Bucket Replacement and Solar Tank Updates
The float tube that tells the pump to shut off when full; this picture is before the tank was filed up all the way.
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I continued to learn about new concepts this week from different mechanics, to feeding, and genetics. I experienced more opportunities to wrench on things and helped to maintained equipment and fences around the barns and pastures.
The tractor needed a new bucket for scooping snow, dirt and feed so we had to take off the old bucket and unhook all the bolts and hydraulics that holds it together. This was a great hands-on learning about mechanics and how things fit together to run smoothly.
Then we had a bull get out of a pasture and he had ripped out some fence. I got to fix some wire and put in new fencing post staples for the first time which was neat.
When working on the solar panel water pump this week, I thought of something that I would consider an issue. It was the floating box that tells the pump when the tank is full, and it should turn off the valve. The float shut off in the solar pumps is a concept that needs to be changed or improved, because it must be wired up to the pipe where the water comes out to tell the pump when the tank has filled up.
[The float] It doesn’t sit in the tank correctly where it is able to float straight up to shut off consistently every time. Our solution became tying the float up to a cinderblock so it would stay in place and float up at a 90-degree angle required for shut off. I think the solar pump company could come up with a better solution for ranchers that use this system.
Cattle on a fence line.
Some questions I have deal with the economic side of ranching and farming. How much does it cost to run a successful ranch or farm? What [can] insurance can cover and how can policies help or hurt your operations? What does it mean to break even after the year or how you can pay off such expensive farming equipment? How are calves sold and what genetic qualities are bulls bought for?
[In the future, I plan to use knowledge about] why it is important to cut back on your cattle population when you are in a drought to prevent overgrazing. When the grass is having a hard time growing the Baldwins had to cut back on how many cattle they could put out in the pasture last year to save what grass they had.
This year looks promising and the grass is green and growing back. I think it’s important to learn about those ideas because sustainable farming and preservation of land is something I am interested in.
John Deer tractor getting worked on and waiting for the new bucket.
Submitted by: Samuel Warneke
Edited by: GrowinG Internship Team
