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Journal of Wind Energy
Volume 2014, Article ID 570234, 12 pages
Comparative Assessment of SVC and TCSC Controllers on the Small Signal Stability Margin of a Power System Incorporating Intermittent Wind Power Generation
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 0037, Nigeria
Received 9 August 2014; Accepted 24 November 2014; Published 11 December 2014
Academic Editor: Ujjwal K. Saha
Copyright © 2014 T. R. Ayodele. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Wind power is highly variable due to the stochastic behavior of wind speeds. This intermittent nature could excite the electromechanical modes resulting in the small signal instability of a power system. In this study, the performance of static VAR compensation (SVC) and thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) controllers in the damping of electromechanical modes is analyzed and compared. The study employs probabilistic modal analysis method using Monte Carlo simulation and Latin hypercube sampling techniques. Various scenarios are created to get insight into the study. The results obtained from the modal analysis are verified by using the time-domain simulation. Some of the key results show that SVC is more robust in the damping of electromechanical modes compared to TCSC. The result also reveals that allocation of power system stabilizer (PSS) using probabilistic method is more effective and robust compared to deterministic approach.
1. Introduction
The complexity of power system has increased due to high rate of growth of power demands, and the increasing penetration of renewable energy generators (REGs) on the grid in recent years has further pushed the operation of the existing transmission lines closer to their operating limit. This has necessitated the need to understand the impact of REGs on the overall stability of a power system. The output power of most REGs (wind generators, PV, small hydrogenerators, etc.) is highly variable and can have considerable effect on the dynamic behavior of a power system leading to power swing and less synchronizing coupling [1]. Wind generators have been the most proliferated REG in recent time. This is a result of its technological maturity and the availability of wind resources in many regions of the world [2]. The present and the progressive scales of integration have generated concern about the possible impact it may have on the power system grid integrity. Most of the large wind farms are located where the wind resources are found; hence they are far from the load center and are connected to relatively weak grid [3]. The presence of wind generators connected to such weak transmission networks incurs serious concern about system stability, system security, and power quality. Small signal stability is a key issue in the study of grid impact of wind power integration as a result of its intermittent nature [4, 5]. Small signal stability is concerned with the ability of a power system to ascertain a stable operating condition following a small perturbation around its operating equilibrium [6]. Modal analysis is widely recognized for the analysis of small signal stability of a power system. The analysis is carried out based on the system nonlinear equations describing the dynamic behavior of the system, linearized about a chosen operating point.
In order to take into consideration the stochastic nature of wind power, probabilistic modal analysis method via Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) is employed using MATLAB based power system toolbox (PST). The wind speeds used for the generation of intermittent wind power are drawn from Weibull distribution using Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) techniques. The use of LHS reduces the number of iterations required in traditional MCS and hence reduces computational effort and cost. The basic outline of the procedures for generating LHS as used in this paper is given in Appendix A. However, details on the application of LHS techniques to probabilistic small signal stability can be found in Ayodele et al.'s work [7].
FACTS controllers have been extensively used to improve the steady-state control problems and enhancing power system stability in addition to the main function of power flow control [8]. Damping electromechanical power oscillations has been recognized as an important issue in electric power system operation. Application of power system stabilizers (PSS), with increasing transmission line loading over long distances, may in many cases not provide sufficient damping for interarea power swings. In such cases, other solutions for power oscillation damping are needed. Fuzzy logic controlled energy storage (energy capacitor system) has been used to enhance the overall stability of electric power system [9]. Hossain et al. compared SVC and STATCOM in the improvement of voltage stability and concluded that STATCOM provides better response during low voltage compared to SVC [1]. The performance of three FACTS controllers, namely, static compensator (STATCOM), static synchronous series compensator (SSSC), and the unified power flow controller (UPFC), was studied in [10] using current injection model. The model was applied to damping electromechanical modes. According to their results, UPFC is the most effective FACTS controller for damping interarea oscillations and SSSC is more effective than STATCOM. Comparison of proportional integrated derivative (PID), power system stabilizer (PSS), and thyristor controlled dynamic brake (TCDB) in small signal stability study has been presented by Balwinder [11]. It was concluded that combination of PID with TCDB offers better improvement in oscillation damping. Application of controllable series compensator (CSC) in damping power system oscillation was investigated on the basis of Philip-Heffron model by Swift and Wang [12]. In their work, the capability of CSC controller was analyzed in terms of its damping torque contribution both for single machine infinite bus and for multimachine power system. The same authors later compared the effectiveness of damping torque of FACTS devices, namely, SVC, CSC, and phase shifter (PS), to power system [13]. It was concluded that SVC and CSC damping provide more damping torque during high load conditions while PS damping control does not depend on system load condition. However, none of the aforementioned study compared SVC and thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) controllers. Moreover, none of the studies incorporates wind power in their study. In the present study, SVC and TCSC controllers are compared for the damping of electromechanical mode of a wind generator connected power system considering the intermittent nature of wind power using probabilistic approach.
2. Model Description
Analysis of small signal stability in an interconnected power system requires adequate model describing various components making up the system. Therefore, this section presents the model approach of these components.
2.1. Synchronous Generator Model
Synchronous machine can be mathematically modeled as either elementary classical models or detailed ones. In the detailed models, transient and subtransient phenomena are considered [14, 15]. In this study, detailed model is employed to model all the synchronous generators.
The mechanical variables are linked with the electrical variables using the following [16]: where and represent the damping constant and the inertia time constant, respectively; stands for the input mechanical torque; and represent the rotational speed and rotor angle, respectively; and correspond to the subtransient generated voltage in the direct and quadrature axes; and and stand for the armature current in the direct and quadrature axes, respectively.
2.2. Power System Stabilizer (PSS) Model
The input signal to PSS may be rotor speed, rotor angle, or a combination of this signal. The linearized differential equation of PSS can be written as follows [11]: where represent the output of washout filter, represent the output of first lag-lead network, is the output signal of PSS block, and is the washout time constant. and are lead-time constants while and are the lag time constants of lag-lead network. Figure 1 depicts the PSS block diagram design.
2.3. SVC Controller Model
Facts controllers are electronic devices that are used to enhance power system performance [17]. SVC is used to inject a controlled capacitance or inductive current in order to control specific variables, mainly bus voltage [18]. There are basically two configurations of SVC: the fixed capacitor (FC) with thyristor controlled reactor (TCR) and the thyristor switched capacitor (TSC) with TCR. The model of SVC as implemented in PST software is depicted in Figure 2.
2.4. TCSC Controller Model
TCSC has proven to be very robust and effective in the of power system oscillations. The damping effect is obtained by inserting the TCSC in the interconnecting transmission line and executing reactance modulation in phase with the speed difference between the generators connected to the two terminals of the line. The damping effect of TCSC has the following benefits [19]. The effectiveness of the TCSC for controlling power swings increases with higher levels of power transfer, the damping effect of a TCSC on an inertia is unaffected by the location of the TCSC, the damping effect is insensitive to the load characteristic, when a TCSC is utilized to damp interarea modes, and it does not excite any local modes in the process [18]. The TCSC model as implemented in this paper is shown in Figure 3 where is the stability control modulation reactance value which is determined by the stability or dynamic control loop, is the steady state reactance or set point of the TCSC whose value is determined by the steady state control loop, and is the equivalent capacitive reactance of the TCSC.
2.5. Wind Energy Conversion System Model
2.5.1. Wind Speed Model
The intermittent nature of wind power is a result of the stochastic nature of wind speed which is the prime mover of any wind energy conversion system; therefore, adequate model of wind speed that will capture the variability of wind power is required. In this study, the wind speed is modelled using two-parameter Weibull distribution which is found to be appropriate for modelling wind speed in many regions of the world [20–22]. Two-parameter Weibull distribution can be represented as (5) [23] where is the probability of observing wind speed () and and are the Weibull shape and scale parameters of the distribution, respectively. The shape and the scale parameters are provided in Table 7 in the Appendix B:
2.5.2. Wind Generator Model
The variable speed wind turbine is being considered as the most promising among the technologies for grid connection of wind generators today. However, a significant number of fixed speed wind turbines are still in operation. In this study, fixed speed wind generator made of squirrel cage induction generator (SCIG) is employed. Figure 4 gives the schematic diagram of the electrical power output () of a typical wind turbine. Not all the energy in the mass of moving air can be converted into electrical power. The amount of energy that can be converted into useful electrical power depends on the coefficient of the performance of the turbine, the transmission efficiency, and the generator efficiency. This can be written as where is the coefficient of the performance of the turbine; it is a function of the tip speed ratio and the pitch angle. Theoretically, it has a maximum value of 0.59 known as the Betz limit. is the mechanical transmission efficiency and is the generator efficiency. The generated active power of wind generator was modeled as [22] where is the vector of wind speeds generated according to the Weibull distribution of known parameters, is the vector of active wind power generated in accordance with the stochastic wind speed and power curve of a wind turbine, is the cut-in wind speed, is the rated wind speed, is the cut-out wind speed, and is the rated power. The parameters of the wind turbine are provided in Table 7 in Appendix B.
