Fence mending, the problems that never end + Massey 6150 updates…

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Welcome back, guys. I'd say good morning, but right now I'm dealing with this. So, I don't know if it's really a good morning, but we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

[00:00:39]Heat.

[00:00:47]Heat.

[00:01:04]Let's try this again.

[00:01:11]Even the girls are sick of it. They all lay down.

[00:01:15]So, we got the girls outside finally.

[00:01:18]It's been a very long morning. I can finally explain to you what has happened. So, I guess it all started yesterday.

[00:01:26]I don't know why the cows are moving.

[00:01:27]They've got two bales out. So, you guys know in the last couple weeks, we've been having some major problems uh with our whole milking system. If you are new here and you don't know that, um we have a Surge milk pacemaker, I think it's called. Um it's an older model. It's like '90s. But, uh we've never had problems with it. It's got like 50,000 hours on it, and it's only been worked on like once or twice. Last couple of weeks, it's been making up for that. um the board, I guess, I don't know really what you call it. It's like a a big board chip in it. Uh that went we had to have that replaced. So after that, we thought all of our problems were taken care of. Um there was something else that happened before that, but I can't really remember what it was. It doesn't really matter. Anyway, we got that put in. We had no troubles for about a week.

[00:02:08]And then yesterday, uh we got 3/4 of the way through milking and all the machines just fell off. We lost suction completely. Brent went in the milk room and the whole jar was completely flooded. The whole system had flooded itself. Milk went over into the vacuum tank. It was just a mess. He had to shut everything down. We probably lost about 10 gallons of milk. Doesn't seem like a lot, but all of that's money. Did get to save some of it, which I'm feeding to the calves, but we lost quite a bit of milk. So, the floor was all covered in milk and nasty, and we can't figure out what happened. Uh, we turned everything back on after we got it all drained out, and it never did it again. We thought at first that maybe something was wrong with our probe. Uh cuz it has two probes that stick down in. One's for wash and one's for milk. And when the water or milk touches those probes, it pumps it over into the milk tank. And if it doesn't do that, it floods the whole system. So, we thought maybe one of our probes was either covered with something, which they're not. They're completely clean. We just checked everything. And it never did it again after we turned it on. I took videos of it. I'll insert one of those now. The milk just barely touches the probe and then it pumps over. And it did that five or six times when I was in there watching. And then we finished out the rest of the milking. Didn't have a problem. Last night we milked. Didn't have a single problem then either. And then this morning, 3/4 of the way through milking, machines fall off again. So I think maybe we have a bad wire. It's got like two spark plug looking thing, spark plug looking wires on top where hook into the probes. So we think maybe the milk wire has something wrong with it because it doesn't do it on wash. So we're going to see. Um, we have a new one we got to go to town and get. I'm unplugging the fencer right now because we're going to be doing fencing today. It is also very hot. It's supposed to be 85 today and it's supposed to be 85 tomorrow and then the day after that it's supposed to be 60.

[00:03:53]So, we have severe thunderstorm warnings. A couple days ago was super super windy. We had a couple trees come down uh in our hay fields again. So, we got to clean those up. The girls are not happy. Who knows why? Just because.

[00:04:06]Right. Just maybe you want to be outside. Can you see the pasture? Is that why it's nice and green? And you think that's not fair? I want to be out there. So anyway, oh, another thing that happened this morning, the skid steer ran out of fuel. We only have to fill that about once a month. So, it's pretty easy to forget uh when it needs fuel cuz the fuel gauge doesn't really work.

[00:04:28]You know how old our equipment is. And luckily, Brent got it there after we put the bail out and he cleaned out the back bar and everything. And then it started sputtering when we were putting out the last bail for him. And he got it back here somehow. So now we got to carry fuel to that, which I guess really is our own fault, but just another thing.

[00:04:50]So I got to finish hoing out this side of the barn and then we'll start working on fencing. Brent's getting all our supplies ready. We're just going to go over it real quick. The four-wheeler, uh, last year we had trouble keeping some of the heers in, so we checked the fence over pretty good and most of it was okay. where they were getting out was there's a riverbed down there that's kind of the fence on the back of it isn't very good cuz you can't really get to it to like tamp in poles with a anything like you can't really get over there most of the year so when it dries up in the late summer they figured out that the fence over there isn't very good and they can get out over there. So we're going to have to take care of that before they go out this year too. But that's for another day cuz that's going to take a while. So, one good thing that did happen yesterday. Um Greta, some of you guys, probably all of you guys if you've been here for a while know Greta. She's our um Gernzie cross and she had this little baby girl last night. Um she did go outside too cuz she was not happy about us trying to leave her in the barn.

