The engineering department had some toys to show off. Can you find the Hesston chopper in the picture?
Leaves, cob and stalk would be used for fuel in a biofuel electrical station. There is such a biofuel conversion under consideration at the Cassville power plant. Wisconsin is uniquely situated for this to work well. The soil in this area is high in nutrients that could be efficiently used this way. Biofuels are close to the power plant and the by-products can be returned to the area as fertilizer. Livestock can enhance the system by providing an additional income stream.
Carbon dioxide levels are the measure of efficiency and sustainability at this time. Therefore, the old wood heater now has a catalyst for more complete combustion. Carbon sequestering is important and accomplished with crop that can be on-farm or left in the field until needed. Corn stover, for example, would not be harvested until after all the haying equipment has been put away for the year. More about this at night class.
Upcoming classes - see schedule at bottom of this page. (Click for print version.)
First class will be the review of summer and student input for the year. We will look at the roller coaster that has become our daily life.
On to handling the business side of the production system. A long time ago (1980) someone reported to the public that a computer would be very useful for farmers. Before you scoff this off, think about the cell phone in your pocket or the electronic scale connected to the TMR, or the electronics in the equipment we use every day. Much of the information we use each day is delivered in an electronic format. E-mails now contain dairy production information, crop history, recommendations for the next fertilizer application. I looked into some improved methods for receiving this information in a faster and more dependable way.
Now that I understand the computer, what additional work and information can it help me do?
There’s a lot to be concerned with nowadays when looking for an internet service provider. You first need to decide what type of connection you want and how much you’re willing to pay for it. For rural location, availability is a major problem.
There are two broad classifications of internet access, which are:
1) Dial-up access on plain old telephone lines. This works, but you will wait for data to move.
2) Broadband is the next major category of internet access and can be classified in the following main groups. Access is the key to these.
a) Cable internet access - very fast access offered through your cable television company.
b) DSL - Digital Subscriber Line access - offered through your local telephone company.
c) Fiber Optic access - if available - offered through your telephone company.
d) Satellite internet access - used primarily in rural areas where cheaper alternatives are not available.
e) Wireless internet access - offered through a PDA or cell phone, a rapidly growing area of internet service.
Some of the possibilities in the rural Waupaca, Winnebago, Waushara counties are:
Alltel offers broadband for about $25.00 per month in addition to cell fees. Other cell phone companies have competing plans. Check with your current provider.
AT&T has a remote internet using a cellular phone modem tied to the computer. Approx. $50/month.
For those who want a more dependable satellite dish there is:
Solarus operating on the Dish network.
Wild Blue uses its own small dish just for internet with various connection speeds. The cost here is on a scale from $55 to $90 approx. and you lease the dish.
The purpose for these increased speeds and cost is to make more information available in a timely way.
As with any management decision, look into the cost first. You will be signing a multi -year contract.
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