Musings from Agarita Creek Farms

The LCRA Open Houses -- LCRA does Fredericksburg Twice

2010-02-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

The LCRA held its two open houses today in Fredericksburg. There were plenty of maps and displays, and lots of shiny-happy LCRA employees (who obviously drew the short stray in having to be part of this road show), but precious little information conveyed. We left with the firm conviction that the LCRA holds these public open houses just so they can say they did -- a feather in their cap for the PUC and the disgruntled public.

The LCRA people were at least outwardly sympathetic to our problems, but in a detached sort of way -- as if they were not in any way responsible for them. You wonder if these employers receive similar sensitivity training to that given to funeral home directors. Indeed, the sessions resemble funerals. Something is side of each attendee had died, or at least was dying, and the only good part of it at all was folks got to see friends and neighbors they don't get to see often enough.

People were given the opportunity to use grease pencils to outline their properties and specific areas of concern on the huge glossy maps. We did it, and again it was mostly a feel good experience. It is not as if anyone will take notice -- and you have to know those marks will be erased soon as the LCRA prepares the exhibits for yet another public dog-and-pony show.

Timetables were given. As you may know from following this issue, the LCRA's application to the PUC is due July 6, 2010. Apparently, the actual PUC proceeding will take place in very early 2011. We haven't much time to work, but that in itself may be a good thing. This whole process and the prospect of having one's property ruined and dreams shattered has a paralyzing effect. We are grateful that the process looks to be relatively short. Having said that, as a lawyer, I am doubtful of all of these timelines.

The process necessarily pits neighbor against neighbor, and tears communities apart. No one wants these huge towers in their back yard. Whether the LCRA intends this or not, by refusing to disclose preferred routes even at the time of application the result is that they are quite able to divide and conquer.

The highlight of the meeting was the 1/4 scale tower and house brought to the open house by the Clearview Alliance. Seeing that tower dwarf a home was perhaps the first inkling many of the members of the public had of what is truly in store for them, and what is at stake.

As to the low point, it had to be the police presence at the meeting. Did the LCRA think that anyone would be so out of control that they would need police protection. These folks are mad, but they are also too proud to even show the LCRA the tip of their anger.

People were encouraged to write down their comments, but I think even the LCRA would admit that anyone who believes that their comments will matter is fooling themselves. The only way to have any impact in the proceeding is to intervene as a party to it. You had to feel that this too was a therapeutic exercise -- again designed to convince people that their voices are being heard and perhaps even in the hope that people will stop with commenting and refrain for intervening. The failure to designate preferred routes, even at the application stage, naturally has this same sort of chilling effect.

For those who are with us, either through our website http://lcra-does-fbg.com, or at Facebook page, "The LCRA Wants to ruin Fredericksburg and the Texas Hill Country; Stop Them," we appreciate your support and encourage you to get involved in the process. For those of you fortunate enough not to have a reason for concern about this, we apologize for ranting about it, and are truly envious that what is happening to us is not happening to you.

Happy trails for now,

Tom

The "Stop LCRA" website is up!

2010-02-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Our new website, "LCRA Does FBG," is up and can now be accessed through this weblink. We wanted to go live before the LCRA's Fredericksburg open houses tomorrow, so the site still needs some work, but much of the content is in place. We also have a Facebook page on this issue, "The LCRA is Ruining Fredericksburg, Texas and the Hill Country; Stop Them" which you can access through this Facebook link.

For those of you who, like me until several weeks ago, have too many irons in the fire to have paid much attention to this issue, this is a critical time for the Hill Country, and we need folks who care to raise there voices on this issue and weigh in. Essentially, the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) is under contract with the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to build hundreds of miles of transmission lines from wind farms in West Texas to users in the State's major metropolitan areas. While we can argue about the efficiency of bringing electricity hundreds of miles, there exists shut-in electricity generated by the wind farms and politically the process as a whole seems unstoppable.

The devil is, of course, in the details. While we are all for the use of clean energy, we also believe that care should be given to not unnecessarily impact the areas, including our Texas Hill Country, that the transmission lines travel through. The Texas Hill Country is a particularly scenic area, dependent to a large extent on tourism, and care should be taken to preserve as much of its character as is possible. We believe this proposition should be self-evident.

But there is much reason for skepticism that the LCRA is approaching this project with the care that we feel it deserves. Here in Gillespie County and Fredericksburg, the LCRA's proposed "CREZ" routes travel through beautiful scenic areas that are treasures to us and our tourists, including flirting with the Pedernales River, and the farms and ranches along it, for some five miles.

We also are concerned that the routes seem to have been devised in a way that unnecessarily impacts some land owners by moving several different directions throughout one piece of property. On our property, the proposed lines start moving from south to north along one boundary, move across the width of our property from east to west, and then move down the other property line. On our modest farm alone, the LCRA threatens to surround us and bisect us with one and one-half miles of 160 foot by 65 foot towers and transmission lines, making the majority of our farm, and our tourist cabins, worthless and unusable. Unfortunately, we are learning we are not alone. Surely the LCRA could coordinate its routes so that the lines and towers move only once across a single owner's property, right? It would seem so.

Lastly, there has been an outcry over the LCRA's use of lattice type structures, which leave a huge physical and visual footprint, rather than single pole structures (called monopoles). Recently another company used monopoles in constructing a virtually identical project through the Hill Country. They are not attractive, but are certainly more attractive and have less of a negative impact than do the lattice type structures. Despite this, the LCRA has already begun ordering materials for the lattice type structures.

Consistently, the LCRA dumps all of its lack of responsiveness on the PUC. It says that it will use monopoles rather than lattice type structures if the PUC orders it to do so (one wonders about the materials already ordered and stock-piled). It says that the PUC, not LCRA, will eventually determine what routes are selected. In our minds this is a cop-out. The PUC will ultimately choose the routes, but it will do so from preliminary routes already set out by LCRA. If the LCRA is irresponsible in laying out preliminary routes, the PUC will have only the opportunity to choose routes from those proffered by LCRA. As it looks now, the PUC will be choosing from several bad choices, and not the best choice. The LCRA should take the blame for proffering bad routes in the first place.

As to the pole choice, clearly the LCRA is bullying its way towards its own choice, and is attempting to secure this choice by ordering materials in advance of the PUC decision. How likely is it that the PUC will waste material already purchased by LCRA?

The LCRA's application on the McCamey D - Kendall - Gillespie route is due July 6, 2010. It is likely that many proposed alternatives, including the worst ones, will remain on the map. Because of deadlines, folks will face the choice of ponying up big bucks to intervene in that application proceeding without even knowing whether they will ultimately be impacted. By approaching the issue in this manner, the LCRA and PUC will limit the number of Intervenors and pit neighbor against neighbor -- when the true enemies are LCRA and the PUC.

There is a limited time to change the process. After July 6, 2010, the only way to influence the process will be to be an intervening landowner. The time for public outcry will be over. The LCRA and the PUC need to here from the public now, before it is too late.

On LCRA, "Local" Eminent Domain, and Old Time Politicians

2010-02-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Unless you have not been paying attention to our Facebook site, which I could not blame you for lately, you know that we have found ourselves in what may shape into a battle of eminent domain with one of our Texas utilities, the Lower Colorado River Authority. This has been an eye opening experience for us and, without beating a dead horse, I would like to share my thoughts on what has transpired and what may transpire.

When I was a kid I learned about eminent domain. The city of Denton, where I grew up, condemned some land through a cemetery to make a small two lane road into a major boulevard. We kids, of course, were intrigued. What happened to those bodies that were buried in the right of way?

Since then, as a lawyer, I have dealt with eminent domain issues now and then. I was involved in high stakes litigation with a failed savings and loan, a would-be developer, and a bunch of guys who wore chains but no socks in the early 1990s over something called the Playa del Rio at the confluence of the Rio Grande River and the Gulf of Mexico. Our case was turned upside down when Ann Richards, then Governor of Texas, wrote a handwritten note to then VP Al Gore that led to the Federal Government taking the property and flipping the beaches to the State of Texas.