2.5.3. Reactive Power Model of Wind Generator
The active power injected into the grid is derived from the power curve of the wind turbine with the prior knowledge of wind speed and its distribution. The reactive power absorbed or injected from or into the grid, respectively, can be derived using the steady state equivalent circuit of an asynchronous induction generator as shown in Figure 5, where is the terminal voltage, is the stator reactance, is the rotor reactance, is the magnetising reactance, and is the rotor resistance. The stator resistance is neglected. From the circuit, the real power injected to the grid can be calculated as where and is the generated active power at different wind speeds according to the power curve in (3). The amount of reactive power absorbed from the grid depends on the rotor slip , which also changes as the wind power varies in accordance with the variations in wind speed. Based on (8), was derived as (9). The reactive power absorbed at different wind speeds can be computed as (10). Consider the following: Different slip and reactive power can be obtained from the relation between active power and reactive power for different generated active power, depending on the wind speed.
2.5.4. Wind Farm Model
The combination of several WECS constitutes a wind farm which may be of the same type or different types. The power output of a wind farm is the total sum of the output power of individual WECS. For a wind farm with numbers of WECS, the output power of the wind farm () at different wind speeds () can be written as where indicates the number of WECS of type and is the output electrical power of type WECS. Similarly, the reactive power absorbed by the wind farm can be expressed as For a wind farm consisting of the same types of wind turbines, (11) and (12) become (13) and (14). Consider the following:
3. Power System and Small Signal Stability Model
The dynamic model of power system with wind turbines can be modeled as a set of nonlinear differential algebraic equation: where is the dynamic state variable which is directly defined by (15) and is the instantaneous variable such that the system satisfies the constraint in (16). The parameter defines a specific system configuration and the operating condition. The state matrix can be obtained by linearizing the system power flow equations.
Choosing the equilibrium point , (15) and (16) are linearized by taking the first order Taylor expansion as (17) and (18), respectively. Consider the following: If is nonsingular matrix, then where , , , and are power flow Jacobian matrices. Hence the small signal stability analysis for the model can be obtained as The value of that satisfies (21) is the eigenvalues of matrix . It contains information about the response of the system to a small perturbation: The eigenvalue can be real and/or complex. The complex values appear in conjugate pairs if is real (22). The complex eigenvalues are referred to as oscillatory modes and they appear in conjugate: Each eigenvalue represents a system mode and the relationship between this mode and the stability is given by Lyapunov's first method [14].
The frequency of oscillation in, Hz, and the damping ratio are given by The contributions of states on oscillation can be observed by evaluating the participation factors (PFs) of each state on a particular mode. Participation factor gives the relationship among the states and eigenmode in a dynamic system [14]. The participation factor of mode , can be computed using [24] where is the number of state variables, is the participation factor of the th state variable into mode , is the th element of the th right eigenvector of , and is the th element of the th left eigenvector of .
4. System under Study
An IEEE 4-machine, 2-area network as depicted in Figure 6 is used for the study.
The network is selected because it consists of two areas interconnected by weak tie-line which makes it suitable for studying interarea modes. Moreover, the network parameters are readily available and this will enhance repeatability of the work. The network is slightly modified to incorporate wind farm at bus 20. The wind farm consists of 50 different wind generators made of SCIG technology and each is of 2 MW. The network also consists of four conventional synchronous generators at buses 1, 2, 11, and 12. SVC is connected to bus 3 while TCSC is connected on the line connecting buses 3 and 13. The data used for the load flow can be found in [25]; the data not found in the reference due to modification to the network are provided in Appendix B.
The flow chart of Monte Carlo simulation algorithm for the analysis of small signal stability is depicted in Figure 7 and is programmed based on power system toolbox (PST) [25] in MATLAB.
The analysis begins with the generation of wind speed for the wind turbine using Weibull distribution through LHS method. An earlier study showed that, for small signal stability application, 100 runs of input variables generated using LHS are appropriate in Monte Carlo simulation to achieve reasonable results [7]. The load flow analysis is carried out next using Newton-Raphson algorithm, followed by the damping ratio computation via modal analysis. Finally, the results are analysed statistically.
5. Scenario Creation, Results, and Discussion
Four scenarios (Case A–Case D) are created in order to gain meaningful insight into the study. The description and the results of each scenario are discussed under each case.
5.1. Case A: Original Network (No Wind Farm Connected and No Controllers Connected)
The base case is made up of the original network without considering the wind farm and the controllers (PSS, SVC, and TSCS). This is to know the initial state of the network in terms of small signal stability and hence the impact of the controllers when they are later added. The result of the simulation shows that there are total of 55 modes in which 24 are oscillatory which appears in 12 conjugate pairs. The results of the oscillatory mode are depicted in Table 1. In small signal stability studies, the modes of interest are the electromechanical modes. These modes must be properly damped for a small signal secured power system. Three conjugate pairs of electromechanical modes are identified and are shown in Table 2. The table depicts that there is one conjugate pair of interarea modes (modes 21 and 22) with damping ratio of 0.24% and oscillatory frequency of 0.571. Figure 8 depicts the compass plot confirming that modes 21 and 22 are interarea modes with generators in area 1 (SG1 and SG2) oscillating against generators in area 2 (SG3 and SG4). Two conjugate pairs are identified as local modes (modes 9 and 10 and modes 27 and 28) with damping ratio of 36% and 7%, respectively. All the modes are positively and strongly damped with damping ratio greater than 5% except the interarea mode which has a damping ratio of 0.24%. The interarea mode determines the stability of the system; it can therefore be concluded that the original network is weakly damped. The results were confirmed using time domain simulation. A 3-phase fault of duration 100 ms was created at the middle of lines connecting buses 3 and 13; the result is depicted in Figure 9. It can be observed from the figure that the oscillation in the speed of the generators neither dies out nor grows signifying a weakly damped system. This confirms the result of the modal analysis. The figure also reveals the interarea oscillation between the generators in area 1 and the generators in area 2.
5.2. Case B (Wind Farm Is Connected at Bus 20 to the Network in Case A)
Wind farm made of 50 wind power generators each of 2 MW was connected to bus 20. Again no controller was considered. This will allow us to know the impact of the wind power on the small signal stability of the original network. The wind power was generated as described in the flowchart in Figure 7. The result was statistically analysed and presented in Table 3. From the table, it can be observed that the interarea mode is negatively damped with mean damping ratio of −0.015 signifying an unstable system. The standard deviation (SD) of the damping ratio is low (0.0029). This shows that, in all the operating condition (varying wind power), the damping ratio is negative. Figure 10(a) shows that the interarea mode was weakly damped (with damping ration of 0.0024) before wind farm was connected. However, the weakly damped interarea mode became unstable (shifted to the left side of the plane) when wind farm was connected to the network as shown in Figure 10(b). To verify this result, time domain simulation was carried out by creating a 3-phase fault of duration 100 ms at the middle of line connecting bus 3 to bus 13. The results showing both the electrical power and the speed of the four synchronous generators when wind farm was connected are presented in Figure 11. The figure confirms that the system is unstable when wind power was injected into the network. This is due to the interarea mode that is negatively damped after the wind farm was connected. The instability resulting from this mode can be vividly observed in Figure 11(b) with the generators in area 1 (SG1 and SG2) swinging against generators in area 2 (SG3 and SG4).
5.3. Case C (Power System Stabilizer Is Allocated to the Generators)
The main function of power system stabilizer is to provide the synchronizing torque [14] and hence improve the damping of a power system. However, it has to be properly allocated to the most suitable synchronous generator in order to provide the most effective result. The aim here is to improve the damping of the interarea mode in Case B by allocating PSS. The allocation of PSS has been traditionally done using deterministic method in which a single operating condition is considered. In this paper, probabilistic approach is used in determining the most suitable synchronous generator to allocate the PSS in order to damp the interarea mode. The result is then compared with the deterministic method. Figure 12(a) shows the speed participation factor (PF) when deterministic method is used (i.e., single operating condition of wind speed is considered) while Figure 12(b) depicts the mean speed PF using probabilistic approach (i.e., all the operating conditions of wind speed are taken into consideration and the statistical average is determined). The result of the deterministic method as depicted in Figure 12(a) reveals that SG3 will be the generator that will provide the most effective damping when PSS is allocated while Figure 12(b) shows that SG1 should be installed with PSS for effective damping of the interarea mode.
