jakescot

very smart matching cars eh?...........

for me, a whole new clutch for the MF 590 and an alternator for the MF 20 buggy thing

these are smart , think we discussed the merits or not of these minis before didnt we ,easier to accomodate, quick to change , I like very much

well my poor relation of the phone world  my wee but reliable almost 3 year old samsung solid gave up the ghost....after a bit of searching round and remembering the convos on here i decided to ignore all advice 

and bought another samsung.............  B2100 edge................for anyone who doesnt know me, its a phone,i break phones so anything nice and fancy is no use to me

.I only need a phone to send texts and make calls.........and so far this one is doing that nicely.Its not the extreme one you can drop in your pint and watch it ring  , take it out and its fine but still looking a robust,damp proof,dust proof,not too large, pocket sized and one i have no problem recommending.Battery life is reasonably good ,i charge it every two or three nights and that keeps it right.

hope thats of some use to someone

there you go james , all the info you need and with the help of your vet,and grandad, you lookin after your cows well and you are away

childs play.........NOT

yes james.......sorry.........I remember your first question ..... Can anyone sum up what embryos are all about or has anyone ever done it?

For people who don't know what embryos are its when you take the fertile eggs out of a purebred cow and mix it with the semen and then you can ai the crossbred cow, with the eggs of a purebred bull and a purebred cow and the cross holds to the bull.

Would be interested to hear if anyone uses them,

James.

some folks have clearly done more than me with embryo work some very successfully as we can see  and I think that highlights james that it does work, it just  is not right for me , might be right for you tho???

Markus , very very interesting......lovely cows all backed up with some world class production figures.well done  you ......sorry james doesnt diminish from your initial question........think actually it goes to highlight the benefits of ET done well and properly.

topper of a cow there............think you just summed up what I was trying to say and perhaps not making myself understood.

Et is a very important part of my business. I have been doing Embryo work for 23 years now or as long as I am farming. My experience is that way to many people think they have the genetics to justify this venture. I am not sure exactly what kind of cattle it would take in the beef business, but I suspect it should be even more selective there.

I have a herd of Purebred Brown Swiss Dairy cows of very high quality. There is a good local and international demand for thye embryos but I never flush cowsdepending on just making money by selling embryos. When I flush a cow it is primarly to further enhance my Herd. When you got really good donor dams you tend to recover the costs by selling a few of the embryos of each flush. In general a flush with all the drugs and vet costs will cost me about 1000 dollars. Each inplant will cost another 80 dollars. I average about 6-8 embryos a flush and probably sell at least 2- 3 embryos per flush, not necessarly from each flush but an average per flush. In general I get 500 to 700 dollars an embryo.

About 75 % of my calfs born on the farm are the result of ET. None are ever implanted or calved surgically. The only added costs for a live ET calf is that we half to DNA type them. 50 dollars per calf.\

I will post some pictures of some of the donor dams later.

What exactly are you saying?

Its the pedigree cow that you flush, then with the semen straw you ai the cross bred cow to hold to a pedigree dam and sire, its a very clever idea, I might ring a few lads to inquire how much for eggs.

And to add, you can but embryos from farmers, you don't need the pedigrees yourself.

It kind of depends, you must have good marts where you are, I'm looking at January and February calves averaging at maybe 200 on kilos , well lets say 350 making 700 or maybe 750ish if the calf is well built.

ok, now theres the thing from  anfield vario............its all about the quality, I thought you were just talking about a MOET program for your suckler cows ,multiple ovulation and embryo transfer...