When we moved to the farm in Fredericksburg, we thought again some about eminent domain. The road that passes our house has become a short-cut from highway to highway. Would the county condemn part of our garden to widen the road, we wondered?

What we are faced with now was beyond our possible anticipations: a state utility, LCRA, threatens to surround our back 200 acres, and then bisect it, to deliver wind power (really?) to folks in Austin and San Antonio. They want to plant 165 lattice towers all over our farm.

Now, it has struck me. Isn't the public good that eminent domain is supposed to be used for supposed to be local? Aren't the folks who sacrifice also supposed to be at least theoretical beneficiaries of the taking? Is land supposed to be taken in one place purely for the benefit of other folks, far away, and with no common interests? This is not eminent domain as I first learned about it -- taking land in the local cemetery for widening a road. This is the kind of issue that has divided politics in another urban-rural state, New York, for years. My surprise is that it is happening in Texas. It shows what I have feared; that despite all of our "cowboy" inclinations and rhetoric, we have become a state in which rural interests are only there to be exploited by urban interests. This is not the Texas I know, and not one I want to live in.

So on to local County government. People in town that I respect say that the City and County are just down the street from one another and fifty years apart. At no time has that been more evident to me than today, at a meeting of our County Commissioners, the utility ("LCRA"), and the regulator (our state's Public Utility Commission). Our elected representatives were not informed on these issues, were old, stale, and no match for the shiny happy people sent by the utility and the regulator. What's worse, the members of the public who managed to find out about this meeting (which was deliberately "kept quiet") were much more informed than were our County reps. Now, I can understand why our County officials were not quite up to speed; they are arguing with the City about how much the City should be paid for lost trees that must be cut down for the airport here to resume night landing status. But, notwithstanding that, it was embarrassing to witness our County officials to be taken to task by the low level bureaucrats that the utility and the regulator sent to the meeting and the general public.

So here we are, informed citizens, left to our own devices in the biggest fight of our lives over thousands of citizen's land, while the County officials try to get up to speed in their spare time while arguing with the City over the price of trees. So inspiring. Maybe we would be better off if our local government would just get out of the way and let us talk to the powers that be. if you are just taking up space, get out of the way!

And that's the news from the Hill Country, where are the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the powers that be want to surround us with an industrial electrical farm.

February 2010 Newlsetter, Talk of the Farm

2010-01-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

Our February newsletter, Talk of the Farm, is now out in cyberspace.

Here is the link: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs054/1102894903317/archive/1102923601017.html.

Just copy and paste into your browser. And please subscribe if you enjoy it!

Tom

Winter/Spring Planting -- Seed and Plant Resources: Agarita Creek Farms, Farming and Farm-Stay Cabin Accommodations in Fredericksburg, Texas

2010-01-08T08:53:00.001-08:00

Well, it is the season for seed catalogs in preparation for Spring. Several of our friends have asked us who we order from. This season we have Ordered from the following companies so far:

Seeds of Change, www.seedsofchange.com (assorted heirloom/organic vegetable seeds. We love their selection of summer and winter squashes particularly, as well as eggplant, radishes, and tomatillos. Great greens mixes as well.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, www.southernexposure.com. These folks have hard to find heirloom seeds from seed savers across the south. We find varieties of beans there that we find nowhere else, as well as heirloom summer and winter squashes.

Willhite Seed, www.willhiteseed.com. Another great source for salad greens and other vegetables. They are a Texas company, and there seeds seem particularly acclimated to our region. We do not grow many hybrids, but we do fall hard for some of their hybrid squashes.

Harris Seeds, www.harrisseeds.com. A larger seed house, used by lots of growers throughout the country. Like others, they have a vast collection of greens and greens mixes. Like Willhite, they have some great hybrid squashes that we continue to buy.

Peaceful Valley, www.groworganic.com. The Neiman-Marcus of seed stores. They have a great variety of fruit trees, and we have found that the trees arrive a little larger and in a little better condition than the other fruit tree providers we have purchased from. They also tend to be grafted on to root stock that does better in the South and West than that sold by suppliers further north. We planted ten new ones this winter. We shall see how they do.

Dixondale Farms, wwww.dixondalefarms.com. We used to buy onions all over the place, but we learned that a lot of them were coming from Dixondale Farms. In keeping with our philosophy, we now cut out the middleman and buy directly from Dixondale. Great selection.

Ronniger Potato Farms LLC, www.ronnigers.com. Ronnigers is to potatoes what Dixondale is to onions. From Colorado they supply a great many of the middlemen you can more easily find. They have a huge selection of heirloom colored tomatoes and fingerlings, and our farmer's market customers crave them. They are simply awesome.

Gourmet Garlic, www.gourmetgarlic.com. A Texas company that like Dixondale and Ronnigers produces much of what is sold to gardeners in the U.S. by others. A huge variety, and a very informative website, including strong recommendations about what to plant in each area of the country. Garlic is planted in the South in October and November, but be sure to remember them next year. We are growing ten different Southern garlics this season, and they have all come up and seem to be doing well.

A cautionary note. Most of the seed sellers you have heard of are not on this list for a reason. There is nothing wrong with them, we just have a strong bias that they have a strong Northeastern bias. The information in their catalogs, and most of the seeds they sell, are meant from gardeners in Zone 7 or North. We urge you to consider the smaller Southern and Western sources we have listed, among others. We hope this helps.

To find out what works for you, check the website of the ag extension office where you are. Texas A & M has pages on its website that recommend varieties for fruits and vegetables, as well as planting dates, for almost anything that you might want to plant (unless you tend to push the envelope just for fun, as I and some others like to do).

You may notice that there are no tomatoes or pepper sources listed. This is because we do not have a greenhouse yet (although that is only weeks away), and these seeds need to be started now in the winter. There are many great suppliers of heirloom tomato and pepper seeds out there, some of which are listed here. We have had success using starting seeds in June for fall tomatoes and peppers outdoors in a protected area (we use a side yard), gradually exposing them to more sun, and moving them to larger containers, as the seedlings mature. We plant fall tomato and pepper plants in late July or early August, and of course baby them until Labor Day. The effort is worth it. If you have gardened in Texas or the South for long, you know that the fall production exceeds that of the summer. There is simply less heat, humidity, and bugs. For Spring tomatoes and peppers, we by plants from others. In Houston, we recommend Another Place in Time. They generally have plants in late February or early March. With tomatoes, if you live in our part of the world you will find the small to medium size tomatoes do well here. The larger beefsteak tomatoes require too long to do well here -- they are trying to ripen in the worst of our summer heat. An exception is the Russian tomatoes and Cherokee Purple. The most prolific tomato we grow is Yellow Pear. We grow only open pollinated and indeterminate tomatoes. In milder summers, we are able to cut them back, bury a few branches, and cut them away from the main plant to form separate plants for the fall. This worked well in 2007, when we had plenty of rain; not so well in 2008 and 2009 when we were in drought.

We try to answer all questions that come our way, to the best of our ability. When we have questions we go to the books or to the Texas Organic Farmer's and Gardener's Association. We are linked to TOFGA through our Facebook site. There annual meeting is the last weekend in January in San Marcos. Their workshop, for all levels of gardeners, is March 11 and 12. We will be there, and encourage those of you in Texas to join TOFGA and to come out as well. They are also doing a series of visits to farms who are getting it right, with the first such visit being to a farm in Brenham from 11 to 2 on January 16, in conjunction with Slow Food Austin. All of this information is on TOFGA's website and Facebook page.

Happy planting, and we hope to see you soon.

Tom
Agarita Creek Farms
Fredericksburg, Texas
http://www.agaritacreek.com/

January 2010 Newsletter -- "The Talk of the Farm" from Agarita Creek Farms, Fredericksburg, Texas

2010-01-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

Our January 2010 Newsletter, "The Talk of the Farm" is out. You can access it through the following link. Happy reading. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to link it directly to the blog by the next issue.

