Legamin
Loving the herd life
We have been thinking of a move. Area land prices have quadrupled in 5 years and along with that property taxes with percentage increases..(somehow the Governor STILL manages to run +15% deficit EVERY year).. I have had my eye on 300 acres in Tennessee with established pastures, wooded acreage, barns and newer house that would cost about half of what my house + 10acres in Washington will sell for at fast sale ‘fire sale’ prices. So the temptation is real. We would like to dedicate 50 acres to just honey bees and 20 acres to meat rabbit production. All this would mean two more barns plus chicken tractors but there would be ample surplus after purchase to do all that. It’s just getting through lambing, planning, finishing the fourth barn, finishing the frame-up house remodel on the 110 year old Craftsman farm house so we’re realistically a year from moving. Then we have to decide if at 61 we are ready to move again (for the 52nd time in our marriage….I was a physicist / radiation safety consultant and tester in Western (mostly) Europe for my career). But I’m committed to doing as much as I can before I can’t so it’s a strong possibility. Thanks for the encouragement…the contacts are so tempting! Here we have a critical shortage of USDA certified butchers and a very closed Auction circuit so selling lambs is all private. Fortunately for now there is a raging private demand for sheep! I have turned away many potential customers simply for lack of more sheep. It’s a good problem to have. We are opening up the rabbit market locally and demand is ready and waiting..impatiently! So realistically a destination with contacts would be essential to a move. The idea of large acreage to really start building the Leichester Longwool rebuilding population is an essential part of any move.
