Foundation Livestock & Naturally Raised Lamb, Pork & Poultry

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2006

The owners of Western Spirit Ranch, Ed & Debbie Carpenter, along with Ed’s Mother, Elinor, wish you all a safe, Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

As we laid-in the last of our conserved forage for the winter this month, dug out from a blizzard in late November and buttoned things up around the ranch for the cold months ahead, we reflected once again on the events of another busy year.

We set out in early spring to take another shot at locating a ranch property we could expand to. After one false start, allot of internet searches, long drives around the State and finally, one quirky event, we found the acreage we had been looking for. Through the efforts of several people, we closed on that property in July.

The work of getting a hacienda designed, well permits obtained and preliminary infrastructure development has started. We hope to be living at the new ranch by fall of next year.

While the WSR business activity pared back significantly, the Immanuel Alpacas business blossomed. Debbie has diligently and persistently worked toward her concept of superior fiber and now has a genetically diverse herd with some excellent fiber producers in it. Elinor has kept up her efforts as well to fulfill her Alpaca aspirations by moving to the Ranch and adding a couple of more girls to her herd.

Coming into the summer, we were facing another year of drought. But, the Good Lord prevailed and summer proceeded into the afternoon shower cycles we are more accustomed to.

We must warn readers of bad and illegal hay dealers in Colorado. We ran into a pair that cost us several thousand dollars, which we are in the expensive process of trying to recover. They are now being pursued by the State Department of Agriculture for their illegal activity. For more information, contact: Colorado hay and Forage Association http://www.coloradohay.org/controller/home?_load=default or the State of Colorado Department of Agriculture “Hay Directory” http://www.ag.state.co.us/Mkt/hay/TableofContents.html. Both are outstanding organizations, focused on helping our industry and keeping out the bad-guys.

Speaking of organizations, we cannot say enough good things about the folks at Colorado Proud. Check their site out for access to great products and ag-people:
http://www.ag.state.co.us/mkt/COProud/CO Proud Program.html

So, while you are finishing up the end of your year or beginning a new one, remember our Americans in uniform, thank them for their service to our country and give thanks that you can read this in freedom; as Americans, our most precious gift.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2006

Western Spirit Ranch is going through a metamorphosis, both in response to some outside influences to our business and by design.

First, Ed has been working in Iraq and now Afghanistan for over two years now; directly supporting the military and the reconstruction of Iraq. This time away from the ranch and the business has begun to have a predictable impact on growing the service offerings of WSR and maintaining its emerging customer base.

Second, Ed and Debbie have decided to pare back the business to a level that is sustainable until Ed returns from the war-zone in Spring of 2007. This means not offering any meat for the 2006 season, culling the sheep flock to a strong foundation/genetic base, not growing the pork or turkey elements of the business. Further, we have dropped goat meat and sold our beloved herd of breeding Boer does.

In the meantime, the Alpaca business is booming. Debbie and Elinor [Ed’s mother] are fully consumed with Alpaca breeding, birthing, showing and agisting these fine animals. That website may be viewed at http://www.immanuelalpacas.com/.

Elinor has moved onto the ranch with her dog, Sunshine and could not be more pleased with the lifestyle and weather of Colorado. She is a wonderful addition with her feistiness, humor and ability to help out with the paperwork.

We have also closed on 99 acres of raw ranch land 16 miles east of Kiowa, Colorado. The property straddles the middle fork of Bijou Creek with plenty of good bottom land and established hay fields. We have started development plans and will implement those Spring of 2007 with the intent of moving our operation to that property.

The weather this year, which started out promising a severe drought, was mitigated in June, when the classic summer monsoons returned to this area of Colorado. The afternoon thunderstorms became consistent and brought much needed precipitation. The livestock have benefited by regular access to unstressed pastures. We are grateful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for this reprieve from what could have been an agricultural disaster.

None the less, conserved forage prices have skyrocketed from other hay producing areas being hit by drought, along with the inordinate increase in diesel fuel costs. So, as we move into the fall season, we have experienced many blessings and are faced with cost issues not unique to ranching.

But, with good health, the grace of friends, family and plenty of prayer, we are able to sustain a vision; joining fellow ranchers in a unique lifestyle we believe is worth preserving.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2006

June has left us wondering about the weather. As we have reported for the past two months, the amount of moisture we normally get has been down and the amount of wind has been up. Our pastures have been placed into a sorry state for the lack of rain.

