Asshats with Anhydrous

[eventersmom]

Just a small vent...
Very early yesterday morning I woke up to the beep beep beep of some large piece of equipment backing up. In my jammies with coffee in hand, I went from window to window trying to locate the source which sounded very close to one of our pastures. I walked out on the deck and saw our asshat neighbors spraying anydrous ammonia on their field. Their field adjoins our horse pasture and our horses were standing watching said asshats spray.

The wind was blowing HARD towards our place. In terror of ammonia covered horses, I slipped on my wellies and ran out in my jammies, medusa hair flying in the wind, grabbed halters out of the barn and moved the horses to a different pasture. I was furious and frantically tried to wave the tractor asshats down but surprisingly they didn't stop for the woman with crazy hair, macara under her eyes and baby blue jammies in the pasture jumping up and down like a psychotic hobbit.

Why, oh why can't people at least knock on the door and give you a chance to move your animals when they are spraying and they KNOW it's headed your direction? Not only do we have our horses but we have a totally organic garden over here. A little head's up would be nice. Is that asking too much?

[magnolia73]

They probably don't even think about it. It would be nice if they were required to notify you of spraying... and chose not to spray on a windy day.

[Petstorejunkie]

Same with people and their dang burn piles. Nothing like burning on a windy day to fill your whole dang farm with that special effects fog look with a snort spooky smell.

[mkevent]

They just.don't.get.it.
I think we all deal with neighbors like this. I think most of them don't realize it-just too busy in their own little worlds. Kinda like drivers talking on cell phones-they don't cut you off to be rude, they don't think how what they do affects others and they don't see how dangerous they are.
Maybe next time ask for a heads up when spraying?
I'd also be really annoyed too-I like the mental image you painted, though-esp Medusa hair!!
Maybe when the wind is blowing in their direction you can move the compost piles or use the shed n blade on your hairiest horse outside by the fenceline!

[Ponyclubrocks]

FYI, anhydrous ammonia is not sprayed on the ground. It has to be injected under the because it turns to a gas when it leaves the pressurized tank. If you saw something sprayed it had to be something else. If it was anhydrous you would have seen a large cylindrical tank dragging knives that inject it into the soil where it vaporizes and fills the air pockets in the soil. If the ground is too wet and the knife slit doesn't seal properly some may vaporize out the slit, but not enough to do any damage, just a waste of money for the farmer.

[bayou_bengal]

Ya moved to the country-- the country is full of farmers who make their living growing crops -- to grow crops on a large scale farmers need to apply various fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

Sometimes farmers need to burn off stubble, or in the case of sugarcane, they actually burn off the dried leaves of the crop -- sometimes they burn standing cane, sometimes they cut it first and burn it on the ground -- either way fire makes smoke.

Often farmers' fields are muddy -- there are no paved rtoads in the fields. When their trucks or tractors leave the fields to haul the harvested crop to the elevator or the mill, they track mud on the roads.

In many states, like my own, farmers are protected by "Right to farm statutes"

Farming is a dangerous, dirty, backbreaking way to make a living. Farmers have enough to worry about with rising costs of seed, fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides -- not to mention THE WEATHER -- they don't have time to worry about notifying you everytime they have to spray or apply chemicals-- or burn something.

If farmers didn't farm, we would not eat.

Get over it!--
OR
Move back to the city or the 'burbs.

[CatOnLap]

I slipped on my wellies and ran out in my jammies, medusa hair flying in the wind,
I do hope there's nothing wrong with looking like that. I feed every morning in the same costume.

My neighbours love to burn all their plastic garbage from their beauty shop business. Big bonfires every week almost. I swear they wait for a rare day when my horses are in the one paddock next to their place and the wind is blowing my way to light their out of season, non permitted fires. Of course all the neighbours do burn prunings and such in the winter when its permitted, and everyone else that I've talked to has politely refrained from lighting fires when I am riding in my ring or the horses are on the pasture ( which doesn't happen in winter anyway). But these guys...

It doesn't take more than 30 seconds to pick up the phone and call your farm neighbour and say "We're burning/spraying/felling trees- in case you want to move your horses". Most of my neighbours will do that, because they are polite. The OP's neighbour is clearly not.

[eventersmom]

FYI, anhydrous ammonia is not sprayed on the ground. It has to be injected under the because it turns to a gas when it leaves the pressurized tank. If you saw something sprayed it had to be something else. If it was anhydrous you would have seen a large cylindrical tank dragging knives that inject it into the soil where it vaporizes and fills the air pockets in the soil. If the ground is too wet and the knife slit doesn't seal properly some may vaporize out the slit, but not enough to do any damage, just a waste of money for the farmer.

Then I wonder what the asshats were spraying? Thanks for the info!

[eventersmom]

Farming is a dangerous, dirty, backbreaking way to make a living. Farmers have enough to worry about with rising costs of seed, fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides -- not to mention THE WEATHER -- they don't have time to worry about notifying you everytime they have to spray or apply chemicals-- or burn something.

If farmers didn't farm, we would not eat.

Get over it!--
OR
Move back to the city or the 'burbs.


Both sets of grandparents were farmers. I respect the work they do and know how difficult it is to farm. I am not asking them not to spray. I'm asking that if they must spray on a day where it's blowing on our property, they pick up the phone or knock on the door and let us know both of which take less than 5 minutes.

Just as they "don't have time to worry about notifying me everytime they have to spray" I don't have time or money to run my horses to the vet when they have been impacted by someone else's spraying. I shouldn't have to be concerned about the safety of our horses on our property. We work hard too. Running a horse farm is also back breaking, dangerous and dirty. If we're doing something that impacts them, we call. I'm simply asking for a little consideration. I'm not sure consideration is something any of us "get over."

A few weeks ago the neighbor on the other side of us was burning off his field, it got out of control and we almost lost our horses and our barn. Had we not been home, our horses would be dead. Had he called, we could have created a firebreak on our fenceline. Since he didn't, the fire burned not only his acreage and ours but three other neighbors were impacted too. A little consideration would have saved him a ton of grief.

I'll stand by my original post. The spraying neighbors are asshats.

[eventersmom]

I do hope there's nothing wrong with looking like that. I feed every morning in the same costume.


:winkgrin:

[Robin@DHH]

I don't know the law in your state, but here I have been told that
if overspray drifts into neighboring land and causes any damage,
the person spraying and the land user are responsible for the cost
of that damage. You may want to talk to your neighbor and explain
that you would not want them to have to pay a large vet bill for
treatment of your horses. If they would please let you know when
they plan to spray (and whatever else might impact the horses),
you will take steps to see that the animals are protected from
injury (and, by implication, so is their pocketbook).

