Wow, where did August go? After a brutal summer, with temperatures at or near the 100 degree mark for over a month, pastures burned up and I have had to supplement with precious winter hay supply. Not good. Even though the temperatures have cooled now and it has started to rain occasionally, I find that I must make some hard choices about how many can stay and how many must go. Who makes money for me and who doesn't. What direction do I want to take the farm from here?

Although the rabbitry suffered some losses this summer due to the extreme heat and humidity, they remain a viable part of the operation. Demand remains good for rabbits and excellent for angora wool.

The Bluefaced Leicester addition has still to prove itself. The initial lamb crop of purebreds was disappointing, but I am willing to give it another year or two. The BFL Hybrids are fantastic and the fleeces sell like hotcakes... so I am going to keep many of these. Border Leicesters are also in good demand and the fleeces sell well. They are hardy and seem to stay fat even on the scanty pasture.

Meat goats are hardy and provide steady off season income...market prices have been good... so they stay. Demand for dairy goats is steady and I could not function without a good supply of goatsmilk in the freezer... so a small core group of these remain. The angora goats are the toughest decision. While the demand for kid and yearling mohair is high, the demand for the goats is down somewhat. They are susceptible to parasites (and with growing resistance to anthelmintics, parasites are the toughest challenge we have right now) and require the greatest input in labor, veterinary expenses and materials. This will be the area that I am looking at the most closely, and may well reduce herd numbers as I develop new management strategies

One of these new management strategies is to attend Grazing School this month which will help qualify the farm for financial assistance in cross fencing, establishing watering stations, and re-seeding and fertilizing pastures. I hope to be adding addition pastures for rotational grazing plus improving the old worn out pastures that I have currently in use. Soil testing and development of a BioSecurity Plan are also on the agenda.

The Farm Service Agency has a good booklet out on Farm BioSecurity... part of it concerns larger dairies or crop farms that have supplies of fertilizer , etc... .but it also addresses small livestock farm issues and is a good reminder of some of the bio-security practices that make sense for all of us.

Check out the rabbit page for a short article on Lop Ears and a Lop Ear Special If you are wanting woolers , this is a great opportunity as I clean out the rabbitry in preparation of a possible fall crop of bunnies (I'm going to try since the weather has turned cool early) Remember, I will buy back prime plucked wool from my customers... contact me for details.

The World Sheep and Fiber Arts Show had free admission this year, perfect weather and falling gas prices to help it out, but attendance was only fair. Despite the low attendance, sales were GREAT! All vendors reported excellent sales and I sold every rabbit I took up there (plus a few guinea pigs) . I used to be in charge of the goat tent (which always did well) but had to give it up this year and I was apparently not replaced. There was NO goat tent.

Rumor has it that the university has been asked to come back with their education programs for next year which should put alittle life back into the festival. I'll be back up there next year.

This is the time of year when the scent of buck is in the air and I am busy making lists and sorting sheep and goats into their breeding groups. This year, I have a new buck pen for that pesky dairy buck who is oh-so-necessary and oh-such-a-problem this time of year. See the goat page for pictures of the pen... lets just SEE him jump out of this one! You will also find a few kid bucks for sale on this page.

If you are looking for a ram for this fall, I have two nice yearling prospects (colored and white). see the sheep page for details. Want to see something WEIRD? See what I found growing on a sheep's ear the other day! Never a dull moment!

Border Leicester and Bluefaced Leicester rams are with their respective harems as of September 6th... that will put lambing in February-March of 2007 if all goes well. Dairy does and white angora does were also placed with their respective bucks on September 6th to coincide with lambing.

ATTENTION DOLL CRAFTERS and SPINNERS: Those fall mohair fleeces that you have been waiting so patiently for are being sheared now! Fleeces are posted to ebay as they are sheared, so be sure to check in regularly to see what is there. Look for Herbalmaid Gallery

Kathy Barger-Harbert