Spunky Dogg Farms & Forestry

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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Spunky Dogg Farms & Forestry

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

Hello to all,

I'm new to Farming Simulator and honestly picked it up because it looked interesting after coming across it on YouTube. I've had the game for about three weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. The modding community is awesome, seven levels of awesome, and I wish I could thank each of you in person for all the hard work you do in helping make this game as good as it is.

In fact, I would say pretty much all the equipment I'm playing with right now is mods. I'm using the New Woodshire map, which is also a mod. I'm on PS4, so trust me when I say I am insanely jealous of all of you with the high-end PC rigs and jaw-dropping graphics.

The reason for this topic is I'm a journalist in occupation and have been for nearly 25 years now. In playing this game, I came across the realization that I wanted to write about my farm. To tell the history of it. To share my successes and failures with others.

As of this writing, I haven't been able to find a website that offers that. I know there's plenty of streams on Facebook and YouTube, but writing's more my thing. I remember the days of Dynasty Manager and Dynasty Central for sports games, but there doesn't seem to be such things for Farming Simulator.

So that brings me to Spunky Dogg Logging. My Farming Simulator "dynasty," for lack of a better term. It may be nothing more than a way for me to scratch an itch on writing about my farm, but perhaps maybe you'll get some enjoyment out of it too.

Moderators - If this is in the wrong place or the topic's not allowed, feel free to move/delete how you see fit.

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This is the Heaven's Hill site just west of the Shop in the process of being cleared.

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Preparing to do some weeding of the Heaven's Hill site. Photo is of the north half of the site looking west. A total of 140 trees have been planted here, along with a lot of poplars. In all honesty, I admit I didn't fully understand poplars until after I planted them, so we'll wait and see if I get any decent money off this harvest.

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This is the site I'm logging now, the Water Tower site. Just trying to earn some money to make it through the winter.

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Another shot of the Water Tower site.

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Nothing wrong with a little night logging, a must in winter.

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Between the Heaven's Hill site and the Water Tower site, I logged a small tract at the Beaver Creek site. I love how a skid steer with a stump grinder in total darkness gives it a horror movie feel.

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Sometimes the fun is just driving home after a hard day's work.

Edit don_apple: moved from "Off-topic" to "Community Corner".
Last edited by Spunky_Dogg on Sun Nov 20, 2022 5:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

Hello to Spring! (late spring actually)

Spunky Dogg Logging survived the in-game winter, mainly doing small jobs and a few contracts that unfortunately didn't leave the company much better financially than it was before. I took the winter to kind of streamline my operation a bit, which typically means buying and selling of equipment.

With the emergence of spring, my fields of poplars were finally ready to harvest and netted me a rather disappointing total of a little less than $20,000. In all honesty, I've made more than that in one day of doing contracts alone, so I definitely expected to do better.

But, life is full of challenges and sometimes you've got to put your big boy pants on and try something different if you want to get to where you want to go in life. So the fields of poplars on Heaven's Hill were plowed over and I replanted with Wheat and Soybeans. I strangely want to also try corn, but the equipment for corn is a bit expensive and that might be something I come back to later.

It's late spring of 2020 now, getting ready to flip to early summer. My fields are on their way, in fact I just finished a round of fertilizing. I'm hoping with this harvest I can invest in some land with better timber and have a more productive winter than last.

Here's some photos to enjoy. As always, thanks for reading and I'll catch up with you further on up the road.

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Harvesting the poplars on the Heaven's Hill site.

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Another look at the early-morning harvest on Heaven's Hill.

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The Heaven's Hill site off Trebuchet Road. Eventually, the entire Spunky Dogg Logging operation will move out here. But, that will take time and money first.
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

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Hello all!

It is now late Autumn for Spunky Dogg Logging and what a busy few months it has been. Most of the summer months have been spent clearing land, buying fields, equipment and buildings and generally setting up the Heaven's Hill site as the company's new home.

Autumn also means harvest time and our first harvest was certainly an interesting one. Heaven's Hill was a generally rocky slope to begin with and the New Holland harvester I bought to tackle it promptly got stuck in the mud. So back to the dealership it went and a switch to John Deere was in order.

