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

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13,250,000 ha flooded.
Mostly headed for the gulf, but a large flood going down the Diamantina river to lake Eyre as well.
 

Blaithin

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Alberta
Looks like a wing mirror
200 gallon tank. It’s not automatic so I don’t have to worry about pipes freezing but I need something to keep the ice off. This was the same day as the other photo, just half an hour after I filled the tank up. You can see the ice forming.

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The cats don’t mind ice around the edge. Gives them something to stand on.

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Blaithin

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Alberta
How does it work?
Just floats on top and keeps an area around it from freezing. Think this one is getting worn out, it used to do fine at -30 but it's struggling a bit this year.

I just leave the water constantly dripping to stop the pipes freezing
Not sure what temperature that stops working at but it does. If the pipes are out in the open anyway. Can't run a garden hose along the ground for example, and expect it not to freeze solid just because you've got some water running in it. It will. But pipes that are protected a bit it can work just fine most of the time. Of course, in a trough setting, then you'd need somewhere for the water to overflow too when the trough is full. Hooved animals don't do well when they have to walk on skating rinks so you need it to run off away from wherever the animals access the water.
 

Agrispeed

Member
Location
Cornwall
Just floats on top and keeps an area around it from freezing. Think this one is getting worn out, it used to do fine at -30 but it's struggling a bit this year.


Not sure what temperature that stops working at but it does. If the pipes are out in the open anyway. Can't run a garden hose along the ground for example, and expect it not to freeze solid just because you've got some water running in it. It will. But pipes that are protected a bit it can work just fine most of the time. Of course, in a trough setting, then you'd need somewhere for the water to overflow too when the trough is full. Hooved animals don't do well when they have to walk on skating rinks so you need it to run off away from wherever the animals access the water.

I saw a trough design in Canada made from an old tyre with an inflow and outflow both below water level in the middle, coming through the bottom, with the overflow leading through another series of troughs and finally into a stream. It seemed like quite a smart idea, but I guess only practical if it was free water.

I wonder if it would freeze during serious cold spells, even with a current going through the trough?
 

Blaithin

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Alberta
I saw a trough design in Canada made from an old tyre with an inflow and outflow both below water level in the middle, coming through the bottom, with the overflow leading through another series of troughs and finally into a stream. It seemed like quite a smart idea, but I guess only practical if it was free water.

I wonder if it would freeze during serious cold spells, even with a current going through the trough?
Most farms here operate on free water. Either from dugouts or wells. (Both obviously cost to construct, but don't have water bills) The cost is going to be the electricity to run the pump and probably the heat to keep the pump from freezing. Pipes underneath the trough will be ok because there's usually some sort of pit dug that allows geothermal heat to come up to keep the pipes from freezing. If you can manage a true gravity feed where the pipes are fed from the creek bottom, are piped underground to the trough where it feeds into the bottom of the trough and then back into the creek, then you could avoid the pump as well.

Yes, continuous flow systems like that can work well in winter. Especially if you can direct the water away from the animals. Depending how fast you have it running will depend on what temperature it will freeze at. Unless it's at a high speed like river rapids it will start to freeze eventually. All rivers here freeze over completely, as an example. But since farmers are checking stock daily, as long as you knock the ice back from the edges and surface whenever you're out there it will keep it open and the chunks will melt. If I didn't have a de icer in my trough I'd probably have 5 inches of ice to break open every morning and the chunks would be too big to melt back into the water.
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture
I didnt realise the death toll when i typed that sorry
“The daunting moment was when the chopper pilot runs in with tears in his eyes and says, ‘we need more bullets’, you know we’re in trouble,” Ms Richardson said.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/eco...-QxE24wv59kaMtjc1pDYfXH1RQGXSeGSKwgnc5wMAB5Ag

Somewhere on FB I saw pics a woman had taken while out in a helicopter. Showed the devastation to cattle and wildlife. Can't find it now but that brought a tear to my eyes.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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