Eld exemption for livestock and agricultural commodities extended to June 18

And this is the root of the problem. This particular segment of the industry has ignored hos for decades, even worse than produce pre hos reform. Every segment of trucking has challenges and every segment is capable of adhering to hos, just some segments choose not to.

Livestock isn't special, yes they have unique challenges, but their biggest problem is the market is flooded with part timers. I dont give any credit to the whole 'we are unique' thing. Thoroughbred race horse movers are also unique and they were able to adapt. Flower haulers are unique, sure the freight doesn't die if it sits for a 10 hour break and is a day late, but it might as well. Valentine day roses have zero value on feb 15th. Even segment is unique. Heck even dry van has unique segments.

Point is, the life stock industry can adapt to running legal hos. Now many of you might no longer want to hail livestock once it adapts, but that's a different conversation. No different than me getting out of the live plant segment when the dot actually started enforcing hos.

 

Yea if we could get them to fix the hos I wouldn't mind elogs definitely be easier, of course to me properly fixing hos is get rid of them entirely

 

Yes very thin margins, but to be fair if those same ranchers didn't buy a new tractor, new diesel dually, and the ever present 20k gator that they use for nothing but to drive out along the fenceline, those thin margins would go a lot farther.
I just can't have any sympathy for a guy talking about how hard it is to make a dollar when they keep spending tens of thousands on what amounts to new toys every few years.

 

Yea that's true but most of them are leasing their equipment and they're having the same problem with the new diesel pickups that have def and egrs as semis do they trade them in every 2 or 3 years to try saying on maintenance

 

100% agree. I started reaching out to various state Ag and livestock associations in the spring of 2016 about what was coming. Most didn’t even reply, those that did basically said the mandate wouldn’t happen.

Land isn’t cheap. Building rest pens wouldn’t be cheap. But people would build them and people would use them if they had to. In certain areas owning rest pens would be a viable business venture.

Any place that you rest cattle will need to be certified and cleaned after each use otherwise you’ll run the risk of contaminting your load if the person there before you rested sick cattle. That’s part of the issue they’re talking about now. It’s basically issues they should’ve been talking about two years ago. I saw what was coming, I made the choice to get out. I was pretty burnt out anyways so I sold my truck, paid off my debt, and went back to my old driving job.

The only issue I have is everyone saying to run team like it’s a simple solution. The small family farms will be the ones taking the hit on the extra freight costs, and then they’ll sell out and the big guys will keep getting bigger. The same people that I hauled 1400 mile loads for a few times a year are the same ones that kept me busy the rest of the year when I wouldn’t need another driver with me.

 

Let’s give em an easy one @woreout. Go load some killers out of green forest, head down through Conway and you best have a good jake brake, then come down through lake village, the back delta highways through Mississippi. Take it to FPL packers in Augusta, Georgia where you wait behind 20 trucks. Watch some cows unable to get up, hit em with the bolt gun and drag em out with a forklift and a chain. Easy peasy, especially for an Elog loving steering wheel holder.

 

I say come outta the I-44 barn down 65 and across the same way lmao.

Cafe at Green forest used to be one of my favorites. Cattleman or something like that.

 

Can you imagine some of today’s new soft sissy drivers in the top deck with a charlois bull? When you are standing by the jailhouse and a 2200 lb charlois enters the upper deck first, you aren’t worrying about if you showed on duty time or if you took a 30 minute break. Your wondering if that thin cut gate will protect you from the potential death that bull or any of the other 1200 pound heifers can do.

Some of these folks have no idea, but it doesn’t stop them from running their mouths.

 

Back when I was doing it I had jersey downer down in the belly in about three inches of slop.
I was trying to get my knees under her side and get her up.
About that time the half wit from sale barn decided he needed to jam a cattle prod in her neck and let her have it.
She swung her head around and had a very sharp set of jersey horns which caught me across the top of head.
35 stitches later and I had to take a taxi back to the sale barn because an ambulance took me to the hospital.
Then at 3:00 am I had to load 37 more head on when I got back before I could start driving.
Is getting your head sewed up on duty or off duty?