Of course that wasn't the only challenge I faced. After I got about two-thirds of the way through the harvest, Mother Nature decided to intervene and it started raining, forcing me to shut the whole operation down and wait for better weather.

Once the harvest was in, attention was paid to smoothing out Heaven's Hill for a better planting/harvesting experience in the future.

With winter on the doorstep, Spunky Dogg will turn its attention back to its namesake and focus on logging during the winter months. A sizable tract has been purchased with that in mind, so I hope to have some good photos in the future.

As always, here are some pictures from the past few months of Spunky Dogg's operations:

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See you up the road!
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

Winter is here!

As promised, Spunky Dogg Logging has turned back to logging operations for the cold months and were are at the Raccoon Corners site, a narrow stretch of land bordering a road along some bluffs. It's a tract with tight corners and maneuverability challenges, but Spunky Dogg's seen worse.

Day 1 is complete and the landing is all set up. Day 2 will begin with the loading of the wood we felled to make the landing, followed by some more tree cutting. It's gonna take some finesse to get the logs to the landing, but I'm hoping to have this tract finished before spring planting.

I'll update soon with Day 2's action!

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See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

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Welcome back Spunky fans!

As you can see in the image above, winter has fully arrived at the Raccoon Corners site. It started snowing in the early-morning hours of Day 4 and didn't taper off until nearly 1 p.m. The end result is quite the snowy picture.

Despite the challenges with the weather, we've managed to get three loads down the bluffs totaling nearly $92,000 in wood. The tract cost a little over $116,000 to buy, so we are more than past the halfway point toward at least breaking even.

We had to bring in another shovel to rescue a tree that had slid down the back side of the bluffs, which took up most of the morning of Day 3. In the end, we had to walk around to ground level below the bluffs to retrieve the tree and then walk it back up with the shovel the logging road at the back end of the site and back to the landing.

We then used the shovel to organize some of the loose piles of logs we had scattered about.

We still hold out hope to have this site finished by winter's end in five days, so we'll see what happens. Here are some more pictures of the action and as always, see you up the road!

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See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

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Mellow greetings to all!

Winter is moving right along for Spunky Dogg Logging, which is nearing the end of logging the Raccoon Corners site. Once the final load of logs is carried off and warmer weather arrives, the land will be plowed, grass planted and new saplings installed.

Wintertime is also for reflection and Spunky Dogg has kept busy landscaping and constructing new buildings. Eventually, the plan is to add a cattle facility to the operation. The land has been picked out, but I still want to get into a rhythm with the farming side of things.

As Spunky Dogg prepares to enter year three of operation, I look toward it with a sense of hope. We're planting corn, oats, barley, wheat, soybeans and the aforementioned grass this spring, so it should be an active harvest time come next fall.

Thanks for reading and see you up the road!

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See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

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HAPPY SPRING SPUNKY FANS!

Spring has sprung for Spunky Dogg Logging and we have cows! In a previous post, I mentioned a push toward animal husbandry "eventually," well "eventually" came sooner than I intended.

Spunky Dogg purchased a plot of land northwest of the main farm that came complete with a shed, pond and a field of oats. It sits alongside the main highway and is a short drive from Heaven's Hill and the main shop.

This, of course, makes for a now three-part operation with logging, farming and livestock. I've moved most of the farming equipment into a large machine shed on the south end of the property, with the logging equipment getting its own staging area in the middle of the site at the top of Heaven's Hill.

The livestock operation also has its own storage space. Cattle is definitely a challenge that requires a bit of planning and rhythm. They're fed and watered twice a day, with straw once per day.

Unfortunately, I have to wait nine in-game months before my Holstein cows start producing milk as they need to have a calf first. So, like logging, it's a long-term investment.

On the farming side of things, we've got our corn planted for the season. Wheat, oats, barley and sunflowers are all growing. I've got a couple of test plots of grass to grow our own feed for the cows.

I did have to fix a couple of bare patches in fields where the seeds failed to germinate. Just a bit of plowing, sowing and fertilizing and hopefully it all turns out.

I think I'm done with all of the big, big projects for now. Just maintaining what we have and hope we make a little money. Thanks for reading and I'll be back with a summer update.

