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So, you think things are improving, the economic crisis is easing and we are on the road back to normal. I'm sure this little video will make your day.

Listen carefully at 1:30 into the speech by the new President of the European Union (I can't spell the name) on the 19th November, 2009.









Here is the most important part of the speech.

"We're living through exceptionally difficult times – the financial crisis and its dramatic impact on employment and budgets, the climate crisis which threatens our very survival, a period of anxiety, uncertainty and lack of confidence," he said in his maiden press conference. "Yet these problems can be overcome through a joint effort between our countries. 2009 is also the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen is another step toward the global management of our planet."

I think any further comments are unnecessary.

Viewer Warning

Before you view this video from SNL, beware that it is borderline , no, it is crass, and tasteless.

It is however very indicative of the position we as a nation find ourselves in. Our president is a laughing stock, deservedly so. We are in genuine economic peril, we have sold ourselves into slavery, and the man who represents our nation to the world, seems to believe that he can lie with abandon to everyone he meets. And even his liberal cohorts are beginning to make jokes about his complete and utter incompetence.

Again, you have been warned. This is not child friendly. And if you would rather not see reference to immoral activities, please refrain from watching.

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Soybean Harvest is finally over.

Chopping Earlage

Each year we chop earlage to fill the silos here on the farm.

from Greg Lardy, a North Dakota State University Extension Service beef specialist,

Earlage, which is ensiled corn grain, cobs, and in some cases husks, is higher in energy than corn silage with similar protein content. It’s lower in energy than corn grain because it includes the husk and cob, but it works well in a variety of cattle diets, including growing and finishing diets for beef cattle and feed for lactating dairy cows,

The chopper is a John Deere 5820. I think the hp rating is in the 325 range, I'm not certain. This particular chopper was sold new in Germany. A business in Minnesota imported the used machine, (came over on a ship). My understanding was the shipping costs were less than 2500 dollars.


In the first video if you look closely you can see the speed hitch system we use. It automatically hitches the forage wagon to the pulling implement.



Next we drive alongside the chopper and the forage box it is pulling. The chopper has a regular corn head which strips the ears of corn off of the plants, then the ears flow back to a drum with 48 knives on it, (about 3 inches long, razor sharp,) which cut the ears of corn into pieces which must pass through the holes in a 3/4 inch screen. The chopped ear corn then passes into a blower, (literally a giant fan with paddles on it) which throw the corn out of the machine into the wagon.



After the corn is chopped into the wagon it is hauled to the silo. There it is fed into another blower which blows it all the way to the top of a seventy foot silo. The blower spins at 1000 rpm. Laying horizontal to the ground at the bottom of the blower is a spinning disk with small paddles on it, which throws the earlage into the moving paddles of the blower.(Think throwing something into the moving blades of a fan.)










We completed chopping corn, almost exactly a month later than normal, blame it on global climate change or something, the crop was simply far behind normal in maturing. The rest of harvest is going just as slow or worse. The crop is not drying down naturally, we have had abnormal amounts of rain, and cold weather.

Many years the entire harvest is done by the second week of November. At the rate it's going now, we will not be done till some time in December.

NICE!!

The Billboard I'd Like to Have at the End of My Lane