[00:06:10]Brent already named this one little fro line cuz Greta's name is kind of like German or Austrian. I think it's cute.

[00:06:17]She is so cute, aren't you? I can't really tell if you're brown or gray.

[00:06:23]She's kind of like a brownish gray, aren't you? She said, "I'm such a pretty girl." Yes. And she's a big girl, also.

[00:06:30]She's not very tall. She's She's pretty tall, but she's not super tall. But she is thick and a muscly little girl.

[00:06:37]Don't talk about me like that.

[00:06:48]Forgot to mention that the other frustrating thing was I had just and I mean just wash the floor in here this morning when the whole thing shut down and there was milk everywhere. So, I got to wash it again.

[00:07:19]Where are we headed first?

[00:07:27]The mechanics here working on the mass.

[00:08:01]So the electric fence stops right there.

[00:08:06]>> Broke.

[00:08:12]Oh man. Too old for that.

[00:08:16]>> Yeah, there's an insulator on it. Broke.

[00:08:24]>> So that's where the electric wire stops.

[00:08:26]This is the fence line I was talking about.

[00:08:28]>> Yeah, we got to run.

[00:08:29]>> That whole line is so close to this bogggy area that it's impossible to get fence posts to stay. So >> let's run a line right down to the middle of the building.

[00:08:39]Well, that building ain't long for this world. So, >> but a lot of you guys asked that's their old staff house. How many trees did you tap by hand? You didn't have lines. You had buckets.

[00:08:52]>> 1,200.

[00:08:53]>> That's a lot of trees.

[00:08:56]So, >> good old days.

[00:09:00]>> All this looks okay. Another thing we usually do is make sure none of the bark is laying on. Should have stripped the poles, I guess. But we put these in like seven years ago or six years ago.

[00:09:16]And they just really started peeling, so not a big deal.

[00:09:21]Wow, it's hot.

[00:09:24]It's nice, but but it's hot.

[00:09:30]So, this gate needs to be hooked. That's what he's doing.

[00:09:46]So, we have two barbed wires and one hot wire.

[00:09:54]It's all messed up.

[00:10:20]think of the days of pounding every single one in and checking them.

[00:10:22]>> Yeah. This year, Brent said, "I don't really want to ride around and pound them all in with that heavy hammer." I have done it every year.

[00:10:30]>> Every year since we put this fence in, he's done it. And I tried. I'm like, they're fine.

[00:10:34]>> This year, we're just going to go with it.

[00:10:36]>> We're just going to let it be this year.

[00:10:38]>> Okay.

[00:10:41]>> We're tired.

[00:10:46]>> The grass is coming in the pasture a little slower than we'd like, but it is >> looking pretty good.

[00:11:22]King of the world.

[00:11:30]Something's going on here.

[00:11:47]What do I have there?

[00:12:04]Brenton just went to grab the hammer that I forgot. Um, so you probably I don't know if you can hear me on the four-wheeler, but the mechanic is working on the Massie right now. He's putting the new turbo on, taking the old turbo off. He brought some torches cuz he figured that it wasn't going to come off very well. Obviously, turbos get very, very hot and that kind of like oxidizes the bolts to the actual casing.

[00:12:26]So, he's probably going to have to cut those off. And he's over there working on it right now. So, uh we're going to check in with him in a little bit. He said he's going to try to start it up.

[00:12:36]He's got jumper cables to try to start it once he gets that new turbo on.

[00:12:44]And then we'll start working on the high low problem. I think that's the next issue that we're going to look at. And we think it's probably electrical. So, that's where we're going to start and see if we can't figure out what's going on there. The cows aren't aren't going out anytime soon. Also, I don't I mean soonish. Probably within the next two weeks. 10 days. 10 days to two weeks.

[00:13:07]>> Good so far.

[00:13:26]that concrete.

[00:13:28]>> Okay.

[00:13:28]>> How about beside you? Is that okay?

[00:13:32]>> Yeah.

[00:13:34]>> Some stuff up ahead of you.

[00:14:01]can see the cows over there.

[00:14:03]I do not know how a tire from the tire pile got out here, but we need to pick that up cuz they could trip in that and hurt themselves.

[00:14:13]This line right here uh just goes to the drainage ditch area. So, we don't have to check that. It doesn't they don't they're going to be going in it when they go out. We let them in it immediately so that they don't try to bust down the fence. Does anybody else have an issue with touching a fence?

[00:14:25]Even if you really like know that it's off grabbing a hold of it just feels wrong.

[00:14:34]Now, this no grass grows here. This is the walkway that the cows come up from the pasture. And it can get pretty muddy at times, but no matter what, no grass grows here cuz they just walk it too much.