PSS were allocated using the two methods and the results are presented in Table 4. The table shows that when PSS is allocated deterministically, the interarea mode in Case B improved from being negatively damped (−0.015) to being weakly damped (0.0076). However, when allocated probabilistically, the negatively damped interarea mode became strongly damped (0.0726). The result is again verified using time domain simulation and is presented in Figure 13. The figure confirms that probabilistic method presents a better allocation of PSS for small signal stability application.
5.4. Case D (SVC and TCSC Are Installed in Turns)
SVC only was first installed on bus 3 in the network of Case B. This is to give insight into the influence of SVC on the small signal stability of a power system. The objective is to see its influence on the small signal stability and then compare its performance with that of TCSC. Thereafter, SVC was taken out and then TCSC only was installed on the line connecting bus 3 to bus 13. Both SVC and PSS were later installed to give insight into the combinational effect of the duo. Finally, SVC and PSS were taken out and both TCSC and PSS were installed. The results are presented in Table 5. The table shows that SVC has a better performance in the damping of the interarea mode with mean damping ratio of 1.67% compared to that of TCSC with damping ratio of 0.61%. The combination of SVC and PSS provides effective damping compared to TCSC and PSS. The controllers are compared in Figure 14 for the damping of the interarea mode.
It can be viewed from the figure that the combination of SVC and PSS gives the best damping to the interarea mode with damping ratio of 15.54%. The order of performance of the controllers as used in this paper is as shown in Table 6. From the table, it can be seen that combination of SVC and PSS puts up the overall best performance followed by the combination of TCSC and PSS. It is generally observed that better results are obtained when the controllers are combined with PSS compared to when they are operated in a stand-alone mode.
The result of the modal analysis was confirmed with time domain simulation and the result is presented in Figure 15.
6. Conclusion
Comparative assessment of SVC and TCSC controllers and their combination with PSS at improving the electromechanical modes excited by the intermittent wind power generated from wind farm made of fixed speed squirrel cage induction generators has been studied using probabilistic modal analysis. Correctness of every result obtained by the modal analysis was verified using time domain simulation. It was revealed that combination of SVC and PSS performs best at damping the electromechanical modes followed by TCSC and PSS. It can be deduced that better performance of the controllers is obtained when combined with PSS compared to when operating as a stand-alone controller. It has also been shown that allocation of PSS using probabilistic techniques enhances damping of electromechanical mode compared to the deterministic allocation. This is because, in probabilistic allocation, various combinations of wind power scenarios are taken into consideration unlike deterministic method that takes into consideration only single scenario. The future study will focus on the use of variable speed generator using DFIG and optimal location of SVC for effective damping of interarea mode excited by intermittent wind power. In this study, conclusions are made based on 4-machine, 2-area network; further work will consider large network that will give room for more scenario consideration.
A. Latin Hypercube Sampling Techniques
The basic sampling procedures as applied to probabilistic small signal stability in this paper are as follows.(i)Let be the input random variables in a probability problem. The cumulative distribution of which belongs to can be written as For a sample size , the range of from is divided into nonoverlapping intervals of equivalent length; hence the length of each interval is given as .(ii)One sample value is chosen from each interval randomly without replacement. Then, the sampling values of can be calculated by the inverse function. The th sample of can be determined by (iii)The sample value of can now be assembled in a row of the sampling matrix as given in Once all the input random variables are sampled, an primary sampling can be obtained. LHS can always start with the generation of uniform distributed samples in interval then inverting the cumulative distribution function (CDF) to obtain the target distribution.
B. Parameters Used in the Study
See Tables 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Conflict of Interests
The author declares that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
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The last two weeks were supposed to be the foray into Whatever Life Shall Look Like now that I have two school-aged children. In the first week, I ended up traveling back to the midwest for a funeral, and in the second, I had kids home sick. This week is mostly normal, save for the fact that today is already halfway through even though I feel like I just woke up on a Monday. I suppose I'm craving simple normalcy--that is, after all, what we moved to Evergreen for. Still, despite its lacking, I have sufficiently filled the mostly-normal days with stuff, and so I'm on my way into Whatever Life Shall Look Like, even if I'm not there yet.
Aside from writing things that I haven't put on the Internet, I've accepted a new columnist position with a magazine right here in town. I'm stumbling through what it will look like, but I'm excited to again put my voice into something I (and other people) can hold. I'll also be covering a music beat and a few other features, and the idea that my real printed words are going to be floating out into the mountains has me giddy. It's awakened old parts of me.
Acupuncture also woke me up. I mean that wholly literally. My sleep patterns are better, and I open my eyes in the morning like a person exiting sleep, prepared to start the day. I am ravenously hungry for the foods I have recently discovered are most nourishing to me. When I look forward into the day or out into the woods behind our house, both views are clear and enjoyable. I am grateful for the pockets of time in Whatever Life Shall Look Like that I get to reserve for myself and my health. I'd admonish everyone to do it for themselves now; but I understand, having just emerged from Life With Small Children that it's not always doable, and also that is alright.
There are bigger things that I am planning to tackle, but I'm also rather enjoying these sensations of settling in. In the mornings, Trevor and I sit on our deck and we have Quiet Coffee, which is a time for grown-ups. It is important and a really good way to start the day. We talk about the day's plans and the week's plans, and also we talk about the life's plans, which is energizing. Sometimes we talk about Wander Unlimited, and in Whatever Life Shall Look Like, I am taking on more work there as well. It's fun to do it together, and to let the lines between all the times' plans and our work blur and cross over.
Really, Whatever Life Shall Look Like is not a static destination. Sometimes that has been frustrating, and it's really tempting to fall into a pattern of constantly living for the parts that come next. I guess what I'm realizing now is that, for every step you take toward that spot, it moves a little beyond, or sometimes to the right or the left. Sometimes it winds around a corner and you almost think you've lost it. For all the times I've said I'm trying to enjoy the journey or some other fluffy sentiment about Life, right now, I feel it. I feel open to possibilities and old and new parts of myself and whatever else shall come in Whatever Life Shall Look Like.
What makes it all different from All The Things That Happened is epiphany, really. In the Whatever Life Shall Look Like, it's like I understand, finally, the why behind All The Things That Happened. I know what it was all for now. That's probably where the energy is coming from. These tools I've been forging in the All The Things that Happened are finally complete and ready for the Whatever Life Shall Look Like. It's time to get to work.


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Dental Services
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- Pediatric Dental Care
- Periodontal Care (Scaling and Root Planning)
- Extractions
- Root Canals
- Whitening
- Night Guards
- Oral Cancer Screenings
To learn more about our services, we invite you to give us a call. We will gladly explain how we can improve the health and beauty of your unique smile.


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Rayner Reckons
Apr 07
This week I was tagged on Facebook under a comment regarding data collection. The comment referred to a practice of recording the ratio of weaning weight against dam weight. This is a comparison often used in the U.S.
I have to be honest; my initial reaction was to be a bit surprised. Not by being asked if it was a method I used or recommended. Rather, my surprise stemmed from this data itself.
I'm not saying this data isn't useful. For some people I'm sure it could be a useful piece of data. However, for me, and for most of my clients, its not the first thing I'd be looking at when I'm analyzing a business.
In previous blogs I've talked about focusing on the important traits within a herd, and on the importance of using data to drive innovation. I'm still not sure that many producers are doing either of these as well as they could be.
I'm a very strong believer that making the most of your resources and investments to date is the first thing you should focus on. Too often I see producers chasing fads, pursuing new options without ever realizing the potential of their current program.
The only way you will ever realize your programs potential is to measure it and compare it over time. The measurements have to be relevant! There has to be a point in recording it.
The point of recording is to establish where you are, and then to set some plans in place to maintain or improve your position. So the whole point of recording is to focus on the resource you have!
My second strong belief is you should always grab the big wins first! To me, weaning ratio against mature cow weight isn't a big win for most people. Its something you may choose to focus on when you've ticked all the big-ticket items off.
So what are those big ticket items? I know I've written about them before. However for a breeding program they are:
- Conception rate (number of cows pregnant / number joined x 100)
- Weaning rate (number of calves weaned / number joined x 100)
There is an important point to this. Weaning rate isn't the number of calves weaned from the total number of pregnant cows. It's against your total breeders joined.