On June 16, 2006, Colorado Governor Owens declared 25 out of the State’s 64 counties as disaster areas. Elbert County was among the list of 25. Our neighbors to the north and to the east have been harder hit and for a longer period of time. Our prayers go out for them.

We continue to grow out our turkey flock, with the addition so-far of five new chicks. Taking them from their mother was a little problematic, but better that then becoming a sly fox’s appetizer. We will return them to the flock in August.

The first part of July we will start selling some of our Southdown sheep at auction. Demand for breeding stock is not what we had hoped, so we are decreasing the flock of sheep. The same for our Boer Goat herd. We sold our Boer buck earlier this year and have elected to not breed our Boer does again until next year.

Our meat production for this year will be trimmed back as well. This comes as a result of Ed’s off-farm assignment in Iraq, which has hurt his ability to be home to market and sell our products. We are still taking pre-sold orders for lamb meat for late summer and fall.

Debbie has continued to focus on the Alpacas with a shearing of the entire herd in early June. She is preparing for the six baby Alpacas [cria] this year, with one due anytime.

We want to take a moment and give a special “thank you” to the people who have been helping with our agriculture business during the first two quarters of 2006. We have been truly blessed with their care and support!

Gigi Jones, CPA, Elizabeth, CO
Leon Anderson, DVM, Elizabeth, CO
Beverly Wolf, Webmaster, Wolf-on-Web
Linda Stafford & Melody Shepherd, Business Banking, Wells Fargo, Parker,CO
Bill Fisher, Swine Consultant, Illinois
Dallas Gilbert, Rancher, Consultant, Friend, Elbert County
Judy Fuller, Fuller Southdowns, Watertown, S.D.
Wendy White, Colorado Dept. of Agriculture, “Colorado Proud”
Judy McNerny, Attorney, Carpenter & Klatskin, P.C., Denver, CO
Frank’s Feed and Supply, Elizabeth, CO
Karla Severin, Farm Credit Services of the Mountain Plains, Greeley, CO
Jim Digby, Broker/Owner, Co-Ka-Ne Consultants Real Estate Company, Kiowa, CO
Keith Westfall, High Plains Survey, Elizabeth, CO!
 

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

MAY 2006

Unseasonably dry weather continued in May. While the clouds formed over the Front Range and thunderheads spread their anvil-tops in menacing ways above the plains, we experienced only ‘virga’ [precipitation that falls from rain clouds but evaporates before reaching the ground]. This is a very unsettling trend. Our pasture grasses are drying up before they become established. Even the noxious weeds we battle each year are coming up poorly.

The result of this will be dependence on more purchased conserved forage for feeding livestock and keeping the livestock off the pastures for extended periods of time. Such is the variability and difficulties of leading an agricultural enterprise in a semi-arid environment. Livestock welfare, meat quality and customer satisfaction all rank “number one” in our approach to this niche business.

We finally found the ranch land we have been looking for! Now we can expand and provide for our planned growth, access to management intensive grazing methods and growing our own conserved forages. Our new facility is located 40 miles east and south of our present ranch. Although it is 100 acres of raw pasture and bottom land, we are looking forward to arranging the livestock facilities that benefit from what we have learned at our current location. Of primary interest is ensuring a robust environmental mitigation plan. To do this, we have located an environmental consultant, who will provide the science elements of the Plan. We have already seen wild turkey, raptors, mule deer, antelope and coyotes on the property. A mountain lion was sighted in the bottom land by another party a month or so ago. Issues surrounding the efficiency of water and feed distribution, manure management, livestock handling, pasture rotation and ranching in winter conditions can also now be mitigated through forethought and planned layout.

We are certainly blessed by this new land opportunity on a homesteaded piece of property that was certified by President Benjamin Harris in 1890. Western Spirit Ranch can now continue to service local customers along the entire ‘Front Range’ and still be close to the Denver airport for air-freighting products to other regions of the country.

Meanwhile, the work continues. Orders are starting to come in from parties looking for summer cookout quality lamb and goat meat. We also cooked some of our own product for ranch guests during the month and received rave comments for its flavor and texture. All-natural, all grass-fed and nurturing animal husbandry does make a difference! Call today to make your order!
 