Thanks for your support,

Tom

Winter Specials at Agarita Creek Farms -- Fredericksburg, Texas

2009-12-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

With the cold weather comes hot savings for guests of the farm. For any stay at Agarita Creek Farms through February 28, 2010 we will be running two specials, which can be combined. We are offering weekend stays for weekday rates. You will be able to rent the Behrends cabin for only $175 per night, weekend or weekday, and the Brautigam cabin for only $195 for night. The rates have already been changed on the reservations page on our website. So come to our beautiful Texas Hill Country and stay whenever you want, and pay our lowest, off peak, rates.

In addition, we are offering a third night free with any paid two night stay. This offer can be combined with our weekday rates for weekend stays promotion to save you even more money. As a result, a three day stay at the Braeutigam cabin will be only $390 ($130 per night); a three day stay at the Behrends cabin will be only $350 ($116.67 per night). This is a deal that simply cannot be beat.

In March, with Spring Break and the wildflower season (which will be fabulous because of all of the fall and winter rain), the specials will end and the rates will go back up. But even then there is a way to save. Fans of the Farm on Facebook always save 10 percent off standard rates. So, if you are planning a trip later in the year make sure that you have become a fan of the Farm on Facebook.

Bev and I are always happy to hear from you. If you have any questions for us, be sure to drop us a line.

Bev and Tom Carnes

Agarita Creek Farms
Fredericksburg, Texas
830.896.9140

beverly@agaritacreek.com

http://www.agaritacreek.com/

Happy Holidays from Agarita Creek Farm, Bev and Tom

2009-12-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Holiday Reflections from Agarita Creek Farms and Beverly and Tom Carnes

2009-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

As we reflect on the opportunities that we have encountered through the challenges of the past year, and as we hope for a better and brighter new year, we are struck that everyone is facing challenges. Everyone has their struggles, and this year has been extremely challenging for most everyone.

As we embarked on this lifestyle change in 2008, before the economy collapsed, we were hopeful. We were moving to a place we wanted to move, for a lifestyle change we really wanted. As to the economics, we had good jobs and practices, good credit, a great house for sale in a great location, and the ability to sell additional land at the farm if we needed too. Our assumption were that all of these things would hold, and that everything would work out fine.

Then the assumptions upon which we had based our plans began to become unraveled. Hurricane Ike ravaged our Houston house just before it went on the market. Then the economy, and the real estate market collapsed. Suddenly, we found ourselves unable to sell the house, and had to hold it. With the economic collapse, people tightened their belts, and did not travel as much, so the assumptions we had about occupancy of our tourist cabins also did not pan out, even though they were very conservative. Bev has her job, and I have my practice, but the practice, albeit it busy, has to struggle with collection issues from our clients like never before -- as everyone else feels the economic pressure that we feel. This is but one story; ours. As we said at the beginning there are as many stories as there are people.

And so, as Dolly Parton would say, it is a hard candy Christmas or, to borrow another phrase, these are the "salad days." And as difficult as that is, we can and should find joy in the midst of all of this uncertainty this holiday season.

For us, we have one another, our farm, our animals. We get to live where we choose, and do what we choose. Surely we can rent that house, if we cannot quickly sell it. Surely we can cut back, here and there, and get back on top of our finances. As we look ahead to the New Year, we are probably all thinking of ways that we can retake control over our lives. I know that we are.

But maybe we can set some of that aside, just for a week or so, and thank God for what we still have, rather than stew so much about what we are going to do because of what we no longer have. At bottom, the Christmas season is not really about fancy, expensive presents, fancy parties, and luxury. It is a time to be with people we love, and to tell them that we love them. It is a time to reflect on miracles -- not only the miracle of miracles that is the reason for the holiday in the first instance, but the miracles that still happen every day, right here, where each of us live. There is no more humble beginning that the story of a boy king born in a stable to unwed parents. Out of what must have seemed like a mess can world and life changing miracles. Of of our own current difficulties can come miracles as well, internally and externally.

As we go through this season we will cling to one another, try to keep the other's chin up, enjoy the presence of family, and generally do a lot of trying to make our own fun. We are farmers and ranchers so we will be well feed, from what we grow and raise. We will take joy in sharing our abundance, the only abundance we have right now, with others that we know and some who we do not know. We will do simply things, like doing chores together and perhaps making soap or canning something. We will focus on the things that matter most, and only the things we can control. We cannot fix the economy, even for ourselves, over a Christmas holiday. That should and will have to wait for another day. Not now; it is Christmas.

May the peace of the Lord and the true spirit of Christmas infect your heart this season, so that you experience these things in such abundance that you cannot help but share them. Show a stranger some kindness. Help someone in need. Be good to those around you. Spread around what you have, don't worry about what you don't have. Through kindness and compassion you, and all of us, can all make a difference, and make someone else's load just a little lighter. Giving is certainly selfless, but also provides great returns. It is when we give, especially of ourselves, that we experience the greatest joy.

What comes next? Well, none of us know. Will it get easier in the coming year, or will it stay the same or get even harder? We certainly cannot say. We hope that things will get better and easier for all of us. But, at the same time, we are grateful for the life lessons that have been literally forced on us during the past year. We have been forced to do with less, to struggle more, and to cherish the real things we have that the economy cannot sweep away. We hold dear our friends, our family, and the simple joys of everyday life. We hope that in your adversity, you have found the same reflection and, through reflection, peace and a new joy. If you have not done so yet, that is what we wish for you this holiday season. If you have found it, we hope that it sustains you and you continue to find it in abundance this holiday and throughout the new year.

God bless each of you this holiday season,

Bev and Tom

Fall and Fall Specials at Agarita Creek Farms

2009-10-12T10:49:00.001-07:00

Fall is in the are, we have received a foot of new rain over the past month, everything is green and wonderful, and we are waiting for you to come visit us at the farm.

To entice you, we are rerunning a popular special -- weekend nights for weekday rates on our two cabins. The savings is at least $75 per night. For just a little more than a simple hotel room, you can rent a 1200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom cabin, with great amenities and stellar view that seem to go on forever.

The fall garden is in full swing, we are about to begin our sheep breeding season, the flowers are in bloom and everything is new and alive again -- after the very long drought. There is not a better time to come out. You know you want to come. With these precises, and all we have to offer right now, what are you waiting for? It simply does not get any better than it is right now.

Tom

Fall Garden Update

2009-08-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

It has been an extremely busy August on the farm. Our helper, Chris, moved back to Maine, and we have yet to even try to replace him. As a result, Bev and I are both very busy with our second jobs on the farm.

As to our summer crops, we still have abundant okra and peppers, the sweet potatoes are very close to being ready to harvest, and we still have some eggplant. It has been extremely hot and dry here, with temperatures in the mid to high nineties every evening. Watering has been a chore just to keep up. We are starting to have some form of blight with the okra, but we have been so busy that we have not even taken time out to figute out what it is. For any of you who grow okra, you know that losing a few plants is not all bad. There is still an enormous amount (gallons) to pick each day. But I would like to know what it is, if you know. The plants get all scraggly and bare in just a couple of days. Is it disease or is it a pest? I wonder.

As to the fall garden, our first beans broke through the ground today. Our peppers and tomatoes have mostly all been transplanted and are greening up after brief transplant shock.
We planted kholrabi seeds today, and started our broccoli and cauliflower seeds. Beans are planted, as are summer and winter squash -- for the second go-round. The rest of this month and next will bring much more planting, all the way into October. So far, so good.

That is about it from the farm. We are hoping for a break in the heat soon, as well as some rain. The four inches or so in the past two weeks greened everything up -- especially the second hay crop -- but there is no more rain in sight for awhile. Fall cannot get here soon enough.

