R
Ridgerunner
Guest
In some ways, we have been fortunate, unfortunate in others. We live close to pretty much everything. But my work causes me to travel considerable differences. 300-400 mile round trips, frequently. No public transportation to any of the places I need to go. I was able to raise my “travel” rate a bit, and that was fortunate. My wife’s work is mostly nearby, but she does have to drive around in the local area (she’s an RN for a series of group homes), and that’s not too bad. But she also trains CNAs and CMAs in a place that requires a round trip. She does get mileage for that, though, and that’s fortunate.
The very worst is that I also operate a small ranch and small scale forestry. There is no way on this earth to make up for the cost of fuel for that, because the things you do require a lot of engine power. You can’t sell your tractor and buy a smaller one if the small one won’t lift the bales. You can’t pick up trees with a small machine either. I really think the people who do ranching for a living must be in a world of hurt. Some farmers, like corn farmers get higher prices for their product, but not all farmers do. There are a lot of poultry raisers around here and a lot of them have folded in the last year because they burn a lot of propane in the winter, and the price has gone through the roof. It’s no wonder food is getting more expensive all the time.
Both my wife’s car and mine are getting old. There’s no doubt at all that we will replace them with smaller cars when the ones we have are beyond fixing. But you know, and getting back to the farming world again, you really can’t replace a regular-size pickup with one of those little tiny ones very well, because you can’t carry the stuff you need to carry. I really do feel sorry for farmers right now, and I feel sorry for the rest of us when food prices continue to climb. We’re fairly forrtunate in that meat is readily available at low cost from farmers and a poultry processor’s factory outlet store. And country people around here raise vegetables and fruit for sale. But people in the cities don’t have that available to them.
A person can, if he tries, save on fuel, but there’s not much he can do to pay less for food.
The very worst is that I also operate a small ranch and small scale forestry. There is no way on this earth to make up for the cost of fuel for that, because the things you do require a lot of engine power. You can’t sell your tractor and buy a smaller one if the small one won’t lift the bales. You can’t pick up trees with a small machine either. I really think the people who do ranching for a living must be in a world of hurt. Some farmers, like corn farmers get higher prices for their product, but not all farmers do. There are a lot of poultry raisers around here and a lot of them have folded in the last year because they burn a lot of propane in the winter, and the price has gone through the roof. It’s no wonder food is getting more expensive all the time.
Both my wife’s car and mine are getting old. There’s no doubt at all that we will replace them with smaller cars when the ones we have are beyond fixing. But you know, and getting back to the farming world again, you really can’t replace a regular-size pickup with one of those little tiny ones very well, because you can’t carry the stuff you need to carry. I really do feel sorry for farmers right now, and I feel sorry for the rest of us when food prices continue to climb. We’re fairly forrtunate in that meat is readily available at low cost from farmers and a poultry processor’s factory outlet store. And country people around here raise vegetables and fruit for sale. But people in the cities don’t have that available to them.
A person can, if he tries, save on fuel, but there’s not much he can do to pay less for food.
I also shop for all groceries (other than meat and produce) at Walmart, so I save a lot there. The meat I get at local grocery store sales (stock up) and the produce I get at a nearby produce stand.