There is an additional big ticket item, which is calving percentage (number of calves / number joined X 100). Again it has to be measured against total joinings.
The point of this? Well it helps you identify fertility rate in your herd. It assists you to clarify calving losses and weaning losses against your total numbers.
I've come across many issues that happen post preg testing. These range from mid term abortion losses to dystocia and predation. Having data helped focus problem solving onto those issues that were costing the program in a big way.
My additional big ticket items? Well I like to know the numbers of cows calving at the start, middle and end of a set calving period. If the numbers indicate a trend towards the middle and end, that highlights a real risk that cows are going into calf late. If it isn't addressed, those cows run a risk of falling out of a 12 month calving interval.
In turn that lets me ask about weaning weights and perhaps then I may start looking at ratios. But by then I reckon we have gotten the big ticket items sorted, and now we can start selecting on individual performance.
So my question to you is what's the point of the data you're collecting? Is it able to be used to fix the big-ticket items? Can you use it to maximize the resources and investments you have? If it can't, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your collection. And if you think you have the big tickets sorted, now you might be ready to fine-tune your program further with more targeted individual data.
And if you're not really sure and you want to have a fresh set of eyes have a look, maybe its time to give me a call and get the independent assessment your business needs!
Jan 25
Do you consider yourself an efficient beef producer? I guess that is a challenging question for a lot of producers. Having worked with hundreds of producers for almost 25 years, I have to say there is a huge range between producers' levels of efficiency and profitability.
I'm also certain that there some people thinking about that question, and wondering what do I mean by efficient? One of the best definitions of efficiency I've come across is "a system achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense".
In beef production terms I guess the word efficiency relates to the levels of production achieved compared to how much input goes into the system. This could be measured against production per cow, kilograms of beef per hectare and the cost to produce one kilogram of beef.
In early January 2017, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) released the Global Benchmarking Results for Beef producers. Its an excellent report, and has given me lots to think about. I've also seen it reported on in several of the rural media outlets. Now depending which site you read, this report is both full of good news for Australian beef producers, and at the same time has plenty of bad news.
The good news is that Australian beef production is considered to be an efficient beef producing nation with a low cost of production. The downside? Well Australia is seen as having a moderate to low level of calf weaning weight and lower cow herd productivity. We are also seen as achieving moderate to high weight gains in southern systems and low gains in the northern extensive systems.
I reckon that it's easy to just take these reports and look only at the good news. Yes we are an efficient producer of beef. However take some time to read through the report. There is a big variation in key indicators of efficiency. A good example is weaning rates (calves per 100 cows). In general southern systems record weaning rates of around 90% and northern systems much lower at 50 -80%.
Having said that, not all southern systems are running herds with their weaning rates. The key measure is calves weaned per 100 cows. I know plenty of herds with much lower rates. There are herds with weaning rates that range from 78% to 88%. So somewhere along the line 12 to 22 cows in every hundred are not rearing a calf to weaning.
If that is the case what happened to the calf? Did the cow conceive? Did she lose the calf before calving, at calving or somewhere between calving and weaning? Increasing calves born per cow makes a dramatic difference to the overall profitability of any breeding business, so its worth looking at your records to see how well you are doing.
I was also interested to look at the measure of total live weight produced per cow. According to the report, the global range is between 100 - 480kgs produced per cow per year. The Australian systems fall in the middle, with ranges from 210 – 340kg. How many kilograms produced per cow per year is the result of may factors, from the genetics you use, the maturity pattern of your cows, the nutritional system you provide and the fertility of your herd.
I reckon these reports are incredibly valuable if you are prepared to look beyond the good news headlines! I've just picked two areas that producers can look at in their own systems and decide if they are really as efficient as they could be.
Don't just accept the blanket statement that Australian beef producers are some of the most efficient in the world. Spend the time to think about your own system. If you can push yourself to get maximum return for the efforts you are putting in, you might be surprised how much more productive and profitable your business can be.
If you don't know where to start looking, then why not give me a call? I'm happy to have a look at what you're doing. I reckon we could come up with a few easy ways for you to become a more efficient beef producer.
Jul 30
This time of year my mailbox fills up with catalogues for bull sales being held across the north west of NSW and southern Queensland. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be on the mailing list for so many different operations. Its important I know what bulls are being offered and its important I'm able to know these things if I'm going to do my job properly advising clients of what sire decisions they should consider.
One thing that stands out for me, is the number of bulls available each year, and the overwhelming amount of information that is now available for producers. Its impressive and exciting that we can make decisions about the genetic potential of a bull and not be wholly reliant on visual observation and pedigree.
With the availability of EBVs, we now have much more information regarding the genetic potential of a bull to improve herd performance in numerous traits. That information can be vital in making progress in your herd. Especially when you remember that genetic improvement is both long term and cumulative in your herd.
However, in practical terms how do you work your way through a catalogue, let alone several catalogues that may arrive on your desk? I thought I might spend a bit of time offering a few suggestions to make sure you use your catalogue to its full potential, and the bull sale vendors get a return on their investment of producing the catalogues in the first place!
The starting point, as obvious as it seems, is to know what breed you are actually interested in looking at for your next sire! In my case I have a lot of breeds to be across. But for most producers there is really only a need to worry about bulls from the breeds they use in their herds. This is important because you shouldn't be attempting to compare the EBVs of breeds against each other! While the traits recorded may be the same, the EBVs that are published have different values.
When you choose a sire, you should be looking for a sire that will contribute the genetics to move your herd in a specific direction. So ask yourself what is it you want to achieve with your herd? Do you want to improve your growth rate to turn steers off earlier? Do you need more fatness? How big do you want your cows to be in your herd, and so what is the mature size potential of a bull daughters? There are plenty of questions to ask, and you need to have the answers in mind.
With these answers, you can start to look at a catalogue! The front of the catalogues contain valuable information about the sale, and buying conditions. They also contain the information on the breed EBVs. This includes breed average as well as in the breed leaders across the traits. This is designed to help you know if a bull is likely to offer you a genetic advantage in the traits you may be looking for.
The following pages contain information such as reference sires, and this often helps you determine what pedigrees and what breeding objectives the bulk breeder has in mind.
The majority of the catalogue is then made up of information on each bull on offer. Each description includes the Lot Number, Registered Name, Pedigree and Breedplan information (EBVs). Most entries also contain the breeders comments or thoughts.
There are different considerations here. If you are following pedigrees and using specific sire lines in your herd, the pedigree is important information.
Most people in a commercial operation don't need to spend a lot of time on pedigree. Instead look at the EBVs.
The EBVs you should look at are the ones that are important to your breeding direction! If for example you want to improve yield and eye muscle area, these are the EBVs to look at! If it helps, highlight the bulls that fall within your desired range. Often this will be the bulls that have a high accuracy of EBV data and are above breed average in that trait.
If the bulls don't have the genetic potential for your herd direction, then don't spend time worrying about them!
The reality is, most sale offerings of bulls will only have a small proportion of bulls suitable for the direction of your herd. Its not to say there are bulls that are no good. It means not every bull will suit every operation. So spend time looking for the right one. Remember a bulls influence can last up to three generations, so choosing the right one is important.
There is another way to find the sires in a catalogue. The electronic version is to use the BreedObject website. BredeObject allows you to search the catalogues in your breed, and rank animals on either $ Index values, or around the EBVs that you have identified as important in your herd direction.
Basically BreeObject lets you automatically search the bulls being offered and identified them. When you have a result, you can highlight those bulls in the catalogue and take that list of bulls to the sale.
The most important part of the process is to not worry about all the other bulls on offer at a particular sale!
Trust your list and your identified set of animals. These are the ones you know will be genetically most suited to your herd direction and production goals.
When you get to the sale, take the time to look at the bus you have identified. This is your chance to look critically at each bull and assess if his physical attributes are best suited to your herd.
If you have any doubts or you can clearly see the bull doesn't suit your cow herd, then yo can move to the next bull on your list. By the end of the process you should have a purchase list of bulls in order, and it should be a list you can have a lot of confidence in, based on the genetic information available and on your physical assessment!
Its true this approach is perhaps a little more structured than many people are used to. But if you want to make the best decision and purchase a bull to take your program forwards, then I reckon you should do a bit of preparation! If you're not sure where to start, then feel free to give me a call and get some advice. When you do put the work in, you will find your catalogues to be a key stone in the preparation and on the day you buy your next sire.
