Some stuff...

How about some memories of summer, fall and winter? Well I'm redesigning the pens for our January farrowing. They will farrow in huts outdoors, and I think all will be well. The very last of the (laready reserved) fall piglets will be leaving in the next few weeks, so we'll have smaller numbers on the farm for a couple of months.

Someday (maybe) I'll get these pigs on a breeding schedule. Probably next year, but no promises :)

Food Fun Facts...

OK, it's official I'm only eating old lint and dirt. Nothing else is safe. Sigh. I just read an article in the Times, and it made me cringe. Especially the quote

"Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 300,000 Americans are hospitalized and 5,000 die from food-borne illnesses each year. Some 76 million are sickened"

That means the CDC estimates almost a quarter of us get some form of food poisoning every year. No wonder since the giants (Tyson, etc.) steadfastly refuse to test their foods for pathogens. I read somewhere that Costco does test its meats, pushes suppliers to do so and as a result Tyson won't do business with them. Maybe if WalMart would test it's incoming food (maybe they do?) suppliers would have no choice. Sure doesn’t seem like Congress is going to do anything about it.

I wish the lawyer in the article all the luck in the world. Sue them all penniless. I'll take $4/lb beef over a kid in a coma any day of the week.

Some Random Snaps of the Farm

A Midget White Turkey (that's the breed name) some Large Black Hogs and one senic shot. Enjoy!

Odds and ends

'Tis the season for farm repairs. I've got a number of parts for the Baler (NH 283) and my uncle is going to weld up one part they don't make any more (twine finger bar). I'll either be welding up the plunger shield or buying a new one. I think it's fixable. The fun part is I need a grinder to get the broken mounts off of the plunger and I need to make new ones. The shield was being held on by a single bolt. Nice. Also have remedied the hydro pressure reservoir leak, busted hay dog springs (why my knotter quit working) and have some new teeth. Oh, and I'll be replacing the bearing in the PTO shaft. In any event I should have one rock-em-sock-em baler in the spring.

I also finished replacing all the tires on the rake and it's ready to party as well.

Also resolved and issue with my draw bar hitch. My tractor (Kubota M6030 DTN) is an old orchard tractor, so the drag is to low for many draw attached implements. I had to put a draw bar on the 3 point. Problem is it kept the implement so far back that most of the PTO's didn't reach and required and extender. Hence the mangled bearing on my Baler.

Dave at Hard Rock Machine in Walla Walla made me a new draw bar hitch with a 4" rise that was the same thickness of metal and (other than the rise) dimensions as the factory draw bar. Now stuff attaches to the draw bar, PTO's reach and it's heavy enough to still drag the Harrow Bed around when it's loaded (10,000-12,000 lbs).

Ahhh the harrow bed. Some modifications will be made to that as well. I need to be able to manually activate a return valve (the spring is worn). Once every thing was greased, it runs like a champ. Not bad of an implement form 1965. Now if I could figure out how to use it without making "Hay piles." Practice makes perfect.

A passle of Goats will be heading to the freezer, new farrowing pens will be going in the shop (for winter farrowings) and I will be heading up to Deer Park in the not too distant future to grab 4 tons of feed (should get us to June or July).

Still going...

The first sets of litters are heading out the door. It's been a lot of fun wrangling pigs and getting to meet my customers. Everyone has a neat story and they've all been a real pleasure to visit with. I don't know if it's just good luck, but I'll take it any way I can get it. Large Black Hog folks seem to be nice folks.

On another farm note, the "Worlds Greatest Volunteer Farm Hand" (uncle Kenny) brought over a Boar hut for the boar pen. It's amazing. I'll post pictures soon. He's agreed to work on a larger model for the farrow huts and I'll be saying goodbye to the hoop huts. Which is OK, since I need the fencing :)

I'll be designing the indoor farrow huts for the Winter farrowing (huts that will go inside the machine shop) and they should be no big deal to get built.

Its sunny and windy, the Saturday market was today (last of the season) and I got to chat with the Czholds, saw the Welcome Table Farm(ers) and chatted with another goat lady who's buck we'll be housing when he'd not at her place doing his regular job.

Good times. I really like fall. Now for the Candy collecting. Happy Halloween everyone!

Walla Walla Water News

As it turns out, water (water rights, conservation, irrigation) has become something of a hobby of mine. I'm sure I mumbled about it last year, but (for reasons to lengthy to recap) I ended up reading the Washington RCWs and WACs in relation to Water law and the Department of Ecology's rule making authority. If I had it to do over again, I'd go to law school and specialize in Water/Environmental law.

Anyway, I keep an eye on the local water board minutes, I peruse the DOE online activities and mine the site using Google. Man, I love the Internet.

So what? Well, water is going to be an ongoing bone of contention in Walla Walla. Has been for a long time and it won't be getting better. Here are some of my current observations and predictions.

* The Washington Attorney General recently issued an opinion (AGO Opinion 2009 No 6) stating that Ecology does not have the authority to curtail exempt well quantities. Ecology can close a basin to new exempt wells if there is not enough information, or if there is not enough water, but no tinkering with Statutorily established quantified. If Ecology allows an exempt well then (in the AGO's opinion) the users gets...

5000 gallons a day for domestic
5000 a day for industrial (including irrigation with no acre limit)
unlimited water for 1/2 acre yard and non-commercial garden
unlimited water for "stockwater" use

Ecology can close the basin, and/or require drop for drop mitigation, but not modify statutorily granted quantities. This is something I thought a year ago when I first read the WRIA 32 rule. The WAC concerning Ecology's rule making authority specifically prohibits superseding state law with a rule. Certainly removes some flexibility Ecology had.

* County governments and Ecology cannot get together to limit quantities on Exempt wells (if I am reading the AGO opinion correctly...and I think this is currently in litigation). Basically nether entity has the authority to modify statue (quantities allowed for exempt wells) and they cannot collaborate to grant themselves that authority.

* Walla Walla is still "watermasterless." From the stuff I have read, it doesn't look like much progress has been made to replace our last one. I hope something is done in the not too distant future. While I have mixed feelings about Ecology's behavior, analysis and general ability to consistently manage the states resources...it's largely because they're understaffed, underfunded and not having a "water cop" in Walla Walla is really not an option. I liked Bill (the old WM) and I think his presence (in the official role...he's now consulting locally) will be missed.

Oh yeah...if you have concerns or questions about what you can and cannot do, call a lawyer. I'm not one :)

Good news with the AM

Momma still has her 5 little monsters. I found another stillborn piglet born sometime after lunch yesterday. That has labor clocking in at something like 24 hours. Most of the stuff I read seems to indicate that it should have been a 2-3 hour affair. Perhaps the upgraded farrowing conditions will improve this. Most of the moms seem to take more like 5-7 hours to finish (some of the last pigs did live).

I'm still going to vaccinate for Parvo, but my money is on labor related strangulation for momma's babies. I could assist, but then I need long acting antibiotics if I want any hope of her farrowing again. And I would need to induce, which I may do with the next farrowing anyway. That way I can monitor and assist if needed.

Troubleshooting is something I really enjoy, so for now (crabby about losing pigs, head cold, post surgical knee and all) I am looking forward to my Hog future.

Amazing what 5 live pigs and a good night sleep can do for me :)