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Farm Power, The Cash Crop

Farm Power, The Cash Crop

The Operating Profit Margin Ratio (OPMR) for farms is probably the best or fairest way to compare different farms, of different sizes, with equipment of different ages and conditions, and a thousand other variables. One case study of a West Central Indiana farm shows the average OPMR for the five years between 2010 and 2014 to be 0.2449, or about 25%. In the very next year (2015), because of very wet conditions, corn production was considerably lower. Combined with lower crop value at market, the OPMR was into negative territory (-0.0356), or a loss just over 3½%. In 2016 it was expected to be on the plus side by 4.61%. A New Strategy - How to Turn Your Farm Power into a Cash Crop With a little thoughtful planning and investment, you could decrease the costs of operating your farm by eliminating your need for electrical power from the grid. This amounts to better profit in good years and lower losses in the bad years. There’s even a way to do this for free. All along the northern edge of your property, or any space where shadows are not a problem, you could contract with the local electrical facility (or an agent) to place their frame mounted solar panels where they won’t shade your crops. They can produce “green power” for the utility, which can then be exchanged for valuable carbon credits. (David Suzuki. et al, 2008) This depends on the net metering (Polaris, 2017) rules where you live which are supported by 43 states, Washington, D.C., and 4 territories currently (SEIA, 2017). Some states inexplicably forbid selling power back to the utility. Speak to your local political representative to get this changes if your state still hasn’t joined the 21st century. . In many cases, carbon credits are so highly valued that the utility often pays more per “green” kilowatt than they charge their customers!  If that’s true for you, you have a cash crop which requires no planting, no fertilizing, no harvesting, and no maintenance. Even without the bonus payment, you still get “utility rates” for your excess energy, which is provided as a credit towards your overall use, or acts as a bank where you can withdraw it for free if or when you need it yourself. The money is generated by energy users (corporations or household users) that that elect to pay slightly more for their power to demonstrate environmental responsibility, to feel better about themselves, or to help promote more green energy production.  Many [...]

By |2024-01-12T11:35:48+00:00July 31st, 2017|Farm, Solar, Thermal, Trenching, Water Furnace|0 Comments
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Three Grilled Fruit Desserts You Must Try… with Ice Cream!

By Kent Whitaker - Grilled Fruit Desserts with Ice Cream: A Guide for Grillers Summer grilling is a fantastic opportunity to expand your grilling repartee beyond traditional meats, veggies, and hotdogs. Why not look towards the fruit bowl in your kitchen for some inspiration. There are a bunch of fruits suited for great grilling that can be used as a side dish, a garnish as well as an ingredient in a recipe such as grilled mango salsa or pineapple with a nice hamburger! Then there’s always the dessert consideration. Fruit is naturally sweet, so why not take that attribute and put it towards good use when you’re thinking about your after-dinner dessert? Here’s my top-three pieces of fruit that I love to grill and serve with ice cream. Consider these starting points for your next family favorite recipe. Make these starting points your own with your own flavor additions. Grilled Peaches and Cream Something about a grilled peach says summertime! Just like a grilled apple reminds me of fall! Select several nice peaches that are not too soft. You’re looking for something that will hold up well when on the grates and when turned. Rinse the peaches off, slice them in half, remove pits, brush the tops with soften butter, and grill butter side down over medium high heat. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, then turn, and continue to grill for only a few minutes more. Brush with additional butter if desired, sprinkle with brown sugar, and serve hot with cinnamon crisps from the deli if available and a scoop of ice cream. NOTE: You can use peach slices as well with a grilling basket! And, why not grill up some peaches for your next peach cobbler? Give it a try. Grilled Honey Coconut Rum Bananas Here’s an idea that’s steeped in one of my friends Cuban background. They loved using traditional plantains but turned towards the banana as the main ingredient because bananas were easier to find. This is probably one of the easiest grilling recipes around when it comes to fruit. Slice the banana lengthwise, keep them in their peals, brush with butter or use butter flavored non-stick spray. You can use a griddle, on prepared grates, in a grilling basket, and even on foil. Grill the bananas with the peel over medium high heat just long enough to add grill marks and brown the edges slightly. The banana will start to cook and pull away from the peel slightly. Drizzle with [...]