We would love to see you out here this fall. And you probably would not be reading this if you did not want to come. Labor Day and Oktoberfest are right around the corner, as is better weather.

As always, thanks to those of you who follow what we are doing out here. Your emails to me keep me going.

Tom

Summer Specials at Agarita Creek Farms

2009-06-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Enjoy week day rates on weekends all summer -- rates go back to regular rates on Labor day weekend. That means you can come out to Fredericskburg and the Hill Country for the 4th and enjoy week day rates. And you can see the fireworks from the front porch, while enjoying the beverage of your choice. Who else can offer you that?

And, if you stay two nights, a third week day night is free. If you stay three nights, a fourth weekend night is free. This special can be combined with the week day rate special, and also ends just before Labor Day weekend.

Our reservation system reflects the lower rates, and we will handle the free nights during your stay.

Hey, we know times are tough all over, and it is hot -- even here. But, our low summer rates make it easier. And chances are, wherever you are in Texas it is cooler here in the Hill Country. Our mornings and evenings are still cooling off considerably.

And if you are coming out, Agarita Creek beats any other cabins, hotels, motels, or bed and breakfasts in town. We are sure that if you come once, you will come back again and again-- for Oktoberfest, for the spring wildflowers, or just for that weekend away.

So come on out soon. You know you want to come.

Farm-Stay Log Cabin Accommodations in Fredericksburg, Texas -- Agarita Creek Farms

2009-05-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

At Agarita Creek Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas, we offer farm-stay accommodations in two new traditional German-style "chink" log cabins on a beautiful ridge overlooking our farm, neighboring farms, and beyond -- into the historic town of Fredericksburg. We offer an alternative to hotels, motels, and the usual bed and breakfast accomodations, offering two two-story, two-bedroom 1200 sq. ft. houses with living and dining rooms, full kitchens, and full front porches with the aforementioned views of our part of the Texas Hill Country. Each of our cabins feature stained concrete floors downstairs, with wooden ceilings throughout, with the first floor ceiling forming the second story floor. Our kitchens and baths feature genuine Talavera tile, and our kitchens feature modern appliances, dishes, flatware, and virtually every kitchen gadget a guest could want. Each cabin features leather sofas and weathered, rustic mexican and pioneer furnishing, as well as work from local artists. Whether you decide on the Behrends Cabin or the Braeutigum Cabin, we are confident that you will find that your accomodations exceed your expectations, and provide the best place for a Texas Hill Country get-away.

We invite you to check out our website, http://www.agaritacreek.com/ our Facebook page, or to call us at 830.896.9140 at our business office, which is open 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. We also invite you to visit with us at the Fredericksburg Farmer's Market, each Thursday evening from late May through October. We think if you compare us to Fredericksburg and Hill Country hotels, motels, guest houses, cabins, and bed and breakfast accomodations, you will agree that we offer something different, and that, in this case, different is better.

On Wal-Mart and Organics

2009-05-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

So what is wrong with Wal-Mart (or Whole Foods for that matter) selling organic foods? Doesn't that make organics available to everyone, everywhere? Isn't that a good thing? Well, it is not a bad thing, generally, except that it takes the focus off of a critical element in a more earth friendly food cycle; one that is more healthy for the consumer and farmer alike. And it forever divorces two concepts that have traditionally (to the extent one can use that word in this context) and historically (ditto) been one -- it takes the local element out of the organic food movement.

Make no mistake, I am not saying that organic food is not good, it is just not enough in and of itself. You see, local food is every bit as important, or should be, as that food is produced by organic methods. Local food is fresher and healthier. Varieties can be grown because they taste good, not because they ship well. Food can be harvested at the peak of ripeness, not weeks ahead of that schedule. And massive amounts of fossil fuel are not spent for the sake of delivering food around the country and even the world.

Everyone has local food. Every region of the country. True, some seasons are shorter than others, but here in Texas we can grow something ten months of the year.

So why don't more people eat locally? At why don't Wal-Mart (and even Whole Foods) carry more than say five percent local food? The answer is simple. People have become divorced from natural cycles. They have grown accustomed to eating the same things year round. To get grapes in mid-winter one has to look to Chile, with its seasons opposite our own. The same is true of almost everything we eat.

So, what must, or should, we do instead, at least in the minds of the contrary farmer? We should eat in a way that our grandparents ate. We should try a parsnip or (God forbid) even a turnip every once in a while, in Winter, when they are in season locally. We should gorge on strawberries in late Spring and early Summer; by the time they come around again we will really, really enjoy them. We should eat the abundance of squash, tomatoes, peppers, and yes, even okra and eggplant, during summer, when a huge variety is available and they taste like something (does anyone remember what a real tomato is supposed to taste like. And when it is cool, we should enjoy spinach, lettuces, cauliflower, and broccoli. Again, what grows out here on the farm (or any good farm or garden) looks and tastes nothing like what is at the store -- even at Whole Foods.

At some point, we will have no choice. Fuel prices will, at least for a time, make the current supply chain untenable. Shipping grapes across the world will no longer be feasible. Folks will be forced to eat locally. Had $4 a gallon gasoline persisted (and it ultimately will) we would have had to face this fact sooner rather than later.

Local, in short, is just as important as organic -- both are integral to a healthier food supply. And no one is bringing you local to any large extent except your friendly neighborhood farmer or gardener. For example, in Texas, that bastion of the tofu-heads (I mean that in a good way), Whole Foods, has one regional buyer who buys a grand total of five percent of the food the stores sell locally. So don't be deceived. Is an organic onion at Whole Foods or Wal-Mart better than that same store's non-organic onion? Maybe. I like to think so. Is it a substitute for an orangically grown onion grown here at home? Not by a long shot. And in the end, even if you don't care about the shipping, use of fuel, and freshness (which is hard to imagine, if you are reading this) what would you rather do? Who would you rather spend your money with? Would you rather buy your tomatoes (in endless, heirloom variety) from the contrary farmer in your county, and help him keep farming or, alternatively, would you rather pay Wal-Mart your dollar from some organic produce it ships country-wide, if not world wide, so that Wal-Mart can keep doing what it does? Do we want more farm entrepreneurs, or do we want even more corporate farmers and Wal-Marts? That is the ultimate question.

So visit your local farmer's market. You all have one. Visit ours on Thursday afternoon/evening in Fredericksburg, at the historic Marketplatz. Go early and go often. Do something good for you, and that farmer down the road trying to send his kid to college.

Daisy, Our New Rescue Border Collie

2009-05-06T15:15:00.001-07:00

This is Daisy, our new 2 year old female border collie. She was abandoned in Cleburne, made her way through kind strangers to a vet in Hunt, who then put out the word and we adopted her. She seems to have herding instincts, and longs to work, but we are introducing her to our sheep a little at a time, and developing a relationship with her in the mean time. We, and she, will hopefully learn how to work together soon. There is much to be learned for the novice, but well intentioned, farmer and rancher.

Tom

Agarita Creek Farms' Employee of the Month - Barnabus

2009-04-28T19:46:00.001-07:00

______________________________________________________________________

This is Barnabus, our employee of the Month for April. He is a Great Pyrenees, and is the livestock guardian of our sheep. He was purchased for a mere pittance, due to his non-social character, but his job is to guard sheep and not to make human friends. He is docile and indifferent to us, but fierce to the enemies of our sheep. He eats a lot, but when he is done he stays out of the bars, and has not even demanded health insurance, a retirement plan, or a company vehicle. The voting this month was not even close. Barnabus is our employee of the month. Come see him, from a distance at least, on your next trip to see us at Agarita Creek Farms.

Our Fabulous Jacob Ewes and Lambs

2009-04-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

____________________________________________________________________

Jacob sheep were the first breed that we decided to raise at Agarita Creek Farms, and our herd of Jacob Sheep is not only our largest herd, but the largest Jacob Sheep herd, we believe in Texas. We have many fine lambs, ewes, and rams, registered and unregistered, for sale this Spring. We invite you to come to the Farm and see these remarkable animals for yourself.

