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n.c.iowa | I hate trying to decide to load livestock or not in a snowstorm. Often times I find it helpful to call the drivers to see what they are thinking, you got more heavy snow heading your way right now.
One time a few years back we were scheduled to load 10-12 loads of hogs in the late afternoon, it just so happened that a snow storm was forecast for the same night/day, kinda like this one, only the snow was dryer so it was going to blow.
Couple days before I tried to get them to change the loads, nothing doing.
The storm actually started about 2pm in the afternoon, we had to load out at 6pm, drove out to the barn at about 4pm, it was miserable, first truck showed up at about 5pm, the guy was about half crazed, called the field man and told him that we weren't going to load any hogs, the roads had drifts across them, and the plows weren't running anymore.
By that time a couple more trucks had showed up, those guys were kinda on edge,wondering if I was going to load them up and send them out in the storm, about that time somebody that thought they were kinda important called and told me to get those trucks loaded up, I told them that the roads were getting drifted in and that we wouldn't see a plow till morning. "Well you got a tractor don't you"?was his question, "yes I do" I responded, "but it's a 706 gasser with no cab, I'll be damned if I'm going to blast a path 6 miles down a gravel road to the county blacktop in a cabless tractor in a fricking snowstorm"." Besides" I continued, " where are they going to go after they get on the blacktop"? They were heading to Austin.
There was kinda pause, then the person on the other end of the line muttered something like " I see, so that's how it's going to be huh"? Well I said if your going to come out and take turns dragging trucks out to the blacktop your're more than welcome to come help us, we'll wait for you.
Another pause, "well how about we reschedule you for next week"? "Works for me I responded".
I thought two of those truckers were gonna name their first born after me, they were pretty grateful, let 'em park their trucks at the building site, the next day the when the wind subsided I fired up the ol' 706 and cleared a path for them to leave. | |
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if you had a choice-load fats or wait-blizzard