[00:14:56]You guys can see like little cow paths where they go up around. It's an old mineral tub. I need to throw that. Oh, yay. The sandpiper's out. She's probably going to attack me.

[00:15:06]She's here every year and she is crazy about keeping her baby safe.

[00:15:14]How's it going?

[00:15:18]I would give you some grass, but I'm afraid it would give you a taste of its deliciousness and then you might possibly get out.

[00:15:30]Bobby Joe's like, I would not do that.

[00:15:33]All right. So, the water tank needs to be cleaned out. The birds crap all over it. I think it's on.

[00:15:41]It is. That's very cold.

[00:15:51]We need to clean that out. I guess >> they're going after the memorial.

[00:15:56]Don't need to hurry.

[00:16:01]That's like the biggest oak tree I've ever seen.

[00:16:04]>> That looks all right.

[00:16:42]That one's unhooked right there.

[00:16:44]>> Can't you leave that one?

[00:16:46]>> You want to leave it in?

[00:16:47]>> Yep.

[00:16:49]>> You want it? Right there.

[00:16:50]>> Yep.

[00:17:07]I'm getting yelled at already.

[00:17:10]>> He's like, "You're doing it wrong."

[00:17:12]>> Ah, give me the hammer.

[00:17:13]>> Yes, sir.

[00:17:16]You must have one of those porcelain insulators in there. Just go back and get one and bring it back. It's easy to remember. Oh jeez.

[00:17:25]>> Holy cow.

[00:17:26]>> I really got myself, didn't I? I was making fun of him for not wearing gloves.

[00:17:32]Serves me right.

[00:17:48]>> That's coming.

[00:17:50]>> Yeah, it is. It always takes this area down here a little longer.

[00:17:54]>> A little after Memorial.

[00:17:55]>> Memorial. After Memorial, >> probably around June 1st, they'll be going out.

[00:17:59]>> I think June 1st is delivered.

[00:18:03]>> Why hurry?

[00:18:04]>> Might as well. We got feed still, so they might as well stay in as long as they can.

[00:18:13]I don't know if you guys can see them, but those sand hill cranes are right there.

[00:18:27]That That one looks different. That must be >> That one's a boy. I think it's big and it's got a redder head than the other one.

[00:18:34]>> It's prettier. That's always the boys.

[00:18:36]>> Like >> all of a sudden they like attack us and claw in our faces.

[00:18:43]>> They bring on the sand hill pain.

[00:18:51]That's definitely the boy. It's way bigger.

[00:18:52]>> Yeah.

[00:18:53]>> Oh, I don't like how they're like walking toward us. Creeping me out.

[00:18:58]>> I I come in peace.

[00:19:42]Still charging.

[00:19:43]>> Oh, it's still charging.

[00:19:44]>> Yeah.

[00:19:46]>> Okay.

[00:19:47]Guess what? The Massiey's turbo's on.

[00:19:52]We're going to try to start it up. The battery has been charging. The >> battery terminal's got to be straight up and down.

[00:19:57]>> Down.

[00:19:57]>> Yeah.

[00:19:59]>> Okay.

[00:20:04]>> Nice door.

[00:20:08]>> I hope you get that going.

[00:20:23]So, it might take it a while to burn off some of the extra oil is what he said that was in the can there.

[00:20:38]Heat.

[00:20:54]Heat.

[00:21:07]I just realized we forgot to end the video yesterday. We >> started up the Massie >> and ran it for a while and it still smokes a little bit. It's going to smoke for a while until >> it gets all the oil out of that canister. Yeah.

[00:21:21]>> That was before the turbo. There's a lot of oil in there still. So, it's going to smoke for a while, but it was running a lot better after a while. Okay.

[00:21:31]>> It wasn't smoking as much, so I think it's going to be okay. And he's going to come, the mechanic's going to come back in what? This week sometime, >> I hope.

[00:21:40]>> And he's going to start working on the other problems.

[00:21:43]>> High low range.

[00:21:44]>> It's the first low.

[00:21:46]>> There's no high.

[00:21:47]>> We're going to get sawdust. We stopped and got Italians cuz it's our birthday meal.

[00:21:51]>> Happy birthday.

[00:21:52]>> Yeah. Happy birthday. We have the same birthday.

[00:21:54]>> Yep.

[00:21:55]>> May 20th. It was a good day for everybody.

[00:21:57]>> Same birthday as Shia. Oh yeah, >> we don't have quite as much money as he does.

[00:22:04]>> No. Oh, sorry. I hogging the chips. But anyway, so keep it real, keep firing.

[00:22:10]We'll see you next time.

[00:22:11]>> Bye.