Our Wonderful Dexter Cattle

2009-04-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

____________________________________________________________________

At Agarita Creek Farms, we raise Jacob Sheep and Navajo-Churro Sheep, but we are also committed to establishing an amazing herd of Dexter cattle. We are moving slowly in this regard, acquiring only the highest quality heifers and cows, as we want to build a really special herd. We are breeding for red and dun coloration, leaving the predominant black to others. We just feel that the lighter colors are better for our hot climate. We have had two calves in late 2008 and thus far in 2009 at the farm, and look forward to many more, and an ever increasing herd. Dexters are the perfect small dual purpose cow, and we are committed to raising them in a way that honors them. Check out our Dexter cows on your next visit to the farm, and you will see what we are excited about.

More Navajo-Churro Moms and a Few Lambs

2009-04-28T17:20:00.001-07:00

_________________________________________________________________

Here are a few of our Navajo ewes, some with their lambs. We are proud to be the farm that is bringing the Navajo-Churro, the sheep of the Spanish and the Navajo, to the Texas Hill Country. We have registered and unregistered rams, ewes, and lambs for sale -- to reestablish this heritage breed in Texas. Pictures do not do them justice; you need to see them for yourself. We are looking for partners who love these animals as we do, and want to establish their own herd. They are a great meat breed, placing high in all competitions among heritage breeds, are good mothers, and provide plenty of milk and outstanding fleeces. We love them, and are looking for people who love them as much as we do.

Navajo Churro Lambs -- 2009

2009-04-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Conrad, Chloe's ram lam with Santo. Conrad is registerable. He is a two horn Navajo ram lamb. Pure white.

Ysabel and Santo's registerable ewe lamb Equador. Two horned lamb with tan and grey markings.

Renee and Santo's registerable ram lamb, Roberto Clemente.

Nina and Santo's ewe Chocolat.

Amanda and Santo's registerable ewe Constance.

Name that calf!

2009-04-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today at Agarita Creek Farms we had the second calf of the year. We believe she is a she (although the other cows will not let us get close to her). She is of the long legged variety of Dexters, and is chocolate brown. What to name her? We are turning to our friends for input. Let us know what you think.

Tom

April "Facebook" Special

2009-04-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are Fans of AGF on Facebook, you know about our April special -- weekends at weekday rates. This special is only available through Facebook, through the Agarita Creek Farms Facebook page. As always there is a two night minimum. We will be running other Facebook only specials in the future, so the message is sign up for Facebook and become a fan of AGF. You will automaticaly get notice of all of our special, and automatically receive our blog, Musings from Agarita Creek Farms. It is a great way for you to keep up with what is going on at the farm, and for us to communicate with you.

Tom

Progress, at last!

2009-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

As you may have seen, our new website is up, at www.agaritacreek.com, and we will be able to take reservations over the internet soon. For now you can call us to reserve a cabin or email us to make a reservation inquiry. Our office number is (830) 896-9140, business hours Monday through Friday. Tom's cell is (832) 419-9389. The farm house is (830) 896.9140. We can be reached via email at tcarnes@thomaspcarnes.com -- for now that is the most dependable email.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, and comes to see us soon.

Tom

And the rains came

2009-03-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

The last two days have brought more than welcome rain. I am no weatherman, but I think it is the best rain we have had since July 2007. More supposedly on the way tonight, with a chance continuing into Saturday. Bring it on, we need it.

We have 14 inches of rain all year last year, after having well over 30 the year before. These things are hard to plan for. We hope that we are at the end of a drought, but that is probably reading too much into it.

The lamb count is at 31. We don't really have a Jacob/Navajo, ram/ewe, or four horn/two horn count yet. We are just catching them as they hit the ground. With all we have going, there is not time to do much more. We are happy to report no fatalities, and still only three bottle lambs -- all born the same, very cold, weekend.

The Behrends cabin is plumbed, and will be ready for occupancy when our first special guests arrive Monday, and then again Friday. The Braeutigam cabin is trailing by perhaps a week. They will be plumbed and heated for our first guests. Lest we get too boastful, we did forget to have propane installed, so our first guests will have air and heat, and running water, but the jury is still out on working stoves.

The garden benefitted from the rain. Freeze danger should be over soon. The tomatoes sitting in the kitchen may finally get planted in the next week or two.

Winter is back, although it will be short lived. For the rain, the cold temperatures are worth it. We take what we can get. That is the nature of living out here, and trying to make something of the land.

Until next time,

Tom

Cabin Progress.

2009-03-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well, you might not be able to tell by looking at this picture, with the jacuzzi still on the porch, but the first two log cabins are near completion. The last bathroom cabinets arrived today, to be installed with sinks on Monday. The concrete floor have received their poly coat. Power is on, as is the a/c, which, believe it or not, might have been used on this hot and humid Sunday.

Beginning Monday, we will go into our full court press to completion. Plumbing fixtures are to be installed. Stair railings are to go up. Furniture will, at last, be moved out of every storage place we could beg, borrow or steal.

We have two groups of friend of the farm here the following week to do a trial run. They may or may not have all curtains hung and everything perfect -- landscaping will have to wait until the site is cleaned up and the truck activity has ceased -- but they should have nice cabins to stay in.

We are now taking reservations for nights beginning Friday March 27. That will give us an extra week to work after our initial guests depart. Everything should be in place by then.

For the first time in memory, we have a good chance of rain on four different days this week. Pray for rain for us; it is sorely needed.

Guests in the coming weeks will be able to see lambing in action, and to feed one or more of our bottle lambs if they desire. The wildflowers (in the garden, no promises about the "real wildflowers given teh drought) will peak at the end of March and beginning of April. Shearing will take place as soon as we can after lambing is complete. We should have a Dexter calf born in April. The garden is all ready well on its way, and guests will be able to pick some fresh veggies to take home.

In short, it has been a long haul, but we are almost there. We look forward to welcoming you as a guest on our farm.

Tom

Spring Lambs & Cabin Status

2009-03-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Good morning from Agarita Creek Farms. I wanted to take just a minute to post an update on our progress.

Cabins. Our first two cabins, the Behrends and Braeutigam cabins, each named after former owners of our farm, are almost complete. This week we completed the air conditioning and heating work, put in kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets and sinks (we are still awaiting one bathroom cabinet), and worked on general interior cleanup. This weekend the stained concrete floors will get their polyurethane coat. Next week plumbing will be completed and the stair and balcony rails will be up, and tile work will be completed as well. At that point, we will be ready to move furniture in, install window treatments, and generally make them ready for use. We should be able to post our website, www.agaritacreek.com, by then, and begin taking reservations. Our fingers are crossed. It has been a ten month journey.

Lambs. We have twenty-two lambs so far, including three bottle lambs that are a lot of work, but are actually prospering. At this stage, we are well into our lambing of Navajo-Churros, which we began breeding earlier than our Jacobs. So far we have twenty Navajos and two Jacobs. We should be near the end of Navajo births, and are just beginning with Jacobs. We will have lambs and probably ewes for sale later in the season, after lambs are weened. We will have them on our website, www.agaritacreek.com, as soon as it is up. We will also, of course, continue to post pictures and information on our available lambs and ewes on Facebook. It has been exciting thus far, we have made our first year mistakes, and are learning from them, and are eager to see how our Jacobs do. The Navajos came through with flying colors.

Garden. Essentially, what can be planted during winter is planted. We have mature lettuce, maturing spinach, carrots, and radishes. Our Chinese veggies have broken ground and appear to be thriving. Potatoes and English peas are planted. The real planting will, of course, begin as soon as we pass our last freeze date. We are racing to complete our deer fence over the next two weeks for this purpose -- around our new two acre garden edition. We misssed asparagus already this season due to the lack of a deer fence.

