/freeze some, give some away, feed some to chickens, and obviously drink a lot. I live in a state where Raw Milk is legal to sell (with restrictions) and incredibly hard to find. If things go well we may end up selling some as there is demand but no supply. We're pretty focused on generating nutritionally dense foods and raw milk is perfect in that context.

EDIT: We'll be calvesharing as well so we won't really be milking more than we need at any given time.
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Make sure you research your liability with selling, or even giving away raw milk. What ever your beliefs on it, it is going to get the blame and lawsuits will get flung if people get sick.
 
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BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Control said:
I don't know anything about UTVs or farms, but at that price, why wouldn't people just use a truck instead? I guess it being smaller makes it more convenient/efficient? The price versus an actual vehicle confuses my brain a bit.
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There's probably various answers for this, but in our case it's for better off-road performance. The suspension on those things is like a 4-wheeler rather than a pickup so you can make much better time on 2-tracks and such. Roads that would be bouncing your head off the roof in a pickup at 10mph you can do 20-25 easily and it's way better when you're not on a road at all. We even use it for chasing cows although it's a lot less maneuverable than a 4-wheeler but it makes a difference for us because my 4 year old nephew can come along on cattle moves and be safe where before someone had to stay home with him. It's fantastic in the winter to have an off road vehicle that has a cab too. Riding a 4 wheeler in winter is fucking misery.
 
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Foler

Asshat Foler

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Control said:
I don't know anything about UTVs or farms, but at that price, why wouldn't people just use a truck instead? I guess it being smaller makes it more convenient/efficient? The price versus an actual vehicle confuses my brain a bit.
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A lot more convenient driving it around the property to do shit than a huge diesel truck. A UTV I can get back into the forest - no more hauling shit all the way out of the forest by food and hand. Also the big sell for me was its ability to mow my property using a kenz engineering pull mower. Zero turns get stuck on my property especially in summer when it’s wet. Huge bonus that I can tow a trailer with it. Just makes it easier than wielding a giant truck.
 
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