10/22/2025
Every now and then, Mooka graces us with his wisdom in the emails, known as âThe Why Behind the Whatâ series! Here, you can read his response to an article titled âRanchers are using âvirtual fencingâ to move their cattle â and help save prairiesâ. Enjoy his remarks, and a picture of Whiskers on his Flint Hills Mossman!
Original article: https://www.kcur.org/environment-agriculture/2025-10-13/virtual-fencing-cattle-ranchers-research-conservation-prairie
The Why Behind the What
Flint Hills - have you ever heard of it? Interestingly, I have! One summer in the early 70s, while roofing condominiums in North Lake Tahoe, I saved enough money to buy my first âreally coolâ acoustic guitar. The story goes like this⌠Being done with my work for the summer, I drove all night in early September to a music store on Broadway Ave. in Denver. During a âshoot outâ between 2 acoustic guitars, I tortured the sales people as I literally played both instruments, the Martin D28 versus the (don't hold your breath) Flint Hills Mossman model. I walked out the door towards sunset and passed on the Martin. Hmmmmmm. Flint Hills? Mossman? *** This article mentions the geographical area called Flint Hills. It brought me sweet memories of many many musical experiences thereafter.
Things to think about in this article.
KOSU mentions music more than once while interviewing ranchers. Music is important to many of us. To their children as well as soccer and football! Love this!
They had to go to New Zealand to find the best collars that could withstand the intense weather. Software is still in flux depending on code writers. Cost amortized over a period of time may make cattle infrastructure pencil. I hope so. Technology will only get better. It saves the rancher money and that is the beauty of capitalism IMHO it can promote innovation. No, I am not a socialist. Though I like fair game and don't like bullies.
The plants may have a better shot at flourishing with the technology of âvirtual fencingâ. Also, please read the other other aspects of âdiversityâ for the possible quick recalibration info for remedial ex*****on in planning.
You canât fence certain rough terrain and a hungry cow is a hungry cow. This concept has great potential to rebuild damaged ecosystems; to heal and offer habitat to endangered species! Birds ainât doing great right now, BTW. I have long thought of this approach to rebuilding soils with prairie grasses. Drones, besides killing people, also have amazing benefits. We could lose the killing people IMHO. I am a pacifist, BTW.
The Dust Bowl was a product of drought and bad land management. ****. Prairie Falcon from the Abolitionists new info just released. See below.
Technology in Agriculture has been going through a major revolution for years and GPS, especially in Food production, is beyond amazing. There are many many other insights to this article. Please read if you have a few minutes.
Good morning! Itâs Oct 22 and Wednesday. The hostages will be or are released. The government is shut down. We have naked bicyclists protesting âthe war in Portlandâ.
Mossman guitar company was based in Winfield Kansas, home of the Bluegrass Pickers festival contests, and was known for accommodating âflat pickersâ heavy, heavy stress on the sound board while doing (what you all would call today) âBilly Stringsâ moments. I still own a Mossman Flint Hills dreadnought acoustic guitar! Thereâs a video about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63X9sAeehjI
Sadly Mossman could not compete in the luthier manufacturing business and folded. They still hold their value but to my ear it felt more like âbutterâat that time! Hearing about the Flint Hills this morning makes me wanna go to the warehouse and do some âpickingâ with a certain veracity. Salt Creek is a great pickers standard and I still remember it. Yeeee! I miss Richard Clinebell BTW. Amazing ecologist. He taught us bluegrass and how to âflat pickâ.
Martin is amazing but they lost me that day (temporarily) to the Flint Hills model.
I now own 4 vintage Marin guitars. 2 Brazilian Rosewood D 28âs circa 1968 and 2 Indian Rosewood D 35âs 1970. The type of rose woods connotative of country of origin. Brazilians is now a protected species and you canât supposedly use that anymore.
BTW, see our Bandcamp new remaster release The Road from the Abolitionists (based on an amazing poem by Jim Cohn) and the track is called âPrairie Falconâ. The song depicts in depth, the terrain and conditions of social and environmental change comparing âDustâ in many forms. âHow do we compare that dustâ. Itâs free BTW :) Listen to it here: https://theabolitionists.bandcamp.com/track/prairie-falcon-click-for-retrospective
Love you all madly.