The wildflowers are up, and ready to burst into action any day now. The roses and fruit trees are healthy, and beginning to bloom. Winter is indeed, almost, finally over. Pray for rain for and with us. We have not had a good, heavy rain since July 2007. Watering will be a chore and a challenge if we do not get relief soon.

Okay, that is it for this morning. Thanks to all of you who support local food and heritage livestock. We are counting on you.

Tom

Today was triplets and no bottle lambs

2009-03-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today one of our Navajo-Churro ewes successfully delivered triplets and, unlike our ewes this weekend who could not even manage two, is managing fine with three. The barnyard is full of lamb sounds and the season is only one week in. Many, many more lambs to come. For some reason the Navajos are ahead of the Jacobs. They may be finishing as the Jacobs start. I will say that our Navajo mothers are better than our Jacob mothers. Two of our three abandoned lambs are from Navajo ewes -- even though most of the lambs right now are being born to Navajos.

Bottle lambs & mixed breeding

2009-03-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

We are up to 13 lambs after this morning. The last two sets of twins have been problematic, and resulted in 1 rejected lamb per twin set. We do not know the cause. 1 mom seems to recognize the lamb, but reject it -- although she lets it feed a little (but not enough to sustain it). The other left both lambs, but reunited with one when we took it to her. The other was twenty feet away, had not been at all cleaned off, and would have died had we not found it. It has now been fed colostrum mix, bathed, and is getting blow-dried by Bev.

Does the rejecting ewe who recognized her lamb just not have enough milk to sustain both lambs? Is something else going on? As to the ewe this morning who abandoned both, at least for a time, was the birth process unusually rough? Did she just get disoriented. Does the unusual cold this morning have anything to do with it? We don't know. We just know that of the last 4, we have two lambs that are at least for now bottle lambs.

I also have to report that we now have three Jacob ewes that have given birth to totally black lambs, that we think could only have happened due to their being exposed to one of our Navajos, Miguel. We were careful not to let this happen, as we hoped to breed these Jacobs to produce more breeding Jacobs, and their planned exposures were to our breeding Jacob rams. When and how were they exposed to Miguel? We may never know. It just goes to show that where there is a will, there is a way. It also goes to show that despite what our earlier attempts to breed Miguel led us to believe, Miguel does not shoot blanks.

We can only hope that our other Jacobs actually bred with our breeding Jacobs. Time will tell.

End of Winter on the Farm

2009-02-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in mid-February. Lambing has officially begun. We have seven new Navajo-Churro lambs, three sets of twins and a single. So far more ewes than rams, which is good. But the law of averages says our twin ratio and the primacy of female births cannot hold. But beginners luck is nice. All have been born in the night, while we were fast asleep, with no complications. All were accidents -- pregnancies that occurred prior to the start of our breeding program through gate crashing. All but one is Navajo on Navajo. One is Barbado on Navajo, which is a ram and will be meat for the freezer as soon as he reaches a good size.

Just in time for lambing, we stumbled upon a Great Pyrrenees for sale for only $75 -- the cost of his neutering. He had been watching goats since he was a pup. He has been great at watching the lambs and ewes, although he does it from across the fence, as if he is too regal to actually be in the lane cooped up with them. He seems to be doing his job, although he is acutely disinterested in we mere humans -- to the point of walking away whenever we approach. He is strictly business. We named him Barnabas.

We have begun laying out the two acre garden near the house, and will plant potatoes tomorrow. We already have spinach, lettuce, radishes, and carrots coming up. The wildflowers will start popping in about a week or two -- as soon as the cold nights end. By the first week of April they will peak, but they will last well into June.

We still have had no real rain to speak of since July 2007. All you who are so inclined, please pray, dance, or do whatever you think might help.

The cabins are finally almost finished. We will have our first scheduled guests the week of March 16. We will then rest awhile before building the next ones, building a yurt in between.

All in all, things are good and right. We continue to have beginner's luck, which has not extended to the rain.

This will be a busy weekend, and we will post garden and lamb pictures as we go.

God bless,

Tom

Surprise lambs continued

2009-02-12T16:58:00.001-08:00

We had another surprise lamb this morning. Father is Miquel, our original Navajo-Churro ram. Mother is Maddie, another Navajo-Churro whose fertility was an open question - until today. The result, a beautiful, healthy, Navajo-Churro lamb born into the freeze this morning.

The "planned" lamb crop is two weeks or so away. Stay tuned.

Surprise Lambs

2009-02-11T18:03:00.001-08:00

Okay. So we planned our lambing this season down to the last detail. Separate breeding groups. Separate pastures. Lambs should have begun to drop in late February. And then, on February 10, two weeks early, we awaken to two new Navajo-Churro lambs. One black; one tan (and looking very much like a Barbado in coloration). Born of Holly, who at five had never lambed. Immaculate conception? And, if not, who is, who are, the daddies? Did Pedro, our Barbado, secretly court Holly? Did Miguel, a Navajo, who bears a close resemblance to the black lamb? What happened? We may never know. But the lambing season has begun at Agarita Creek. The first two of perhaps fifty lambs. Stay tuned.

Our Navajo-Churro Sheep

2009-01-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Our Navajo-Churro Sheep

Navajo-Churros were the first breed that we committed to raising at Agarita Creek farms. Thus far we have only fifteen -- twelve ewes and three lambs. Like our Jacobs, we run both registered and unregistered Navajo-Churros. Unlike the Jacobs, because of a difference in registration philsophies, we hope to be able to register all of our unregistered Navajo-Churro sheep.

We have bred most of our ewes this year to Santo, our herd sire, who we purchased from a breeder in Missouri. He is a majestic animal with beautiful color, and we cannot wait to see his offspring. Several of our ewes were also exposed to Miguel -- and we await lambing season to see whether this exposure resulted in Miguel fathering any lambs.

One might wonder, if this was the first breed we chose, why are the numbers so low relative to our numbers of Jacob Sheep. The answer is one of geography. Most of the large breeders of Navajos are in Arizona, Utah, and the Pacific coast. We have shown our willingness to travel far for sheep, but have been unable thus far to take a trip so far west. Perhaps next year.

Our Navajos are a bit wilder than our Jacobs, and exist more or less in their natural environment, where they thrive. We hope to grow our Navajo flock to forty or fifty in the coming years, through both breeding and acquisition.

Our Jacob Sheep

2009-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Our Jacob Sheep

We did not intend to, in our first year, acquire forty Jacob Sheep. We did not intend to immediately become what we believe to be the largest breeding operation of Jacob sheep in Texas. It just worked out that way; largely due to the liquidation, and our purchase of much of, the Stack/Millennial Way flock, from Arkansas. That purchase, after we have already acquired many Jacobs, was simply an opportunity we could not pass up.

We bought our first Jacob ewe with four Navajo-Churro ewes from a California breeder, who was moving to Georgia, in early 2008. These five sheep were our first entre into the world of livestock. The four Navajo-Churros from that initial purchase, have thus far failed to breed (they had not apparently previously been bred), and we have learned that our Jacob from that purchase, who has become our pet, Tillie, is a relative mutt, but it started us on the path of admiring, and aquiring Jacob and additional Navajo-Churro sheep.

At present, we have thirty-four Jacob ewes, two Jacob rams, and three Jacob ram lambs in waiting. They hail from California, Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Their aquisition has put many miles on our new Dodge Ram pickup. They are registered and unregistered, although our emphasis and recent growth is in our registered flock. Most of our ewes are, hopefully, bred for Spring 2009 lambing. We hope to both selectively build our flock and sell many of our initial lamb crop.

We plan to continue to run two flocks. Our "breeding" flock will be our registered Jacobs, and we will intend to breed something really special from our sheep -- two and four-horned, black and lilac, small and large. We will also continue to breed our unregistered flock for meat production, hoping to develop a market for Jacob lambs in Central Texas. We also obviously plan to develop a market for natural colored Jacob wool, black, brown, gray, and other colors, here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, which we now are very fortunate to call our home.