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2006

The snows arrived again in March. Most were more of a threat than a reality in terms of inches deposited and moisture delivered. The winds were more problematic and nearly incessant on some days. The dry weather of February and moving into March coupled with the winds, made for perfect wildfire conditions. Some fires started in our area causing us to reestablish a ranch fire protection and escape plan.

We started back into raising turkeys this month. We had lost our prize Bourbon Red mating pair a year and a half ago due to some breaches in common sense biosecurity measures. If you have ever had turkeys, you know what an interesting and enjoyable bird they can be. Our good friend Dallas Gilbert [see our ‘Links’ page on this website for Eastern Plains Coop] dropped off a young pair of Narragansett’s at the beginning of April. We look forward to collecting their eggs and, using Dallas’ incubator, hatch a clutch of young ones in an effort to sustain this beautiful turkey breed.

We have one more lambing effort this month with the Southdowns. The lambs born in February are fat and happy now that tail docking and neutering is over. This is also the season that we keep a close watch on increasing parasite loads, which stress the livestock and affect efficient utilization of their grass feed. Our two bottle-fed lambs are anxious to meet knew friends and are joining the others in eating primarily conserved forage at this point. We only crutched the ewes in January, so shearing will take place this month. The sheep will again appreciate shedding their wooly fleeces!

All the Boer goat does are pregnant, so there are kids on the way, certainly during April. They are another joy to watch grow, investigate and play. They have a large ‘goat yard’ with plenty of things to climb up on. We sold our Boer buck in March and will start the hunt for a more compatible buck for our line of goats.

Our pig consultant, Bill Fisher has been working with Ed on our feasibility analysis the past couple of months. We have decided to bring in and grow Berkshire pigs, once we are moved and set up for them. In the meantime we will continue to complete our business and animal care plan in preparation for their arrival. Western Spirit Ranch will be the first Berkshire Association members in Colorado. We look forward to promoting this heritage breed and again produce superior pork products.

Issues ahead are closing on our expanded ranch property, preparing for Avian Influenza, attending the May 2006 Great Western Alpaca Show [www.alpacabreeders.org/gwas/2006/], the 2006 Top of the Rockies Sheep Sale, keeping up with our family and many friends in agriculture, marketing our brand label and continuing to live God’s plan.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2006

Ed returned from an overseas assignment in early February on the day that lambing kicked off with a set of twins! Lambing continued up until February 22 and produced many excellent ewe-lambs. Most of these will either be replacement ewes for the flock or sold for starter / replacement ewes with other producers. A second run of lambing will occur in April.

This year produced two ‘bummer’ lambs that were, for one reason or another, rejected by their mothers, requiring us to adopt them with four bottle feedings a day. They were both ewe-lambs and were given the names of Sugar and Margarita. We quickly became their surrogate mothers. In-turn, they will become ‘ambassador’ sheep for the ranch, willing to come up and greet visitors. Their presence outside the paddocks was also good for the ranch dogs, which either tolerated or moved away from them when they approached looking for mama’s milk!

The great horned owls we have around our place were very interested in nighttime viewing of the wooly newcomers; especially when mother ewes were busy eating conserved forage. We are not certain that they would enter the feeding paddock, but know that our guard llama would not be of much help with a clever owl. All lambs and mothers were locked up in the lambing sheds for the night.

Mom came to visit for a few days and we thoroughly enjoyed her company. It caused Ed to break out his best cookbooks and do some serious ranch-style cooking for the group!

We had a long-awaited visit with Dallas Gilbert of Eastern Plains Cooperative [see our ‘Links’ page on this website]. He is a sincere and very capable rancher with a forward-thinking perspective on the farm-to-fork movement. Look him up!

The manure-based compost was worked and inspected. We have some excellent compost churning away under the heaping cover of straw and have committed to making a nearby paddock a test paddock for a stand of native grasses, using our own compost.

Toward the end of the February the weather warmed up to 60 degrees during the day and allowed for much needed cleaning and rearranging of the main barn.

March will be our wettest month of the winter, with more snows falling during that period. But, springtime is just around the corner after that and the ranch will come alive with preparations for Alpaca shows, new Boer goat kids and budding pasture grasses.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2006

While the snows of winter continue to filter out our way, a very special annual event is occurring out at Western Spirit Ranch in February: Lambing!

