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We have been doing corn and soybeans. Maybe 2,500 acres done. We had our stuff planted before that round of spring storms. It sure is early for harvest. Odd to dry corn that goes in with temps around 90! 105-107 day corn is running under 20% already. We were joking that a couple good hair driers would probably dry this stuff. Beans are hit and miss right now. It's completely dependent on the variety. They are drying so fast that we couldn't wait until they were all ready. Two of the boys are doing beans by themselves. They are doing pretty good too. They did a couple days around 150 acres. To the belt drive discussion. I'm well aware that belts can work and work well. I'm not even going to argue the point. My concern is whether or not they designed a system that will be adequate for high stress riding conditions. I sure hope they didn't try to pinch a couple pennies and go cheap with a setup that is too weak.

@ZR6000RR, I hope you are correct about the belt drive system holding together. I'd have to argue that I can't compare it to a timing belt. In fact, I have quite a bit of faith in belts that run a more consistent load. These things run a lot of load through belts. We run the heck out of them for long hours and don't worry too much about belts. They do run chains in two spots, unloading auger and running parts of the head. The unload chain really takes a hit even with soft start. The feeder house chain gets a chatter load. I'm not sure why those areas use chains, but we usually replace them every year. They stretch and will break. Some of the belts run thousands of hours under load without replacement. They also run constant tension. I can have faith in belts holding together. I also know setting them up right is a big deal. One advantage of the Catalyst belt drive is it doesn't rely on side pressure to drive. That alone reduces heat stress and constant sidewall pressure load strain. On the other hand, the system would be prone to failure if the belt wasn't always tight. There is nothing left to slip and shock strains would be huge. I'll be watching that belt tension close.

I'm going to comment on the bold. I like banging around in the rough junk once and awhile. It's fun and the workout let's you know you've been riding. I'm a pretty light guy and the shock valving works well for that stuff. The last RR sleds were almost perfect with a few tweaks for light riders. I could use full range of travel in those skids and still have a great ride. I rarely broke stuff in rough conditions. If I did, it's usually something I hit hard. I banged my chest hard into the bars a few times and thought for sure something had to be broke. On the other hand, I lose motors and clutch components like throwing candy at a parade when I'm riding mashed potato stutters all day. Those conditions are hard on sleds for some reason. Some of the stock valving setups just don't work and the skids lock up like deadheading in an old Mack truck. That issue doesn't help. Drive components don't hold up when running hard. The constant loading and unloading stress tears the bejeezus out of anything past the throttle lever. Funny thing with those conditions. Those three hundred pound guys seem to break less driveline stuff in those conditions. They do go through motors though.

I hear you on the belt drive concerns. I wish they would give me test mules to run in those conditions. It sure seems to be hard on sleds. I've been trying components for years just to get them to hold together. I hope the belt drive isn't one of those areas I need to make better. I never did the test rides. Buddies that did say the sleds turn. Sounds like Razors might be too much. I have a spare set of Curve skis I'm planning on trying. Funny deal with the spare set. My dealer was clearing out a storage area and found the set. He knew I ran the skis and asked if I wanted them. I only needed to buy the mounting kit. The other one is a 137 ATAC. Thought it would be a good idea to get contrast in shock packages to test the setup and ride. You should bop up there some time when we're riding. Then we'd have the full set of skid options to compare. I came close to getting a 129, but wasn't sure how much time I'd have to set up the thing. I figured the 137 was close enough to the Procross skid that I'd speed up the process.

Not real sure if it needed refreshing. Had to pop the motor open, (another pto seal) so just did the pistons. This one only had 3,500 miles. The 800 Ctec pistons have actually held up quite well.

I'm hoping to see if there is chassis efficiency this coming winter. I'm running two 22 ZR 800 sleds with fresh clutching and one with a freshened up motor. I also have a couple different secondaries to compare. (Nobody talks much about the 22 800 secondary. They should) Anyhow, I have two Catalyst sleds with coupled skids ordered and I'm hoping to see how the old 800 runs against the new chassis with a 600. Riding style is typically fairly hard core long distance in crappy pulling snow. It's hard on clutching and takes a lot of power. If there is efficiency in the chassis, I hope to find out. If these 600 sleds can hang with the old 800 setup, the new motor should be a rock star in the chassis. I'm honestly more concerned about any weak points in the new chassis/setup they may not have yet discovered. All the efficiency in the world doesn't mean squat if it's sitting in a shop. That's about all I've got for the actual sled discussion. Now we can get back to the blathering.

