Water, Wells and the FARMER!

     I will not quote statistics or give anyone a lecture.  You already get that on a daily basis, depending on how much you listen, read or ingest the news.  At this farm we are not above waste.  I do not mean we are out over watering our lawns, well if we had lawns.  There is the occasional, rinse off of a vehicle or a chicken poop overloaded walkway.  My kids are the least of the offenders.  Getting them in the shower.......is like pure torture.  They turn the faucet off while brushing their teeth, and never rinse out dishes.

     We use water like everyone else, but we are on a well, not just a well, but a shared well.  That's right, everyone well homeowners nightmare.  Sharing the cost, of not only the power, but the maintenance of the well.  Forget the fact that both properties have easements, which is a nightmare in itself.  At this farm we not only have to be concerned about our usage, but the house next door.  The house next door is a rental....its owner decided that America is not the place to work, so that owner is not available to talk to because she is in another country.  Bring in the property management people.  Oh we have had three different ones since it became a rental.  Now trying to explain to each one that they are responsible for the 1/2 of the PG&E on the well seems simple right?  Not so much.  It eventually happens and eventually we get paid.  Now the neighbors themselves, the renters, they are great.  So far all of the renter in the the house next door have been.  They are considerate, helpful, and not water wasters.  We have done our due diligence to explain to each that we share water and we are on a well.  By the way, none of them knew this when they moved into the house next door.  The current renters have tiny humans, so well water is sometimes an issue for consumption so that conversation was very welcomed.  We make sure that everyone is on board.

     So WATER, what was my point, oh....yes.  We are trying our best to conserve just like the homeowner on city water.  But the thought of not having it scares me to death.  The animals use most of it.  Without the animals, we would obviously not be a farm, not have the great food we produce. That would be very scary.  So with out water, there is NO FOOD!!!!!  Okay NO FOOD ANYWHERE IN CALIFORNIA!!!  So who should get the most water.....oh of course the golf courses, or the people who can not stand brown grass....wrong!!  I understand that golf is necessary for some, and I am Not pointing my finger at just the golf courses.  Even the agriculture in this state, must learn to water differently for now.  But the end to my water rant, is the farmers need the water!  All the farmers, big and small.  Everyone needs to be a part of the conversation. I could go on and on about who does what and who conserves and who does not.   For now we do everything we can.  Some of our water saving sayings in our house are the old ones like...."If it brown flush it down, if its yellow keep it mellow"....lol  But the conversation happens daily at our house.  How often does it happen at yours, and how are you saving water.  I love getting ideas from others, let us know.

Where have you been?

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Really this is not an every other year Blog...really!  With a small farm, family, and business, a kind of time warp has happened in my life.  With the turning of 50 years, my intentions are to keep up more....  So what is happening at the farm.  Oh my, right into baby season! Hitting the ground running.  Catching you up, we have now started into our Boer goat obsession.  Meet Eva and the boys.  The kid on the right is Gotcha Talking or GT, his brother, second to hit the ground, is Cover Charge or Charger.  Both boys are full bloods and a product of Lap-AI or Laparoscopic Artificial Insemination.  Their sire the handsome Gotcha Covered well he's no where in site, because he came to us in straws.  The idea of AI was always a good alternative breeding method for me, but Lap-AI was not something I was a fan of.  The process was seamless, clean, professional, and all the things you would want for a semi-surgical procedure. It did the trick for her first kidding.  Flushing and Lap-AI in the Boer goat world are so common people do not bat an eye.  Large herds, needing to produce wether's at an almost alarming rate, make this an easy choice for breeders. Okay, so you say NO WAY!  Live cover just takes too much time, its a pregnancy guessing game for some, is she-is she not, did he cover her, if so when....you get the idea.  Now the progressive side of my brain says yes, make it better-faster, yes, why stay in the dark ages.   While my softer, doula, miracle of life, home birth side says NO!  Why would you do that?  Okay so somewhere in the middle is where I am standing.  I get it.  There is not doubt that the invasive nature of the procedure leaves room for pause.  I do not judge if done safely and without stress and unnecessary pain.  Some of my goat friends have cast a pointed finger and in so many words cast me out of the au naturel club.  I think the dilemma for me is that with a small herd, no extra room for a buck, that needs to be feed out every day only to be used once or twice a year, leaves room for other thought processes.    So what other options are there?  Well, sharing a buck is definitely a thought process that we are investigating.  Regular traditional AI? Yep, did that!  Equipement, video, Vet and all.  For the most part you are lucky and with a less than 50% positive outcome.  Even with Lap AI the best turn out I have gotten from talking to others is 80%, but that's not bad.  So sharing a buck is great if you are producing for consumption, but if you are producing for consumption and competition then the conversation goes straight to genetics.  Sharing a buck does not allow for a vast pool of genetics.  AI however does.  Just so you know......Meatball our other doe was bred with live cover.  A very different experience.  But that is for another post.  So what will we do for the next breeding season?  Timing, genetics, experience and access all play a role, I will just have to keep you posted.  For now I am enjoying the boys, who will be kept in tact. One will be used to live cover our does and remain at the farm for us to enjoy. The other buck will be collected before he leaves for a new home.  The buck that is gone will produce offspring without being here just like his dad.  Always nice to know that there are options and alternative ways to do things, you just have to choose.