[twofatponies]

The farmer neighboring our boarding barn is delightfully courteous. The other day when I went to catch my horse he was spreading manure right along the edge of the corn field that is adjacent to the pasture. While I tacked up, he finished and went away. I came out a few minutes later and decided to school around the perimeter of the pasture, where there is a lovely grass track. I saw him returning with another load of manure, but when he saw me working there, he went and spread it at the other end of the field instead of up near me. Not that my horse would have been afraid of the machine (she's not), and not that I wouldn't have headed off to ride somewhere else (I would have), but I thought it was a nice gesture!

[Auventera Two]

Then I wonder what the asshats were spraying? Thanks for the info!

They are not "asshats." They are farmers trying to make a living. I'm surrounded by farmfields and have endured the spreading of lime, fertilizers, and roundup. It's just part of the package deal when you live on a farm out in farm country surrounded by farmers trying to put money in the bank and food on tables. ;) I worked on a dairy farm for 3 years and it was a real eye opener. I don't complain anymore about the stuff farmer's do.

[hitchinmygetalong]

Then I wonder what the asshats were spraying? Thanks for the info!

Why don't you go ask them? Be polite, ask what they were spraying and whether it might be considered toxic to your horses, which were downwind in their pasture.

Follow it up with a very polite request for a phone call the next time they are scheduling a spraying so that you can get the horses out of the way. Hand them your number with a nice, "If you need anything, I'm right next door."

[itsnotme2]

Plus they might not have even known it was going to be sprayed that day. In our area, the farmers just call the local elevator (they have a custom application department) and tell them what they want sprayed. Then the custom application people just come out when they get to your name on the list. Alot of times the farmers don't even know they are coming that day until they are there.

So, if the farmer doesn't live right there, he might not even have known the field was being sprayed. And if he did know - he might not be thrilled to be paying for spray that was blowing all over the place.

Just a thought...

[Go Fish]

I grew up on a large hay farm. It was illegal to spray when the wind was over certain knots. I don't remember what that was now, but you should check. Your neighbor IS a moron...why spray anything on a windy day when it gets blown clean off the field you are trying to treat?

Farmers where I grew up sprayed fields early in the morning when the wind was minimal.

[Evalee Hunter]

They are not "asshats." They are farmers trying to make a living. . . .

Absolutely correct. eventersmom, your attitude does NOT make anyone want to help you. You get help by treating others as you want to be treated. Do you want people calling you unattractive names on the internet?

. . . . Farming is a dangerous, dirty, backbreaking way to make a living. Farmers have enough to worry about with rising costs of seed, fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides -- not to mention THE WEATHER -- they don't have time to worry about notifying you everytime they have to spray or apply chemicals-- or burn something.

If farmers didn't farm, we would not eat.

Get over it!--
OR
Move back to the city or the 'burbs.

I agree here, too. eventersmom, what you think takes "five minutes" may be beyond someone who is so sore & tired they can barely make it in & out of their truck or on & off their tractor. Yes, there are many young farmers who are still energetic but there are many old farms who have injuries or health problems & driving over to your place & knocking on your door may just be beyond what they can do.

Plus they might not have even known it was going to be sprayed that day. In our area, the farmers just call the local elevator (they have a custom application department) and tell them what they want sprayed. Then the custom application people just come out when they get to your name on the list. Alot of times the farmers don't even know they are coming that day until they are there. . . .

Still another good point. I think the original poster should be ashamed of herself for treating her neighbors so badly in public.

[bayou_bengal]

Robin@DHH is right about laws covering damage caused by "over drift" of herbicides and insecticides. BUT you have to prove that your plants and/or animals were injured, killed or damaged by those chemicals-- and you have to have proof like results of tests, or necropsy reports and daily logs that can tie the damage to the act of spraying -- to claim that a specific illness or death was caused by a farmer spraying.

Farmers who are handling certain chemicals are required to attend classes and be certified or re-certified either every year or every 2 years. They are also required in many states to keep logs that detail when they apply chemicals, which chemicals they apply and to which fields they were applied.

If the OP is that concerned, it would be a good idea if op would politely supply phone number to the farmer in question and politely request that he call OP or let OP know when he plans to apply chemicals to his fields.

One of our best family friends in a sugarcane farmer. About 20 years ago, a landowner decided to sell lots on each side of a deadend road that cut through the land he rents to our friend to grow cane. These lots face the road that divides two 100 acre fields of sugarcane that he grows. The lots are only 150 feet deep, so that's an area about 300 feet wide and less than a quarter mile long that is sitting right in the middle of 200 acres of cane.

The pesticide that kills cane borers has to be applied using an airplane as does the chemical that is used to cause the cane to ripen earlier than normal so it can be harvested before the frost causes the cane to rot.

Imagine the cropduster who is trying to avoid dropping any chemical on those homes and lots-- that's impossible. Imagine the farmer trying to burn off his cane for harvest without any smoke going onto those lots -- impossible even on a breezeless day.

The people who bought the lots and built there knew that cane had been grown there for almost 200 years-- with everything that that entails -- but they still bought and built there.

AFTER there homes were built, they began to complain about the cropduster and the fires. (In the fall -- only 20 to 30 acres burned at a time the night before the cane is hauled to the mill)

Now this farmer has his grandson print up a flyer that he puts on the doorknobs of each house to let the residents know that the crop duster will fly over one day in the coming week-- he can't be more accurate than that because of weather -- or that he will begin burning cane on a certain date and finish about 2 weeks later.

Oh, by the way, he lives in a house on the corner of this lane and the highway -- and has lived there more than 25 years -- the landowner sold the lots along the highway first, and he was one of the first to buy. His cane field starts about 150 feet behind his house just like the rest of the houses. He is almost 75 years old and has been working in the cane since he was a teenager. He still works from sun-up until dusk most days -- so I guess the chemicals and the smoke can't be all thyat unhealthy.

[Cincinnati]

Absolutely correct. eventersmom, your attitude does NOT make anyone want to help you. You get help by treating others as you want to be treated. Do you want people calling you unattractive names on the internet?



I agree here, too. eventersmom, what you think takes "five minutes" may be beyond someone who is so sore & tired they can barely make it in & out of their truck or on & off their tractor. Yes, there are many young farmers who are still energetic but there are many old farms who have injuries or health problems & driving over to your place & knocking on your door may just be beyond what they can do.



