Horses, dairy, beef, house contractors, in that order. For some reason house contractors think I should know how much hay they should put down where they are going to excavate. I say "At least 3 feet!!" Ha ha! My father died in the middle of Febuary. The backhoe went through 5' of frost. Not easy, but they made a good hole. Now why do people need to insulate the ground they are just going to dig up anyway? The backhoe doesn't care if it frozen or not.