Grass fire scraping- A tumbleweeds view - Page 2

Originally Posted by CTSSolutions

Very cool, but humbling stuff. Fire is no joke. I'm glad to see phase one is complete. I hope phase two goes smoothly.

Is there a certain dollar amount you need to see per ton to haul in/request rolloffs? Im sitting steady at $100/short ton here. Pretty pathetic, but I know some parts of the country are at $50/ton. I would probaboy hang up the towel for a while at that point.

Nice gooseneck!

The closest farm to the scrap yard is 40 miles away one way. The furthest is 75 miles. I will start hauling the unsightly metal when unprepared reaches $ 130 a ton. Three advantages allow me to take this perspective: First I have unlimited storage space as my clients allow me to store metal on their property until the prices improve plus I have my ranch as a backup. Second is a large shed filled with non ferrous that needs to be prepared. Since I do not have the fear of theft, I can take my time. Third, my business focuses on farm restoration which includes projects like this one. I have enough work to stay busy through the fall.

The trailer is an old stock trailer that was cut down, reinforced, and pressed metal is used for the floor to make it lighter. The prototype of this trailer ended in a disaster when it fell apart in the middle of the highway loaded with six tons of iron. This story was posted on the forum to help others avoid the mistakes I made.

I realize this strategy of scrapping is not for everyone. I believe a person looks at their assets, subtracts their liabilities, and uses the total to develop their business plan. For me diversity plus unlimited storage space minus distance to the yard equals sit it out.

I don't know what P76 gets for his steel, especially the prepared #1 stuff, but I know one of his yards he deals with is owned by the same compnay that takes steel here so I'd think prices wouldn't be that much different.

As for "tin" (shred) in the 2 1/2 years that I've taken in my occasional very small loads, $110 a ton was the highest I've been paid. I got paid half of that 10 days ago but that was up 40% than the week previous. Knowing where P76 generally lives, his closet yard is about 50 miles...

Patriot - The work you do fascinates me and your post do the same! I'm sure that it is very tiring work, but restoring the land and a ranch/farm back to a working and purposeful place must be rewarding all by itself. The piles of metal can wait!

Cow manure (patties, dung or chips) has been used as a fuel for a long time and still used in some parts of the world. Before there was any cows on the prairie, there was the buffalo and their chips. This was also fuel for the early settlers. I'm sure you don't need a "know it all" from Southern Cal. to tell you all about "chips". So as the Lakota indians would say "nik-nik" (bull$hit).

One thing you could do with the burnt out trees, turn them into planters for ferns and succulents, stuff peat moss in the ends and add planter mulch will last for years! Better to find the positives then to dwell on the negatives!

Thanks Mech. And to think that was a self made challenge. That was great advertising as people thought that I was a motivated Greenhorn with little common sense. I think they felt sorry for me. To be honest, I did not have anything else planned that week than to unload that trailer by hand. What a life.

Patriot,

I took a second look at that load in the folded trailer and thought...."jeez, lotta dirt in there!! Patriot is pushin' the envelope just like the rest of us!"

But then I trashed that negative thought and realized that it was mostly frozen grass stuck to the metal.

So my faith in a great guy was restored.

Jon.

Originally Posted by sawmilleng

Patriot,

I took a second look at that load in the folded trailer and thought...."jeez, lotta dirt in there!! Patriot is pushin' the envelope just like the rest of us!"

But then I trashed that negative thought and realized that it was mostly frozen grass stuck to the metal.

So my faith in a great guy was restored.

Jon.

That was one of my first loads and it came out of the ground frozen. Had to unload the steel by hand and the yard gave me a very quick education as a result. Never had a load like it since.

I have been flat on my back for the last two weeks as a result of cancer surgery. It will be four more weeks before I can lift over 10 pds. so a lot of time has been spent on the computer and forum trying to get the next angle on my business.

I have had two complete knee replacements, two major shoulder surgeries, ulner nerve surgery, and now cancer surgery. Prior to the knee replacements, five knee surgeries were conducted because of damage caused by college sports. The desire was to wait until winter for the surgery so I could enjoy the warmth of being inside. The doctors and my family insisted it be done ASAP. I am lucky because scrap prices are down, this job was completed before surgery, and I am not dependent on Obamacare yet.

This is not being communicated for pity, just the opposite. During this challenge I found a way to make it an advantage. Most of the time I am caught up in the day to day survival and do not take the time to research. Being laid up forced me to do the research, a blessing in disguise. And by the way, with all the damage to my body I have been dependent on pain killers several times. I am glad to say, those days are over. Now I have a scrapping addiction.

The manure in this feedlot had not been cleaned up for over 40 years. This was one of the projects. The manure was five foot deep in some spots and had to be leveled. 30 loads were hauled and used to fertilize fields. The rest was used to level the property and return it to the homestead days.

Wow!

If returning to homestead days means a late model Case-IH tractor and a very new looking New Idea manure spreader, I'm in!!

Just finished cutting, raking, baling, and picking up grass hay. Newest machine was the 1994 JD 348 baler. The tractors were a 1963 MF 202 (industrial version of the MF35) and a very thoroughly thrashed late '70's Belarus 820. (made in, guess where, Belarus! Primitive as heck but made so it can run in Siberia with almost no tools to maintain it.) The Belarus had to be pressed into service because the normally used machine, a 1959 MF180 blew its hydraulic pump running a rockpicker the week before the hay had to come down.

Haying without any air conditioning (no cab!) on those old tractors in the +40C (105F) heat just wasn't any fun. I guess that ain't hot to some of the southern US guys but up here it is a record high.

Geez, Patriot, you got as many repairs as my Belarus! I hope you are starting to see your way clear of a bunch of them now that you have been under the knife and maybe things can start to heal like they should.

I commend you--using your forced downtime to constructively plan ahead and ponder which way you want your business to go. It is probably therapeutic, too, figuring out what is next once you get offa your back and can start flexing your muscles again. Take care, though...it can be easy to get into a downer if you have to stay inside too long.

Jon.