The newer exhaust springs also work well. I can't remember which year they started, I believe it was the 21 models. It seems hard to believe that the small insert works so well, but I have not lost any of the newer style springs. I used to go through the old springs like crazy. Carried a couple in my tool kit all the time.

Part of our work ethic is tied to "The American Dream". The underlying belief that you will get ahead and live better with hard work is one heck of a motivating tool. It used to be a fairly basic route. If you showed up and kept your nose to the grindstone, you could make enough to buy a house and raise a family. Those are tough sell values if people want it all and they want it now. I can remember the first employee that asked if the work was always this hard? . . . They asked during their first break. That job wasn't too hard either. It was good money pulling small item orders in a nice climate controlled warehouse. It's hard to resist clanging their noggin and telling them they have it easy compared to the old days.

How many take two weeks at a time? Health studies show that people need at least ten days in a row to properly relax and refresh. The irony is that our normal vacation would all be used for a single recharge. Quite a few of you guys have fantastic vacation packages. I didn't have that kind of vacation time. I was also on call for years. That is barely what I'd call time off.

@ViperGTS/Z1, You do make a good point. That used to be the general method of determining liability. There are plenty of statistics to show that bad driving is what causes accidents. The courts have changed over time. Now, the driver with alcohol is automatically liable whether or not the driving was the cause. The courts vary by state, but it is the general practice to place the liability on the drunk driver. One other area where the courts are changing is related to using a device I.E. cell phone. Some of those distracted driver liability rulings are similar to drunk driving. I would not be surprised if Texas tries to tie in distracted driving in the near future. The true reality is that we need to get rid of bad driving.

@smokin george, I'm glad it was caught in time and treatable. I've watched my FIL and grandfather go through untreatable prostrate cancer. It is long and painful from everything I've seen. Very hard to watch what happened to them. This disease runs on my dad's side. Three uncles and my dad have all been caught early and treated. I think it's been over ten years already for each one. That is at least encouraging. My brothers and I don't mess around with this disease. We make sure that we are current on testing. We even question each other to make sure nobody skips.

I start every ride by loading up sleds and hauling them somewhere that I can actually ride. I screwed up when we were looking at homes and ended up in a dead zone. Back then, it didn't seem like a big deal, but I ride a lot more now. I'd probably ride a little more in MN if I wasn't already hauling somewhere. I've rode some nice MN stuff, but I don't like the speed limit. I guess my main area is the Western U.P. and it is my primary base. I could probably do a guide business on the west side. I ride the dickens out of that area and do occasional day trips into sconny land. I used to ride a lot more Northern Wisconsin and usually bought passes for both states on the first trip each season. Getting there by trail is a bigger hassle now. In fact, I don't think I have a Wisconsin permit on any current sleds. I miss the old main corridor trail. It was fun riding Wisconsin more often. The trails are quite different. Bla Bla Bla, I guess that was a bit of rambling. The Western UP. That's my final answer.

I have been using the older sticker for years without adding the extra lettering. The issue wasn't even mentioned at stops. Probably not much different than mounting on the lower half of the cowling. @Mag6240 , I'm giving you crap about your registration location. I'm glad the lettering requirement is gone. It was overkill. In fact, were the requirements the same used on watercraft? The new style sure looks a lot like trail passes in other states. I wonder if they will get together and coordinate colors?

