Aztec Rental: The Backfill

See what you’ve been missing – not just in sewer lines, but in your bank account. The Gen-Eye video pipe inspection and location systems are real money makers for you because you’ll know what the problem is, where it is, and how deep to dig. It keeps your costs down, your quotes competitive, and your customers happy. [ General ]

More Info On Sewer Camera & Line Locator Rental

Associated General Contractors of America reports construction spending up 0.7 percent in October. Rise was driven by power projects and public construction.  Still waiting on a significant private sector increase.

Total construction spending increased by 0.7 percent in October, driven largely by growing demand for power projects and public construction, the Associated General Contractors of America noted today in an analysis of new Census Bureau data. The new data, however, indicated continued weakness in many construction categories, including private nonresidential and single family construction, association officials observed.

Full Press Release: AGC of America

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has extensively updated its industrial/agricultural mower safety manual – both the English only and Spanish/English versions. Types of equipment covered include rotary, folding wing rotary, flail, boom and sickle bar mowers as well as disc mowers, disc mower conditioners and self-propelled windrowers. (The AEM “disc mower” manual is now obsolete.)

The AEM Industrial/Agricultural Mower Safety Manual was developed under the direction of the association’s Industrial/Agricultural Mower Manufacturers Council. AEM safety manuals outline common sense “do’s and don’ts” in clear language and an easy-to-follow format, and they are a convenient and cost-effective way to provide in-house safety training.

The manual covers current industry practice in machine design and construction as well as up-to-date industry safety best practices for equipment preparation, operation, maintenance and transport. Enhancements include an expanded “safe maintenance” section, with a new section discussing mower blade maintenance; expanded discussion of “mower thrown objects” and “slope operation”; and use of newer safety design features and enhanced operator protection systems.

Full Article: Green Industry Pros

Parents want to give your kids a great holiday experience?

Better yet, Fellas we are going to do you a solid.  You take this and suggest it to your family, kids or significant other and you will look like a hero in your kids eyes, earn some monster brownie points with your significant other or maybe even get you a second date.

SANTA’S WONDERLAND in College Station, Texas.

With a spectacular and creative drive through light tour and the entertainment, food and shopping in Santa’s Town there is nothing they left out of this Texas holiday experience.  You can take pictures with Santa, sit around a camp fire, watch a holiday movie, listen to some tunes and even ride a mechanical bull if you have the nerve. 

Ok that’s all you’re getting, we don’t want to give away too much.  Just take our word for it, It’s worth the visit!

You can thank us later.

Here is the website: Santa’s-Wonderland

The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program reports Texas is one of the leaders in economic recovery.

Four Texas metropolitan areas — Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio — dominate the top 15 U.S. cities in a global study to determine the level of cities’ recovery from the recession.

The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program report ranks 150 cities: 50 in the United States, 50 in Europe and 50 in the rest of the world. Austin was the highest-ranked U.S. city and No. 26 in the world. Dallas ranks as the No. 4 U.S. city and No. 39 in the world. San Antonio ranks No. 11 in the U.S. and No. 51 in the world.

Houston is ranked No. 15 in the U.S. and No. 61 in the world, according to the report, Global MetroMonitor, which received assistance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

San Antonio, Houston and Dallas rose in global rankings during the past two years from their pre-recession rankings. Austin stayed about the same, ranking No. 25 among the 150 metro areas before the recession.

The report found that income and job growth in metro areas exceed those of their nations as a whole, which means large cities are leading the global recovery from the 2007-09 recession.

The cities recovering the fastest are outside the United States. Twenty-nine of the 30 best-recovering cities are outside the U.S., with only Austin making that group.

Metro areas in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East are making the strongest recoveries. The top five, in order, are: Istanbul, Turkey; Shenzhen, China; Lima, Peru; Singapore; and Shanghai, China.

Read More: Chron.com – Texas Dominates Economic Recovery Rankings

Associated General Contractors of America Reports:

Construction employment expanded in 29 states between September and October, while fewer people are working in construction compared to last year in 39 states, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released today by the Labor Department. The new figures continue a nearly year-long trend of ups and downs in construction employment as the industry performs stimulus-funded work yet grapples with broad market uncertainty.

Read Full Article: ForConstructionPros.Com

Happy Thanksgiving!  Be THANKFUL!

For your viewing pleasure:

Adam Sandlers Thanksgiving Song

Yes, we did just post this…

…and this..

…and yes this just happened..

Be safe!

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know! 

In the case of wildlife management that produces results…well…both the who and the what you know are important.

Purina Mills is the answer, they are the “who you know” and give us the “what you know” for installing and using proper techniques and principles to develop a successful management program.

