Central Texas Olive Ranch / Wedding Venue

[flusher]

My neighbor previous to the one with the goats had a few dozen head of sheep to keep the weeds down in that old olive orchard.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Sheep will bark trees too of course, but they are less likely than goats, especially on old trees.

 

[Cjm005]

After months of waiting, our well is finally being drilled this week. They drilled to 400' using a rig older than me! According to well report, there was 4-5' of sandy loam, 40' of clay, then another 350' of lovely, sandy water bearing formations. Upon first test the well made 25 GPM, they were going to inject some chemicals to try and bump upwards of 30. Since I will be using mostly for irrigation, we are installing a 3 HP pump system. I might eventually use the pond as well. Next up will be pump house then electrical.

We are eventually going to put 15-25 head of a boer goats on to keep ag exemption and help with underbrush. We will likely put up elec fencing around the planted acres to keep the goats off the young trees.

 

[Cjm005]

Speaking of cool... They were using a 1948 Ford Jubilee tractor motor to run the mud pump. Pretty neat.

 

[TomSeller]

Speaking of cool... They were using a 1948 Ford Jubilee tractor motor to run the mud pump. Pretty neat.

Very nice to see old equipment like that in professional service !

 

[OldMcDonald]

Upon first test the well made 25 GPM, they were going to inject some chemicals to try and bump upwards of 30. Since I will be using mostly for irrigation, we are installing a 3 HP pump system. I might eventually use the pond as well. Next up will be pump house then electrical.

We are eventually going to put 15-25 head of a boer goats on to keep ag exemption and help with underbrush. We will likely put up elec fencing around the planted acres to keep the goats off the young trees.

Are you still planning 3 to 4000 trees? Even at 3000, watering every third day, and at 30 gallons a watering per tree as I do, you would need 3000 minutes or 50 hours of total water supply of 30 gpm for every watering. That means you will have to pump almost continuously right through the summer. A 3hp pump is not going to be able to produce sufficient water for your needs. I have already provided you with this sort of information in the PMs I sent you. You really do need to talk to your local extension people who are knowledgeable in the water requirements of olives in your own area.

Also, talk to people in your area who have Boer goats and seek their views on fencing. All goats like to put their feet on fence wires - it appears just for the fun of it sometimes, but they also seem to like to spend time on their hind feet only. I have no idea why. Electric fences would be shorted out by this action, possibly letting the other goats through. Depending on the strength of the pulse, and how quickly the first goat to stand on the fence shorts it, the goat may or may not receive sufficient shock to stay away from it another time. Also of course goats will push their heads through the mesh of the fence (sheep do the same) and they might receive a prolonged electric shock treatment in dry times.

Sorry if I appear negative again, but you are putting a lot of money into this project and you need to get it right first time. Financial loss is often recoverable, but the disappointment of things continually going wrong can be heartbreaking. As I have already told you, I have seen too many people do the wrong thing with their property and end up having to sell. Do not be another statistic, talk to as many people as you can about both irrigation needs and fencing. You do not want housing for your goats anywhere near your wedding venture either!!

 

[EddieWalker]

I have 3 pygmy goats and they don't seem to notice the hot wire at all. My tester maxes out and 12,000 volts and it's way higher then that. The horses jump several feet in the air and run away at full speed when they touch it. If I stand too close to it, it jumps through the air to zap me. But goats are just like chickens going through it. They don't react at all.

 

[ultrarunner]

We are trying to come up with a cost effective solution for hogs, deer, rattlesnakes, ground squirrels...and mountain lions...

There was one up a tree overlooking the property last week... ranger said a 90# juvenile as been sighted going after the wild turkeys...

In one little draw on the back 40 acres I counted 22 deer only two were bucks with racks.

 

[Cjm005]

Slow progress again, but we keep creeping forward. The rain has kept us away for a few weeks, and promise I will get to some of the advice above in due time. The pump and equipment are on the slab, and I spent a few days building the pump and tool shed. This property is a couple hours from us, so I needed somewhere to store equipment.

The walls of shed ended up being 7' and shed is 6x6' so plenty of room for irrigation controller and manifold. I still need to finish the roof ridge, trim and some insulation. A family friend owns HVAC company so he's going to wire up a breaker box, and a temp controlled infrared light to keep my equip warm in the winter. Not as if we get THAT cold in TX. Getting warm now...

 

[Cjm005]