By |2024-01-12T11:51:20+00:00July 20th, 2017|BBQ, BBQ Recipes, Fruits|0 Comments
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The Summer Grilling Checklist

Summer Grilling Checklist - Summer is here! Grills and smokers will be fired up for holidays, family meals, and outdoor dinner parties. Now’s the time to check your outdoor cooking items to make sure they’re in good shape fair. And, it’s perfect time to a few grilling safety tips into consideration. After all, you don’t want you grill breaking before the steaks are done. And, as I say during my book signings and chef demo’s; when it comes to food safety you want your guests to remember the wonderful time and tasty meal. Not a trip to the emergency room due to food poisoning. Here’s a brief Summer Grilling Checklist! The Summer Grilling Checklist GRILL CHECK: Before using a gas grill after it’s been sitting dormant for a while you should check the lines for damage. Replace any worn burners, tighten loose bolts and nuts, clean any rusted areas and clean out debris from the last grilling session! Perform similar maintenance on gas grills and smokers. PREHEAT: Pre-heat your gas grill before using to burn off any residue from cleaners. When you light the charcoal, or fire up the gas for the first time, you might run off a few insects that have made your grill their home. CHECK YOUR FUEL: Before the neighbors come over for your cookout you should double check your fuel. There’s nothing wrong with an extra bag of charcoal or making sure you have enough fuel. CHEF TOOL SPRING CLEANING: Throw away and replace any damaged or rusted utensils, sharpen knifes, and check the batteries in your instant read thermometer. WASH YOUR HANDS AND SURFACES: This act cuts down on cross contamination. If you don’t have an outdoor sink at your grilling area then simply place several handy wipe containers around for you, and your guests, to use freely. Constantly clean around your cooking area as well. ICE FOR DRINKS & ICE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE: If you’re having more people over than you would for a normal family cookout then plan on having two containers for ice. One container The Summer Grilling Checklist holds cans and bottles of beverages that are covered in ice while a separate container holds clean ice for consumption. An ice scoop should be used as well. Any ice used for keeping food chilled should be separate. TEMPS: I’m not going to go over all of rules for keeping foods at the proper temperature. What I’ll do instead is give you a rule of thumb that I mention [...]

By |2024-03-04T06:22:05+00:00June 28th, 2017|BBQ, Raspberry BBQ Sauce|0 Comments
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It’s Time to Meet the Future of Meat

Real, Cultured, or Printed? Nowadays we’re accomplishing miracles in the laboratory. It started, of course, with successful cloning, but we’ve moved on to teasing immature stem cells into making all sorts of tissues, such as skin for burn victims, miniature versions of human organs (called organoids) to learn to treat disease, and actual functional organs for lab animals that fulfill the function of a natural organ. More interesting is something that was accomplished back in early 2015. Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital grew a complete rat forelimb in a petri dish . Fingers/claws, skin, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and muscles all in the right place and functional. In theory, it could be attached to a subject and tested to see if nerve and blood vessels connections were reliable, and if the bones and connective tissue were durable. There is no reason that they shouldn’t be. Meat in a Lab Muscles, of course, are also referred to as meat, and would be fairly undifferentiated from a naturally occurring meat in texture or flavor. What would be the primary difference about meat made in a sterile laboratory? No animals would be slaughtered; there would be no parasites; there would be no fecal contamination; and, most importantly, there would be no antibiotics or growth hormones necessary. There would be no vast tracts of land necessary, dedicated for the use of our current herds of animals. There would be no concurrent crops necessary to feed all these animals as they grew to a size appropriate for the abattoir, and then the local meat market. There would be no need of veterinarian care for herds to treat diseases. It would eliminate animal suffering,because meat would not be sourced from animals at all.  In other words, by just about every popular definition, it would be completely Vegan meat. Of course there are always doubters; those who think meat is bad and artificial meat would be inadequate for some other reason.  It’s very much like people that protest Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods—it makes no sense–since everything in our diet is a GMO.  There is virtually nothing in our diet that has not been changed. Franken-Food Everybody loves corn for instance, but 8,700 years ago in Mexico it was known as teosinte, with just a few grains per stalk that would have easily fit on top of a 25¢ coin.  We crossbred many teosinte with more grains than other plants, and eventually came up with the “cob” that was dense with grain.  Yet no [...]