Still another good point. I think the original poster should be ashamed of herself for treating her neighbors so badly in public.



AMEN

[eventersmom]

Absolutely correct. eventersmom, your attitude does NOT make anyone want to help you. You get help by treating others as you want to be treated. Do you want people calling you unattractive names on the internet?.

I have treated my neighbors as I want to be treated i.e. calling them before we do anything on our property that may or may not impact them. I have asked politely that they return the favor only to be told that "they're just horses". I still deal with my neighbors politely. And I don't much care what people on the internet call me. :biggrin:



I agree here, too. eventersmom, what you think takes "five minutes" may be beyond someone who is so sore & tired they can barely make it in & out of their truck or on & off their tractor. Yes, there are many young farmers who are still energetic but there are many old farms who have injuries or health problems & driving over to your place & knocking on your door may just be beyond what they can do.?

These farmers have cell phones and can easily call while in their tractor. How do I know? They've done it before but not to let us know that they will be spraying. No, they called to complain that there was a tree growing on our property that was impacting their field. And we took care of that immediately and with courtesy. My grandfathers both farmed well into their 80's. One of them while struggling with cancer. Funny but even deathly ill and exhausted he STILL managed to be neighborly and had time to call those who might or might not be impacted by his spraying or burning. Guess what. He would call my neighbors "asshats" too if he were still alive.



I think the original poster should be ashamed of herself for treating her neighbors so badly in public.

I'm not at all ashamed of myself. I think they deserve the title. This is a very small rural area and if I were treating them as they treat us, I can guarantee we would be called worse in the coffee shops and grocery store in town.

Walk a mile in my shoes Evalee and have someone tell you it doesn't matter if your horses fall ill or worse simply because they can't be bothered to make a phone call. Perhaps you would feel differently.

[JSwan]

Farmers are at the mercy of the weather and the calendar.

It's unrealistic to require a farmer to schedule everything when it's convenient to his neighbors.

I can guarantee you he wasn't happy about the drift either. But if he had to spray and that's the only time he could get the trucks out - then he had to go and do it.

To him, that drift meant a lot of wasted money and the risk of damaging his neighbors land - which he would be responsible for. No doubt he wasn't happy about it either.

If you think he should have come over and apologized - maybe he would have but he'd been up since 4am and wouldn't even step into his own house until 9pm.

My neighbors have worked in their fields through the night. I could hear the tractors and see the lights - they shined through my window.

I felt sorry for them. They didn't want to work through the night - they HAD to.

There's nothing "nice and pretty" about farming. Hard labor, long hours, financial ruin always at your doorstep.

I doubt he was an asshat.

[eventersmom]

If the OP is that concerned, it would be a good idea if op would politely supply phone number to the farmer in question and politely request that he call OP or let OP know when he plans to apply chemicals to his fields. .

Good idea and we did supply our phone number multiple times. I have never been anything but polite and have never asked for anything other than a "head's up". As I've told him over and over, we can easily move our horses and keep them off the pasture until it's safe again. That shouldn't be a big deal.


AFTER there homes were built, they began to complain about the cropduster and the fires. (In the fall -- only 20 to 30 acres burned at a time the night before the cane is hauled to the mill)

Totally agree that this is wrong. I hear those types of complaints all the time from people who purchase houses next to fields or burn areas. However our property predates the existing use of his field. He started farming it after we moved in. Prior to that it was owned by the county and used as an easement area for a now defunct microwave tower. The real point is not that the neighbor farms the land, the point is that he doesn't seem to give a crap that what he is doing may impact others. Again, I don't care what he does as long as I can protect our horses which is an EASY thing to do if I know he's headed our direction.

[eventersmom]

Farmers are at the mercy of the weather and the calendar.

It's unrealistic to require a farmer to schedule everything when it's convenient to his neighbors.

I can guarantee you he wasn't happy about the drift either. But if he had to spray and that's the only time he could get the trucks out - then he had to go and do it.

To him, that drift meant a lot of wasted money and the risk of damaging his neighbors land - which he would be responsible for. No doubt he wasn't happy about it either.

If you think he should have come over and apologized - maybe he would have but he'd been up since 4am and wouldn't even step into his own house until 9pm.

My neighbors have worked in their fields through the night. I could hear the tractors and see the lights - they shined through my window.

I felt sorry for them. They didn't want to work through the night - they HAD to.

There's nothing "nice and pretty" about farming. Hard labor, long hours, financial ruin always at your doorstep.

I doubt he was an asshat.

I don't want him to schedule anything when it's convenient for us, only to give us a call and let us know that he's going to spray. I've told him that I only need about a 5 minute lead time to get the horses moved.

I don't want an apology from him either. I want him to be able to do what he needs to do on his land to support his family and respect that I am trying to do the same on my land for my family. I think working together is mutually beneficial. I don't want a sick horse or worse and I want him to be able to raise a healthy and profitable crop.

And as a side note...this is one of many fields he owns. It's a stand alone 10 acre parcel, detached from his main farm. It takes him 10 minutes to drive here in his tractor. He has a cell phone. I don't think calling me when he's on his way is too much to ask.

[slc2]

Like most situations, both parties bear a responsibility for this one.

The OP could keep it off the bb's. It wouldn't be hard for someone to figure out who she is and gleefully run and tell her neighors. This could harden them against any solution.

First, the OP is assuming harm was done or could be done. It is quite possible it was not harmful. Pesticides are only one possibility of what it was - other substances such as lime are spread on fields, gypsum, lime, dolomite etc. What she saw floating in the air might have been something quite harmless. Usually, any harm is confined to the operator. Once things get diluted in the air, there is usually little reason to get THAT hysterical.

Many people are in fact, positively nuts when it comes to pesticides and farm substances like lime. We do need to avoid over-reacting or getting hysterical. Today, people tend to have gone a little bit crazy, to the point where people are freaking out about oven cleaner and what dish soap one uses. Anhydrous is 'dangerous' because it is applied under pressure and because it so quickly combines with water or moisture; the 'danger' of getting irritated eyes etc is more to the operator of the machinery than anyone else. It can be irritating to respiratory passages and eyes, but it's unlikely that any drifting out would actually do harm. Humans have a way of processing ammonia; amphibians actually don't and are more likely to be harmed, if they come in contact with a lot of it.

The farmer CAN, despite farming being 'such a hard job', let her know what they are spraying. Yes, actually, the farmer can do that. That is NOT going to be such a big deal for a farmer, to call, leave a brief message, 'We're going to spread lime this week, just lettin' ya know, bye'.

