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AKwelder

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I email him and asked him to call me, if he still has it for sale i will haul it home. $300 is cheap if it needs work, sure looks clean.  And if it is as old as it looks it will weld as smooth as the prom queens thighs.  you can not beat those old round drum units

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How many different color peonies are you growing?

 

Wife brought home a bare root peony that i planted about a month ago and have yet to see any above ground activity. Were yours started as bare root and how long did it take for some above ground growth? I have always moved them by the shovel full in the fall and they have done fine.

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the test patch you see in the pictures has a light purple/white ones.  We have 400 bare roots we put in the ground 3 years ago this weekend.  the field at the bottom of the hill i am working on we want to put 1000 (or more) bare roots in next year, they will all be pure white, the whites are in more demand for bridal sales.

When we put in bare roots we normally shoot for 2 inches of dirt on top of them and we see them pop up in about a month.  but they are tuff, leave them alone and they will come up, we had a few that took most of the summer before they were up and green.  if your curious open the hole up and you should see little red tendrils, but be careful, they are a bit fragile

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18 hours ago, AKwelder said:

and then this shows up on Craigslist

 

https://fairbanks.craigslist.org/hvo/6148335264.html

We had one like that with the Continental engine where I worked 25 years ago. No one had used it in a while since they had upgraded to diesel power for the rest of the welders. I was low guy on the totem pole so I always had to wait for a welder to be out of use by someone else when I had a project that I needed one. I drained the tank and rebuilt the carb on the ole gas unit and found that it did weld a smoother bead than the newer units, and was a lot quieter too. Suited me fine to have it all to myself. I hated to see it go when they did decide to get rid of it.

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http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/interior-s-lone-commercial-dairy-closes-for-summer-citing-worker/article_afc3f1f8-4500-11e7-8407-ef29384ed39c.html  

FAIRBANKS — The Interior’s lone commercial dairy is closing, at least for the summer. Its owners say the closure is because they’ve struggled to find workers willing to work for the wages they can afford to pay.

Northern Lights Dairy, outside Delta Junction, is one of two commercial dairy farms in Alaska. The other, which remains open, is Havemeister Dairy in Palmer. 

“We’re hoping this is temporary,” Northern Lights Dairy co-owner Lois Lintelman said in a phone interview this week. “We’re hoping that the problem with not having help will be fixed.” 

 

Earlier this month, Lintelman told other Alaska media outlets the dairy was closing for good, but she said this week the company hopes to re-open if they can find a few reliable workers.

Northern Lights has been in business since 1978. Their recent customers included Interior Safeway stores, the Co-Op Market & Deli in Fairbanks, Alaska Feed Co., and the commissaries at Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Greely. The dairy sold milk and used to also sell ice cream. The farm sent its last delivery earlier this month.  

The dairy has about 100 Holstein, Jersey and Holstein-Jersey cross cows. Several cows are scheduled to give birth — “coming fresh” in dairy terminology — in the fall. The dairy may resume production then, Lintelman said. 

Finding reliable workers is difficult at a dairy down the road from Fort Greely, she said.

Construction work is underway this year at Fort Greely to install ground-based midcourse missile defense interceptors.

“A farmer can’t pay the wages that they’re getting at Fort Greely, and that’s what everyone thinks they should get,” she said. “How can a farmer pay $20 to $30 an hour?” 

The farm had one reliable employee who did morning milking, but she’s moving away for school in August, Lintelman said. 

“We’re advertising out of state. Maybe there’s a young couple that would like to come and get involved in dairy farming. We do have a three-bedroom apartment available,” she said. 

 The dairy can’t raise milk prices to raise wages because of competition from the Lower 48, she said. Customers have been willing to pay a premium for local milk, to a point. 

 

“We appreciate all the customers we’ve had. I’ve had lots of phone calls. I’ve had two cards in the mail,” she said. 