By |2024-02-29T08:01:41+00:00June 27th, 2017|Food, 3-D Pinting, Chicken, Corn, Environmental, Meat, Poultry|0 Comments
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Hydroponics

Hydroponics is - the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil. In agriculture hydroponics has been remarkably crucial in assisting to lower the usage of pesticides and herbicides. This has translated in more fertile soils and has reduced the chemical burden on farms. Genetically engineered crops such as Bt Maize and Bt Cotton are pest-resistant. Better still other genetically modified crops that are drought-resistant have been produced. Such research has been hugely crucial in a world whose need for food has been increasing exponentially. New pesticides and remote sensing have played essential parts in reducing the amount of harmful chemicals that enter the ecosystem, and allowed farmers to meet the ever increasing needs of the planet. However, fungi and insects are developing resistance even to newest pesticides. Potential Benefits of Genetic Engineering In addition, even the best of modern pesticides still enter the food chains and harm humans and animals alike. For instance, in Holland, farmers have had to switch from soil-growing plants to hydroponics because of the accumulation of toxic salts that come from pesticides and fertilizers. The promise of genetic engineering technologies has been in developing pest-resistant crops which do not need pesticides and can grow without the need of irrigation (Eliot, et al 611). Genetic engineers have stated out rightly that there is a lot of hope such diseases can be treated either the insertion of corrected genes or modification of defective genes. Eventually, this hope of totally eliminating genetic ailments and also the treatment of non-genetic diseases is to a large extent attached to breakthroughs in gene therapy (Hammond, 165-166). Another benefit of hydroponics is in the ability to screen for genetic defects in unborn babies. These screenings are essential for parents and medical staff in preparing for the arrival of a child who may have specific needs. A possible potential benefit of genetic engineering that has been awaited with much eagerness is that a fetus that has genetic defects can be treated using genetic therapy before they are born. Revolutionizing Agriculture and Medicine Current there is a lot of research that is going on with regard to the use of gene therapy for embryos before they are implanted into the mother through in-vitro fertilization (Robert, 93-94). Agriculture is one of the fields which have experienced diverse benefits of hydroponics through rDNA technology. This has translated in improved genetic fitness of many plant species. Some of the common benefits in agriculture are increase in [...]

By |2024-01-12T12:15:35+00:00May 29th, 2017|Agriculture, Genetics, Hydroponics|0 Comments
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Working With Horses

Working With Horses: A Career for All Ages Have you ever noticed how happy people who work with horses seem to be?  Would that be enough to encourage you to take the plunge?  any young people especially girls would love to have the opportunity to work with horses. Maybe you are not so young anymore and think that it’s too late to change your career to work in the equestrian industry.  That is just not true - there are people of all ages who have chosen to follow their dreams and turn their favorite pastime into their livelihood as well. There are so many different jobs that involve horses that you can find one that fits YOU. You don’t have to be a good rider (although that increases your choices) - the only requirement is a genuine concern for their welfare and. total dedication.   The reason that you need to be dedicated is that you may have to start work very early and have few if any weekends off.   You may have to brave all kinds of weather because horses can’t be left standing in their stables all day long to develop habits that come from being bored or stressed.  Exploring Career Opportunities in the Equestrian World: From Riding Instructor to Entrepreneur Often the pay is not great, but the opportunities are always there for those who are prepared to work and study to become an expert in their chosen career. So what jobs are available?  If you are a very good rider you have the possibility of becoming a show jumper or an event person, a flat racing  jockey or a jump jockey.  You may have to start off as a groom who exercises horses for the more talented riders and work your way up Try to find a horsey job that fits your personality.  If you are naturally competitive, go to work with competition horses (that can include driving horses).  Maybe you are super patient and laid back,probably working with young horses would be your best choice.   If you are a sociable person who loves teaching you may prefer to train as a riding instructor.  Ambitious?  Starting your own riding school or livery stables is a great option and you will find that there are often government grants available to help you get started. Of course if you are already financially free or retired, your services would be greatly appreciated by voluntary organizations such as “Riding For The Disabled”.  Whatever you choose to [...]

