Always be prepared for things to go wrong on the farm. It isn’t a matter of IF, so much, as a matter of When.
Yesterday was a good example.
It is the end of March 2024 and we have had a wonderfully mild winter. Haven’t had to clear snow once. Just used a broom to clear the steps and that was it. Easter is one week away and the weather is beautiful!
However Old Man Winter finally woke up and realized he had some catching up to do! We ended up with a foot of snow the first day of the storm and there will be more coming all week.
The next day I got the skidsteer started and started trying to clear the snow only to have it break down after 2 min.
Switching to our snow removal backup plan. Pulled out the 30 inch snow blower that hasn’t been started in 2 years and am wonderfully surprised when it starts right up. Seems a little glitchy on the drive wheels and is losing some oil but is sufficient to get the 400ft driveway cleared.
3 hours later…
Got the driveway cleared in time for store hours.
Now for the bigger problem.
With the skidsteer broken how will we feed the cows?
The hay bales are 5x6 and weigh between 1600 and 2000 lbs. There is no way to move them by hand and we don’t have any other equipment on the farm. None of my close neighbors have equipment that can handle these bales.
Ohh well. If I can’t bring the bales to the cattle, maybe I can bring the cattle to the bales.
Backup plan 2.0
Several years ago we purchased some portable Smart Fences. Each one gives you 330ft of fencing and you can set it up or take it down in just a few min. Once we had the plan, it was easy. All we had to do was tie one end to a fence post to hold it firm. Loosen the wire tension on the Smart fence and start walking. Every 25 ft I would stop and put a stake in the ground and then keep going. It took 3 min to put the Smart Fence up from the cattle yard to the hay bales. Another 2 min to grab the electric fencer and hook it up and we were ready to go. Took a grain bucket and led the cows to the new hay bales.
Backup plan 2 executed and Problem solved!
These fences have saved us so many times. We use them almost constantly during the summer. Sometimes they are used for rotational grazing. Other times they are used to patch broken spots in the fence while you fix them. Or to keep the cattle out of the way while taking down a tree. We even use them to catch the cattle when they break a fence. They are so fast to put up we can quickly run a wide circle around the cattle with the Smart Fence and trap them before they figure out what is going on.
We use them in a 100 different way every year and they have become quite indispensable and a great lifesaver on the farm.
If you keep cattle, goats, sheep, or pigs these fences could be handy for you too!
You can find links to them below.
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