Pellet heads!! What's up today?

No matter how you turn it, electricity is by far the most expensive per BTU of any fuel. Always has been , always will be.

 

Still unseasonably warm here (50 today) and the con stove is idling like it has been for 2 weeks now. Because of the rain we have received, the RH in the house is staying well above 50% with no additional help from the humidifier but I suspect that will change shortly. After all, it's only the end of December. Lots can happen between now and April.

As a precaution against rising pellet prices (corn is still free), I picked up another ton of Michigan Hardwood pellets at TSC. Skid price was 225 bucks. Still very reasonable compared to what I believe they will be next fall.

 

Going have to pay it one way or another. Propane, oil, pellets, electricity all going up and up. I have monitors in place so it won't catch me by surprise. Maine just stopped a hydro power line from coming through the state to Mass. That will be a disadvantage. The voters are mad at CMP (rightly so) but the line would have done some good both in power and taxes. We have a solar projects popping up all over the place. They are offering 15% off the standard offer. Problem is that CMP is dragging their feet getting them connected to the grid. It is going to cost a lot, but the granola group is all in favor of it. Unlike the windmills in the mountains, these are everywhere. There will be three solar projects in my little town. With the inflation, this is seen as a grand opportunity to raise prices on everything. Anytime energy goes up, everything else goes up with it. The increase in energy cost is gov. policy driven. Very deliberate.

 

Changed them out yesterday as a matter of fact. They still have some tread on them but are getting a bit squirrely in the rain. My tire guy told me that the Wintertforce snow tires were the best ever made but they changed the design and the new ones aren't worth beans for wear or traction. Bought 4 General Altimax which is the same tread pattern as the Winterforce is but a bit less howl Even he was amazed my wife rolled 70K on them and still weren't down to the wear bars. Hope the generals run that well. Probably be the last set of tires on her van anyway as we don't venture far from the farm anymore. Heck, I put more road miles on my tractors than we do on the cars. My tire guy gave me a break on mounting, said he'd sell the old ones for used, but good tires.

I need to order 4 Trelleborg R1 radials for one of the farm tractors before January 1. He told me after January 1, tire prices are increasing 25% across the board, including Ag tires. A set of 4 for me is around $5500.00 and a 25% increase would be an additional 1300 bucks. Think I'll pre order a set and take them off this year's books. Can always use the deduction. Gonna hurt my saving account however.

Gonna take the set (bias) off the one tractor and have them mounted on the other and the radials will go on the tractor I'm having the tires switched on. In a way I kind of wish I'd not gotten front wheel assist on either tractor as on a 2wd unit, the front's are a helluva lot less expensive.

Farming is always expensive. Ordered a 2.5 gallon jug of Buterac which is 2-4-d(B) which you can use on alfalfa to kill off invasive weeds without harming it. Last jug I bought was 50 bucks. This jug was 200 bucks. Nothing like a hefty price increase and I have not even priced 46 granulated urea yet. Last time I bought a skid, it was 15 bucks a bag (50 pounds). I bet it's 30 bucks a bag now.

I can see my crop prices will take a very substantial price increase and I'm sure glad I don't row crop corm, wheat and soybeans because those crops are usually on a pre contract price so if you loose your but, you loose big time. I can control the pricing of my forage crop by the year because none of it is contract priced.

I fear there will be a lot of marginal farmers going tits up this year. Not gonna be a money year, especially with the current economic morass created by the dum dum's in DC.

Tractor House is chock full of late model equipment, a telling sign of bad times coming. Glad all my equipment is paid for except my new bailer and I only financed 10 grand of it's 45 grand price tag.

 

My issue with solar farms is just that. They ARE NOT a farm, they are an industrial installation takes fertile and productive farm ground out of the food supply chain and replaces it with an energy source that only produces energy when the sun shines and they have a 20 year productive lifespan at which time they have to be disposed of on a Haz-mat landfill because of the hazardous materials they contain.

Considering your Maine weather (remember my good friend lives in Stockton Springs), I wonder how many productive days there will be versus overcast days and solar panels don't produce electricity very efficiently with snow on them either.