The “Who You Know”

For over 100 years, Purina Mills, LLC has been America’s Leader in Animal Nutrition. Since 1926, we have been performing animal nutrition research studies at our 1,188-acre LongView Animal Nutrition Center in Gray Summit,  Missouri. We began conducting research specific to deer in the mid-1950’s, and today over 50 years later, we continue to research, formulate, test and manufacture more groundbreaking products. Our devotion to product excellence and innovation continues today with the nutritional breakthrough called AntlerMax® Technology. [read more]

Purina Mills started doing wildlife nutrition research over 50 years ago and we are committed to helping you manage the habitat and the wildlife on your property.

The “What You Know”

A properly designed and implemented supplemental feeding program will make up the gaps in nutrition that often occur when habitat does not supply all the nutrients needed for healthy and productive deer, elk, game fish and game birds.

Nutrition is one of the major factors affecting productivity of deer and elk, but it is one over which a wildlife manager can exercise considerable control. In order to make nutrition decisions which will result in a healthy, productive deer or elk herd, several factors should be considered: (1) Seasonal forage availability and quality; (2) Physiological state and nutritional requirements; (3) Number and kinds of animal species; (4) Livestock and grazing management practices; and (5) Production goals.  [read more]

Deer & Protein

There is considerable controversy regarding the percentage of dietary protein that deer should have. Many people believe that deer cannot tolerate more than 16% dietary protein and that high-protein diets are wasteful or even toxic. This simply is not true.

Research in South Texas has shown that wild deer diets at certain times of the year can be over 25% protein. Many forbs highly utilized by deer are over 30% protein. Obviously, the wild deer are unharmed by consuming these high-protein plants. Indeed, excellent antler growth years were those with superb spring forage conditions. The resulting antler growth suggests that not only were the deer not harmed by their high-protein diet, they actually utilized the protein to grow bigger antlers, indicating that higher protein is necessary for a buck to achieve his genetic potential for antler growth. [read more]

 Does Nutrition Guarantee Trophy Bucks?

If only it were that simple! Great nutrition will give your deer the opportunity to maximize their genetic potential for antler growth, but it is just one (albeit an important one) of many factors that affect antler growth. Even assuming that you are providing the best nutrition possible, other things, some within your control and some not, will affect production of trophy racks.

General health greatly influences a variety of factors that affect antler growth, such as feed intake and hormone production. If your deer are laboring under a parasite load (internal or external), clinical or sub-clinical disease challenges, or have been injured, antler growth will be negatively affected no matter how nutritious the feed because nutrition will be siphoned off to deal with these other issues. Good management must go hand-in-hand with nutrition to get optimum results. [read more]

Deer and Self-Guided Nutrition

Many people believe that deer (and other animals) somehow inherently know what they need and how much of it to eat. If you stop to think about it, you’ll quickly realize this does not make sense. If deer automatically knew what they needed, then there would be no need to formulate feeds for them; simply throw all the individual ingredients out there and let the deer “have at it”. However, it is the need for energy and the appeal of palatability that influence what a deer eats. After all, if a deer always knew what and how much to eat, it would never eat too much tasty corn and make itself sick!

Deer, like all ruminant animals, eat to meet their energy needs. The need for energy drives daily intake. If one feed is lower in energy than another, deer will eat more of the low-energy feed in order to meet their demand for calories. Likewise, deer will need less of a higher-quality, higher-energy feed. And because deer eat to meet an energy requirement, the other nutrients (fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals) must be in proportion with the energy amount so that the deer gets what it needs of all nutrients in the amount of feed that it will eat. For instance, a high-energy low-protein feed will not provide enough protein because the deer will eat only until its energy requirement is met. A high-energy, low-fiber feed (such as corn) can actually get your deer in trouble if they eat too much at once. It is important to provide a well-balanced feed that provides all the nutrient classes in proper amounts to meet your animal’s needs without causing problems. [read more]

This is just some of the great information Purina Mills provides, so get educated and implement this knowledge into your program and you will get results.  If you need more help getting your protein feeding program started here are some tips: Protein Feeding; Basics To A Succesful Supplement Feeding Program For Your Whitetail Deer Herd.

For all the information on wildlife management and proper feeds and strategies we suggest – Wildlife Innovation Through Education: Purina Mills

Click here for: Purina Mills feeds and product information or All Seasons Feeders.

Be safe this hunting season, to help you do that here are some Hunting safety tips.

What does Hunting Season mean to you? It’s not just a regulated time to hunt! Read This: Hunting Season, When Life Long Memories Are Made.

