No doubt you are aware of the challenges that the small family farm faces these days, either because of what you’ve read about our experiences here on the blog, or through other sources, and perhaps both. Maybe you are keenly aware of this yourself because you are also a small farmer.
We don’t have a lot of what you’d label “free time” here; it seems we are always working on something with the farm, or George is at his day job, or I am working on freelance work. So far, the farm has been a losing venture, in terms of the costs out-pacing any income we have taken in. We are supporting the farm with non-farm income. Such is to be expected in any new business, but especially with farming, which has become so dominated by industrial mega-farms and the subsidies that keep them afloat, it’s especially difficult as newcomers to keep ourselves afloat sometimes!
This leaves us with a long list of “need to purchase” items and a shorter list of “available funds.” We’re hoping that perhaps if we put out a list of things that we need, folks who might have these items sitting around collecting dust might consider either bartering with us or donating to the farm so that we can continue with the growth necessary to keep producing nutrient-dense foods in an ethical manner. We’ll update this list to reflect our current needs, so check back to see if you may have something in the future.
We have quite a collection of skills between the two of us, so if you have some of the items we are looking for and are in need of something we can provide, please get in touch with us so that we can work something out!
Here’s a list of some things we really need. If you have something else that’s not on this list which you think might be of use to our farm, please get in touch and let us know what it is — if we can use it, we’d love to talk about a barter with you. 
Fencing — the goats only have a small yard right now, which is insufficient for their browsing needs in terms of having a variety of fresh vegetation to consume. In order to deal with this, we take them on walks around the property, which we all enjoy, but are necessarily limited in terms of time.
Do you have some old fencing that you are taking down? We do need it to have small openings, but be relatively rigid to withstand the assault of persistent goats. It doesn’t have to be specific goat/sheep fence; cyclone fencing would work, so long as it’s 4′ or taller.
Electric fence wire would also be helpful! Do you have the remainder of a roll that is collecting dust in your shed, perhaps? We would be grateful, and so would the goats, because it will give them free roaming access to a larger area!
T– posts and the insulator clips used with them would also be really helpful. We are pulling as many from other parts of our property to re-use as we can, but our supplies are limited.
Wooden Fence Posts for use with our sections of cyclone fencing.
Hay feeder - well, with goats on our farm, our need for these is probably obvious. As of December 2011, we are expanding our goat’s living quarters in the barn, and building a new buck pen, so it would be handy to have an extra feeder to use.
Things we can offer in exchange:
- George and I both have strong technology skills. Please see our tech website, Trasentino Consulting, to see what kind of technical offerings we might be able to provide to you: websites, computer repair, network troubleshooting, and more!
- George can help you to troubleshoot automotive issues by reading your error codes on any vehicles 1996 or newer. He may even be able to assist you with labor in repairing the issue. He’s replaced brakes, fixed suspension components, fixed A/C, clutch replacements, and more. Labor is usually what costs the most at a repair shop!
- Eggs - of course these are usually available around here!
- Beads & Jewelry Findings — I have a lot of beads and findings from when I used to make jewelry. I also have some limited pieces (necklaces, bracelets, earrings) that I’ve designed in the past that we could trade.
If you have something you’d like to barter for or donate, please get in touch so that we can discuss it further. Let’s come up with something fair to everyone involved and help each other out! Thanks so much!