Living in a 'bizzaro' world is interesting in the least. Like wind turbines, when the wind don't blow, they don't work.

I've said many times that they should surround Washington DC woit windmills. They'd run constantly with all the useless hot air politicians produce....lol

 

Why I never complain about burning corn because for me, it's free. Makes a lot of ash and I do have the clean the stove 2 times a week and the venting monthly but free is free and it's essentially an endless supply. I do mix it with pellets to keep the corn clinkers under control.

 

Corncob....YESSSSS FREE IS VERY GOOD

We run hazelnut shells....Costs maybe $150 for the entire season ..heating 2300 Sq feet.

Today we got a dry day.....snow on everything....but zero wind.
We ran the Munchy and got 3 barrels stove ready.

We keep four 55 gallon removable top barrels in the basement and munch up the half rounds (Stove ready)

The nasty weather Heavy Rain to Snow over the past week or so...We have not been able to get at it...


Little Munchy does a sweet job making the half shells ready to feed in the two Whitfields.
Pat is running it rather slow....We can shove the contents through Munchy in about 15 minutes if we get at it.....

 

Kind of a unique fuel source, not everyone can get them. Corn on the other had is way more abundant.

Kind of reminds me of my apple mulcher that is on top of my cider press.

 

The solar panels going up everywhere are due to a scheme called Net Energy Billing Credits. The cost of which will be pushed onto the rate payers and tax payers both.

CMP produces no electricity at all. They make all their money on distribution only, which can often cost you more than the electricity. For industrial users it is always more than the electricity. That's the rate CMP is increasing.

 

Actually.....the shells are abundant in this area.....We are pretty much the hazelnut hub.

But...as far as nation wide or world wide...nut so much.

We got started on this stuff back in 1991 IIRC when I was first into dump trucking.

Fella called me and asked if I would clean my truck and haul him some shells from the processing plant.

Once I learned what he was doing....We had a new pellet stove in a matter of days and a bunch of barrels....never looked back...

The a couple years ago the plants all had to upgrade due to food safety regs....

Now all that is available are half shells... (Used to be pretty well busted up and other than screening out sticks...good to go) then the half shell issue came and so did Munchy....

A little more work...but we now have very clean materials....and the price is great....
A renewable resource and the plants must get rid of the stuff.

The landscape industry is starting to get into the act....

We get our stuff right at the plant while it is dry....the landscape guys don't care if it's wet...

Alternate fuels make the pellet stove such a wonderful heating appliance.

The local dealers just rag like crazy.... "OH YOU CAN'T BURN THAT STUFF...IT WILL RUIN YOUR STOVE" BS...Been doing it since 1992 and stoves are fine....

 

I remember when you were on the IBC forum. Long time ago. The fuel is unique to your area and if it works and is cheap, go for it. Like me and my free corn. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, it might bite me.

 

Happy New Year

 

Not sure if anyone has a birthday today, but If so, hope you have a good one! January 1 seems to be a really, really busy day and I am too lazy to look at all 209 names .

 

Well our first snow event of the season is about over...Snow is all out of the trees now.
Warmed up on Thursday afternoon.....
But it got COLD last night 15F
But the house is a toasty 74 F this morning....Both the Whitfields are churning away happily..

Here are some pics of how things looked a couple days ago.
Not a lot of snow....but pretty...

 

I can't even begin to imagine how a farmer can stay viable in this economy. Food is so vital, but the one who grows it is the last one to realize a profit or reduction in costs. Our farms here in Maine are no where near as many as there were 20 yrs ago. Now our milk farms are going to loose their market. Nothing good to say about food production in this current market.

 

About the same here, but not sure how it will look tomorrow. We are above freezing and in a dense fog. Fog has a way of eating a whole lot of snow. Too bad because the kids are out of school this week. Now they will need to travel if they want some winter snow fun. Only about 20 min. to the ocean so the ocean plays a huge role in our winter weather.

 

The mini split was heating the main floor most of December. With temps going down to teens this morning (and single digits expected later in the week), highs not getting much above 20, and winds kicking up (they have been extremely calm the last week or so), I turned up the P43's thermostat last night to give it the duties it was built for.