The reason they don't do it, I believe, not because they can't dial the phone because they are so exhausted working from dawn to the wee hours. Yes, yes we all understand what a hard job farming is, and that's a very emotional and very effective argument...on this BB, but not in reality.

Well, I really don't think it's actually up at 6 and done at 9pm. Actually, it is more like some days you are running around like a maniac and some days, you are not. And 6 to 9, I'm not so sure a lot of people who KILL to have their schedule reduced to that, I sure would. I think it's more like up at 5 and to bed at 11, like most working people.

Keep in mind, too, farming is a voluntarily chosen occupation. Yes it's hard, but it has a lot of advantages over working in an office.

And no, actually, I don't think most farmers are grubbing around with their hands all day every day and too exhausted to dial a phone. My farmer friend does get up early, and they work all day. But much of the work these days is done with large machinery, actually, and there are many opportunities to make phone calls during the day. In fact, phone calls are a big part of my farmer friend's day. He usually sets aside time to catch up with business matters, and actually spends quite a lot of time on the phone. Modern farming isn't an easy job, and there is a lot of hand work even with all the equipment we have...but it is not impossible to use the telephone...suggesting that is silly.

The reason they don't is because they work around the stuff and they don't always feel it's such a big deal. There is also a strong feeling out in the country many times that a farmer shouldn't do that because he doesn't need to apologize for or explain what he's doing on his own property. Calling you is often seen as just making the neighbor more hysterical and excited. 'LIME???? You're spreading LIME? DEADLY LIME?????? We need to evacuate!'

MOST of the time, farm neighbors learn over the years a rhythm, and they know what the farmer is doing because they talk to each other, because they are friendly, and because they spend social time together. They get along because they communicate in a non-threatening, non insulting way, not by running around in a field and screaming in the morning.

There is a certain amount of 'stuff' that just goes along with having a farm neighbor - big equipment, stuff being spread on the fields - manure, anhydrous, lime, a certain amount of dirt on the road from tires. People need to learn to accept that with the advantages - no population density nearby, what is a beautiful environment most of the time, green stuff growing nearby, and fewer cars and problems of many types. YES, actually, deciding to move next door to a farm involves pluses and minuses, and when you bought your property, you already signed the thing that said, 'I agree to buy this place, and I realize there are good and bad points to living next to a farm'.

And you can either make a stink about it for the next 40 years, or you can learn to live with it.

Most likely your horses are perfectly fine grazing as a truck spreads anhydrous, unless they get an itch to become a farmer and drive the truck and handle the tank.

Most likely, you got your property for much cheaper than you would have, had you bought land and a house in a much more exclusive area.

Most likely, in fact, comparatively speaking, the land was a friggin' bargain because it is out in the country. Most likely, in fact, the reason you can HAVE a horse or two is that it is an agricultural area, where acreage is cheaper and horses are ALLOWED.

There are two sides to each argument. Or more.

Yes, a farmer can get into issues over drifting and spraying, but we also need to recognize that we don't live in a pristine wilderness and haven't for hundreds of years, and not everything we read about hazards is really that crucial, and going to harm us or our horses, in fact, surprise surprise...horses and farming actually go together and have for a long time. Yes, he could call us, but yes, also, he is busy. Yes, farming is hard work but it is possible to dial a phone at some point in the day.

The trouble with most of the debates on 'who is in the right' subjects like this on COH, is that usually, if someone is upset about something, they fail to see that BOTH parties usually bear responsibility for any problem. The arguments get really emotional and tear-jerker stuff like 'the poor poor overworked farmer collapsing into bed each night a broken man' are brought up as 'proof' of why there is only one side to the argument. Balderdash.

[JSwan]

The arguments get really emotional and tear-jerker stuff like 'the poor poor overworked farmer collapsing into bed each night a broken man' are brought up as 'proof' of why there is only one side to the argument. Balderdash.


Bull, SLC. Of course there are always two sides to an argument, and both people share responsibility.

I can guarantee you that the farmer that has to drive out of his way to farm a 10 acre parcel is going to get fed up with the screechy urban refugees complaining about him trying to farm. The freakin' wind and weather aren't at his command, and the wind around here can change direction during the day. Sh** happens.

If the farmer you're referring to is the one that lost his heifer, you previously said you hadn't spoken to him for many many many months. How could you possibly know who he chats to on the phone?

What a farmer may eventually do is get so tired of the screechy neighbor that he sells the parcel and another urban refugee puts up a McMansion. Then we'll get to read about how the new neighbor is letting their dogs and kids bother the horses.

It would be very nice if everyone could call ahead or schedule their activities around each other. Unfortunately, it seems the people who demand that don't usually believe their activities require the same courtesy.

As you said - it goes both ways. There are plenty of "asshat" horse owners out there.

[eventersmom]

Slc good post, thanks for the points you've brought up. I'm not concerned any of my neighbors will run to this farmer and make the situation worse. Trust me when I say none of my neighbors are on COTH. Ever. Additionally I didn't come on the boards to ridicule the neighbor, rather to vent frustration that I did not want to vent on them. I actually do know what lime looks like when spread and it wasn't lime. :winkgrin:

JSwan: I can guarantee you that the farmer that has to drive out of his way to farm a 10 acre parcel is going to get fed up with the screechy urban refugees complaining about him trying to farm. The freakin' wind and weather aren't at his command, and the wind around here can change direction during the day. Sh** happens.

Screechy urban refugee? Not even close! We are not complaining about him trying to farm. We, too, are trying to make a living off our land. We, too, have made a choice about our occupation and make every effort to peacefully coexist with our neighbors. We've never complained, only asked for the courtesy we extend to them. I respect farming. I guess I was just brought up differently, to believe that courtesy is something that should be be expected from ourselves and others. That it's better to ask permission than ask forgiveness. But then again, I was raised by a farmer's daughter so what do I know, right?

[magnolia73]

Flies with honey and all -

"Hey neighbor- good to see you are getting your crops in this year. Could you do me a favor- next time you need to spray, could you give me a call in advance? I'd just like to put my horses in and cover up my garden. I know you need to be efficient with your time, just want to make sure that my horses and garden aren't inadvertantly affected. Thanks a bunch. Here is my cell number, and if I can ever be of any help to you, let me know. Oh, and here are some cookies for you and your family. Take Care!"