Texas sits atop the list as one of the leaders in the slow recovery process this country is facing.

Fueled in part by rising but stable oil prices, Texas continues to lead the country’s recovery, albeit at a relatively slow pace, according to a fourth-quarter regional economic forecast.

A report issued Monday by economists with BBVA Compass bank said that besides rising energy demand, Texas’ relatively stable housing market, continued private job creation, limited fiscal challenges and strong exports – notably petroleum and coal products – will sustain the state’s recovery into 2011.

“Although most states have experienced a growth deceleration in the second half of 2010, Texas’ growth has accelerated and remains solidly positive,” the report said.

The report predicts that Texas’ gross domestic product will grow by 3 percent this year and 2.8 percent in 2011, with both rates above the projected U.S. average of 2.7 percent in 2010 and 2.3 percent next year.

Through the first nine months of the year, Texas created 182,200 private sector jobs – approximately 16 percent of the U.S. total and the highest state total in the country

Read more: Texas leads U.S. recovery, report says | Houston Business Journal

NEWSWEEK has compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for the recovery.

These are places where the jobs are plentiful, and the pay, given the lower cost of living, buys more than in bigger cities. In other words, places unlike much of the rest of the country. The cities, most of which lie in the red-state territory of America’s heartland, fall into three basic groups. There’s the Texaplex—Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston—which has become the No. 1 destination for job-seeking Americans, thanks to a hearty energy sector and a strong spirit of entrepreneurism. There are the New Silicon Valleys—Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and urban northern Virginia—which offer high-paying high-tech jobs and housing prices well below those in coastal California. And then there are the Heartland Honeys—Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Des Moines, Iowa—which are enjoying a revival thanks to rising agricultural prices and a shift toward high-end industrial jobs.

Read more from Newsweek: Greetings From Recoveryland

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released its 2011 economic forecast for the U.S. commercial and industrial construction industry.  The verdict not so good…”slow progress.”

“The period of rapid improvement in spending levels did not begin in 2010, and will not happen in 2011,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.

“ABC’s forecast of nonresidential construction spending for next year suggests that total spending will be 0.1 percent less than 2010 levels. Privately financed construction levels are projected to decline 0.2 percent while publicly financed construction levels are projected to be virtually flat. The bottom line is the nonresidential construction recession is largely over, but 2011 will be associated with grudgingly slow progress,” said Basu.

“To the extent that there has been recovery in nonresidential construction, it has been concentrated in segments closely tied to federal funding and the stimulus package passed in February 2009 in the midst of the recession,” Basu said. “For example, five nonresidential construction categories monitored by the U.S. Census Bureau have experienced rising spending levels from the same time last year, including conservation and development, water supply, sewage and waste disposal, and highway and street, and transportation.

“In contrast, 11 nonresidential construction sectors have experienced year-over-year declines in spending, a reflection of the lack of available capital to finance growth and investment,” said Basu. “The deepest downturns registered in construction were related to lodging, manufacturing, office and commercial. ABC expects that the lack of access to capital will continue to deter economic progress in 2011, and is forecasting 1.7 percent GDP growth next year despite ongoing federal stimulus funding and the expectation of a more expansive monetary policy.

Year-to-Date Performance: 2009 – 2010 and ABC’s 2011 Forecast

*= Data predictions by ABC Chief Economist 

…and the 2011 outlook?

The national recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009.  Nonresidential construction typically lags the overall performance of the U.S. economy by 12 to 24 months. Even as the broader U.S. economy entered a period of substantial decline in 2008, nonresidential construction volumes continued to expand and grew 9 percent that year. Eventually, the weakness of the overall U.S. economy, coupled with a deep financial crisis and accompanying credit crunch, wreaked havoc on all sectors of nonresidential construction. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, nonresidential construction spending declined 9 percent in 2009 and ABC projects that spending will fall 14.7 percent this year.

The good news is the period of deep decline in U.S. nonresidential construction spending is over. The bad news is this appears to represent stagnation, with overall construction volumes mired at or near bottom-of-the-cycle levels. In other words, by remaining near 2010 levels, 2011 construction spending is positioned to be nearly a quarter less than 2008 totals.

Viewed from another perspective, the expectations for 2011 represent a stark contrast from what occurred in 2010.  As a year, 2010 was a period of widely variable performance between construction segments as sectors powered by the availability of federal stimulus funds experienced growth, and privately financed activities buckled under the weight of depleted capital availability and excess supply. Next year, the variable in performance between segments will be far diminished, at least in terms of percentage changes in spending volumes.

Read Full Article From Associated Builders and Contracors here.