One of the biggest problems I have found with starting our little farm is the lack of help from others who "know". We have been having problems with our fence and the cows getting out, it all finally came to a head this weekend when I checked my voicemail and found that they had been out all night and I had 2 very ticked off messages from the Sheriff's department. I totally understand their frustration btw, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and find a ranch hand to fix the fence and put up a few others where we need them.
Finding someone is a really interesting experience as you get all kinds that will come out. The first person we met "J" and his wife, better known as "born yesterday" team, gave us an interesting estimate that made us cringe. They insisted that all the old fence had to come down and that it would cost $2000 in labor to do the work. But it gets better, I got a delightful email with a laundry list of things I could buy for them from home depot instead plus $1000 cash or I could just buy them a 60 inch zero turn lawn mower and they would do the siding work I needed too. LOL!!!
The second guy gave us an estimate of $200 and he'd bring us the few things he thought we might need since they weren't hard to come by and were cheap. Option 3 lives 2 hours away and bid $350 based on what I told him and his years of experience. Guy number 4 came out this morning and like guy number 2 did not see a need to start over but fix the areas that were needed, his bid $400. (Guess who got the job). LOL!!!
This summer if you have a little extra and you find that there are a few odd jobs you haven't been able to get to, put up an ad and give someone who has been laid off a chance to work . . . even if it's just for a day or two.
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