Jul 17
Do you have a benchmark for production? How do your management practices sit with best practice or against similar operations? These are the types of questions I'm often asked by producers. And these are questions not just being asked by my clients, I often get them in general discussions at field days, the saleyards, pretty much anywhere where a few producers might be chatting.
So how do you compare against others? Does it even matter? Well I guess what matters is if you are operating a financial and environmentally sustainable enterprise. If you are doing that I reckon it doesn't really matter what everyone else is doing!
Having said that, for most producers I know, there is always scope to improve their management or their production systems in some way. Benchmarks can be a really useful tool to make those improvements.
When I mentioned this to someone this week, their response was how are benchmarks useful? I reckon one of the best responses is that to create a benchmark, you have to make the time to consider what is being measured and actually respond with some real data.
The very fact that real data is required actually causes producers to start considering what is actually happening in their programs. It is very easy to overlook parts of the enterprise - the little things if you like, that on their own don't seem that important. But when you accumulate a few of those things, they can have a massive effect on the overall business.
I reckon comparing your performance against a benchmark gives you a chance to objectively measure where your program is heading. The way this needs to be done however is not to think that a once only assessment will mean very much.
The first time you compare yourself to a benchmark you are really only comparing yourself to a single point in time. You might be on par with that point, you could be above it or below it. Whichever way you compare, the first time is really just the starting point.
To get some value, and make useful decisions, you need to do some comparisons over a couple of years. This will show if there is a trend up or down.
Having said that, if there are some things that you identify as being well below the benchmark, its a chance to get in and try address those issues as quickly as you can!
The other question many producers ask sits around what do you benchmark yourself against? There are plenty of people throwing around benchmarks and production levels. How current are those levels, how realistic are they? These are all things to consider.
Personally I am a little unsure of what the realistic measures are for the producers I work with. And there seems to be a fair bit of variation in what people are doing. So this July I decided to conduct a benchmarking survey of RaynerAg clients and producers who use RaynerAg for advice. I have to say, its not a short survey! But if I'm going to collect data that I can use to help producers and have some meaningful benchmarks, well it has to cover a few things.
So far I have had some useful responses. I am getting much better picture of some general practices that we can all improve and a few useful trends on fertility that might provide some easy but effective strategies for breeders. Keep watching this space over the next few months and I'll share some of the findings as I complete the analysis.
If you haven't completed the survey and you'd like to be part of developing these benchmarks, please feel free to click on the link and complete the survey. I reckon we are all going to get a few useful results from the exercise!
May 08
I'm often asked by producers for my ideas on ways to increase the income they receive for their cattle. Getting a better return is something most people want from their cattle. And along with the desire to make a better return, there is always some new idea or marketing strategy that someone wants to do because they have heard it will make them more money!
Sadly I don't think there is one simple scheme, breed or idea that will guarantee you will make more money! In my experience the way to make money in cattle production is through a combination of work and focus. And while most people work hard, the focus is often the area that is most lacking.
So what should you be focussing on? The first thing is your market. Australian beef markets are well defined. If you are selling cattle to a feedlot or to an abattoir, both of these destinations can clearly describe what type of cattle they want to buy and they can say how much they are prepared to pay for those cattle.
Despite these specifications being readily available, many people don't appreciate what a powerful tool they are in helping you make money.
Specifications provide you with target weights and fatness. This helps you determine suitable growth paths on farm for your animals. It means you can use your feed reserves and make grazing decisions that will direct your animals to a market end point. This is the focus that many people need to have but often don't.
Sadly I often see people who put cattle into a market and those animals are overweight or over fat. This creates a few problems. Firstly the animals are out of specification, and so will be valued at a discounted level. So instead of an optimum price per kilogram, it is sometime much lower than the animals deserve.
Secondly it takes your feed resources, and therefore adds to the cost of producing those animals, to get them to the weight you sold them. So not only are they worth less per kilogram, but you also wasted feed getting them to that point.
I reckon a lot of people don't notice they are losing money. The extra weight, even though it has a lower value, will mask the lower each animal has made. So that producers often miss the fact their animals didn't receive the optimum price.
Focussing on a market specification, either for feedlots of for processing, helps set realistic work goals. Decisions about grazing management, feeding programs and other tactical decisions become easier if you are working towards an end point.
More importantly at a strategic level you can start examining your genetics and your herd. Are your bulls helping you achieve the correct growth rates and level of fatness required by your target market? Do you need to be selecting a different type of cow in the breeding herd?
Are your pastures capable of supporting your growth program?
These are important decisions that can help you target your financial resources more effectively in the long term. While in the short term you can focus on hitting a market specification that will return you the greatest return.
I recently worked with a client who was aiming for a specification for a feedlot. The optimum price was for steers that were 400 - 449kg. Over 450kg the price difference was 5c/kg lower. Initially this didn't seem to bad, however we started to look at the feed resources we had to use. The extra cost in this instance to get steers over 450kg, effectively worked out to be the equivalent of a 25c/kg discount! We started to look at how we were growing those steers, and by aiming for an earlier turn off at the optimum weight we were able to save around $70/hd on the steers that normally would have been in the heavy category. To wrap this story up in past years about 10 - 15 steers would always have been too heavy, so we saved around $1000 by making a few changes and staying more focused on the plan!
There is no doubt we had to work a little bit harder and change a few management practices. However I reckon using resources more efficiently, and targeting a specification more closely, has helped realise better returns on farm.
I reckon working with producers to be more focussed and efficient in their work programs has helped gain a better return for the clients I've worked with.
Apr 10
Assessing your financial performance is not just important, its vital for your business. But its not the only thing you need to be assessing. Every farm is made up of systems that contribute to the level of production and the financial returns your system producers.
So how do you assess if your enterprise is running to its full potential?
When you are making your assessment, how objective are you?
The four steers in this photograph are all the same age, and were all from the same property when this photograph was taken. The variation between the four of these steers is obvious in the picture.
One of the key roles of the RaynerAg business is to provide producers with an objective view of their program. Helping reduce the variation in a program is one practical approach. But its not just about working through the cow herd and taking out the extremes!
So if you're part of the large group of Australian farmers that haven't had an objective look at your business in a while, why don't you get in touch? I'll be happy to help you see the variation and work out ways to fix it.
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Services for disabled students
Politecnico di Milano offers a specialized service to ensure everybody the right to education and to vocational training, and to guarantee a real participation and a proper autonomy to students with congenital or acquired disability.
Our "Multi-Chance Poli Team" offers the following services:
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- Didactic and technological aids: preparation of the lecture room with specific aids in order to help students to attend lectures, practical classes and laboratories. Moreover, on demand, the university can lend students notebooks and hardware or software for educational purposes. Innovative ICT technologies can be used thanks to the wireless environment
- Tutoring: generic or specialized tutoring to support students with specific difficulties in studies
- Personalized exams: on request and subject to agreement with university lecturers, the student can take his/her exams (English test included) with specific technological supports, or can perform equivalent tests according to his/her specific type of disability
- Tele-educational activities: on demand the Service provides virtual classes and training aids in case of severe disability, prolonged hospitalization or absence
- Accessibility to University: the fulfillment of PEBA (the Plan for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers) and internal communication provide an accurate information on the accessibility to campuses and building, as well as courses, laboratories and any other type of complementary activity
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- Scholarships: every year, Politecnico di Milano publishes calls for scholarships for all enrolled students. Students with disability over 66% benefit from particular criteria of participation
For further information, please send an e-mail to: multichance(at)polimi.it


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crochet handmade Shawl
its a light violet and cream yarn very soft shawl,lovely to use around shoulders on a cold day.
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As the sun rises on Storm Peak, Steamboat has joined a larger family of the Alterra Mountain Company. Always a major destination in the Rolodex of powder hounds, Steamboat's unique western atmosphere and non-resort feel make Steamboat a must visit this season (not to mention the boat loads of light powder that fall from the sky during the winter). If you are traveling here for the first time, use this guide to maximize five days and five nights in Steamboat.
Before you go:
Five days isn't a lot for a ski vacation, here are some things you can take care of before hand that will save you lots of time and headaches while you're there:
- Book your lodging: There are two distinct lodging areas in Steamboat; On the Mountain and Downtown. Neither one is far from the other and can be reached quickly by bus, lodging shuttle or car. Both have their high points and neither area is disappointing, click to learn more. Pro Tip: Book direct with a local lodging company and avoid extra fees that you would incur if you used a third party such as VRBO.
