SORRY I'VE BEEN AWAY

I didn't realize it has been so long since I wrote ....

We are still in the middle of our move out of Minnesota ....

It doesn't look as if we will have quite as much growing land as I thought we would - but then maybe that's okay, since we are older now and the thought of getting out into a field just makes our backs and knees seize up!!!

but, we've got a beautiful look out at a lake ....

hubby can go fishing whenever he wants ....
he just can't eat any of them because I'm extremely allergic (according to my mom while I was growing up)

And .... I'm living with a CAT ....
don't get me wrong, my mother-in-law's cat is a "nice" cat ... although he keeps rubbing on my legs when I'm in shorts, and stretches his paws up under drawers when I'm getting ready to close them ... that type of thing ... it just that, until I started dating my husband - I didn't know i had an allergy to cats too ....

So, he gets the run of the house .... I get the pantry, bedroom , and one bathroom where he isn't allowed (although he will follow me into the pantry) ...

My dog, Luna. loves the house .... doesn't even mind the radio collar not working up here - hubby takes her for walks all the time .... he says he enjoys it too - it gives him extra steps on his FitBit .... lol ....

So there are things to get used to in a new state ... mostly TAXES ...

In MN, there is no tax on clothing, nor MOST food ... but the tax system is totally wacky.
And at the end of the year, you will ALWAYS be told you owe MORE ... ever since Crazy Eyes was governor ... Mark Dayton ....

And if there's a "surplus" - which means people paid TOO MUCH .... Tim Walz WON'T give any of it back to the ones who actually got overcharged!!

Oh I've got OPINIONS on him!!!!!!!!!  But not for here ....

In this state - we have to pay tax on EVERYTHING we buy .... including clothing and food ..... but it ends up costing LESS for the most part ....

very strange.

I was hoping to have a garden this year ....

But that didn't work out -- hubby and I can't agree on things at the moment ....

such as where it's going to go ....

nor what's going to get planted there

BUT - we will figure all this out ....

but ....

Later ....

so it will likely be another verrrrrrryyyy long time - again - before I get back here to post.

Famers are in for MORE troubles

 Ah Man - gotta start this over again .... I wrote this once and totally went off tangent ... 

(This is a copy of a post I put on my "Gems" blog .... I thought you all might like it too)

Let's get straight to the agnews .... I may copy this and put it over on my "garden" blog as well .... it's been a very long time since I've posted over there.

To RENT land - a very common practice - the prices are going UP ... by a LOT ...

LAND RENT COSTS

Per Acre $160

Yr-Yr UP 3.2%

LAND VALUE (cropland)

Per Acre $5,570

Yr-Yr UP 4.7%

NET INCOME FOR FARMERS (estimated)

DOWN 25% for 2024 

These are the newest numbers from the US Department of Agriculture .... which was begun by President Abraham Lincoln DURING the Civil War (I find this rather interesting, I may have to do a little research)

But - in most people's everyday lives, we think of the USDA as the people who keep the meat in the stores edible - and that things are going well in the Butcher shops as well.

Most people DON'T realize that they have a hand in just about EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth .... meat, vegetables, grain, etc. even liquids as well ....

Homesteaders - and some farmers too - deal with them on a personal level as well .... because they decide what can and cannot be preserved, and which method should be used to do so, AND for how long something can sit in your pantry once you jar/can/dehydrate/freeze-dry/freeze it ....

They have a LOT more power than most people know about ... or that they were originally designed to do ....

but like I said, I've got to do some research - there had to be a reason for the USDA to be founded to begin with ....

Either way you look at it -- the farmers are going to get it in the end ... you would do better buying your goods at ROAD SIDE STANDS for the most part .... or a Farmer's Market IF, AND ONLY IF, the person selling can tell you anything you want to know about it ....

Did you know that there are people selling at Farmer's Markets who actually do NOT grow the veg they are selling?

Many of them go to Produce Auctions in other states, then haul it back to their state, package it, and sell it.

I did not realize this until one of the Canners I watch on YouTube put up a video of an Auction she had gone to (and videoed) went to a Farmer's Market in a different city than where she lived - some of us do this - and low & behold, there was a person who she had captured in her video actually SELLING similar product to what she had seen them purchase at the auction just a few days before!!!

It's a scam!

But .... that's a differnet post .... which I will put on my Garden blog.