With timing that’s perfect for these economic times, KIOTI Tractor has just announced two new mid-sized tractors designed and built for folks living in the country that don’t want or need to spend the money on all the bells and whistles that can be found on much more expensive machines. Don’t get me wrong, these new tractors are fully capable and heavy-duty machines. They just rely on well-proven and re-proven technology whose development has long been paid for. And the best part is that the company is passing the cost savings on to consumers.

Based on the same field-proven chassis as the premium KIOTI line, the new DS4110 (41 horsepower; tractor only with ag tires has a MSRP of $17,750) and DS4510 (45 horsepower; tractor only, with ag tires has a MSRP of $18,650) both feature the same powerful yet fuel-efficient and well-proven Daedong Diesel engine with the injection pump tweaked for different power levels. Both tractors include standard features like a rear 540 rpm PTO (33.4 PTO horsepower DS4110 and 37.6 PTO horsepower DS4510) and a constant mesh shuttle transmission with eight forward and eight reverse gears.   Both tractors are also equipped with four-wheel drive, power steering, wet disc brakes, rear differential lock, a comfortable and adjustable seat, foldable ROPS, seat belt and a choice of Ag, Turf or Industrial tires. Both also come with KIOTI's four-year, full fleet warranty.

"We have positioned this line between the so-called economy tractors offered by other OEMs and our premium line, which is highly regarded in this marketplace,” says Ron Parrish, Marketing Development Manager at KIOTI.  “We believe we have an extremely competitive product here at an extremely competitive price point.” 

I have not yet given these tractors a test drive, but if you are looking for good dependable power around the farm or homestead, I would definitely consider these machines.

I was thrilled to take a look at Gene Logsdon’s updated 2009 edition of an old favorite of mine, Small Scale Grain Raising. Now in its second edition, the book is even more apropos today than the first edition was in 1977, when I was a budding young agriculturist. I devoured the first edition in the lab between analytical chemistry procedures and dreamed of growing all kinds of grains on a small-scale level. When I obtained a copy of the second edition, which was released last April, I devoured it in five evenings, between chores and bedtime. Actually it kept me up late one night – apologies to the GRIT staff for my fatigue the other day.

Small Scale Grain Raising is a stellar work that will inspire gardeners, farmers, dreamers and just about anyone else who cares about good food, good flavors and asking questions. Most small-scale agriculturists and gardeners never even consider adding grains other than corn (maize) to their crop rotation. This is in part because producing small grains like wheat and barley, or even pseudo-grains like buckwheat, is considered to be an arduous task at best that requires seed drills and combines to accomplish. Heck, the capital outlay for equipment is enough to turn off even medium-sized farmers who are tapped into the corn-soybean rotation. But it doesn’t have to be so. And Logsdon shows you how to make it happen on a backyard scale. Did you know that you can grow sufficient grains to feed your family and many of your animals all year on less than an acre of land with just a few hand tools?

Logsdon’s out of the box approach to farming is as fresh and informed today as ever before. He has bothered to ask, and answer, many of the questions that paralyze gardeners and farmers when faced with the expense of some conventionally recommended production practice. And he does all of this, while respecting and understanding how those recommended practices came into being.  The book is filled with anecdotes, advice, stories of success and failure – all steeped in the author’s delightfully wry sense of humor.

Worried about what to do with all that backyard grain when harvest season rolls around? All you need to know about cutting, curing, threshing, cleaning, hulling and eating grains is laid out on the pages of Small Scale Grain Raising. I recommend that you pick up a copy today. Who knows, you may start a small-scale grain project of your own, or perhaps you can convince your favorite market farmer to put out a spelt crop for you next year. In any case, you will be a lot smarter about all things agriculture if you spend any time with the wisdom-filled pages of Gene Logsdon’s Small Scale Grain Raising.

I blame it on my friend Bryan when asked why on earth I decided to start a sheep project at the farm. As a once diehard cattle person, it is a little hard for me to believe, but I have all of this grass and nowhere near enough animals to eat it yet – and since this is hopefully the last farm I start from scratch, I want to try a bunch of stuff that I have never tried before. Years ago when I had a large herd of purebred Angus cattle, my friend Mark almost had me talked into running sheep with the cow herd, but then I was forced to move to California and sold out before giving it a try.

One aspect of sheep husbandry that totally turned me off was the need to shear them every year. Mark sometimes had trouble scheduling the roving sheep shearer and at least back then, the fleece was pretty much worthless, thanks to a global glut of wool. So in comes Bryan with a herd of lovely Katahdin hair sheep that require no shearing. Huh? Yes, that’s right. These cool looking grass munching machines are about as easy to keep as cattle – possibly easier once you have some experience with them. So my mind turned once again to building a small herd … or is that flock … of the bleating critters.

Having been overheard talking about sheep at the office at some point, coworker Lisa emailed me one day to note that her mom, Claire, had a breeding-quality brown ewe and a black ewe lamb she needed to sell to keep her numbers right. I say sure, I want those animals, having recently claimed one of Bryan’s proven rams. Well, those two females arrived on Saturday. I had only just completed their temporary quarter acre (and coyote proof) pen. Turns out that the black lamb still wants a bottle in the morning and Claire was kind enough to leave me with a quart of goat’s milk to mix with the Manna Pro milk replacer I bought. The last time I fed any little creature a bottle was more years ago than my daughters would like me to report in public, I suspect. But let me say that rather than find bottle feeding to be another pesky chore, I find that it is a very calming way to start the day.