- Pre-book your lift tickets:. Generally, the most expensive ticket rate is the walk up rate at the ticket window. Avoid lines and save money by searching ticket packages and booking online. Follow this link to see the combinations of passes Steamboat has to offer. Pro tip: Steamboat Lodging Company will help you with this task and will be able to get you the best rate available.
- Plan your mode of transportation: Steamboat's airport is located in the town of Hayden about 40 minutes away. Local shuttle service, Alpine Taxi, runs shuttles from Hayden airport and also from Denver International Airport (three and a half hrs away). Car rentals are available at both airports. At Steamboat Lodging Company, we will help you take care of your transportation needs.
- Drink water: Steamboat Ski Resort summits at 10,568 so you will be exercising at high altitude. Drinking lots of water before and during your vacation will help combat high altitude sickness.
- If you need rental gear use a home delivery service and have them show up the day before your first full day on the mountain. We recommend Ski Butlers
- Don't show up with old equipment that hasn't been used in a while. Day one of your ski vacation is not the time to figure out your old boots don't buckle anymore or the heel of your ski boot is worn off.
- Make Dinner Reservations: For small groups, the day of is ok. For large groups, plan well in advance.
- Check the forecast but don't rely on it: Long range forecasts are not very accurate in the Rocky Mountains, especially Steamboat! Remember Presidents Day, 2012 when 2 to 4 inches were forecasted overnight and Steamboat woke up to 27 inches (aka Big Monday)?!! Mention Big Monday when you're in Steamboat and people will immediately stop what they are doing to tell you their story of that awesome day (I had to work all day but still was able to get neck deep turns before the lifts opened!)
Day One: Arrive In Steamboat
Steamboat is an old ranching town that never experienced any gigantic booms; no gold rushes, no overnight fortunes, just families living, working and playing hard in the fruitful Yampa Valley since the 1800's. Because there were no giant booms there were also no giant busts and therefore the feel of the old west has survived. Travel in any direction out of Steamboat and you will see cowboys and cowgirls on working ranches.
So you have taken care of your pre-trip checklist, have had a quick history lesson and have checked in with the family. Now what? Drink water. Go night skiing, most ski packages make this an easy add-on! Hopefully, you have planned ahead and your ski delivery service is at your condo and making sure everyone's equipment fits perfectly and is ready to go. Night skiing is a great way to get your ski legs back. Steamboat has a few trails lit up from Christy Peak down and even offers ski lessons at night. There is a mid station lift stop that offers access to beginner terrain and a terrain park. WARNING: if you go all the way to the top the only trails down at night are intermediate and advance trails.
Don't burn out here, just get warmed up and ready for a full day of skiing and riding tomorrow. When you are done with a few laps it's time for dinner. I recommend Fiesta Jalisco, a family friendly authentic Mexican Restaraunt with a great menu and delicious margaritas, try the carne asada y camarones and small original margarita (comes in its own shaker). Beware of le-hoof! Fiesta Jalisco will not break the bank.
Drink water, seriously, it will only make you feel better. The age-old rule is one glass of water for every one alcoholic beverage.
After dinner, head home, have a soak in the hot tub, drink water and rest easy…..
Day Two: Family Ski Day
Time to get up and do what you came here to do, go ski! Since you have done all your legwork beforehand, all you and the family have to do is walk up to the lifts and get on! Eat a light and healthy breakfast, you do not want a full belly weighing you down out on the mountain and of course, drink water!
When times are busy the base area can get congested. Beat this by getting to the lift or gondola lines before 9:00 am (or after 11:00 am). If it is a powder day and you do not want to be skiing others leftovers, get in the gondola line before 8:00 am (gondola opens at 8:35 am) or if you do first tracks, get in line before 7:30 am.
First tracks is a program that if you pay extra, you can get an early shot at the goods. Steamboat sections off an area of the mountain for first track ticket holders only. This essentially spreads out the powder crowd evenly over two sections of the mountain. On a powder day, it can become very crowded.
Assuming that at least on day one the whole family is going to ski together, here is a course of action to take so that everyone rides the chairs to together and everyone gets their fix, from timid skiers to rippers who can't sit still.
Start with a lap on the lower Christy mid-station to get a quick warm-up. Take headwall north for easy sweeping turns or hit Lil Rodeo terrain park. Hop back on Christy Peak express and ride it all the way to the top. Beginners can take Boulevard to Rough Rider Basin. Rough Rider Basin is a kid's specific zone with a rope tow and wooden cut outs of Steamboat characters and creatures. This is a great learning area and provides seclusion from heavy skier traffic. A perfect run back to Christy Peak Express is the green run, Swinger, a less crowded flowing green.
While the little ones play in Rough Rider, intermediate and advanced skiers and riders can enjoy Vogue and Bashor, two cruisey blues from the top of Christy Peak. If you want to go a little steeper take a shot at See Mee or Lower Valley View for sustained steep pitches. Check the grooming report to see if Lower Valley View has been
groomed (if it has been, game on!). If you have terrain park lovers in the family both Rabbit Ears (medium) and Mavericks (large), as well as a Superpipe, can be accessed from Christy Peak Express or Bashor lift.
Take a family ride up the gondola and challenge yourselves a bit. For Beginners to intermediates, challenge yourself starting with Why Not (easy green) merging to betwixt (easy blue), then merging to lower concentration (moderate blue, slightly steeper at the top but smoothes and widens out at the bottom).
Recommended lunch spot: T-Bar. Transformed from the once Ski Patrol headquarters, the T-Bar is now a local favorite hangout with fantastic lunch options from soups, skillets, empanadas, enchiladas, paninis, and more. Some will argue that this is the best food in Steamboat and their slogan "5-star dive bar" holds true. Go to Item: Peanut butter banana and bacon panini. Another great lunch option nearby is the Paramount. Drink water.
After lunch, it's time to go explore. Hop on the gondola and head to the Sundown/Sunshine area known as "Wally World," a low angle ski land full of nice groomers, easy tree skiing, and playful secrets that are fun for the whole family. Family challenge: find the hidden tree cave on the blue run "Baby Powder." This is a great place to start to enjoy one of Steamboat's biggest claims to fame; the tree skiing. This area is riddled with low angle aspen tree skiing allowing you to get comfortable with skiing in the woods. My pick are the aspen trees located skiers left of Sunshine lift line. Jump in and explore! Pro Tip: When skiing in the trees always look at the space between the trees and not directly at them. Your skis will go where you are looking.
Find great Apres at Bear River Bar and Grill with outdoor seating and close proximity to the Coca-Cola Kids Adventure Zone with an array of kids activities including the infamous sling shot bungee jump!
Before dinner, head to the Old Town Hot Springs in downtown complete with swimming pool, above water rock climbing wall, water slides, jetted tubs, all supplied with water from the natural hot springs near by. The Old Town Hot Springs also offers weight room, fitness classes, and massage therapists.
It's been a good day. Drink some water, head home and rest easy.
Day Three: Divide and Conquer
Recommended Lunch Spot: Hazies at Thunderhead Lodge. Hazies provides excellent views of the Yampa Valley with an exquisite menu. I recommend getting the salad bar for lunch which is more like a buffet with soups, salads, crackers, cheeses, breads and more. It is all you need and then some.
After lunch head back out to your favorites and ski till you drop (not really). Steamboat has many hidden gems that can't be seen directly from the chairlifts. Explore, discover, and enjoy. If you are up for it, some of the best snow of your life can be found on the hike to terrain, all of which are expert only steep treed runs. Obey all signs and boundaries (they are there for a good reason) and be prepared for a long "slide out" when you are finished.
Superman Jr Challenge (all blue square runs): One run from the top of Mount Werner (Morning Side lift) all the way to the base without riding any chairlifts and minimal cat tracks (that's 3700 ft of decent!). Here is the route: Over Easy to Buddies to Calf Roper past Four Points Lodge and onto Rainbow to Rainbow saddle onto Park Lane and around to Why Not to Vagabond. Finish with Vagabond all the way to the bottom of Thunderhead lift then take the easy slide down BC Ski Way to a well-earned end of the day Apres.
You're going to be exhausted after your second full day of skiing so we recommend heading home, relaxing and spending little effort on dinner. Steamboats Drunken Onion has you covered with their heat at home menu of fully prepared meals that just need picked up and put in the oven. Go to dish; rotisserie chicken enchiladas and pizza for the kids. Pick up a nice bottle of wine from Ski Haus Liquors, head home and relax all evening. Have dinner, hit the hot tub, watch some Netflix, and drink more water ;)
Day Four: Take a day off from the slopes (unless it's a powder day)
Although the skiing is awesome in Steamboat, you are probably a little worn out from getting after it the past two days. Take some time to enjoy the plethora of other activities Steamboat has to offer, here is a list of some of our favorites:
Go Out to Breakfast: Today is the day to indulge in breakfast and Steamboat has a number of options to do so. Our top pick is Creekside Cafe! Their menu offers exquisite omelets, benedicts, pancakes and even chili rellenos. If you think you can take it on, try the Wafflelaughagus. Bring your appetite.