Finding good help is a common problem in the agriculture world, said fellow Delta Junction farmer Bryce Wrigley, president of the Alaska Farm Bureau and co-owner of Alaska Flour Company. 

“We farm because that’s a choice. We understand that it’s going to be hard work and a lot of hours and things like that. If that’s not what you’re made out of, it really becomes a job. And it’s not a cush job either,” he said.  

Milk used to be a larger part of Alaska’s agricultural production. In 1959, there were 525 dairy farms, and mill accounted for almost half of the state’s agricultural production, according to a 2013 newspaper column about Northern Lights Dairy produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station.

The large state-owned Matanuska Maid dairy in Anchorage closed in 2008. The Matanuska Creamery in Palmer launched after its closure but survived only until 2012, despite extensive state subsidies. 

Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors.

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Very sad to see them stop production, sure hope it truely is temporary 

 

 

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On May 27, 2017 at 7:41 PM, AKwelder said:

and then this shows up on Craigslist

 

https://fairbanks.craigslist.org/hvo/6148335264.html

went to look, and it is in perfect shape

 

IMG_4041.jpg.f4ffcd94b4f9f3cc207da5700f3d5e3d.jpg

 

IMG_4040.jpg.c9d46a1f94d5c0544cb91c798927c28e.jpg

 

IMG_4038.jpg.85911b75c951ee60b9fb3c72929ebce9.jpg

 

except it won't turn over, just a small hitch.  had a great visit with the guy, al kinds of old iron but no tractors.  He wants to try and get it freed up and call me in a couple days.  

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oh, and the other side of the engine

 

IMG_4042.jpg.d18893004fea3d2619fa5ccc9775b172.jpg

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3 minutes ago, rjpont said:

What is the climate like where that dairy is located?  Maybe Troy will consider moving there?  B)

I think Troy would prefer a more modern market? This Dairy is located in Delta Junction Alaska, google earth it, very primitive

 

Central Alaska is surrounded by mountains and has a lot of rivers that are full of silt.  Topsoil is hard to come by, but the best of it is in this dairies area, I have 2 inches and they have several feet.  Some places  near that dairy have 20 feet.

Normal rain/snow is just more than a desert, but the water tables in the flats and valleys is measured in only a few feet, Fairbanks is only 10 foot above the water table most years, and if its wet it may be one foot. Soil temps have been getting better but are still cool and prevent most crops from flourishing.  Corn and soy beans don't mature, barley and some potatoes excell,  and peonies are delayed enough to make a niche market.

The areas near the mountains are windy, like where this dairy is, but further into the interior wind is not common, we have cold dry winters and long dry summers (normally, but it is always changing).  Roads are uncommon, and the majority of the land is inexcessable  by normall means.  

 

Enough for now

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1 hour ago, yellowrosefarm said:

Won't turn over as in stuck, or just won't crank?

I tried the hand crank, nothing, wouldn't budge. He hooked up a starter,  clack, grunt, nothing.  

 

The exhuast pipe pipe has been off but covered for nearly three years, it might just need a good dose of penetrating oil, engine oil was good and at the correct level. He was really upset that the welder was the one not turning over, he figured since all the junk he was selling turned over the good welder should, and it didn't. 

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spent the day on a couple chores, finally replaced the mail box post

 

IMG_4043.jpg.211f2db93b0d089a5aa5bbbbf51bd41a.jpg

 

The old one was just a post with the box on top, and the goofy snow plow guy kept getting to close, and it need to be set to the side a bit to get it out of the way.  So, when i went to spud the post hole with the auger on the back of the Pumpkin i found out where they disposed of the all waste rock from my chimney, Mantel, and walkway. That sure turned a simple hole into an ordeal.  At one point i had the auger struck in the ground and the front wheels in the air, Not good.  i got it but Dang

 

 

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8 hours ago, AKwelder said:

I tried the hand crank, nothing, wouldn't budge. He hooked up a starter,  clack, grunt, nothing.  