..yes you can buy embryos  from pedigree  breeders implanting this embryo into your own suckler cows to get her to carry this high value pedigree beef calf of high genetic merit...if you want to keep and  breed pedigree cattle then that might be a good option for you. I looked at this back in the late 80`s I was asked  for  1200 uk pounds a pregnancy when I thought of  doing this,  I was gonna buy Simmental embryos  to built myself up a herd of pedigree animals. As you say it saves you owning these expensive beef cattle...... the management issues I mentioned above still hold.............to get your recipients (in this case your suckler cows ) to get in calf  you have to get it right.After all that expense so far remember  this beef calf inside that cow could be the best animal you have seen, its quite likely to have a big backside and could quite possibly be too big for your cow to calve naturally anyway.in order to minimise the risk of losing this then several breeders I know who implant their own embryos will  induce the recipients  they use to calve and go for the elected  ceasarian option.

if you are just planning on selling calves in the  livestock market as high quality 6 to 8 month olds  whatever,like you are suggesting my point was the easiest way rather than trying to buy expensive bulls with the best beef value and competing with the pedigree breeders for theses bulls then you could use good proven AI bulls to get the best of blood to go over your own cows saving all the additional cost and work.you would still be better with a sweeper bull of some sort but doing that you would get away with  one bull for your 30 cows as you would be hoping for at least 60% conception rate holding to the first AI

can I add my twopenny worth.............?........ unless you are planning to breed pedigree cattle then I`d not be bothering with embryo transfer.

The donor cow and recipient management needs to be pretty good to achieve any sort of acceptable level of  firstly, good quality embryos suitable for implantation and then secondly conception rates in the recipient dams.Add to this the cost of inducing said recipient to calve and  a caesarian section  at the end to try to ensure you do get a live calf and every animal does begin to cost you a lot of money.All this on top of buying the best semen and donor cow(s).you`re gonna need deep pockets  and a fat wallet!!!

for a few rough cross bred suckler cows , I`d think you`d end up spending a fortune for very little extra reward , just look at the value of good quality ordinary everyday store calves. of course  if you hit it right and got  fatstock show winning calves everytime....then ,who knows....however ..look at the guys who do show calves regularily, its a more natural approach of nice shapey cows and good proven ai bulls.

I suspect though that  would be a more cost effective and ultimately more profitable way to go especially if you can do your own ai than all the work and costs associated with embryo work.

sounds like the deosan hypochloride  or similar right enough to me too. there used to be a heap of rather nasty chemicals left here from the dairy days for removing the milk stone and such.  we used to sneak into the shed and do all sorts with some of it

hoo roo alex, ive had dickies, arco riggers ,hoggs, royal mail issue boots, ex army boots.my faves were hoggs, i currently have riggers,agree with others I dont like them on all day, hoggs simon and of course my trusty wellies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the trousers,ive  had all kinds except those snickers ones. a mate swear by his strauss gear.for me its now anything from ex army  to £4 asda best    makes no odds I wear them out in no time.

mandy, bit like with the round bales, different balers make different sized bales.  my straw man supplies me  with krone bales  at 0.8 x 1.2 x 2.6.............  I have had 4 foot square by 8 foot long hesstons  i believe and  what I was told were  claas quadrants which were different again but I cant recall the size of them......they were flatter and shorter than the krone more akin to a weetabix  so i suspect anything along the lines of what you have , even two or three variations would all be very acceptable

long overdue.....and long awaited .....something safer than my current model in this inverter welder.............

definately agree with the Swaledale, Blackface look to these perhaps even Rough Fell or Dalesbred  , just too wee and tidy for Lonks

dalesbred

swaledale

rough fell

blackface this fella made £90 000

Does anyone know for any 1/32 scale model deer.

Preferably resembling a bred found in the UK

Cheers

Adie

hi Adie, Mandy  at holly loves toys used to have new ray deer, not too bad for the price , I have some of them and like them well enough....not as good as the  now hard to find old britains stag in my opinion though.

I didnt do it but my brother did so am not 100% sure how but he put work lights onto the old round baler.they were the switch on at the unit type same as you`d have on the back of an old tractor. He talked about wiring them in for a while before he  ended up with  just an extra cable he ran out with the hydraulic pipes and wiring loom for the twine tie controls to a simple rocker switch in the cab joined by one of the push together connectors which he split when the baler came off,not the neatest but effective enough. dont ask me how he got the power to the extra switch in cab  as I say ,soem of his methods were a bit , erm, dodgy!    he had active car speakers wired into the cab too again off a rocker switch.too bloomin loud ! and I used to bump my head on them getting into the cab.