How would you feel if some city slickers moved in and said "Hey asshole, I was having a barbecue while you were spreading compost on your garden... you ruined my Kobe Beef Burgers". You'd be pissed, and passive aggressive. Now, if they came over with some wine and said "Wow, we love living next to you and your horses! They are so lovely! Boy, I know you need to compost their manure, but it is downwind of our outdoor kitchen. We are trying to think of someway to screen the view, any thoughts? Or perhaps we could help you move the pile if it was not inconvenient,." You'd at least be nicer to them.

Tact.... remember- most people aren't thinking of you first.... and you probably don't think of others first.

[JSwan]

But then again, I was raised by a farmer's daughter so what do I know, right?

I find it amazing that only 1% of Americans farm - and evidently all of their family members are on COTH and know all about farming.

But not, evidently, how ammonia is applied to crops.

I didn't say YOU were a screechy neighbor. I wrote - screechy neighbor. If you think the term applies or doesn't apply to you that's fine. I can assure you it applies to someone out there bitching about their lives being ruined by some farmer doing his job.

Maybe the guy is a jerk - I don't know. Never met him. I live in a farming community, have for years, and I don't go around complaining about them - even if they're discing when I'm trying to paint my barn and the wind is blowing dust onto it.

And they don't seem to be bothered by the fact that my pigs squeal as if they're being murdered when I go to feed them at 6am. We're both being polite and respectful - but we gotta do what we gotta do.

If he'd called and you'd refused to move them, or you weren't home - what would you expect him to do then?

Whatever. It's unreasonable to expect that you can start a post like that and have everyone agree with you. Good luck with your neighbors.

[Auventera Two]

Keep in mind, too, farming is a voluntarily chosen occupation. Yes it's hard, but it has a lot of advantages over working in an office. .

Not sure I agree with that. The farm I worked at for instance - The parents really didn't have money to send kids to college, so kids grow up working the fields and milking cows and that's all they knew.

I agree with JSwan 100% here. Having worked on a family owned dairy/crop farm for 3 years, I saw how those people worked their gutts out sun up till sun down every single day. Milking, building fence, dragging water tanks around, castarating, ear tagging, calling and meeting the cow breeder, selecting bulls for each cow individually, feeding 3x daily, getting groups of cows out on the grass and back in at certain times, record keeping, fixing machinery, hauling manure, meeting the milk tanker truck daily, doing maintenance on milking equipment, applying insecticide to cow's backs, treating sick cows (calling vet for twisted gutt surgery, administering IVs for milk fever or shots for pneumonia), scheduling and being there for the cow hoof trimmer, dealing with and milking brand new heifers who have just freshened for the first time - holy cow, that can be a real rodeo that slows down the whole production line, pulling calves, mixing tanks of milk replacer and then bottle and pail feeding all the babies (usually around 40 fed 2x a day), taking cows to the sale barn, cleaning stalls and run-in barns, power-washing windows and vacuuming cob webs, cleaning the barn bathroom and so forth (government ag inspectors come to Grade A dairies 2x a year....unannounced! ;)).......

Then comes crop season and the workload multiples 10 fold. Working the fields, picking rocks, fertilizing, augmenting soil, planting, harvesting....... not to mention everything else that isn't done for them like it is in corporate america - meeting with the accountant and the health insurance reps. Then tack on the normal day-to-day housework of dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, mowing the lawns, weedeating fence lines, trimming trees, taking kids to doctor appointments and school functions.................

There were a grand total of 6 people on that farm to do all that work (1 was me working part time, 1 was a teen kid). We milked 140 head 2x a day, plus maintained around 150 replacement heifers at any given time.

I would arrive on Saturdays at 4:30 a.m. and those guys had already been at it for an hour, feeding and pulling down hay, setting up the milkers, etc. I'd milk until 8:30 then work the owner's horses for him because he certainly had no time. During the week I milked evenings. I'd get there at 4:30 p.m. and again, they'd been at it ALL DAY. When I left at 8:30 p.m., they still had 3 hours of barn work before they could go in and sleep.....for what, 3 hours, then be up and going again????? They all took a nap every afternoon right after lunch for about an hour, then they were up and working again.

And then god forbid should the silo unloader break down :eek: :dead: That would be a whole day wasted. And ocassionally a finger chopped off while trying to fix it. Or one of the big ag tractors goes down and needs parts........

Then what if.....just WHAT IF......one of the workers gets sick for a day??? Ugh! Or how about has a heart attack, or a broken shoulder, or an allergic reaction to a food he ate and is hospitalized? I saw all those happen in the 3 years I was there.

I would have worked more hours but they couldn't afford to pay more in wages......milk prices plumeted from over $100 per 100 lbs. to around $70 per 100 at the time I was working there. Who here could afford to keep their same job if you took a 30% paycut??? People scream and cry if they get a 3 or 5% pay cut. Try THIRTY percent. You can't afford to hire more help. You either sell cattle and reduce the farm size (and thus reduce your income even further), or you go bankrupt trying to pay employees, or you just do the work yourself. A lot of times I worked extra hours and got paid in steaks and gasoline - seriously.

Besides with more "hands in the pot" the more things can go wrong. It only takes ONE person putting ONE cow in the pipeline that should be milked in the bucket because she was treated for mastitis - and your whole load has to be dumped out on the fields, destroying your income for that day. If the somatic cell count is too high, or there are antibiotics or other drugs in the milk, you lose your wages for that day. When you have a bunch of paid workers doing the work for you, a whole lot can go wrong.

So pardon the farmer if he can't find time in that schedule to alert you to move your horses to another field. :eek: :no: It sucks to have your horses in a position where they could be hurt but seriously, if you can't handle that, you should consider just boarding them somewhere else.

[eventersmom]

Now JSwan I didn't claim to know all about farming. Quite the reverse. My point is that I have been around farmers all my life (both sets of grandparents were full time farmers as are several aunts/uncles/cousins) and my desire for communication with this one doesn't fall outside of the "norm" for the farmers in my family.

If he had called I wouldn't refuse to move the horses. That's my entire issue. I've told him numerous times that it's no problem for me to take whatever steps I have to to ensure my horses and garden are protected. Not his responsibility, mine. I just want to know so I can take care of it. If I wasn't home when he called then the burden is on me, not him.

I'm far from perfect and I'm sure things I do annoy the heck out of some of my neighbors. Any time we've been approached we've done whatever it takes to rectify the problem, including calling before spreading anything on our pastures. I don't go around complaining about this farmer or any others. And I don't expect everyone to agree with me. As you said, that would be unreasonable.

