Buying the Farm

Literally, not figuratively! After a lengthy conversation with the IRS a few days ago, I spent some time thinking about my monetary situation. Three credit cards, truck loan payment, motorcycle loan payment, a bill consolidation loan, alimony, insurance, etc... etc... Now a monthly IRS payment. Hello moonlighting!

Secondary jobs aside, I also thought about how I am going to afford moving and paying for a farm. Yes, I have thought about this before. It is something that pokes at my mind from time to time. Monetary wealth is not that important to me, but money is necessary given my current situation...

So, I will be moonlighting if I can. Most of my personal things are sold already, so no cash there. Any suggestions on money making ideas? The wilder the better!

John Deere Does Well; Stock Slumps

Sometimes Wall Street just confuses me. Well, OK. It usually confuses me. And, here is no exception. John Deere sales are up not only in the US and Canada, but worldwide. They had a 22% rise in Net but because they didn't meet analysts expectations, their stock fell about 6% in pre-market trading.

Did I get that right? They are doing well but stock declined??? Sometimes I wonder if most of the market is driven by computers with buy/sell programs or short-sighted investors.

Automobiles & Self Sufficiency

Once in a great while I find something that is just fantastic. And, sometimes the circumstances prompting such finds is less that ideal. You see, I have a sick Chevy S-10 pickup.

A few weeks ago I started smelling gas. This weekend I started digging into the problem. After carefully removing several wires and hoses and other connectors, I was at the crux of the problem. There it was. A sick fuel injector.

I remove it and see something odd. The O-rings were just flopping around the injector. BINGO! So, for $5 I buy an O-Ring set from Auto-Zone, replace them on the injector, and carefully put it back into the engine.

With the help of my parts cleaner/daughter everything was nicely cleaned up and put back together. What a 'rush' for someone who has done little more than change spark-plugs and bleed a clutch over the last 20 some years.

I turn the key; my heart skips a beat with anticipation; 'Will it start? Will it run? Did I do this right?'

Vroom!!!

YES! It starts! I step out of the trck, feeling like the master of my automotive world. Until... Until I look at the fuel injector again. DAMN! Dripping wet with fuel again!

So, I locate this website: 2carpros.com Supposedly I could post my problem & a real mechanic will answer it... For FREE! Now, if you donate a little, they will respond quicker.

Saturday night I post the problem and the next morning, there it is. A mechanic posted back that the injector would need to be replaced. Deep down I knew that, but didn't want to admit it. Oh well.

Anyway, kudos to the guys at 2carpros.com Anyone who drives and strives to be self sufficient should know of this site. Everyone needs a little help now & then.

Sustainable Ag

I find it interesting when sustainable agriculture is mentioned in the news. It seems as if it is becoming mainstream. Is it possible sustainable agriculture will be a savior of society? Perhaps.

Here are some recent sustainable agriculture news: Sustainable Agriculture and Global Health Conference; Ohio Sustainable Agricultural license plates; and Buying Local can Help Food Crisis.

There are more, just google it.

In the 1970's when I was a farm kid, sustainable agriculture was just common sense. There seemed to be a need to be balanced. Crop rotation, idling productive land and natural fertilization. Farmers that operated fruit and vegetable stands would combine crops. Popcorn with pumpkins. Melons with oats. Some of their combinations seemed odd and others didn't work.

Sustainable agriculture is all about sustainable living. Living in balance with our environment had become 'quaint.' Only 'hippies' and 'communists' and old-school farmers practiced it. Now is is becoming popular and rather important. Good. It's about time.

The Factory Farm and Biodiversity

Well, CNN seems to be getting onto the biodiversity bandwagon. This article on CNN is a good read and in my opinion does a good job of explaining why factory farming (or industrial livestock farming) is causing a reduction of biodiversity.

The article also points the finger of dwindling biodiversity to the public. Generally people don't want different foods. They want their t-bone steak, and russet potatoes and iceberg lettuce and pinto beans and big orange carrots. What of different things like rabbit or organic wild rice or a fresh salad with collard and dandelion greens. Why not try some of those odd looking purple carrots?

The reasons vary. People generally like what they know. Thus, there isn't a large demand at the grocery store for them. Without demand, the store will not buy them. Without demand from the store, the farmer will not grow them.

Do you want to support biodiversity? Be different. When shopping at a grocery store, buy one odd looking fruit or vegetable. That's a start. Take the next step and buy fresh produce from your local farmer's market at least once a month, more if possible. The last step is the most rewarding. Start a garden.

Go ahead and support biodiversity. I dare ya!

Where 'o Where?

I couldn't sleep last night. Sometimes it just happens. I toss and turn and just can't quite get comfortable. Maybe I am just getting old!

As I toss and turn, I wonder of where I should relocate. What state. In order of preference, here is my current list:

• Illinois
• Wisconsin
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Indiana
• Ohio
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• North Carolina

So, what do you, my kind read think? It needs to be a state with computer programming jobs in combination with the possibility of a quiet rural lifestyle less than 50 miles away. Comments???

Power and Stone

A hallmark of true farmers everywhere is their self sufficient nature. Growing up on a small family farm, even in the late 1970's and early 1980's we were fairly self sufficient. I fondly remember several times during wintertime when we could not get out for groceries. It wasn't an issue.

The freezer was full of meat and frozen vegetables from the farm. The cellar was full of canned corn and beats. Bags of onions hung from the ceiling and potatoes filled the storage bin. Water came from our well. There was even an old handle water pump in case the power failed; and it did rather often.

For years, heat was generated by an old heater powered by oil. We graduated up to a wood burning stove in 1980. To survive we needed no electricity or petroleum. In the long term, additional inputs may have been necessary, but on the short term, we could survive quite handily.

Could the same be said of the typical urban dweller? Probably not.

When I do finally move to the country, I would like to be as self sufficient as possible. Several things are on my list. Some include a wood furnace; indoor vegetable growing area or greenhouse; storage cellar; and a wind power system.

Why wind power? Well, direct solar is currently too expensive, and wind power is fairly simple. The house and buildings will be wired for three voltages: conventional 110v AC; 12v DC; and 24v DC. Why? Well, most of the electrical items I use, operate on one of those three voltages.

And... I HATE those "wall warts;" those annoying little power supplies that plug into a wall outlet and convert the 110 AC to 12v or 24v DC. Last week I cleaned up my little storage shed and ended up with an entire box of these things!

So, I am going to start researching small scale wind power a bit more. One thing I haven't read much about is wiring a house for DC. Anyone have information on such a thing? Please leave a comment. More on this later.

Top 10 Rural Counties to Live

I remember back several years ago, my home county of Mercer County, Illinois was assigned the eighth best county to live, in the Midwest, according to Progressive Farmer magazine (link likely available on the right, under Google Ads). Now, that county isn't even listed. HA. That's OK. Take a look there & see where your county ranks. If you don't see the link to the right, just Google Progressive Farmer. The stats on their chosen counties is fantastic!