TLR Newsletter

Although we focus almost entirely on our animals, we also maintain a large family garden.  This summer has brought an overload of fresh produce, and we'd like to give some to our customers.  This month we have plenty of crookneck squash, and green and Italian zucchini.  Next month, it looks like there'll be an overflow of heirloom tomatoes.  Make space in the fridge!

Certain breeds of goat produce some of the finest hair for use in the production of high-end cashmere fabric. The United States has some of the highest unmet demand for goat meat of any country in the world. Goats are one of the earliest known domesticated animals (around 8000BC), along with sheep, dogs, pigs, and cattle. Due to the long domesticated history, goats have been bred and trained for a wide variety of needs and environments.  They are used in certain communities as "beasts of burden". In 2018, an estimated $250 million worth of goat meat was imported into the United States. Goats and dogs can both be trained to understand the human gesture of "pointing". Australia accounts for 90% of imports of goat meat into the United States. There are over 200 different breeds of goats.

No doubt, we all remember the drought of 2011-2014, in which California experienced the driest years on record.  During these extremely dry years, certain California towns literally ran out of water, and had to rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking, and communal toilet and wash stations.  NPR even reported that during the worst years, certain aquifers were dropping at a rate of up to 10 feet per week!   Naturally, household use only explains so much of this extreme water use, and the majority of the water is used for agricultural purposes.  Due to the highly predictable and mild summer California days, low pest pressure, and millions of acres of fertile soils, California is in a position to grow many high-value crops that don't fit naturally into other regions.  Because of this, California agricultural land is now seen as a highly sought-after commodity, where even hedge funds have begun to buy up land for long term investments in high-value (and genera...