Starting to look like a farm…

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  • February 8, 2014 at 11:35 pm #82429
    Wamoo
    Participant

    It was 2010 when my wife and I bought 41 acres in the Colville Valley of NE Washington State. We’ve been building it up slowly since we bought it, but 2013 was a big year for us. Overall, the goal is to get it built up by the time I retire from the Coast Guard in 5 years as a small producer-handler dairy.

    Anyway, we this last summer we built our first real building. A shop/machine shed combination. I’m convinced the first structure on any farm should be a shop! It’s so nice to have a place to work, and also to get my future projects like my McD #9 Highgear and JD Hayloader under cover. We also put up our circa 1925 Aermotor Windmill to pump water. So much better than pumping by hand!

    This summer we are planning a major fencing project, and thats enough. Of course, there will be other small projects too.

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    February 9, 2014 at 7:06 am #82431
    LongViewFarm
    Participant

    Very nice. It is a great feeling to be able to get thing under cover, and have a place to work protected from the elements.

    February 10, 2014 at 5:53 pm #82445
    Will Stephens
    Participant

    congratulations!

    November 28, 2014 at 3:43 pm #84292
    Wamoo
    Participant

    Well, we did get our fencing project done this past summer… About 8/10th of a mile. Being certified organic, we couldn’t use pressure treated lumber, so we ended up using Eastern Oregon Juniper. It was the best compromise between durability and availability.

    Check out Oregon State University’s “Fence Post Farm” report on the service life of treated and untreated fence posts: http://juniper.oregonstate.edu/post-farm.pdf

    Anyway, we also tacked a few other, smaller, projects, such as enclosing the machine shed side of our building with rough cut siding from a local mill and installing a wood stove in the shop, which has greatly increased it’s usability during the winter (We were working in it earlier this month, with it -2f outside, but easily maintaining 60-70f inside)

    We also acquired a few more pieces of equipment… A cultipacker and an old David Bradley running gear.

    For 2015, no major projects are planned. I’ll probably just work at fixing up some of this old equipment I’ve picked up along the way, and save some money because in 2016 we plan a big push to get the dairy built. Also in 2015, my wife and I are signed up for a Doc Hammill workshop which we’re both very excited about!

    Cheers!

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