Probably three. One to power the combined harvester, one to sit on the truck getting shipped to and from the harvester, and one to sit in the charger getting recharged. <snipped Gnatguy getting excited about typos. >
We almost live in different worlds. I got curious so I looked for electric battery powered tractors. Soletrac is made in the U.S. They have a sub compact tractor that's around 25 hp. A California dealer has a list price of just under $34,0t00.
<shrug> Possible/likely. I haven't been on a farm in at least 4 decades; maybe closer to 5?
And, farms in New England are very different in their crops, livestock, size, methods of farming, etc. You're more likely to find a large orchard than anything else. Tobacco being the only thing comparable to large corn/wheat fields.
But even support for a (human) *driver* is unnecessary. "Imagine what a chair would look like if your knees bent the other way..."
The farms I grew up near just plowed it under and spread manure on top. As our school wasn't air conditioned, we relied on open windows for cooling. You learn to develop a profound dislike for the smell of manure -- esp in the cafeteria!
What did they use to feed the animals that produced the manure?
No idea. I don't even know what *kind* of animals were involved! Likely horses or dairy cows as I know both were present on local farms.
Farms have changed a lot here in central Nebraska since I was a kid a mere half century ago. Farmers used to raise a little of everything. We always had a few cattle. One of them was destined for the freezer. We had a milk cow. It's more work than you might think to hand milk a cow. Mom and the other farm women raised chickens and maybe ducks. A rooster might see the sunrise and be on our table for the evening meal. (supper). We always had eggs straight from the chicken coop. Bowman mentioned the get big or get out thing. My brother and I took a tour of the old neighborhood a few weeks ago. We stopped and tried to remember where the old Gierhan homestead was. The two Sternberg home places were a bit farther down the road. One of them was a life long bachelor we called the Lone Ranger. This life long bachelor threw his laundry on the bushes by his house to dry. The people and building sites are long gone. I mentioned something about having farm animals to a farmer a couple years ago. He started laughing and said he wasn't sure if there was even a cat on his place.
Never "worked" a farm. But, recall getting "fresh" milk from the dairy up the road (in a GLASS gallon jug with a little cardboard "stopper" wedged in the ~1" mouth that you had to return for deposit/refill). I recall the "milk box" on the front porch but can't seem to remember deliveries; but
*do* remember carrying that jug!And, fresh ice cream ("What flavors do you have *today*?")
[I recall a "shout out" on Hee-Haw claiming we had a population of 2,000!]In my home town, I suspect the land is worth considerably more than it's value generating crops. Half-acre *lots* (sans buildings) sell for $125K (good location, still "suburban", great schools, etc.).
Even a tiny bit of farmland would generate more sold-off as building parcels than it could likely generate (I think 1/2 acre is still the smallest lot that you are allowed to build upon)
We had the insulated box on the porch for milk but it was quart glass jugs with the cardboard seal. Bread was also delivered. You put the Freihofer's sign in the window if you wanted anything.
Dunno as "deliveries" likely happened before I was old enough to walk to the dairy (and, who cares *how* the stuff arrives -- as long as YOU didn't have to go fetch it!)
Ours was the first house built on the street so the box arrived *for* our use, not something left by a previous owner.
I'm not sure where the cows grazed as the dairy was located for ease of (motorized) access (most of the farmland was on one-lane back roads so milk was likely trucked to the facility to be processed).
I recall the ice cream shop (possibly a different owner) was located a few miles away. Not really an "eat in" sort of establishment; more like a counter that was staffed whenever there was free time to do so.
That seemed to be a common thread with these small places. Almost as if the people doing it were doing it for fun or sense of community (they surely couldn't get rich selling cones to young kids off the beaten trail!)
Like the donut shop that was open when "ma & pa" felt like making donuts; served whatever they happened to make on that day; and closed as soon as the last donut was sold. I remember learning at an early age that just because it *looked* like a jelly donut, there were no guarantees as to what might be inside! (ask -- POLITELY -- and don't turn up your nose if you don't like the answer!)
And fresh baked pumpernickel, jewish rye, pretzel sticks, etc.
Ah, and what I wouldn't give, today, for a *good* bagel...
Lots of ponds where I lived (no idea where the water originated but you could trace the flow out of some of them -- look for the waterwheels). Some man-made (e.g., where the brick works captured their clay). Great for ice skating in the winter months; likely a real mosquito haven in summer!
Elementary school built when I was a kid used to have a brook on the land. Afterwards, the brook was gone -- it had been routed through a large concrete pipe buried on the property (you could still find the source end on the far side of the school but the rest had been hidden from access)
An aunt/uncle had a small brook on their property line. My favorite place to harvest pussy willows ("Why can't we plant a pussy willow tree, Dad?")