My apologies for reading too much into the screechy neighbor comment.

[SmokenMirrors]

Eventersmom...tell you what, I will swap you your farmer for my neighbor? Now HE is an asshat...the first year we moved to VA we had 19 complaints against him, he shot my draft mare in the face and while we can't prove it he did imply it, he chased me with his 4 wheeler and if it wasn't him doing it then his older son, they threw cigarette butts on our property as they went by and smirked, they tried to catch me on the road or a trail while they were in the 4 wheelers, he threatened to "beat my ass and shoot my horse" if I ever came off my property to ride anywhere near his property across the street and it butts up against our good friends pasture where I do ride. He also loves nothing more than to shoot fire works off that explode OVER my pasture and by the time the sheriff comes, he is in the house and claims ignorance. We have also had to call the sheriff when he was sitting on his front porch with a .22 shooting in all directions and yes the sheriff did catch him doing it and with an open beer by his chair....Why was he so nasty? Because the farmers around him refused him access and his sons with their 4 wheeler and motor bikes on their land to ride, as did we, but they let me ride on that property with my horse.

So just be thankful that you have a minor annoyance and not a neighbor that is this horrid and has no kindness nor regard for anyone else but himself. Maybe go over again with a plate of brownies or cookies and talk to him. You seem level headed and I am sure you can come to some sort of agreement.

[eventersmom]

So pardon the farmer if he can't find time in that schedule to alert you to move your horses to another field. :eek: :no: It sucks to have your horses in a position where they could be hurt but seriously, if you can't handle that, you should consider just boarding them somewhere else.


Good post, thanks. But by the above logic, I shouldn't expect to have the same right to utilize my land as the farmer has to utilize his? I shouldn't use one of our good pastures, one in which we've invested large amounts of money on seed and fencing, because of what the farmer next door might do? And we won't even delve in the copious amounts of money being spent on the horses' well being.

What about when we decide we need to eradicate weeds in our pasture, want to spray an herbicide and the wind is drifting towards the farmers lovely corn crop? Are you saying we shouldn't call him and he'll just have to suck up whatever damages we cause or, by your logic, he should just farm elsewhere? It's certainly in my best interest in the long run to have a farmer next door as it's in his best interest for me to stay where I am and not sell off our land to a developer.

The reality in this area is that there are farmers, ranchers and horse operations. I have no doubt that pretty soon we'll have a massive urban migration that will result in the 5 acre McMansions but that hasn't happened yet. People will have to find a way to communicate and work together if we're all to stay viable. I don't think any of us have an interest in driving the other out of business. We all work hard. We all need to support our families and we all are tired at the end of the day.

[eventersmom]

Good grief Belplosh! Your neighbor goes beyond asshat. Very scary stuff.

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure we'll get it worked out somehow. :yes:

[CatOnLap]

The reality in this area is that there are farmers, ranchers and horse operations. I have no doubt that pretty soon we'll have a massive urban migration that will result in the 5 acre McMansions but that hasn't happened yet. People will have to find a way to communicate and work together if we're all to stay viable. I don't think any of us have an interest in driving the other out of business. We all work hard. We all need to support our families and we all are tired at the end of the day.

Well said, eventersmom.
Speaking of communication, it would be so helpful if some of the folks posting on this thread would actually read the conversation fully before responding. The attitude that cityfolks can lump it or leave it, sucks, especially since you were there before the land was made into farmland and are a famrer yourself ( horse husbandry is farming in my book). I've lived in rural areas much of my life and most neighbours are supportive. But there's one like this or worse in every neighbourhood. ( Holy Cow Belplosh!)

[stoicfish]

Ok for what it is worth.
Farm owner, and horse owner. I come from a community where there is sometimes a problem with people on subdivisions not always fitting in or understanding the farming culture. However, if any of my neighbors asked me to give them a heads up I would try to do that. That is also very much farming culture, to get along, help neighbors. Maybe someday the cows will get out and I will need help, or a gate is open and they stop and tell us. Which is the case with our acreage neighbors.
Is she wrong in calling him an asshats? I couldn't possible know the answer to that, maybe they are and a lot of local people would agree or maybe they are the nicest people ever.
I think the best reply was the people that suggested to give them a call and ask for them to notify you, if it is possible. Most of the time it will be.

[CatOnLap]

Our neighbourhood was all small productive farms when we bought. 13 years later, we have the McMansions with palm trees and endless lawns on two sides and catty corner now. The townhouses are within a KM. We have a lot of developed parkland for the urbanites now, no more wild trails, many of the trails (about 80%) are off limits to horses (but not to bikes!) now. Yet, it is quite nice to have crowds of joggers, urban dog walkers, etc strolling by. It seemed lonely before.

[Bluey]

Here, we get recertified every five years and have to present with so many points when applying for recertification, points aquired by participating in seminars, that are about one or two a year.

If anything they were spraying was drifting to your place, you really should have contacted the police/sheriff and made a report, as such is illegal.

It definitely better not have been ammonia, as that goes in the air in a very toxic cloud and the smell would have knocked you out.
Once, our neighbor had a leak in a hose and he called and warned us to evacuate, as it was coming our way and we did, it eventually dissipated and no one was hurt.

There are so many rules and regulations to spraying, that most around here are ordering much of their spraying done by commercial companies, first because it is hard to keep up with all of it, second because of the liability.
We generally have our fields sprayed with a crop duster plane.
Once the plane was spraying on our neighbor, missed one pass and killed a swath of grass next to the fence.
Our neighbor offered to pay for the damage, but we looked and after a rain, the grass had only been suppressed and was coming back fine.

I would contact your neighbor and ask what he had sprayed in his field, tell him of your concern with your horses and yourself, as it was drifting onto you and to please let you know next time, if possible, so you can move your horses out of the pasture.
Your neighbor may not have known it was drifting.
If someone else was spraying and was being careless, he needs to know.

[SGray]

perhaps what he was spraying was harmless - thus, no thoughts of calling to inform you?

[Equibrit]

Anhydrous Ammonia FACTS; http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC2326.html

[Ajierene]

Not sure I agree with that. The farm I worked at for instance - The parents really didn't have money to send kids to college, so kids grow up working the fields and milking cows and that's all they knew.

Mostly I am reading this thread for entertainment purposes, but I take exception to this one point. The children have a choice. There are grants, federal funding, scholarship, etc. available. This is the same argument that those in lower class, mostly urban areas tout as the reason for not going to college and it is as much bunk as farmers' children saying it.

