Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

New Puritan · Jan 20, 2018

Farmer Roy said:

Not being funny or nothing, but that looks easy Roy.

Actually, it looks so clean! Possibly showing my ignorance (as ever), how do you control weeds in that? Is it the climate, that nothing germinates with it being so hot/dry? Or using a targeted herbicide inter-row? Do you ever use an inter-row hoe? Or is the mulch of the last crop that effective at suppressing the weeds?

hendrebc · Jan 20, 2018

Blaithin said:
Yes, them having predators was kind of what I meant when I said there’s other predators here competing with them. For food, territory and to just eliminate the enemy! Aus isn’t as densely populated as the UK so that factor would be similar to here but they don’t have much to offer in ways of predators of foxes.

Badgers are another interesting one. The North American badger does not have many predator worries if they’re health, mature animals. Vehicles are probably their biggest concern. Yet their populations aren't crazy either. Especially when compared to the UK badger population. I don’t believe Aus has a badger equivalent?

I just find it interesting what little differences can actually mean big differences in populations between regions.

Badgers here were apparently prey species for bigger predators being a big slow moving chunk of meat. Thats why they are so rarely seen in daylight and live underground they evolved to avoid predators. I wonder if they are so common here because there are no other predators competing with them for food as well as no predators trying to eat them.
Its just mother nature trying to fill the gap in the ecosystem after people removed the apex predators upping the number of medium predators to fill the void. People really should leave things alone. Wouldnt want bears, wolves and lynx roaming around here now though!

Blaithin · Jan 20, 2018

I’m more worried about running into a badger than a bear or lynx

Those weasel family members are mean. Badger and Wolverine will absolutely chase you down and take you out if they decide to.

CornishTone · Jan 20, 2018

One of the issues here in Aus is that the fox rapidly took advantage of the fact that most of the small marsupials hadn’t evolved with a predator like a fox around. They just couldn’t defend themselves. The last big, native predator in Australia would’ve been the Thylacine which started to die out with the introduction of the Dingo about 6,000 years ago. Both species are a lot bigger than the fox, with more restricted ranges. The fox is just too cunning, adaptable, and before long it didn’t know which way to turn there was so much food. It might have been brought in to control rabbits (and give a Little sport) but why chase speedy rabbits when there are slower, easy to catch native animals. It was literally like putting the fox in the hen house!

hendrebc · Jan 20, 2018

Blaithin said:
I’m more worried about running into a badger than a bear or lynx

Those weasel family members are mean. Badger and Wolverine will absolutely chase you down and take you out if they decide to.

Ive never seen a canadian badger i will have to look one up to see what they look like they mist be scarier than ours a good kick and id think one of ours would run away. Not suprused you wouldnt want to meet a wolverine i saw a video of one killing an elk

it just hung onto its neck and wouldnt let go till the elk came down.
Weasel family members are mean they are hard to kill too ive reliably been told. Not very legal though

CornishTone · Jan 20, 2018

hendrebc said:
Weasel family members are mean they are hard to kill too ive reliably been told. Not very legal though

hendrebc · Jan 20, 2018

CornishTone said:
The fox is just too cunning, adaptable, and before long it didn’t know which way to turn there was so much food. It might have been brought in to control rabbits (and give a Little sport) but why chase speedy rabbits when there are slower, easy to catch native animals. It was literally like putting the fox in the hen house!

A wise old gamekeeper that spent his life chasing foxes and knew jist how clever they could be told me that "when the world has gone to sh!t and everything is dead the only 2 things left will be the fox and the rat... i wonder who will eat who?"

hendrebc · Jan 20, 2018

CornishTone said:

Wasnt me honest!!

CornishTone · Jan 20, 2018

hendrebc said:
A wise old gamekeeper that spent his life chasing foxes and knew jist how clever they could be told me that "when the world has gone to sh!t and everything is dead the only 2 things left will be the fox and the rat... i wonder who will eat who?"

Yes, and as a result they’re everywhere... except Tasmania! They seem to have kept them out. There was a report of one running off the ferry back in the 0’ies but it was never seen again and 1 fox isn’t going to last long or reproduce so it wasn’t too much of a big deal I guess.

We still have a pack of fox hounds here in the Adelaide Hills. My sister has ridden with them and said they were pretty good.

cows sh#t me to tears · Jan 21, 2018

hendrebc said:
View attachment 623794
This is our place from the air about 10 years ago. You can see the small field of rushes which is still a bog it used to extend all the way across to the field across the road. The lake/pond sat were all the machinery is parked on the bottom right hand corner it still floods occaisioanlly but has been filled with rubble and stone mostly. The field in the snow picture is the same one you can see on the right across the road from the house.

Still looks steep

how haven't those bales fallen off the cliff

cows sh#t me to tears · Jan 21, 2018

FonterraFarmer said:
I think climate has a lot to do with it, while not native possums are much more prevatent here than in their native environment, and in some parts of NZ rabbits and wallabies can get right out of control if not controlled.But no badgers, foxes or coyotes here

Trust me, plenty of possums here

They're in the roof of mum and dad's house, nearly every tree has numerous possums in it every night. Iv'e had them climb up the auger at the feed mixer and turn the damn thing on one night. Dumped 5 tonne of grain in it

Just as well the silo hadn't just been filled up

Kiwi Pete · Jan 21, 2018

cows sh#t me to tears said:
And death

This is also true....
Must say a good day of laughter, beer, and sunshine has done me a lot of good.

CornishTone · Jan 21, 2018

Continuing with the fox theme, Big Trouble in Little Birdwood this morning...

All belong to our next door neighbour but all wound up in our garden minus their heads. Our Chooks are traumatised!

Jim bean · Jan 21, 2018

Hope you didn't name your son Damien

Kiwi Pete · Jan 21, 2018

That's what I thought but you had the balls to say so

Effing vermin

Jim bean · Jan 21, 2018

He's from Cornwall,l''ll be okay as long as no-one explains it.

CornishTone · Jan 21, 2018

Jim bean said:
He's from Cornwall,l''ll be okay as long as no-one explains it.

I’m still trying to figure out when I had a son?[emoji848]

CornishTone · Jan 21, 2018

Jim bean said:
He's from Cornwall,l''ll be okay as long as no-one explains it.

As for the voodoo connotations, our neighbour and former chicken enthusiast is a minister! There’ll be none of that nonsense round here! His God will save him!

Kiwi Pete · Jan 21, 2018

CornishTone said:
As for the voodoo connotations, our neighbour and former chicken enthusiast is a minister! There’ll be none of that nonsense round here! His God will save him!

"Chicken Lover"

FonterraFarmer · Jan 21, 2018

Blaithin said:
I’m more worried about running into a badger than a bear or lynx

Those weasel family members are mean. Badger and Wolverine will absolutely chase you down and take you out if they decide to.

The only thing you have to worry about over here, wild deer, german wasps and simmentals

The german wasps are the worst , because they will chase you!!!

Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

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100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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