Wish List
30 August 2010
My birthday is coming up soon. Occasionally I am asked what I
would like for a birthday present so this year I decided I
would make a list. If you're feeling generous, go ahead and pick
something from this list. It doesn't matter if you miss my actual
birthday, it's close enough that I will still be grateful.
Tractor
This has been on my wish list for quite some time. We all know
the headaches with my Chinese tractor but I won't discuss that
here. Now it's the smaller mower that needs to be replaced.
My little John Deere mower is the largest riding mower they make, it's
just not quite large enough for a Kona coffee farm. It has put in
many years of valiant service and now, after an unhappy tour on another
farm, it is time for retirement. The diesel engine still runs great,
excellent even, it's mostly the mower deck that needs replacement. I've
been putting off a new purchase as long as possible but now it is time to
admit that I need something with more power.
After much careful shopping, I've decided that I want the John Deere
2520. It's still only 26 horsepower which is quite small for a
farm tractor. If I was on any other farm I'd get something
larger. For this farm, where I keep things well trimmed and groomed,
26 horses should be just enough.
Of course the tractor is no use without a mower. I could get a
rear mount deck which is sturdier. Instead I think I'll stick
with a mid-mount deck which should be sturdy enough and has the
advantage of being easier to make tight turns with.
The mower is about $16,000 and the deck is another $3300. Taxes
and whatever fees the dealership tacks on will bring the total to
about $20,000. John Deere offers 3% financing on a 5 year
loan. That's a monthly payment of $300 something dollars.
Even a poor Kona coffee farmer should be able to afford that.
If you're going to get me a new tractor for my birthday, please
hurry. I don't know how much longer the little mower is going to
make it and the grass is already due for another haircut.
Roof
A new roof used to be item number one on the list. It got bumped
to number two after the mower got bumped by some big, ugly rocks.
So for now we will continue to use buckets to collect rainwater in our
dining room. It's really not so bad.
The roof is currently leaking from only one place. I've tried
sealing the leak but the roof is too far gone for an easy fix.
It's a metal roof, which is good for catchment water.
The problem is that the roof is so rusty that we have an inch or so of rust in
all our gutters and more rust in the bottom of our water tank. I
would prefer to not have rust in our drinking water.
I priced a new roof at $7724.18. With the cost of labor, the
total price will probably exceed $10,000. At that price, I can't
afford a new roof just yet. Instead, I did the redneck solution and
used a plastic tarp. It's not one of those giant blue tarps like a real
redneck would use. It's some leftover clear plastic from the greenhouse.
Regular plastic would quickly deteriorate in the sun but this greenhouse
plastic might last for years.
I simply wrapped the plastic around some 2x4's and laid them on either side of the
leaky skylight. So far the plastic stops the leak in all but the worse downpours.
Here in the tropics we get plenty of downpours. When we do, we simply
pull out the buckets again. It's really not so bad.
Farm Truck
My old Dodge is starting to show its age. It's still a decent truck,
it's just not young any more. The truck's PCM computer has been bad
for several years now which means the check engine light is constantly on.
The computer is easy to replace except that a new computer costs $1000.
That seems ridiculous when I can get an actual computer for less money.
Maybe Dodge should talk to Intel about how cheap computers are nowadays.
My truck also has an exhaust leak. It's just a small leak in the
exhaust manifold gasket. The leak is slowly getting larger.
If the leak was on the left side I could have detached the manifold
just enough to slide a new gasket on. Unfortunately the leak is
on the right side which requires the disassembly of nearly the entire
engine in order to reach the exhaust manifold. That's a job that
would easily cost $1000 in labor alone. I could probably do it
myself but I'm slow and I can't go that long without a truck. So
I've been driving the truck with the check engine light on just like
millions of other people do.
There are a handful of other problems with my truck. None of the
problems are critical but they all add up to "time for a new truck." If
it was a secondary vehicle I wouldn't worry about it. As my
primary work vehicle, I need something reliable. Especially since none
of my other farm vehicles seem to work.
I haven't priced new trucks yet. I don't want anything fancy. I
certainly don't need a giant 350 diesel or anything like that. I do however
want four doors and at least a 5 foot bed. A 5 liter engine would be nice, 4
liters is a little too underpowered for all the towing and hauling I do.
Fencing
In addition to coffee, we have approximately five acres of macadamia
nuts. For the past several years, the Hawaii macadamia nut prices
have been so low that it has not been worth the effort to harvest the
nuts. Now I may have found a buyer.
The problem is, our neighbor removed our fence. It wasn't a very
good fence but it would still have been nice if we had been asked
first. Especially since the replacement fence has never been
completed and looks like it won't be. The part that was replaced was
just barbed wire which is not what we want anyways.
The new fence needs to be hog wire so it keeps the wild pigs out.
Without an adequate fence, the pigs get in and eat the entire macadamia
nut crop. When I couldn't sell the macadamia nuts anyways I'd
rather have the pigs. Now I'd rather have the macadamia nuts.
We'd also like to put in some cross fencing. That would allow us
to have some livestock which will make maintenance of the orchard much
easier. Without cross fencing we'll have to broadcast spray the
entire area which means that eventually we will lose all our dirt to
erosion. So a good fence is worth the expense.
For the cost of materials and some labor (it's too much work for me to
do it all alone), I'm estimating about $5000. That's just
approximate, I haven't priced it exactly yet.
Gator
I've wanted one of these little utility vehicles for years. It doesn't
have to be this exact make or model, just something like this. An ATV would
work but a utility vehicle like this would be much better. I know that
once I get one, I won't know how I managed without it. Their uses
on a farm are endless.
As much as I'd love one of the powerful 4x4 models I think the little
$5000 model would be enough. Some brands other than John Deere
might be better. Even the smallest one sure would save some wear
and tear on my old truck. It sure would beat walking too.
Master Bathroom
This isn't really a requirement but it's not exactly a luxury either. We
currently only have one working shower in the house. I find myself waiting
in line more and more often now that the girls are getting older. Having a working
shower in the master bathroom would be awesome. It has never had
a shower, only a bathtub, and now that needs to be replaced too.
I figure I could redo the master bathroom with only a minor remodel. I'm
estimating about $5000. Of course it could be more if we got fancy with the
fixtures and stuff but I think we can avoid that. After all, it's a farm house
not a palace.
That's it. At least for now. I may think of more stuff
later but for my birthday, any of the above items would be great. You're on
your own figuring out shipping to Hawaii.
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