Coon Clobber King

Gas rose another eight cents to $3.07.9 today. In your travels (hopefully a little slower) this summer take a look at the old silos, those bright blue Thermos bottles in the sky called Harvestores, and those white and sometimes black giant garbage bags on the ground. They all store feed. Many old silos are vacant, capless, and have negative value due to the cost of tearing down. I haven't seen as many Harvestores being built as I used to. A lot of farmers are using those long giant plastic bags.

Many years ago a Harvestore ran $25,000-$35,000. I don't know what they run now but you can tell if they are paid off. The Stars and Stripes is proudly attached near the top. Those giant garbage bags run about $250 and are not reusable.

The Harvestore takes less land since it is vertical but anything vertical can be dangerous due to falls. Years ago fatal accidents were common with the old silos. The Harvestore does a much better job containing the feed but those plastic bags are cheap in comparison. Plastic bags split and varmints feast.

Lazy raccoons like to break a hole and live and multiply near the bags. Enter the coon clobberers. Coon clobbering could be called 'Redneck Polo'. It takes a young person with good dexterity who likes to work nights. The equipment consists of an all terrain vehicle and a baseball bat. Guns are not used since they put holes in the silage bags and bullets lower the value of the feed. The ATV is driven at a high rate of speed and the surprised shined raccoon is hit in the head with as much force as possible to kill it. Hell of a job description.

One of these guys is currently in demand in northeast Wisconsin. I don't know his name but he could be called the Coon Clobber King. He recently set some sort of record by getting 200 in one session.

Could this replace the corn shucking contests of a century ago?