Our Dexter Cattle

2009-01-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

Our Dexter Cattle

As with all of our livestock, this is our first year with Dextle Cattle. We started with C-C, a registered heifer from a breeder in Navasota, Texas. C-C is red, horned, and is small even for a Dexter. She was born in September, 2007, and will be bred with a small Dexter bull for calving in Spring 2010.

Our second acquisition was Hilda, a registered Dexter cow who was the champion mature Dexter cow at the 2008 Houston Livestock Show and Exposition, and is bred to the champion bull. Hild is a dun color, and horned. Hilda came to us through Block Creek Ranch, near Comfort, Texas, which owned both her and her sire. Their calf, born December 13, 2008, is dun bull calf that we have named Levon.

Our third acquisition was named Tara Cotta when we bought her, but we have changed her name to what was probably intended, Terra Cotta. Terra is, we believe, pregnant and should calf Spring 2009. She is a dun cow, with no horns. Terra is the most personable of our cows and that, combined with her lack of horns, will make her our family milk cow.

We plan to grow our Dexter herd in the coming years, through artificial insemination with outstanding bulls. We will continue to breed for dun and red colors. Two of our cows have the recessive "bull-dog" gene, so we are breeding them to gene negative bulls. Hopefully, we will be able to breed this recessive gene out of our herd in the coming years. It is only adverse physically to a calf if both the cow and sire possess the gene.

Dexter Cattle

2009-01-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

Everything that is old is new again. And such is it with Dexter cattle. Dexter cattle are an old Celtic breed of cattle bred since at least the very early 1800s in Ireland. There is much mythology about the breed's origins. What we do know is that it originated in Ireland, along with the Kerry, with whom it was grouped indiscriminately for many years, was brought to the U.S. by the very early 1990s, and has always been predominately black, although we know from paintings that the dun color has existed from the 1800s, and that red is also, at least now, the predominant color in a minority of Dexters.

Dexters are a dual purpose, small, family cow. They are a beef cow that is coveted because of its smaller cuts of lean quality meat, which scores high on taste test of heritage and conventional breeds. They produce milk high in butterfat content at the highest rate per pund of any known breed. They are docile, calve easily, and are highly adaptable.

There are multiple breeder associations for Dexters in the U.S., and these associations, together with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy have increased the focus on the Dexter as a breed and have caused its numbers to recover in recent years. The benefits of the Dexter are obvious. They are small, highly efficient, and are, therefore, a great breed for the small farm. They were never "bred up" as were other breeds in the U.S. which generated commercial interest, and have none of the birthing and other problems associated with such breeds. They are truly dual purpose, yielding succulent beef and yielding high amounts of quality milk. These attributes have made the Dexter an increasingly popular choice, especially on relatively small farms.

Jacob Sheep

2009-01-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Jacob sheep are an ancient domesticated breed of sheep. Jacob sheep have been bred in England in their present form for over 350 years. But their historical antecedents may go back, as some people believe, to the Old Testament, to the spotted sheep of Jacob, father of the twelve Hebrew patriarchs -- the leaders of the twelve tribes.

In what is now Syria, young Jacob worked for his uncle Laban -- his wage being that he was given all of the spotted animals. Jacob placed spotted branches around nearby watering holes, believing that this would cause the ewes to conceive spotted lambs. In a dream, God instructed Jacob, with perhaps the more sound advice to breed only spotted rams. Jacob created an almost entirely spotted flock in what must be one of the earliest documented examples of selective breeding.

Jacob Sheep came to the U.S. via Britain, in the early 1900's for use zoos and animal parks. Greater numbers began to be imported in the 1950's and 1960's. By the late 1980's, the Jacob Sheep Breeders Association was established. Along with the American Livestock Breeds Association and the Jacob Sheep Conservancy, the JSBA has been instrumental in establishing this rare breed in the United States. In fact, during the 1970's the breed almost became instinct in its home of Britain. It was, ironically, American Jacobs that helped restore the breed there.

So why raise Jacobs? Well, first, there is the story and lineage, whether actual or wistful, with that first flock of documented spotted sheep in the Old Testament. There is the naturally colored fleece, prized by hand spinners and weavers. And then there are those horns -- sometimes two, sometimes four, and sometimes even six. Like most animals that have been spared "breeding up," they retain their survival characteristics, lamb easily, are generally resistant to parasites, and are well adapted. In addition, they recently came in third place in a taste test of many heritage sheep breeds. They are a versatile, unique breed that is a distinct pleasure to observe and raise.

Navajo-Churro Sheep

2009-01-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

Like Spanish Goats, the Spanish explorers also brought the first sheep to America, beginning in the late 15th century, with Cortez and Coronado, and continuing through the late 16th century, with Don Juan Ornate'. The Navajo-Churro Sheep of today descended from the flocks brought over by the Spanish, and nurtured by the Native Americans. The name Churro is the corrupted version of the Spanish word "Churra," meaning simply "sheep."

The Navajo have had several challenges. They have survived the climate of the desert southwest. They have endured near extintion in the Indian Wars, as the U.S. Cavalry was instructed to kill the Indians' livestock, as part of their efforts to defeat Indian civilization. Kit Carson, purportedly resisted, but eventually followed orders, leading the Indians to hide their prized churras in caves. They have endured a forced reduction at the behest of the U.S. government in the face of the dorughts of the 1930s. By the mid-1970s, when they were rediscovered by those interested in conserving heritage breeds, there were less than 500 Navajo-Churros left in the United States, mostly on reservations.

With the assistance of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the Navajo Sheep Project and, ultimately, the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association, numbers have recovered. There are now over 5,000 registered Navajos, and approximately 200 breeders.

So why breed Navajo-Churros? To understand, first you have to see these majestic animals; their nobleness; their stance and carriage; their multi-colored fleeces. Beyond this, there is, of course, adaptability to harsh climates -- hot and cold; dry and dryer. There is their innate survival and mothering instincts bred out of many commercial breeds. There are the multiple horns -- on ewes and rams. There is the range of natural colors of their fleece, highly sought by spinners and weavers. There is their lean and tasty meat. They have been singled out by Slow Foods USA as a healthy, natural food source that is endangered. They are actually triple purpose -- yielding high quality milk and dairy products for a growing sheep's milk market. One no longer has to look to Europe for fine sheep's milk cheeses; they are available right here from an animal that an animal who has been here since the first European explorers; an animal prized by our Native Americans who have made them such a large part of their culture that they have proclaimed, in an annual festival, that "Sheep is Life." Sheep is life indeed, and anyone who prizes antiquity, history, adaptability, and authenticity in an animal cannot help but appreciate the nobleness of the Navajo-Churro Sheep.

Heritage Livestock

2009-01-25T16:08:00.001-08:00

At Agarita Creek Farms, we are committed to open-pollinated and heirloom plants and heritage breeds of livestock. When we decided to raise livestock, we immediately decided to raise heritage breeds. Why? It is quite simple really. We are what are called contrary farmers. As we began to learn about agriculture, the overwhelming and obvious lesson was that modern agriculture, and its mechanistic approach, had created the problems that family farmers have been living through now for over half a century. We are convinced that many problems with modern livestock, from parasites, to disease, to problems in birthing offspring, can be traced to the "breeding up" of animals in the past century for more "economic" meat and milk production. While not widely held, our view had been adopted by others before us. We quickly discovered the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, which not only shares our view as to the source of many problems in livestock breeding, but is dedicated to preserving American heritage breeds of livestock.

We are initially raising three breeds of heritage livestock, in an effort to preserve these breeds in Texas -- Jacob and Navajo-Churro Sheep, and Dexter cattle. We chose these breeds because of their adaptability to our Texas Hill Country conditions, the lack of "breeding up" and the resulting retention of natural insticts and survivability, and the histories of each of these breeds.

