Life on a family farm
in the wilds of
Upstate New York
Friday, July 27, 2012
Weather Hype
Everyone was all in a swivet yesterday over the potential for dangerous weather. Tornado watches, storm warnings and all sorts of frantic stuff. Big charts and maps all vivid reds and yellows and lotsa panic all over the teevee and Facebook. Even the governor was telling us to round up our lawn chairs and all. I meant to go out and lay the heavy metal one I have by the garden pond down on its side, but I forgot (it tends to get flopped over and slammed around when it's windy).
When it got right down to it we didn't get much more than an intermittent drizzle...... which was just fine with me. I dreamed of much worse though, trees tumbling and thunder grumbling; it was good to get up this morning and get away from all that. Guess some areas did get nailed, alas.
It is all too easy to remember this week last year when there were several tornadoes the week of the Boonville Fair. The fair is on now too and the guys and maybe Liz 'n' Jade are headed to the tractor pulls tonight. Last year we went up for the first time in ages and were just missed by those twirly storms all day. Last year the crops up that way were a lot better than down here because they didn't get the ridiculous amount of rain all summer that we did.
Don't know what they will find this year. Around here there is a little good corn and a lot of spotty corn where it was wet and cold when planted and then dry as popcorn for a couple of months. I think we will indeed see higher food prices this winter. I think I would like to read an explanation of why milk prices are going up in the store right now, while farm gate prices are stagnant and low. And I know a lot of beef has been liquidated lately due to the drought, but we sent a really nice, large, handsome healthy young heifer to the sale and got thirty bucks for her. Wish we'd kept her now.
Ah, well, have a good one. It's raining right now, but I guess it will be nicer later. Please hold good thoughts for my lovely sister-in-law today as she is facing surgery.
A friend had a dr appt yesterday and the office called her to say she could come in anytime she wanted because they had had five people call to cancel because of the threatening weather!
The worst stuff was between you and me. Tornado down the center of Elmira, NY and another over near Troy, PA. A third was reported somewhere west of Wellsboro, PA just south of the NY line.
Dark skies, strong winds and a little rain is all we got. There was, however, a heck of a lot of lightening and thunder just over a mile or so away from us--in all directions. (Perhaps we were in a cone of silence?)
My friends in Indiana and Ohio tell me that the corn is practically a lost cause this year. Corn is the basis for so much food that prices will skyrocket i'm thinking.
Why isn't there an answer on the milk prices? Surely someone knows why...
June, I guess some places got nailed, although not as bad as last summer. Nothing at all here, but I fear we are back in a rain cycle, which is not particularly good news
Joated, lol, not even much wind here.
FC, I believe she came through with flying colors!
Jan, the corn crop is toast from all I've heard. Already importing from Brazil in a big way. as for the milk price, the formula by which the price is determined is insanely complicated and easily manipulated. And so the middlemen, the processors that pasteurize and bottle it, manipulate merrily. The cooperatives that were formed to protect farmer interests by collective bargaining, have become huge bottlers and businesses themselves, working to pad executive salaries and play patty cake with the processors. I have word, which I can't quote because the individual who spoke would be in big trouble, that the so-called over production of excess milk supply is manufactured by counting tankers of milk from Canada, tankers of milk going into plants and whey coming out (same milk gets counted twice that way) and dozens of other nasty tricks. It is disheartening I'll tell you.
Cathy, she takes excellent photographs and her weaving is amazing. Word is she came through well. Thanks for the link! I will have to wait until daylight to see it I think
The milk price mess is so sad and disheartening...breaks my heart...the producer is always the one who suffers. Terry and I wonder how long this economy is going to last. Always rather frightening in thought.
Linda http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Linda, it has put so many good people out of business and when the feed crunch hits this fall it will level many more. I don't get off the farm much but I took a ride with the boss last week. Saw good hay fields with craters and piles of dirt as another housing development went up. They don't know what they are losing but in time I think that they will.
8 comments:
A friend had a dr appt yesterday and the office called her to say she could come in anytime she wanted because they had had five people call to cancel because of the threatening weather!
The worst stuff was between you and me. Tornado down the center of Elmira, NY and another over near Troy, PA. A third was reported somewhere west of Wellsboro, PA just south of the NY line.
Dark skies, strong winds and a little rain is all we got. There was, however, a heck of a lot of lightening and thunder just over a mile or so away from us--in all directions. (Perhaps we were in a cone of silence?)
I hope everything goes well during that surgery.
My friends in Indiana and Ohio tell me that the corn is practically a lost cause this year. Corn is the basis for so much food that prices will skyrocket i'm thinking.
Why isn't there an answer on the milk prices? Surely someone knows why...
Prayers and good wishes for her speedy recovery. I'm glad you linked to her blog. It rounds out that lovely place you share :)
And here's a link if you're in the mood for watching water and fishing!
I'll bet you already saw it at Rev. Paul's!
http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls
June, I guess some places got nailed, although not as bad as last summer. Nothing at all here, but I fear we are back in a rain cycle, which is not particularly good news
Joated, lol, not even much wind here.
FC, I believe she came through with flying colors!
Jan, the corn crop is toast from all I've heard. Already importing from Brazil in a big way. as for the milk price, the formula by which the price is determined is insanely complicated and easily manipulated. And so the middlemen, the processors that pasteurize and bottle it, manipulate merrily. The cooperatives that were formed to protect farmer interests by collective bargaining, have become huge bottlers and businesses themselves, working to pad executive salaries and play patty cake with the processors. I have word, which I can't quote because the individual who spoke would be in big trouble, that the so-called over production of excess milk supply is manufactured by counting tankers of milk from Canada, tankers of milk going into plants and whey coming out (same milk gets counted twice that way) and dozens of other nasty tricks. It is disheartening I'll tell you.
Cathy, she takes excellent photographs and her weaving is amazing. Word is she came through well. Thanks for the link! I will have to wait until daylight to see it I think
The milk price mess is so sad and disheartening...breaks my heart...the producer is always the one who suffers. Terry and I wonder how long this economy is going to last. Always rather frightening in thought.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Linda, it has put so many good people out of business and when the feed crunch hits this fall it will level many more. I don't get off the farm much but I took a ride with the boss last week. Saw good hay fields with craters and piles of dirt as another housing development went up. They don't know what they are losing but in time I think that they will.
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