 

The exhuast pipe pipe has been off but covered for nearly three years, it might just need a good dose of penetrating oil, engine oil was good and at the correct level. He was really upset that the welder was the one not turning over, he figured since all the junk he was selling turned over the good welder should, and it didn't. 

That's not good. We had another Continental engine on a leaf collector that sat for 9 months and seized up. We ended up scrapping it because we couldn't get it unstuck. I blamed that one on condensation as it had been a very humid period with a lot of wide temperature swings. Where I saw it most was in fuel tanks that year.

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peonies are up, went over and used a weed burner on the chick weed in the rows to keep it from getting out of hand

 

IMG_4045.jpg.37c8feffc423c7692a7e650a561a0120.jpg

 

Then spent some time mowing the ditches, until the pitman snapped

 

IMG_4046.jpg.18233169392210c1526ff76c3584fe18.jpg

 

so I need to fix it, and order some new sections

 

cat was helping

 

IMG_4047.jpg.2abc09637ecdd126111256a26d09369b.jpg

 

 

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11 hours ago, AKwelder said:

 

Then spent some time mowing the ditches, until the pitman snapped

 

IMG_4046.jpg.18233169392210c1526ff76c3584fe18.jpg

 

so I need to fix it, and order some new sections

 

cat was helping

 

IMG_4047.jpg.2abc09637ecdd126111256a26d09369b.jpg

 

 

I think we all know why it broke..... (hint, black cats are bad luck)

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4 hours ago, new guy said:

That's really gonna smell nice when they start blooming with the trees around them!!

Yep,  I counted the other day, 319 are up, when I went out and burned the chick weed there were more up than when I counted.  

 

Hauling water again today, I need a bigger tank

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6 hours ago, NY1468 said:

I think we all know why it broke..... (hint, black cats are bad luck)

Ha.  Never thought of that,  

 

 

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Welder- - -

Looking at the Lincoln with the stuck engine- - - - - made me think of the old Lincoln generator welder that my dad had mounted onto a Farmall Regular- - - - driving it with a flat belt.

I took it off of the Regular and mounted it onto a trailer- - - - - - with a pto driveshaft, so to operate off of tractors with an electric starter.  Am thinking it was 250 amp????- - - - - but similar design to what you have pictured.  Got to where I could not keep the amps from creeping forward- - - - finally parked it (still sitting in my rusting collection of junk).

Anyway- - - - - this one is already on a trailer;- - - - - and your 460 might compete with the Continental???  Everybody always needs one more project!!!;)

edit:  increased speed off of 540 rpm pto with sprockets and roller chain drive

DD

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1 hour ago, AKwelder said:

Yep,  I counted the other day, 319 are up, when I went out and burned the chick weed there were more up than when I counted.  

 

Hauling water again today, I need a bigger tank

Need to lease some more land yet? haha

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1 hour ago, Baradium said:

Need to lease some more land yet? haha

lol, not yet

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7 hours ago, AKwelder said:

Yep,  I counted the other day, 319 are up, when I went out and burned the chick weed there were more up than when I counted.  

 

Hauling water again today, I need a bigger tank

Have you thought of growing lilies too or is there no market maybe?

I was just thinking today your peonies are blooming when ours are done and our lilies are starting to bloom so i would assume your lilies would be later also. I think they use them in bouquets too.

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30 minutes ago, new guy said:

Have you thought of growing lilies too or is there no market maybe?

I was just thinking today your peonies are blooming when ours are done and our lilies are starting to bloom so i would assume your lilies would be later also. I think they use them in bouquets too.

I really haven't looked at another crop, the peonies are very well suited to our climate, and we have an industry starting here.  So I have stayed with the flowers that work,  I hope to add a few other crops after getting the flowers producing a marketable crop.

 

funny fact, when we are selling blooms/stems we won't have any flowers.  We will pinch some flowers off to focus the plant on others, and the remaining ones will be harvested and sold while they are still just buds.  

 

 

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