See you up the road!

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See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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FSarndrone
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Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by FSarndrone »

You could post your screenshots in the screenshot thread too if you want
I love multiplayer :mrgreen: and John Deere :coolnew:
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Spunky_Dogg
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Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

I didn't even know there was a screenshot thread until you just said something. I'll do that. Still kinda new around here, lol.
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

SPUNKY DOGG LOGGING FARM TOUR

I realized I haven't made the proper introductions, so here is a visual tour of Spunky Dogg Logging. It's mid-summer now, which means baling hay on this little slice of paradise I call home.

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The South 40.

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Logging storage and staging yard.

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The ol' homestead.

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The top of Heaven's Hill looking toward small equipment storage.

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The bottom of Heaven's Hill looking east. Wheat is coming in nicely.

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Overlooking Shonash Valley and our cattle operation.

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Ammann Overlook. Barley on the left, Canola on the right.

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A late-night drink from Geiger Pond.

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Spitler's Knoll. I recently pulled slightly more than 32,000 liters of grass from this site.

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The top of Spitler's Knoll.

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Baling hay on the South 40.
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

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RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN

What's been a surprisingly cool (upper 50s to lower 60s) and dry summer has now turned wetter with multiple days of rain here at Spunky Dogg Logging. It's a frustrating, but needed, occurrence as you can't bale hay, you can't really work your fields, you're basically left tending to the cows and maintaining equipment.

Not that the cows mind it, I'm sure. They pretty much get everything they need in a timely fashion.

As we're in late summer and the homestretch until Autumn and harvest season, there's multiple projects going on down on the farm. I've added another split wheat/barley field alongside our oat field, with plans on expanding the oat field (you can see that in the screenshots) once harvest has been completed.

I'm also hauling silage. You're probably wondering why I'm using an excavator for that instead of the wheel loader I have and the answer is I'm still pretty green on the excavator. The controls are complex and I struggle with it at times. The best way to get better at something is practice, so there ya go.

Other than that, I'm still hoping to bale some more hay to get a stockpile for winter. I haven't bought our yearly logging tract yet, but that will be coming soon after harvest. I've got some other bits and pieces going on, but the countdown to harvest has begun.

As always, thanks for reading and see you up the road!

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A peek inside the equipment shed on the South 40. I'm going to have to move some equipment around to get to the grain header that's in there, but oh well.

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Plowing the new wheat/barley field.

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You see where I have plans to expand the oat field. This will come after harvest. There's a grass field on the other side of the access road to the barn.

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10 p.m. and I'm loading silage. A farmer's work is never done.
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
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Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

TALES OF THE HARVEST

Here's Spunky's challenge to all the virtual (and real) farmers out there. Post 10 photos (or screenshots) of your fall harvest. Black and white. No descriptions, no explanations. Hashtag #TalesOfTheHarvest. Post a link either here or on your thread and let's have some fun this fall season :)
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

TALES OF THE HARVEST:

10 photos (or screenshots). Black and white. No descriptions. No explanations.

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See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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FSarndrone
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Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by FSarndrone »

Spunky_Dogg wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:14 pm TALES OF THE HARVEST

Here's Spunky's challenge to all the virtual (and real) farmers out there. Post 10 photos (or screenshots) of your fall harvest. Black and white. No descriptions, no explanations. Hashtag #TalesOfTheHarvest. Post a link either here or on your thread and let's have some fun this fall season :)
Nice idea will do when I get to harvest
I love multiplayer :mrgreen: and John Deere :coolnew:
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Spunky_Dogg
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:55 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Spunky Dogg Logging

Post by Spunky_Dogg »

FSarndrone wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:52 pm
Spunky_Dogg wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:14 pm TALES OF THE HARVEST

Here's Spunky's challenge to all the virtual (and real) farmers out there. Post 10 photos (or screenshots) of your fall harvest. Black and white. No descriptions, no explanations. Hashtag #TalesOfTheHarvest. Post a link either here or on your thread and let's have some fun this fall season :)
Nice idea will do when I get to harvest
Awesome. I look forward to it!
See you up the road!

- Spunky Dogg Logging
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