A friend is a daughter of a farmer and currently attending a nice college entirely on such funding. I could not afford college on my own, either and my father made to much money that I could get any financial funding, except the then $5K a year minimum that every citizen entering college can get. I went to a school where I could afford books, tuition and housing on that money, as well as working a parttime job.

There are tons of stories of people working fulltime and going to school, working two jobs and going to school.

While a farmer family may not approve of a child going to college because they need the hands on the farm, it is still ultimately up to the child. Sometimes the child does not want to go against family wishes-but it is still a choice.

Farming is a choice. Having any job is a choice. Choices will be limited by experience and education, but there are still choices out there for everyone.

On the direct topic of the thread, I agree with slc2 and others that state there are two sides to this. It is possible that this particular farmer is ignorant and rude. I think the town of the thread started with the Original Poster seeming to paint all farmers with the same brush when she may not have meant to. Then again, the farmer may just be misunderstood or there is a communication gap. It is possible what he is spreading is not dangerous so he did not feel the need to call.

[JSwan]

No worries - I realize my writing style is direct - sometimes too direct.

Most of the farmers around here are Mennonite. Pretty much guarantees Sundays are silent. ;)

And I try not to make noise on Sunday but sometimes I just gotta get in those fields and bushhog or use power tools.

Since I'm a heathen, I hope they take pity on me. :D

A glanced at the headline in our local paper..... and though this area was supposed to be set aside as part of a historic district, and even though the teeny town wasn't supposed to be developed... guess what. One of those grotesque urban village things is now in the works.

Farming - including horses - will probably be gone within 10 years if that thing goes through. And it will, because in my state you can't stop development. Dillon Rule. Comprehensive Plans are a joke.

So much for our Right to Farm in the state constitution. We all KNOW that once the McMansions start going up, that's the end.



I don't go around complaining about this farmer or any others. And I don't expect everyone to agree with me. As you said, that would be unreasonable.

My apologies for reading too much into the screechy neighbor comment.

[vacation1]

The children have a choice. There are grants, federal funding, scholarship, etc. available. This is the same argument that those in lower class, mostly urban areas tout as the reason for not going to college and it is as much bunk as farmers' children saying it.

If your dad made too much money for you to get financial aid, you were a child of a middle-class family. It is something middle-class people never understand: kids from lower income homes just don't know some things and neither do their parents. They make bad decisions over and over, because they don't realize the ultimate costs. I don't mean 'getting pregnant sophomore year' type decisions, I mean 'not spending $60 on taking that AP test senior year' type decisions. Decisions that are made because parents and children lack practical knowledge of how that particular system works.

Eventersmom...tell you what, I will swap you your farmer for my neighbor? Now HE is an asshat...the first year we moved to VA we had 19 complaints against him, he shot my draft mare in the face and while we can't prove it he did imply it, he chased me with his 4 wheeler and if it wasn't him doing it then his older son, they threw cigarette butts on our property as they went by and smirked, they tried to catch me on the road or a trail while they were in the 4 wheelers, he threatened to "beat my ass and shoot my horse" if I ever came off my property to ride anywhere near his property across the street and it butts up against our good friends pasture where I do ride. He also loves nothing more than to shoot fire works off that explode OVER my pasture and by the time the sheriff comes, he is in the house and claims ignorance. We have also had to call the sheriff when he was sitting on his front porch with a .22 shooting in all directions and yes the sheriff did catch him doing it and with an open beer by his chair....

Doesn't anyone want to stand up for this standard-bearer of that American archetype, the Individual? Exercising his gun rights like all decent men should, celebrating his liberty by blowing shit up, drinking deeply of the brewskie of freedom? The poor man is clearly being harassed by a ball-busting' feminazi who can't get her girly dumbness around a machine and wants to destroy everything American men have worked for, starting with their ATVs. Maybe he doesn't have TIME to aim his cigarettes anywhere but at the OP's property; maybe she kicked his Rottweiler, maybe she's a citiot who doesn't grasp the rich tapestry of redneck culture. Maybe she's a MONSTER!!!!

Note: I Am Just Kidding. I think Belplosh's neighbor is a freak (particularly shooting the horse; horrible). I just wanted to point out that the whole hysterical, frantic flag-waving that breaks out here whenever anyone criticizes a farmer - well, you could apply similar corn-pone justifications to anyone, get right down to it. Some farmers are complete dicks. Just like some teachers, cops and firemen are complete and total assholes. You can respect the profession without genuflecting to everyone who practices it.

[Janet]

A glanced at the headline in our local paper..... and though this area was supposed to be set aside as part of a historic district, and even though the teeny town wasn't supposed to be developed... guess what. One of those grotesque urban village things is now in the works.
WHERE?

[JSwan]

Janet - it's R. G's idea for where the stop light is - a couple of miles down the road from where you used to live.

The Plan allowed for some development that was supposed to preserve the original buildings, battlefield/depot area, and still protect all the farmers and existing residents from the McMansion virus. Sort of a happy medium, and from what I recall no sewer line.

His last plan, to develop an area that is under water several months of the year, failed. He wanted to use a loophole and call the land a "health remediation area" (that's not completely accurate I can't remember exactly what the zoning change was called) - but what it did was make it a priority to run a sewer line and one of those on-site sewage plants that the gov't would pay for but the homeowners would take over. You probably know those things don't work and eventually the gov't has to do remediation... in this case with a canoe and a snorkel because it's a flood plain.

That failed - no sewer lines, no precedent. This is the next one and a few folks are all giddy about it.

I'm telling you - it's all over. What happened to Loudoun is about to happen here - I can actually see it happening. At least to this part of the county - the upper part may be spared because that's where all the wealthy live.

A few dairies already shut down - there was ANOTHER auction a few weeks ago.

:(

[EquusMagnificus]

I live in an serious agricultural area and our neighbours do spray their fields, thankfully not the ones close to us. But it is still considered good neighbouring (is that even a word?) practices not to spray on really windy days or when the wind is blowing towards other houses.

They all try to be respectful or one another! ;) Same goes closer up to my parents' place where they spray even more (orchards and what not) and I mean, no one wants to have those products blowed against their houses so they are all as careful as possible. Obviously, sometimes it's just not possible to avoid all contamination but they try.

As well, strictly from an economical point of view, it doesn't make much sense to spray on a really windy day because you are loosing a lot of product to the wind and we all know how expensive those things are!!

[Janet]

Great- more traffic on Rt 28!

[JSwan]

Great- more traffic on Rt 28!



Yup - finally. More cars than cows.