I would like to add another couple of females to the group this year, but I need to stretch more wire around some of the pastures first. So far the coyotes and I have coexisted fairly peaceably, but if they go after the sheep, I will not be so tolerant. Stay tuned.

Just as virtually every machinery company has jumped on the UTV bandwagon, Kubota charges out ahead with an innovative new concept that carries more people OR more cargo, depending on your immediate needs. The all-new RTV1140CPX features a transformation system that quickly converts from one- to two-row seating, which allows the operator to choose between passenger capacity and best-in-class cargo volume – and there is no compromise in safety since the system is mounted on an OSHA-compliant roll-over protection structure (ROPS).

 “The RTV1140CPX provides exceptional comfort and safety accommodating four adults, as well as unmatched cargo configurations, capacity and convenience,” says Dan Muramoto, product manager for Kubota.  “The RTV1140CPX has exceptionally broad appeal, from ranchers and farmers to property owners, facility managers and outdoorsmen; this new utility vehicle is a unique solution for a wide variety of applications.”

The RTV1140CPX 4-wheel drive utility vehicle is powered by a fuel-miserly 24.8 horsepower, three-cylinder Kubota diesel engine and features 4-wheel wet disc brakes and hydraulic power steering. The transforming UTV also features Kubota’s new triple-range, hydrostatic VHT Plus transmission that delivers power and torque for any situation, easy speed and direction changes and smooth dynamic braking. Maximum cargo load is 1,102 lbs., with a towing capacity of 1,300 lbs. The new utility vehicle is offered in Kubota Orange and Realtree^® Hardwoods Camouflage models. Look for the RTV1140CPX at a Kubota dealer near you.

The folks at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame plan a grand opening for the National Poultry Museum tomorrow at 10 AM.  The National Poultry Museum is located  in Bonner Springs, Kansas on the grounds of the Agricultural Hall of Fame near Kansas City. If you are in the area, you won’t want to miss the grand opening.

The National Poultry Museum is an endeavor more than 15 years in the making.  The initial exhibits of the National Poultry Museum were unveiled in 1994 upon completion of a Hatchery Building within FarmTown USA  -- an early 1900's farm town constructed on the grounds of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame.  Since 1994, the focus has been on raising the funds necessary for additional exhibits, gathering artifacts and determining how to tell the rich and intriguing story of poultry -- come explore the "Evolution of an Industry."

If you aren’t able to make the National Poultry Museum’s grand opening, plan to stop by for a visit the next time you are passing through Kansas City. And while you are there, you can check out all kinds of antique farm machinery, homestead tools and learn about the many individuals who helped shape and continue to shape agriculture in the United States.

For directions to the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, click here.

Avian coccidiosis plagues poultry producers large and small costing an estimated $1.2 billion in losses every year. The pesky disease is caused by infection with the avian parasite Eimeria maxima. And since this parasite rapidly evolves to stay at least a half a step ahead of vaccines, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have embarked on a quest to fight the disease through boosting chicken immune systems. This is a refreshing development in our “throw the next drug at it” culture where we expect to substitute chemistry for the much harder work of promoting animal health more holistically.

According to a recent ARS report, scientists discovered that chickens reared in confinement shed many fewer oocytes (eggs) of Eimeria maxima when they were fed ground green tea for two weeks before they were challenged with the parasite in question. Similar results were discovered when Pediococcus-based probiotics and yeast-based probiotics were in the feed. What’s significant about these findings is that they suggest that probiotics can significantly reduce the spread of coccidiosis through the flock. Incidentally, these tea and other probiotic eating chickens gained more weight and had increased levels of immune-boosting cytokines in their systems than the control group too.

Hops, plum powder, safflower and a few other phytonutrients have also been shown to boost chicken immune systems and are linked to reduced levels of Salmonella infection and even reduced incidence of some kinds of chicken tumor growth. It feels like we’re reinventing the wheel by looking beyond the “magic bullet” approach to animal health and now admitting that dietary diversity is important after all. Who would have thought that trying to create an artificial chicken ration to feed chickens in crowded conditions might not be the best way to prevent disease?

Perhaps all those free-range chicken folks are on to something, but even if you can’t raise your birds on grass, you can at the very least bring a variety of plant material to them … and you can add a little green tea or plum powder to their ration to boot.

Read more about probiotics and chickens here.

You know solar energy has gone mainstream when it trickles into the daily operation of a big government facility. In this case I am not talking about solar-powered, top-secret missile launchers – or solar-powered, military radios. No, I am talking about the new tree irrigation system at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington DC.

 According to a report published by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) the National Arboretum has installed a solar-powered drip irrigation system in one of its remote nurseries that’s about a half mile from the nearest power line. The new system consists of six photo voltaic panels that collect sunlight, a battery that stores the energy, and an inverter that converts the stored energy into electricity used to run the nursery's drip-irrigation system.

 This project was a staff-driven initiative to cut operation costs. The savings increase with each day the system is in use. In this case, installing the solar-electric system was less expensive than running power lines to the nursery. And the electricity will be virtually free for the 25 year expected lifespan of the PV panels.

 For more information on this and other projects at the National Arboretum, click here.

 Photo courtesy USDA.