Spa Day: Everyone deserves a spa day. We know that not all massage therapists are not equal, treat yourself to unmatched relaxation by booking a massage with LJ McVey. She is extremely knowledgeable and cares about the full guest experience, she will erase the pain from your previous days of skiing. You can even schedule an in home visit.
Hot Air Balloon Ride: Grasp the unique layout of the Steamboat Area with breathtaking views of the ski area, Fish Creek Canyon, Buffalo Pass, Hahns Peak, Rabbit Ears Pass, and the Flat Top Mountains. Pegusus Hot Air Balloon Tours include a continental breakfast and celebratory champagne flight after the ride.
Guided Snowmobile Tours: Just up the road from Steamboat lie the Zirkle Mountains with peaks towering above treeline. Enjoy some throttle power on the snow by taking a guided snowmobile tour with High Mountain Snowmobile Tours. Their knowledgeable guides safely take you into the Zirkels providing adrenaline opportunities and jaw dropping views at every turn. Tours can be a full day, half day or even moonlight dinner tours.
Strawberry Park Hot Springs: A fifteen-minute drive out of town are the Strawberry Park Hot Springs, a must visit for any Steamboat first timers. Located in a tranquil forest setting at the end of a dirt road, these natural hot springs offer a number of different pools, changing areas, and spa options.
Strawberry Park Hot Springs: A fifteen-minute drive out of town are the Strawberry Park Hot Springs, a must visit for any Steamboat first timers. Located in a tranquil forest setting at the end of a dirt road, these natural hot springs offer a number of different pools, changing areas, and spa options.
Go Out to Dinner: Another favorite of ours is Mahagony Ridge Brewery and Grill which offers a wide variety of menu items ranging from burgers and sandwiches to steaks and seafood, and of course, home brewed beer! The tuna ceviche appetizer is out of this world. If you're looking for a taste of the Far East or sushi, Noodles and More is an excellent choice. We recommend the shrimp pho bowl and the hot tuna juju-yaki roll. Mmmm, hot tuna.
Get Trapped in a Live Puzzle: Visit The Crookey Key, Steamboats escape game room. Use clues, solve puzzles, and collaborate with your team to escape from a themed game room in an hour or less. This a great team building and family activity!
Drink Water and Rest Easy
Day 5: Go Powder Cat Skiing With Steamboat Powdercats
If you have never experienced truly bottomless snow, here is your chance. Steamboat Powdercats offers three levels of guided snowcat skiing catering from beginner to expert backcountry skiers. With three heated snowcats and three professionally trained guides per cat, the only thing you have to think about is how awesome the next run is going to be (and if you look good for the photographer).
Each trip includes pickup from your accommodations, continental breakfast, Armada powder skis and poles or Never Summer snowboards, avalanche beacons for the day, a catered three course hot lunch in their heated cabin (levels one and two) or gourmet sandwiches in the snowcat (level three), transportation to and from the office to Buffalo Pass, a full day of guided snowcat backcountry skiing, professional photographer and photographs from the day, and finally an apres ski party at the end of the day.
Level Breakdown:
Level One (Beginner backcountry): Low angle open meadow powder skiing with no or minimal trees, this would be like skiing Baby Powder all day but with powder. This is a slow paced, no pressure level to get a feel for backcountry skiing and get a feel for snow with "no bottom". Guides are there to lead the way, offer instruction and a helping hand coaching you to become comfortable in the backcountry.
Level Three (Advanced backcountry): Steep and deep! Welcome to powder hound heaven as the expert cat takes you deep into the Routt National Forest for the steepest and deepest stashes of Buffalo Pass. The level three cat is a fast paced powder-fest through sometimes steep, sometimes treed, always amazing terrain. Self-discipline is required here as dangers can lurk. Your guides are there to direct you to the fun and away from the danger. These runs are comparable to Chutes 1-3, No Names, and North Saint Pats on the Steamboat Ski Area.
For the time of your life on (or in) snow, sign up for a day of guided powder skiing with Steamboat Powdercats. Seats fill fast so booking in advance is a must, your best bet is to book the same time you book your lodging in Steamboat.
After you have finished reliving your Powdercat day at the apres party it is time to follow up the best skiing with the best dining at Cafe Diva, Steamboats premiere fine dining establishment. Cafe Diva is a repeat favorite among guests and locals alike offering up perfectly and thoughtfully crafted dishes with gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options. Be prepared to be stuffed and be prepared to spend a few dollars but every ounce and every penny are worth it. Our pick: The Surf and Turf and ending with the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcake.
Head home for one more night of resting easy in the Yampa Valley, drink water, have a long soak and start thinking about your next Steamboat vacation.
Check out the next morning and make you way back to the real world with a un-erasable smile on your face. Drink some more water ;)


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Gary Richard Arnold, Trump appt of Bolton BIG Warmonger CFR Mistake, Reagan False US Patriot Globalist, Deep State Druidic Council of 13, Pindar Satan's Proxy on EARTH, High Level Masonic Overlords, Trump White Hat Scottish Rite Mason, Pope's Advisors and Jewish Kabbalist Warlocks Around Trump, Jewish Temple Sacrifice, Abomination of Desolation Coming First of Second Term of Trump,
Whatever Our Belief Systems … Look at Who Holds the Cards
By Chuck Baldwin
March 29, 2018
For 16 years, conservatives and Christians railed against presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton for the way they exploded the size of government (Obama), ran roughshod over the Constitution (Clinton & Obama), waged unjust foreign wars (Clinton & Obama), tried to enact more gun control (Obama & Clinton), signed bills that funded the largest abortion provider in America—Planned Parenthood—(Obama & Clinton), and for living immorally (Clinton).
But now Donald Trump is doing the EXACT same things in spades, and most conservatives and Christians are not only NOT railing against him, they are actually defending him.
Donald Trump is exploding the size of deficit spending like no President before him.
For example, after Ronald Reagan (United World Federalist) became the first President to grow the federal deficit to over $1 trillion, Clinton busted the trillion dollar deficit mark in four years, and Obama busted the trillion dollar deficit mark in two years. Now, Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress have exploded the federal deficit by over $1 trillion in just the past SIX MONTHS. Oh, and even though Trump & Company just borrowed another $1.3 trillion on our behalf, we have been told that they need to borrow ANOTHER $300 billion THIS WEEK. I kid you not. Check it out for yourself.
The amount of deficit spending that Trump and the GOP Congress have passed surpasses anything ever passed by Democrats—and by a HUGE margin. Yet, conservatives and Christians are happy to support these horrifically unconstitutional spending bills as long as Republicans do it. But when Democrats pass these same bills, conservatives go ballistic with rage.
It's time conservatives and Christians take a good hard look at the truth: As much as Obama or Clinton, Trump is running roughshod over the Constitution and is contributing to the inevitable financial collapse of America. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. After all, Donald Trump has used America's bankruptcy laws (and the financial assistance of Jewish bankers, one of whom, Bilderberger Wilbur Ross, (Secret Wall Street Society) was rewarded with the appointment of Commerce Secretary) at least seven times to get out from under debt he had accumulated. Trump is a master at enriching himself at the expense of the people to whom he owes money.
The problem is, NO ONE can bail out America's financial debt. And it will be the U.S. taxpayers that take the fall for the irresponsible conduct of the politicians in Washington, D.C., including Donald Trump.
The federal debt will be the downfall of this country. These deficits are NOT sustainable. Honest economists have been warning us for years about the inevitable economic collapse being caused by Washington's maniacal spending habits. But hardly anyone—not even so-called conservatives and Christians—is paying any attention.
Financially, no family or business can survive underwater for long. The only way our federal government "gets by with it" is because 1) the Fed prints money out of thin air, and 2) the dollar is the world's reserve currency. But at some point, fiat paper money will no longer be able to maintain its value (what value is left of it), and the world will replace the dollar as its reserve currency (many countries around the world are already feverishly working toward that end). And when that happens, America's financial house of cards will come crashing down.