How much you wanna bet those folks don't like the sounds of my pigs happily squealing at breakfast time? Not to mention someone like me having the gall to let my horse poop in the road - ooo - the germs. We'll catch bird flu. Or swine flu. Or horse flu.

[SGray]

Anhydrous Ammonia FACTS; http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC2326.html


other posts led me to believe that was not what was actually being used

[Equibrit]

other posts led me to believe that was not what was actually being used

...........and that would confirm it ! Facts are always good.

[SmokenMirrors]

JSwan...we live in Culpeper County and at one time, our road had some city folks trying to pave it. Big uproar over it from many of us who said not only no but hell no! The speeding is bad now on a curvy gravel road, want it worse with pavement?! Others complained their Beemers and Mercedes were getting "dirty" and dinged from the rocks..yea yea cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it...sheesh.

We are closing now on the 32 acres of wooded lot next to us that was once part of our land long ago when the original family owned it. We know the kin to it and they were really excited to know all we would do with it is fence half it in, run horses on it and if we did pull any trees down it would only be the old ones and we would have the natural forestry guys come in who use teams of horses. Were also going to put a few trails in it that are wide enough for two riders and my fore cart with the draft so I can stay off the road.

Rixeyville Road aka 229 is getting a lot of traffic and we are having more and more accidents. Culpeper is a nightmare to drive in, people are stupid when they are in the parking lot, I annoy folks who want to go down the opposite way at Wal Mart and refuse to allow them to pass, half the time I don't have room and have a big truck so it is back up you moron!! I don't know, getting harder and harder to have a farm and live peacefully and mind your own business or help your neighbor in time of need or know them well and get along. I think those days are over....

And my yahoo neighbor across the street...wish he would move and we get someone nice. His smaller boy is pretty polite, he comes over with his two cousins wanting pony rides on my draft mare so that is what I do AFTER I have them go ask their parents first. Good kid really, polite when he see's me riding he will shut off his motor bike so it doesn't spook the horse and has asked if I would take him on the cart or fore cart and I said absolutely. Even let them help me feed a few times and we discussed colic and what happens when you feed a horse something it shouldn't have.

[JSwan]

Yup - you're down the road from me and I do a lot of hunting in your county.

What I see makes me weep.

[county]

Haven't read the threrad but you don't spray Anhydrous you knife it into the ground. I do agree someones an Asshat though.

[jetsmom]

I thought this thread was about "Asshats with Anhydrosis"...ie people that don't sweat. I couldn't figure out how this would be a problem for people around them...

[2DogsFarm]

Yup - finally. More cars than cows.

How much you wanna bet those folks don't like the sounds of my pigs happily squealing at breakfast time? Not to mention someone like me having the gall to let my horse poop in the road - ooo - the germs. We'll catch bird flu. Or swine flu. Or horse flu.

Sigh...Resistance IS Futile
When I moved here - just 5 years ago! - the area was mostly small acreages with some larger working farms.

There are now 5 new subdivisions just on my road and it seems like every time I drive somewhere I see a new development of crackerbox houses going up.
So far the neighbors are holding on near me, but as soon as the economy picks up who knows if that will last. I don't blame them, developers waving cash for unused land are tempting.

The worst part is the Petting Zoo mentality - I had a woman stop her car and bring her toddler over to feed baby carrots to my horses...including the bag! At least I was home to stop that (politely) but I worry what goes on when I'm at work.
My saving grace is the ditch that separates my pasture from the road - I purposely do not mow there so it is wild.

[SmokenMirrors]

We have signs on our fence on either side DO NOT FEED THE HORSES yet people ignore them.

And we have two "McMansion" type houses on our road, one has a family who is just awesome, very friendly, the wife in fact is in our Happy Hour club with my best friend and I that meets on Fridays. The other house though, the wife is very antisocial. They have their acreage fenced but yet her horse only comes to one small field when foxhunting season is over, other times he is boarded at the farm she takes lessons at. She has proclaimed that her pastures will never look bad, and is critical of many of us.

Where do you go and hunt JSwan? You ever over in my side of the road, stop in and say howdy, always got cold beer or coffee on.

[Cielo Azure]

"beep beep beep of some large piece of equipment backing up."

If the equipment was not their "normal" equipment, there is a good chance they paid someone to spray and the schedule was not one they could control. For instance, Southern States in MD does a lot of contractual work spraying, as does the Farmers coop in Frederick.
http://www.southernstates.com/products/nutrisphere-n.jsp
http://www.southernstates.com/articles/ca/applyinglime.jsp (wrong time of year for lime, although it is a wet spring)

They come in, analyze your soil, you give the ok for amounts, and they come out (a lot of times, they won't even give you time except to say within the next week). Or you they come in, discuss the weed situation and what will kill it (Johnson grass is always a biggy in MD as it is classified as a noxious weed, isn't killed by round-up and your farmer neighbors will complain to state officials if you have it in your fields). This time of year is crazy busy for such companies that do contractual spraying and crop management, and the farmer has little say about when they show up.

[JSwan]

All y'all with neighbor problems just need a mean rooster. I'm telling you - those suckers can run fast.:lol:


I hunt all over, Belposh. Bit of a fairweather hunter but if I'm in the area I'll let you know. Coffee is most welcome on a cold day.

Hmmmmm... actually - you need to come hunting with me. What are you doing sitting in prime territory and not gallumphing about with us? Or you need to come rabbit hunting with the Bassets - we follow them on foot. PM me and I'll give you our schedule - right now we're just walking them out for exercise.

OP I was trying to think of what that guy was spraying and all I can think of is 2, 4 D. Was he spraying a hayfield or row crop? If it was herbicide you should start seeing some damage to your pasture. See any? There are liquid fertilizers but I don't know who would spray.

Even on a still day there is a lot of drift with spraying. It's a real PITA.





jetsmom - too funny.:lol:

[MistyBlue]

I thought this thread was about "Asshats with Anhydrosis"...ie people that don't sweat. I couldn't figure out how this would be a problem for people around them...

Oh thank goodness I wasn't the only one who read the thread title like that. :D

[eventersmom]

Obviously I'm an asshat for not researching how anhydrous is applied before posting. :lol: And I'm also glad I wasn't calling those with anhydrosis asshats!

JSwan the farmer applied a Lexar and Roundup mixture. It seems to be killing off some of our clover up to about 25 feet more or less into the pasture. From what I've read the clover should come back. Haven't checked the hay pasture yet which also adjoins the farmer's cornfield.