By |2024-01-12T12:26:40+00:00May 18th, 2017|Horses, Horse Lover|0 Comments
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Environmental Changes and our Livestock

Environmental Changes and Livestock: What You Need to Know Livestock sector contributes to a big percentage of agricultural produce its key in the global food security chain. Environmental changes have had a significant impact on livestock farming thus distracting the food supply chain. Climate change is majorly caused by the emissions from greenhouse gas which leads to the warming of the atmosphere. Ironically, the livestock sector contributes to climate change through its contributions to the emission of green gas.[1] This has had serious implications on livestock sector in the US. Some of the effect associated with environmental changes include; Low livestock production: Environmental changes cause an unpredictable weather patterns which has an impact on livestock sector. This has an overall performance on livestock performance which has an effect on the livestock products. Environmental changes also increase vulnerability of livestock as most of the time the environment becomes harsh for the sustainable of the animals.[1] Increase of temperatures during summer reduce animal production while it causes a slow down during winter. Effects on parasites that affect livestock’s: Environmental changes has caused changes and an increase in parasites that affect domestic animals. An increase in diseases such as bovine respiratory disease have been reported to have increased in the last few years. Impacts of Climate Change on Livestock Farming This has been blamed on environmentally factors.  Some of this parasites affect crops which act as foods for the livestock. This has continued to affect plant and livestock diseases in most places in the US. Reduced quality and quantity of produce: The quality of produce such as feeds is degraded as a result of high atmospheric, increase of carbon dioxide and dry conditions. This however is very determined on factors such as location, species, crops, livestock system among others. This affects the quality of forage and feeds.[3] Extreme weather conditions such as floods may cause roots structure and decrease in total quality and quantity. Unpredictable rainfall: Livestock farming relies heavily on agricultural crops, while the growth of this crops needs reliable water. Climate change has affected rainfall pattern which has led to scarcity of water thus affecting the whole cycle. Livestock requires drinking water, crops for product processes. It is estimated that by 2025, 64% may experience constrained water conditions.[4] Reproduction: Livestock reproduction of both sexes is affected by heat stress. This affects cows and pigs in embryo employment development and low pregnancy rates. Cow fertility is compromised by too much heat or deficits. Lower sperm concentration has also been [...]

By |2024-01-12T12:37:50+00:00May 18th, 2017|Environmental, Livestock|0 Comments
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Healthy BBQ without Cancer

A mixture of smoke as well as direct flame contact with our foods boosts the cancer risk, combined with the kind of food we tend to prepare on the Barbie. As we continue to take pleasure in the summertime heat wave, thousands of folks are enjoying outdoors cooking on BBQ and exposing themselves to cancer. Then again while a lot of people worry just about a drop of rain spoiling their enjoyment, research workers raise a very much bigger worry: that consuming BBQ meat, fish or perhaps poultry could result in cancer. And so, how much should we worry? and how to get Healthy BBQ without Cancer In recent times, an increasing body of research has discovered cooking meat over a flame raises our subjection to cancer-causing ­carcinogens referred to as PAHs as well as HCAs. These could harm the DNA in our genes, likely resulting in skin, liver, tummy along with other forms of cancer. One particular research at Minnesota University, US, discovered that individuals who consumed well-done meat cooked at extremely high temperatures were 60% more prone to grow pancreatic cancer. Even though this risk also applies to some other high-heat cooking methods for instance frying and then grilling, PAHs as well as HCAs come from a combination of smoke and then direct flame touch with the meal, therefore barbecuing poses even more of a risk. The kind of meat we tend to consume at barbecues poses an issue, as well. A greater consumption of burgers is linked to a 79% increased danger of advanced prostate cancers. Prepared red meat, akin to ribs together with sausages, is associated with ­digestive cancers. The meat by itself is a danger still the issue is furthermore partly because of the chemicals employed to preserve these items. Jessica Kirby, of Cancer Research United Kingdom, states: There is certain evidence to recommend cooking beef at very high temperatures, like ­barbecuing, can cause chemical substances that might boost the risk of cancer. There are still sometimes questions regarding how much effect this has on people’s general cancer risk. There’s additionally strong proof connecting red and then ­processed beef to higher dangers of bowel cancer, therefore it’s recommended that you reduce the quantity you eat by choosing smaller portions or perhaps eat alternatives, such as some seafood like fish and then chicken. The accumulation of carcinogens occurs in one of three methods while we barbecue – by the surface of the meals getting infected by smoke, by means of the breakdown of [...]

By |2024-02-29T08:06:00+00:00August 23rd, 2016|BBQ, Alcohol, Beer|0 Comments
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