| ||||
|
|
| |||||||||
What would be in your ultimate FarmShop"There is always something you will need," Bearden said. By Doug Rich I know Christmas is over and you probably received everything on your wish list, but just in case that did not happen it is not too early to start working on next year's list. For most farmers that wish list usually includes something for their farm shop. It seems that enough is never enough when it comes to tools, equipment , and gizmos for the farm shop. Just when a farmer thinks he has everything he would ever need for his shop a repair job comes along that requires a new tool. If money was no object what would you add to your farm shop or change about your current farm shop? I put this question to several farmers from the High Plains recently and they had some interesting answers. "I would have two things, a heated floor and one of those big booms you see with a winch," said Ken McCauley, president of the National Association of corn Growers. McCauley, his wife, Mary, and their son, Brad, farm 3,500 acres of corn and soybean in northeast Kansas near White Cloud, Kan. "We don't do much shop work when it is cold, we just don't do it," McCauley said. "But, if anything ever catches my eye it is that boom winch. A big pipe that goes from the floor to the top of the shop, that pivots and has a chain hoist on an I-beam." John Thaemert, president elect of the National Association of wheat Growers (NAWG) put a chain hoist high on his wish list also. Thaemert grows wheat, grain sorghum, alfalfa, and grass hay on his farm near Sylvan Grove, Kan. A heated shop topped his list, however. "I would have a pretty big heated space where I could work on equipment ," Thaemert said. "I might not heat the whole shop but I would have a big enough area where we could work in comfort." Since the question did say that money was no object Thaemert added a high end tool chest to his wish list. Thaemert said a hide-away tool chest or one that can be pulled behind his pickup truck like a trailer would be nice. Farm equipment never seems to break down near the shop but in the field farthest from home so a mobile tool chest makes a lot of sense. It seems that the ability to pick up heavy objects and put them where you need them without breaking your back is high on everyone's list. John Alter, president of the Arkansas Rice Growers, put a power hoist on a movable track system at the top of his list. "The wish list is endless but I would have to limit it to what I am qualified to use," Alter said. "Matching my skills to the machine would be the limiting factor. I think I have everything that I am qualified to use." Greg Shelor, who farms near Minneola, Kan., and is president the National Sorghum Producers, said he would like a well equipped farm shop with all of the tools and things he would need to repair and service equipment in the winter time. "First of all I would like to just have a farm shop," Shelor said. "Right now I am working on equipment in the yard and that is not conducive to doing a lot of maintenance work in the winter time. Building a farm shop is on my wish list." Looking at the recent market for grain Sorghum Shelor said that wish just might become a reality one of these days. Growing up on a small farm in western Missouri our farm shop was usually whatever space was leftover after we filled the barn with hay. That meant we had the least space during the winter months when we needed it the most and the most space in the summer when we needed it the least. Plenty of usable space is very important and that is what Rickey Bearden, chairman of the Board of the Plains cotton Growers, put at the top of his list. Bearden farms near Plains, Texas. "I am in the process of changing my farm shop right now," Bearden said. He purchased a old cotton gin hear his home in Plains, Texas and is remodeling it to fit his need for more space. "I am building it more for storage than anything else," Bearden said. He wants a place where he can put combines, cotton strippers, and that kind of equipment indoors where he can work on it. "We lose a lot more to deterioration in the weather than we realize," Bearden said. "We are in the process of trying to get it finished right now. I am excited about it, this will be the first time I have had a barn big enough to put anything in. We are looking forward to it." "I don't think we ever get all the tools we need to make repair jobs easier," Bearden said. "There is always something else you will need." Two things Bearden said every farm shop needs are a good welder and a good cutting torch. If money was no object what would you put in your ultimate farm shop? What kind of shop do you dream about when you are lying on your back in the dirt or mud replacing a $3 part that has brought your $200,000 combine to a screeching stop. Start making your wish list now, next Christmas will be here before you know it. What would you like to see in your ultimate farm shop? Tell us.... Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. Date: 1/4/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