oh he also had a fan on the baler to blow the dust away so he could see again more for in the dark, can`t remember how it was wired up other than I know there was no separate wire for it, it was however earthed to the side panel of the baler .he had in line fuses and such but I wouldnt be sure  he used any on the baler .

theres none of them particularily comfy in the back of the crew cabs in my opinion  floor too high in comparison to the seat height ( if you are over knee high to a grasshopper at least )  not that I think you`d be in the back much  ..............seems like there isn`t a one brand prefered we see all kinds round here. i also hear complaints about them all for various reasons... if you don`t keep them too long out of warranty some of the problems are perhaps less of an issue ??

Sure they've been doing them most years of late in A4 John......I certainly have them for the last 3 years and then a few from 2001 2002 etc......Quite a useful guide though 

yes I assumed they would have Mart, just we hadn`t got them through the post as with this one.....yes it does look a very useful guide.plenty of technical info in there plus the practical stuff any buyer would be looking for

yesterday I received through the post a full colour catalogue of the marshall range, i seem to remember  dad having something once before but not in recent years,it must be an advertising thing I reckon as I never asked for it .its A4 as I say full colour and detailing the full range of products and shows prices for the various options you can specify with your machine.

on a similar vein  but not exactly a brochure, I also received a copy of the furrow, now that is a good read and no matter your interest in farming and whether or not you like the green and yellow unripe machinery   there is usually an article you want to read and this one is no exception with articles from all over the world. 

yeah i use sissal for bedding and cut stuff, but i cant say i have tried it for bales yet, but it has crossed my mind to i must confess, would need to make a hjig/press to squash it in tightly to get the right shape, may try it after the lely is finished just to see

i suppose it might mix with pva glue or something?

yes I think so.................with your half bag now and part pallet, another variation for you perhaps from the same casting?......or at least very similar ..............oh and the molasses, it`s a bit bitter, not like the black treacle we`d eat .

I think Sean uses it in his layout actually John.

Yes Tris I think I remember reading that  and Mandy yes I`m sure Ive seen bales somewhere.....i`m sure others have used it too....opened out a bit I suspect a wooden or plastic dummy bale could be covered in the sisal twine ? perhaps not economically though........................

I cut it up into about half inch lengths and opened the string out  a bit..............................simples 

I wasnt sure to put this..............however.......I know some folks have been looking for a simple yet very effective product to use as a straw substitute,many of us have used this for a while, I certainly have  and as we use more plastic twine, the sisal is getting more difficult to source easily ......I think the garden stuff is a bit too thin and lesser to the "real stuff"..........here`s a link for anyone interested ......................a few folks could perhaps share it? ??? ?? there`s certainly enough there 

.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Big-Baler-Twine-/150567731793?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item230e894251

well , I eventually bought a hi spec, i didnt buy the bigger 10.5 cu one instead going for the 8 cu        I only had the 100hp claas i think the 6 cyl 7840 would have managed the 10.5 cu no bother but hey ho deeds done the larger one also had the larger wheels which would have been better really giving me more spreading days without  ground damage

choice up here for me was between a major, smaller for the same money, fleming ,the guy didnt get back to me with an up to date price though I later found out it would have been a smaller version for the same money, a Marshall which i was told would look shabby sooner than the hi spec due to a better quality paint job  on the hi spec , i don`t know the truth of that one and finally an agrimac which in the end  was more expensive than the hi spec..... but only because I was happy to take the smaller machine  the dealer had available at the old pre increase price...the agrimac was 9 or 9.5 cu  for at the time just a few quid under £4000 .

it was also about having a close by dealer hence the limit of my search to that amount of makes.. I remain happy with my choice although as I say , today i`d probably have gone for the bigger one therefore its likely it may have been cheaper to buy the agrimac.I`m told the quality of finish is lower on them however.

this fantastic looking kit is great to see...however if this is part of the future then I suspect many of us, myself included  have no future in agriculture, we`ll simply never afford it.....

that said  I must have the shiny paint syndrome too as I say i love  to see them, thanks for sharing