In the future, we will add heritage chickens, ducks, turkeys, donkeys, and perhaps other animals to our domain. Our principles in selecting breeds for these species will be the same -- animals adaptable to our environment, who exist in their more or less natural state, and who share noble characteristics. We invite you to read further about each of our breeds, and to learn with us as we evolve in the future.

What is Going to Have to Pass for a Mission Statement

2009-01-17T16:44:00.000-08:00

In business today, it is considered essential to have a mission statement. I think this is largely a good thing, and I think it is wise for us as individuals, spouses, parents, and families to do this from time to time again. January, with the beginning of the year, seems to be the natural time to do so. Shorter days on the farm also make this the best time to contemplate what we are doing, what we will not do, and the reasons why for both categories.

We are beginning farmers and ranchers -- not quite "Green Acres" (I just got that double entendre; it went right over my head when that show was on when I was a child), but close. Bev grew up here, on land that included this farm, but her Dad (as was probably both wise and prevalent at that time) made sure all three of his daughters went to UT and got non-farm jobs in cities. For my part, I stayed as far as possible from farming and ranching for my entire pre-farm life.

We are here, not because we know what we are doing, but out of expediency and a desire to enrich our lives. Expediency, because we were fortunate enough to be "given" the land (I put the word given in quotes because we have found that just maintaining the farm takes a big chunk of our non-farm income) and had to find something to do with it, and some way to help pay for it through its own operations. The lifestyle part of the equation is probably not unique to us at all; many people probably share our desire to get more connected to the land, do something tangible with our hands, and try a lifestyle different from that which we experience as young and then not so young professionals in Houston.

So what is it we hope to accomplish? First, we hope to become more self-sufficient, in many ways. We want to sell more food than we buy, rather than vice-versa. We want to raise our own vegetables, fruits, sheep, cattle, and ultimately chickens and goats. Self-sufficiency is a common sentiment, particularly in these tough economic times (which did not even exist as we determined to move forward). But for us it goes beyond just a balance sheet concept. This farm and ranch, like many, had embraced mono-culture and a commodity approached to agriculture that became prevalent in the second half of the past century. Self-sufficiency, in terms of producing vegetables, eggs, chickens, cheese, etc. for the table disappeared. Instead, it followed the models of the corporate farm -- embedded in specialization. The thinking was probably more innocent than first appears. Specialization can work on a local scale. The cattleman can focus on cattle, and trade what he has (or the dollars that he made in pursuing his trade) with local dairy, poultry outfit, truck farm. That makes sense. The problem is the logical extension is to specialize, usually a oxymoron of sorts because in most communities that means specialize in whatever commodity is prevalent, and buy everything else from the HEB or the Wal-Mart. This model puts the family farm in competition with agri-business, breaks down the self-sufficiency of the local economy, and the local nature of the market and, ultimately, destroys the fabric of the community.

These are, of course, our opinions; no one has to share them. But our opinions explains why we have elected a different path.

A very good farming writer, Gene Logsdon, who is a hero of mine, calls himself a "contrary farmer." He calls himself that because he does not buy into the industrial model as it applies to farming. He sees defects in the application of the model to agriculture (and indeed to life and business in general), some of which I have set forth above -- although not nearly as well as does Gene. I commend Gene's books, as well as the books of others, to anyone who wants to pursue, or is interested in, family farmer in this century.

What we believe is that family farming should not be a mono-culture. That commodity crops should generally not be grown by the family farmer, unless he and his family intend to eat them, as an alternative to buying them (which generally is not even a good economic decision in our experience). He should not raise the sheep, cattle, or goats that the corporate farmers, or their inadvertant family farmer followers, raise. He should address the micro-market of folks who are hungry and thirsty for what he really has to offer that the corporate farmers and their family farm followers do not -- something unique. In our opinion, family farmers should be growing what is not readily available at a low price -- heirloom vegetables, specialty fruits and nuts, and, if he sells animals for meat, he should sell antique breeds of livestock not bred up during the past century to be carttoon versions of the livestock people originally raised and sold in this country.

We believe that this farmer should know and sell directly to his customers -- through farm stands, through farmer's markets, and through community sponsored agriculture ("CSA's"). We believe the US government has made the word "organic" meaningless, and organic certification should not be the goal for the family farmer, but that the farmer should, nonetheless, refrain from the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on anything that he expects a human being to eat. (Ultimately, we think the same should apply to animals. But buying local animal feed we think should be a higher goal than buying organic animal food; so sometimes one has to choose non-organic hay, grains, and other animal feeds for the sake of buying locally).

We believe that the self sufficient, diverse, family farmer of a century ago should be the model that we all strive for. Not forsaking technology, or what we did learn in the past century of farming, but forsaking the mechanistic model of farming that family farmers bought into, until they could neither buy or buy into anything else.

We believe the family farm of today and tomorrow should minimize inputs other than labor, which will probably be increased. We believe that one should hold off buying equipment to the extent and for as long as possible. We believe most equipment would be more logically shared by several family farms. How many rusty combines sit in sheds on farms all over this land?

We believe in treating customers and animals alike with dignity. We believe in treating customers honestly. We believe the most important role of the family farmer is probably reeducation -- of himself, of other family farmers, and of consumers. Everyone has gotten to where they don't expect much, and either don't know any better or have forgotten.

These are trying times. Farmers and farm operations will fail; probably on a large scale. Most small farmers will probably either have to keep, or get, day jobs -- proving additional money and subsidizing their farm "lifestyle." We have no illusions of quitting our day jobs to focus exclusively on this labor of love.

This mission statement, like any, is and probably should be a work in progress. But this is where we stand. We invite input -- like minded or contrary. It takes all kinds and all minds. God bless.

Winter at the Farm

2009-01-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

Winter, I am finding, is a strange time at the farm. There is much clearing to be done for Spring planting. Eventually, with much work, everthing returns to its empty, clean state, which is a bit cathartic. Seeds and plants are ordered, delivered, and ready for planting. The sheep and cows become more and more dependent on us for food. The cycles change -- diametrically opposed from what they will be in just a few weeks when grass and plants overrun the place, and the animals do not need us -- but the farm does. Cycles are comforting. It reminds me of school. Fresh starts each season.

The spring wildflowers are green, healthy, and ready to flower as soon as the warm weather takes hold for more than a passing few days. The cabins continue to progress, and look to be ready for the Spring season. Lambing is just around the corner. Lambing to be followed by shearing. Shearing to be followed by months of harvest, fighting back weeds, and trying to sell the food we have cultivated. Our time for thought, and planning, will soon disappear into urgent activity. It has been nice while it has lasted. I will learn to look forward to this time of year on the farm.

Hello from Agarita Creek Farms!

2009-01-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Hi, this is Tom Carnes from Agarita Creek Farms LP in Fredericksburg, Texas. Agarita Creek Farms is a ranch, which raises heritage breeds of livestock recognized by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. At this early stage in our operations, we raise Dexter cattle, Jacob sheep, and Navajo-Churro sheep. We are also a farm -- raising feed for our livestock and also operating a market vegetable garden. Lastly, we provide farm stay tourist accommodations -- currently in the form of two German-style log cabins, each with two bedrooms, and each with approximately 1200 sq. ft. Each cabin is two story, and has a full kitchen and all modern amenities. To communicate with our customers, or those that might become our customers, we have done two things. We have posted an Agarita Creek Farms page on Facebook, which can be accessed through Facebook directly or through my account (/thomaspcarnes). Secondly, we are forming a "Friends of Agarita Creek Farms" page on LinkedIn. We intend to post our periodic blog -- happenings on the farm, announcements, and special offerings -- on LinkedIn and Facebook to our "friends." This will enable us to be in regular contact with our friends without sending out blast email, hopefully making us nimbler and improving communication.

In short, we hope those that are interested join one or both of our user groups. We think this technology will simplify business communications, focus them on ones who want to receive them, and enable us to better serve our customers. We hope you will join us.