In high school I took an extra credit summer biology program. We did everything from wading in a creek capturing the organisms that lived under the rocks to visiting a sewage treatment plant. One day followed dairy products starting at the farm and ending at the Borden plant. It was scheduled so while talking to the farmer the truck arrived to pick up his milk. Most of the dairy farms in the area were small, fewer than
100 cows, so the truck had to stop at several.I had the misconception as a kid that adults enjoyed what they were doing from the short order cook at the Miss Troy diner to the scientists that talked to us from the RPI outreach programs.
A wakeup came at a Van Ronk show at the Cafe Lena. The Lena was a very intimate venue and I was at a table next to two couples, young professionals by their appearance. Their conversation was about how much each hated their job.
I've had jobs I didn't like and they tended to last about three months before I moved on.
I don't know. As a kid, I saw this as:
- I have to carry the frigging gallon jug of milk back from the store
- I can get ice cream on the other side of town (yet too far to walk)
My folks worked in a factory. I knew, from early on, that many people didn't like their jobs but did them in order to provide for their families.
SWMBO claims -- half jokingly -- that I've been retired for ~40 years as I "have fun" every day.
My last day at the 9-to-5 came about because my employer made a comment: "We don't have time to do it right. But, we can do it *over*, later!"
Um, do you really think I want to waste some portion of my life doing something that we both acknowledge is wrong with the ENTICEMENT (?) that I'll be
*allowed* to do it over again, later? "Gee, can I please? Pretty please?"No, how about *you* do it and do it over. I'm going to go do something that I'm going to enjoy and from which I'm going to learn/grow. Which of us do you think has a promising future ahead?
In a town of 2,000 no place is too far to walk. Wagner's was the closest, right past Mrs. Ross's candy store. She may have sold other things than penny candies but I was focused.
Stewart's was a chain and opened a store closer to the city (Troy). Their claim to fame was the make-you-own-sundae. You got a scoop of ice cream and headed to the counter with all the gooey stuff. iirc you could also opt for a bare banana split.
There were other small dairies that ran an ice cream operation during the summer months.
Town is ~25 sq miles. So, a walk between any two points can be as far as ~6 miles. Mom used to take us for walks to "tire us out" (preparation for nap time). And, would complain that I would "just keep walking".
But, that doesn't mean she'd let me just walk to anywhere I chose!
Downtown (that one block, 6 businesses) was about a mile and a half from home. The ice cream place was easily that much farther PAST downtown (we lived on the outskirts of town; dairy on the other outskirts)
I think there was a Walgreen's across town (even farther than the dairy) that had a "fountain". But, that's not the same sort of experience.
As we had to rely on transport to the ice cream shop, it likely wasn't going to happen. Parents got home from work and set about preparing supper, washing work cloths, etc.
If we were going to make a pitch for a "cold confection", it would be for lemon ice. But, that was a ~14 mile drive so even harder to come by! If lucky, we might be nearby on the weekend (visiting relatives). But, then had to cajole *them* to make the drive to lemon ice (as they could get it anytime, it wasn't as big an attraction for them)
I've tried making granitas but they aren't the same. I think they have a special machine to get the ice as fine -- and consistent -- as they do.
Lemon ice wasn't an option. I'm not sure I've ever had it. Sherbert, maybe, and heavy on the final r. Screw the 'mispronunciation' crowd.
It's a Sicilian treat. The flavors available always included lemon (though the lemon is not the tart lemon that you're likely used to; more like the lemons I grow, here -- very sweet with a light lemon flavor).
Beyond that, you never knew what would be available on a given day: grape, cherry, chocolate (ick!), mango, almond, raspberry, etc.
Store would open on Memorial Day ("start of summer") and close on Labor Day ("end of summer").
I make great ice cream and gelato. But, would love to be able to make a good granita!
Also would love to be able to make a certain type of biscotti that *I* like (not the biscotti that I make regularly for SWMBO). But, haven't been able to find a recipe to start from ("biscotti" is a generic term -- cookie -- so not very helpful; the bakery that made them has long since lapsed into the next generation of owners and they've not preserved the original approach).
And, FWIW, SWMBO isn't keen on my first batch of granola as a breakfast accompaniment (says I used too much cinnamon). But, is now eating it by the handful as a snack! (which is unfortunate as she will go through it much quicker at that dosage! <frown>)
Next up DIY granola bars...
Too chewy. She likes "bars" that are soft and cakey -- like brownies. But, I don't make those unless there's a party with lots of potential "consumers" as they go stale almost overnight!
(gotta wonder what sort of preservatives they put in those "7-11" brownies that seem to taste the same after 5 years on a shelf!)
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