Some of our Southdown ewes began “bagging up” in late January, getting ready to provide through their rich milk to the little newcomers, essential colostrum. While colostrum decreases over time in the ewe’s milk, during the first 24-48 hours it is critical to providing lambs with immunoglobulins [a natural means of preventing infections], an energy source from which to produce heat [which helps avoid hypothermia] and prepares their small intestine for absorbing nutrition. The ewes have also had their own nutrition increased during the past month with a mixture of alfalfa and grass hay for good sources of calcium, along with continued free access to minerals. Proactive prevention measures have produced healthy, strong lambs each year and those lambs start “filling out their jammies” [our phrase for growing!] very quickly with solid nutritional practices.

Debbie has also checked and replenished our lambing supplies so when we go on “lamb-watch”, we are ready. Our lambs are born in birthing cribs in the lambing shed where mother and lambs can be observed, provided proper nutrition, care and an opportunity to bond. They are only there for 2-3 days, then released back into the flock. The expectant ewes do come in to the shed and watch the newly born lambs with interest and protective concern. The guard llamas [we have four; one for each livestock flock or herd] immediately start their bonding process with the lambs, kids and crias. These are very gentle and nurturing processes to observe.

Winter is also a wonderful time to catch up on continuing educational reading, finalizing annual budgets and forecasts and preparing for that other annual event: taxes!

Some great tools out there for the small rancher are MS Front Page for keeping your website up-to-date; Business Plan Pro for writing and maintaining your business plan. We use a professional CPA for our taxes and business plan consulting [see “Links”].

Some sites anyone getting into or actually operating a small farm / ranch will find very helpful are: http://www.newfarm.org/ and http://www.nal.usda.gov/ and http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/

We are also working on our business plans to expand into providing raw pet food feedstock and restart pork production. To do this we need a larger property. If you know of any viable ag-land possibilities in Colorado, we would love to hear from you!

Speaking of that, we would love to hear from you with any questions or comments! Just use the “Contact” button for sending us an email. We will promptly reply.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter

WESTERN SPIRIT RANCH NEWSLETTER

JANUARY 2006

January in our area is typically cold and influenced by the snow storms that blow East off the Rocky Mountain Front Range and out across the plains of America.  Windy and blizzard conditions are not uncommon.

During fall, we prepared to ensure that our livestock all have reasonable, manageable and protective shelter for this season.  This includes stock tank heaters for fresh, potable water from our well system and protected feeding areas for the worst weather. 

Deep bed areas within housing for the goats seem to work well; while tough to strip and clean, this must be done to keep down the build up of ammonia fumes.  PDZ works well, before spreading more bedding down in their area.  They have a nice southern exposure which they enjoy lying out in during the warmer parts of the day.

The ewes are collectively housed up the hill in a long, southward facing shed, which will be partially converted into lambing cribs in February.  They have access to grass paddocks, and protected pens, too.  There are two doors on the primary structure, which provide plenty of ventilation and protection for the young lambs during cold periods.

The rams have a large ‘port-a-hut’ [great product] structure for their housing needs.

Moving conserved forage from our main barn up to the livestock paddocks and buildings provide presents a serious challenge during snow and blizzard periods.

All of our expectant ewes’ wool was ‘crutched’ this month, preparing them for both a clean birth and ready availability of teats to the young lambs.

Our 5-month old Border Collie, Wes, is beginning to show ‘eye’ with the livestock, but is too young to go in the pens with Debbie, preferring to wait at the fenced gate.  While showing classic Border Collie traits at his age, his 'real' training will start next year.

We still have lamb for sale by the cut.  Current prices are available by calling the ranch and will be shown on the “Products – Purchase” web page soon.  We have joined “Colorado Proud” this month and, if we can say so:  are ‘proud’ of this decision, too!

The National Western Stock Show is going on this month in Denver.  This is a really great place to visit, watch and enjoy the various exhibitions and shows.  For more information go to:  www.nationalwestern.com

We also own and operate Immanuel Alpacas. Debbie just launched that website this past week.  We are very excited and hope you enjoy that site, if you have any interest in knowing what an Alpaca is, how to get into the business or are interesting in learning more about Alpaca ranching.  Go to www.immanuelalpacas.com for a good look at some wonderful, gentle, fleece animals.

~ Ed & Debbie Carpenter