When I first heard the story my reaction was basically meh. Then I heard where he was driving. My reaction changed. It truly was a rookie move and dumb. I enjoy a little fast driving sometimes. Although I've gotten rid of the good toys. - Some of those cars were tapped out on an almost daily basis. Nice flat country roads were easy, safe, and manageable. The main killers were wildlife and mechanical failures. Freeways out in the country aren't too bad on a dead day, but its rare to know everything on the road. Those surprises happen fast. This doofus did that run on what may be one of the worst stretches possible. Granted he was on the tail end of a two click straight shot, but both ends are bad news. Dude was coming out of a windy bugger section with left and right side ramps. It's not easy to manage without crazy speed. He was stopped right before the spaghetti intersection which would have been bad news at any real speed. Maybe he just popped it up to that speed and dropped. That would have been doable, but dang risky even with light traffic in the middle of the night. With that scenario it seems even more like a rookie move. If you're gonna go fast, find a spot to run it's legs. Don't do it on a heavily patrolled, bad stretch of highway, with who knows what other ding dong drivers. It's a bad risk against bad odds.

@ACE,I like some of the points you make. The slower approach is a doable end game because the West will continue getting tired and could slowly let it slip in that scenario. The Russians initially didn't anticipate a real fight and they went in with that approach. The Ukrainian people had a little more gumption than expected and they knew how to play the hearts of the outside world. They played fast and played it well. The Europeans had a nice gentle reminder of what passive subservience looked like. It's not hard to find many that were not reminded of a little guy with a goofy mustache and how he changed central Europe little pieces at a time. That association was enough to make them care and get involved. The US also doesn't want to play another war game. I wouldn't say that any one person is wholly viable with corruption being a tool to that end. I'd argue that is more along the lines of collaboration with involved powers. To all those parties, they underestimated Russia's willingness to sacrifice their own resources to a seemingly small game. It's hard to fully understand the Russian end game unless you look back in history. That's where the Europeans get nervous. They've been through the slow creep of a dictator. The rest of the world got involved before that game was done. Putin never had any intention of negotiating. His strategy didn't leave room for the option. I'm pretty sure we all know he's not that naive. His real end game is the old world hierarchy with his name moved up in the ranks. That makes a person dangerous especially when they have their hands on the trigger. His end goal is becoming more diluted as this mess drags on and he has more to lose.

That's quite the number. Thank god you are wrong. I'm not fond of non farmers owning land and I'm sure not fond of China owning farm and forest. I don't think it helps the argument when we throw complete B.S. numbers out there. Now, the dang Canadians, that is a problem. By far the largest percent owning US farm and forest land.

I remember when this started and thinking they would have it wrapped up in a matter of weeks. I'm sure they thought the same thing. It's not getting easier as time passes. The whole works is turning into bad exit no matter which side throws up a flag. Both sides are digging deeper and dragging everyone else along for the ride. They also know this is going to get worse. The long term prep on both sides doesn't include exit strategies. They have plans to move refuges to longer term housing. Germany is already tight on good options and making plans for additional housing and transportation. The Russians are working on methods to fight cheaper so they can go long term. BTW, we are wasting our time debating the left or right arguments. That's just a bunch of political posturing being done up top on both sides. It's a chest pumping power game and the public is being played like pawns. We are smart enough to know better. Politicians on either side won't come up with a good reason to let this mess move across Europe.

Time blindness is a real disease. Most of us call it laziness, irresponsibility, or just plain dumbness. Years ago I ran a facility that had a tight attendance policy. Late was late even if measured in seconds. The old timers knew the rules and didn't take chances. Some of the younger crew thought the attendance policy was too tough. They complained and played right on the fringe with the point system and rules. Corporate came in and announced they would be closing the place in just over a year. Anyone that hung around would get a "Stay" bonus based on their years of service. The bonus amounts were some nice change. I had people looking at 100k just to play by the rules and stay till the end. Pretty simple stuff. All the old timers made it to the end. I had a few younger people that always complained about the time rules who did not make it till the end. To this day I'll never understand why this stuff didn't make sense to them. One guy that was up in points did a no call with three months left. He lost 38k with that dingus move. The real topper was a guy that rode right at max points his whole tenure. We even coached him to reel it in the last year so he had some play in case he had an emergency situation. The guy had an emergency happen and the punch was 31 seconds late. Less than a month left and we walked him out the door. His bonus check would have been 46k just to play by the rules for another few weeks. It has to be a disease. There is no logical reason . . . .

Post cracking? Are they talking about the crank?