I strongly urge readers to seriously consider transferring their traditional 401(k) retirement plans—which are "backed" by nothing but fiat paper money—into gold and silver-backed retirement plans. Here is information about the company I use:
Chuck's Precious Metals Page
But I've heard numerous conservatives and Christians say things like "Trump signed the omnibus bill to save the stock market" and "Trump's signing the omnibus bill was a stroke of genius" and "Trump is just fooling the Democrats—he isn't really going to spend the money" and rubbish like that.
These people are living in a fantasy world. Had this monstrous debt package been passed by a Democrat Congress and President, conservatives and Christians would be livid. But Trump and Republicans are PRAISED for this reprehensible conduct.
Furthermore, just like Clinton and Obama, not only is Trump pushing for more gun control, there are several backdoor gun control measures in the omnibus bill that Trump just signed.
"Fix NICS" and "red flag" measures are included in this massive spending bill.
Things like establishing a national anonymous tip line and training America's public school teachers ( National Education Association ) to become spies for the state by monitoring and assessing the mental health of America's public school children are included (Conservative or Libertarian views) . I wrote on this subject extensively last week.
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Church News
Interim Pastoral Associate Terresa Newport will host dinner at 6:00 on May 3 in Fellowship Hall to honor outgoing deacons and celebrate the work of the Deacons and Congregational Care ministries.
Join us on May 21 at 10:00am for Celebration Sunday! We'll gather for one combined worship service to celebrate the end of the program year, teachers, new officers, youth, children, music, and much more!
On May 28 we will begin the new Summer Worship schedule: one combined worship service at 10am between Memorial Day and Labor Day. All are invited to the first Summer Worship planning meeting: May 2nd at 7pm
Brad Leinberger will take photos of families after both worship services on April 30th and May 7th for our new photo Directory! Alternatively, if you have digital photos already available, feel free to (1) title the file with your name, and (2) email it to email@example.com.
WPC now offers a series of classes focused on issues related to immigrants, refugees, and policies relating to those groups. Guest speakers from the ACLU, IRC, Holy Cross Ministries, and Communidades Unidas (among others) will join us on Sunday mornings this spring to educate us on these matters which are more relevant than ever. Meet promptly in the Library at 10:10.
YMCA Men's Bowling League The 60+ year old YMCA Bowling League needs a new church team for the 2017-18 Bowling Season. Currently there are 15 mostly church based teams, and the league needs a sixteenth team to even out competition. This is a very fun men's league, and a team from Wasatch Presbyterian Church would make a great addition. With all the young families now making Wasatch their church home, the YMCA Bowling League would offer a fun outside team competition opportunity for young husbands and fathers. The YMCA League is a handicap league meaning all participants compete on a level playing field Hey guys, talk among yourselves and field a team of 8 bowlers for this fall. Note: 5 bowlers bowl each Thursday night at 7pm at Big City Bowl, September to April. You work out your own schedule with your 8 bowlers to be sure a 5-person team is present to bowl every Thursday night. For more information, contact Paul Hewitt, (H) 801-943-9228, firstname.lastname@example.com.
Personnel Announcements
We are pleased to announce that Allan McInnis has begun work as our newBuilding Manager/Head Custodian. Allan has been serving on the Buildings & Grounds Committee for some time and we are excited about the facilities knowledge he brings to the role. To reach him, call his cell at 801.638.0408 or email him at email@example.com.
Wasatch is currently seeking applications for the position of Youth Director, which is a part-time 20 hrs/week role. For more information about the position, see the job description available on the website or in the office. For any additional questions or to submit a resume, contact Bill Brass at email@example.com. To submit a resume via mail, use Wasatch Presbyterian Church, 1626 South 1700 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, Attention: Bill Brass, Re: Youth Director.
Service at Wasatch
ROYAL FAMILY KIDS CAMP: Want to go on a mission trip in the nearby Wasatch? Royal Family KIDS of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is for you! There is no cost to you but your time, and the rewards are priceless and lasting! 50 children ages 7-11 who are or have been in the foster care system will be showered with God's love. Camp dates are July 30-August 4, training is June 10. We rely on over 100 volunteers from more than a dozen churches in Utah and elsewhere. Most of our volunteers come back year after year but we need adult (18+) volunteers as counselors; support staff to help with fun activities; nurses, social workers, and musicians. Most volunteers spend 5 days and nights at Camp, but others help out during the days or evenings only. For info and to apply: https://www.rfk-gslc.org. If you have questions, contact Shelley Horel, firstname.lastname@example.com, 801-870-9454
Wasatch is a proud member of Family Promise, an interfaith shelter for homeless families in our area. Our second of four annual hosting weeks is coming up - May 14 through May 21. There are many opportunities to volunteer and help serve our guest families (setting up, hosting, cooking a meal, even staying overnight). To volunteer or learn more, sign up in Fellowship Hall starting Sunday, April 23 or email Allison Clements at email@example.com.
Help Wasatch support Crossroads Urban Center! Look out for the new shopping cart in Fellowship Hall and drop donations anywhere nearby. Crossroads is particularly in need of items with protein, i.e. peanut butter, canned chili, mac & cheese, etc.
Adult Education (10:10am on Sundays):
• Guest speakers present Seeking Understanding of Current Migrant and Refugee Issues in the Library.
• A discussion of the Lectionary in room 116.
Pastor's Book Group: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a 2012 memoir by Cheryl Strayed describing her 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 as a journey of self-discovery. Join Pastor Scott Dalgarno to discuss the book on May 16 at 11:00 and 7:00 in the Library.


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Work with Ink
Construction Management
Construction Services
Ink Construction's Pre-Construction Services Include:
1. Communication
Meetings with owner/users and architects for information and programming. Planning is the art and science of creating highly functional and productive environments for your commercial project. Based on our experience, we can assist you in the planning and design stage of your project, with a goal of achieving maximum value for each design feature. Whether a project is retail, office or food service -- Ink is always your best choice.
2. Cost Reviews
At Ink, we feel that competitive and accurate estimating is a critical part of our responsibility as general contractors. That is why the principals always actively involved in this phase of the process. Our experienced and practiced staff takes an immense pride in providing you with an inclusive and precise quotation for your project.
3. Value Design
Cost-cutting versus quality--higher bids versus lower ones. It can be overwhelming and a bit confusing when all of the bids and options begin flowing into your offices. That is why at Ink Construction we utilize the theory of "Value Design." It is a systematic and organized decision-making process. The process generates alternatives to achieve the greatest worth as opposed to specific costs. With Ink, you are indeed achieving value for your money, as value design optimizes your dollars spent from the beginning and throughout the entire process. Ink and Value Design is a balancing act of cost, size and quality.
4. Construction Management
Construction management is an Ink service that applies effective, client-based management techniques to the planning, design, and construction of a project from its foundation to conclusion with the goals of controlling time, cost and quality. Construction management is a discipline and management system expressly fashioned to promote the successful implementation of projects for our clients. These projects can be highly complex. Few businesses maintain the staff resources required to pay careful, continuous attention to every detail of a project--yet these very details are what can "make or break" a project. Ink can augment the owner's staff with pre-planning, design, construction, engineering and management expertise that can assure the best possible project outcome no matter what the circumstances. Working as Construction Manager, we perform many duties. These duties fall into three phases: Design, Construction and Post-Construction and help to ensure you and your business the successful completion of your project.
5. Review
To make sure the design fits within the owner's budget.
Looking to start a project? We would love to talk to you about your needs.
Contact Us


text: On Sun, May 10, 2009 at 8:31 PM, Michel Di Croci <michel.dicroci at gmail.com> wrote: > Hello! > > When I boot, it takes about 5 mins before being up and running. Since it's > my first FreeBSD, I didn't thought there was an issue, but I think there's > one ;) > > I have a P4 2.8 HT which is too bad computer and I really think the issue is > in freeBSD and the Giant Locked and stuff like that. The computer stays in a > waiting "mode" for about 3 minutes or something like that. It's unbearable, > however, since I reboot like once in a month, it's not that bad ;) But I'm > still wondering why it's so slow. > > I have compiled my own kernel, removed driver I don't use but I kept all usb > drivers. Like I told you, it's really the USB part that seems to be long to > load. It's like it's waiting for a stabilization mode that is never coming. > > Anyone had that kind of issue? I'm running 7.2 and it's been there since the > installation with 7.1. > Did it hang with GENERIC? If not, do a diff on your config and the GENERIC config, and paste it for us. (On a side note, is your machine's `hostname` in /etc/hosts? I've had a problem with sendmail hanging for some time because the hostname was not resolvable. Just a side-thought.) -- Glen Barber