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BCSnob's avatar
BCSnob
Explorer
Aug 24, 2015

Things I have learned as a sheep farmer

How to properly fill out 20+ page mandatory extensive survey (income, expenses, equipment listing and values, land values, etc) for the USDA census of agriculture

How to creatively fill out a 5 page mandatory USDA survey of herbicide/pesticide use when there is no place to indicate we spot spray as needed (as opposed to broadcast spray).

How to properly collect, prepare, and ship soil samples.

How to properly collect, prepare, and ship a manure sample to prevent gas build-up and explosion.

Collecting the information needed for a nutrient and soil management plan.

Properly filling out lamb check-off forms and calculating the fee to be submitted.

Monitoring with trepidation the politics and proposed details of the National Animal ID System (fortunately not yet implemented).


And you all thought is was just about taking care of the sheep and using our dogs to manage the sheep; that is the easy part.

9 Replies

  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Aug 25, 2015
    Totally agree. Not all regs are bad, but often taken to extremes that don't consider small business and aren't flexible enough to really work the way they are supposed to.
  • BCSnob's avatar
    BCSnob
    Explorer
    Aug 25, 2015
    dturm wrote:

    Lest we think that all gvmt and regulation is bad, is the Chesapeake Bay in better condition, or better condition than it would have been without the herbicide/pesticide, clean water, regulation on animal waste disposal regulations and are those regulations "reasonable" despite the added work and costs for all of us?


    We found some of the information gathered intrusive and not useful for monitoring environmental or farming issues (we had to pull out our tax returns to answer survey questions). We find the forms are all about big ag and not set-up for small farms. We find the regs are geared towards cattle and not really relevant for other livestock. We don't mind the regs to clean up the watershed; we don't like that the regs are not applied equally to all those in the watershed (other states and homeowners).

    Note: the fastest growing source of nutrient run off into the bay is from lawns. MD just proposed restrictions on fertilizing lawns which has homeowners pissed.
  • AZPops's avatar
    AZPops
    Explorer
    Aug 24, 2015
    Mark, I'm exhausted from reading your post, ... and I didn't even leave my chair! .... sheeeeez!


    Pops
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Aug 24, 2015
    Let's not let this devolve into political rants.

    Lest we think that all gvmt and regulation is bad, is the Chesapeake Bay in better condition, or better condition than it would have been without the herbicide/pesticide, clean water, regulation on animal waste disposal regulations and are those regulations "reasonable" despite the added work and costs for all of us?

    I know these regulations have made a HUGE difference in the quality of the great lakes and rivers in the area where I live. I remember rivers catching fire and some great lakes fisheries being dead. We are still dealing with the heavy metal disposal into Lake Michigan (even though the fish are thriving), to the point that young children and pregnant women are advised to not consume (or severely limit) fish from the lake and the rest of us have "healthy limits" of consumption.

    Doug
  • Dog_Folks's avatar
    Dog_Folks
    Explorer
    Aug 24, 2015
    downtheroad wrote:
    ...and if you call the help line to try and figure it all out, you will be put on hold for 10 years and then cut off.



    If you should get help chances are good that you will get the wrong information!! Right from the horse's mouth.

    "IRS centers established to help people prepare their tax returns gave incorrect answers - or no answer at all - to 43 percent of the questions asked by Treasury Department investigators posing as taxpayers." CBS News
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    Aug 24, 2015
    ...and if you call the help line to try and figure it all out, you will be put on hold for 10 years and then cut off.
  • newman_fulltime's avatar
    newman_fulltime
    Explorer II
    Aug 24, 2015
    just think in the future a drone will pick up your sheep s h i t shipment so we can have governmental flying shit:B
  • Dog_Folks's avatar
    Dog_Folks
    Explorer
    Aug 24, 2015
    And all along you thought it was about raising sheep.. Silly boy.


    One of the worlds biggest lie: "I am from the government and I am help to help you."

    Just think you are now a qualified "Sheep S**t Shipper." :) Sorry, I just could not resist.

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