Construction or an actual solar farm? They build fences around solar farms.

Do the therapy after surgery and take it easy as recommended. Friends have had tear replacement done at the same facility. I'm a bit surprised by how well they have recovered. I saw how little they could do before the procedure. I recommend the PT because one of them didn't do the work and tried to ignore the recommendations. They ended up with another small injury and had to go back in for cleanup. They were told that they were pushing it too fast before the area was strong. Not sure if the diagnosis was 100% correct, but they did it right the second round and seem to be doing well. If your situation is anything like what I saw, you must be in a lot of pain.

That's the silly part. People should have been giving themselves credit. People quit buying so much that oil went negative. Demand was low and supply was high. Drilling operations shut down because it sure didn't make sense to spend money on a money losing game. That's the simple part of how supply and demand works in an open market. The hard part was catching up supply as fast as people wanted to start buying. Drilling doesn't ramp up that fast, so supply was outstripped by demand. Prices went up. People also had the silly thought that politicians could control price by using the SPR. We were ramping up consumption too fast for that to help. It also was not designed to play the market. It is a Strategic Reserve. The design was to help carry through supply disruption. (People made the argument that money losing, drilling shut downs, were a supply disruption.) Politicians bowed to pressure and opened exchange bidding which just kicked the can down the road. The original idea was to have bidders replenish by matching purchase volumes. Basically, they had to supply for consumer demand and back fill the reserves. There is some irony to the idea. Oil prices were high at the time and the gov could make tons of money on cheaply bought oil sitting in the SPR. That little game has kept drillers busy trying to supply consumers while the government is filling the SPR. That has extended out demand.

That's the irony of this political bickering about policy that creates supply and demand. People love to go round and round about how so and so made it happen. We are giving way too much credit and blame to politicians. They are more than willing to stand in line to take credit when things look good. The finger pointing goes up when things look bad. In reality, we as consumers create demand. When demand is higher, people will line up to make profit off the consumer's desire to buy. It's not real complicated. Oil is a supply-demand business. Energy overall fits into that model. That creates another irony. Somebody forgot to tell mother nature that consumers use things like sun and wind based on their personal desire. Consumers really don't care when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. Desire over rides policy and oil fills the gap.

I get that part. This country was founded with main principles, one of which is the principle of freedom and included religious freedom. The basis for our founding is on the escape from control and tyranny. The early founders didn't come zipping across the pond because life was so great on the other side. Their writing and execution of those principle is something to be admired. It wouldn't hurt anyone to read and relearn the principles of our founding. There is a lot about individual rights. Those are easy to accept. The harder part is that we have responsibility as individuals for our choices. As we move away from responsibility, we move toward the things we tried to leave behind. The cake eaters had a choice and a responsibility for their choice. The bakers wanted a choice as well. If both parties made a responsible choice, there would have been no need for intervention. I also get the point of turning it into a religious choice. That allows the issue to be pushed and tested against interpretation under constitutional law. The problem is how religion continues to evolve. It is entirely possible to create a religion of pretty people. As our definition of religion evolves, we step back to the government to argue our freedom. This issue I have with that method is how we essentially are forcing others to accept our choice by using law. We create more government oversight and reduce freedom of choice. It's a dirty cycle and it gets supported by both sides when it agrees with their views. Again, Be careful what you wish for.

That is one of my biggest issues with the two party fight fest. People are so wrapped up in a party platform that they have lost sight of the big picture. The whole works turns into a game of back and forth. Honest to god, if you changed the names the talk sounds the same from both sides. What an incredible waste of time and effort. The arguments sound an awful lot like the grade school playground. But, "Billy said it's true," "Billy's a liar." The stuff goes back and forth with the rest of the kids taking sides. In the end there's a fight and no one seems to know or care if Billy was telling the truth. There is some irony to the Trumper argument. He actually looked like he was different. He came across like the truth actually mattered and keeping it simple was important. As time passes, he throws more B.S. and whines more than the wildest of the left. The dude is turning into the "Karen" of politics. It seems hard to believe that these yahoos think we are this dumb, but we keep getting the same game. It's time to stop making heroes out of playground popularity contestants and actually get down to doing business.