TLR Newsletter

 One of the talking points that comes up the most often when chatting with customers is the use of concentrates used in feeding animals.  Our animals are pasture-raised and fed hay when the pastures run low, which sets us apart from many other producers.  But what exactly are concentrates, and why don't we use them? Beet Pulp The way we define "concentrate" at TLR is actually as a generic term that includes grains, vegetable pulp, soy protein powder, molasses, etc.  These concentrates come in many forms.  Some producers feed their animals grain, as a high energy (carbohydrate) supplement.  When a female goat is in the late stages of pregnancy, or while lactating, female goat's have high energy needs, and some producers supplement the females with some grain to support their needs at this time. Other producers feed grains to all animals routinely, and others feed grain almost exclusively.  Due to the high energy content, grain-fed animals tend to grow v...

 In our earlier posts, we have described how the farm will be evolving over the long run, as we strive to sustainably raise our animals in a way that also improves the finances of the farm.  Ultimately, the farm must be profitable for our mission to continue, and we aim to work on projects that both improve the property and our sustainability, while also improving the bottom line.  That is why we have embarked upon a multi-year effort to transition the farm to a tree-based enterprise, as trees make great use of resources, provide tons of additional benefits beyond feed, and are water efficient as compared to irrigating our pastures. We began this process in earnest last year, with the planting of several thousand tree seeds of many different varieties.  Some of the more important include mulberry, black locust, Osage orange, and chestnut.  These trees offer a plethora of benefits, but each of them is known to be fast growing, respond well to "browse" (trimming b...

In central California, late spring through late fall is as dry as a bone, and vegetation quickly turns dry and brown (or "golden", if you will).  The nutritional value of this vegetation is quite low, as the grasses have since gone to seed, which pushes the valuable nutrients held in the plant out to the seed heads, and leaves the body of the plant left as hollow stems of lignin and cellulose.  These fibrous materials are not easily digested, and most of them pass through the animal unmodified, giving no energy or other nutrition to the animal as it goes.  Only the rugged, deep tap-rooted plants can survive, and their thick skins and defensive physiology leave the animals hunting for something - anything - else to eat. For this reason, we rely to a large extent on hay that we buy in from producers in the central valley.  Our water is too expensive to irrigate, so it makes much more sense for us to buy in hay from other producers that have access to less expensive irr...