We have made considerable progress this year, despite a severe shortage of funding. We acquired a chore tractor (1956 IHC 400); a grain truck (1970 Ford 1 ton); a hay mower and rake (1950's vintage Massey Ferguson); a 1940's vintage hay rack and an old deep tillage to cultivate the garden (1960's vintage Massey Ferguson).
We have also been asked to remove the old corral system from a farm near us, that we can bring here and re-assemble for our rescues. This includes the posts and lumber.
We have been granted the rights to cut approximately 120 acres of hay to bale and haul home to feed the rescue animals here at the Farm this winter.
In as much as we have made such great progress, we are still lacking a great deal and are struggling to make things work out. The spring rains have kept off farm working hour to virtually nil and our meager budget has been stretched to its limit - and then some. We don't have enough manpower to complete all the tasks at hand with the old style practices we are forced to implement. We are asking for your help and support to make sure that the 9 recued horses, 5 alpacas and 1 Llama that we currently care for can continue to be pampered here at The CHARM Farm.
What we need financial aid for:
1) We have to mow, rake and bale 100+ acres of hay. This requires 4 operations. Cutting, Raking, Baling and hauling the finished product to where the animals are. We estimate the cost of fuel for these operations to be about $450. Above the cost of fuel, we shall require 4 bales of twine ($140), and miscellaneous repairs/maintenance ($120). Most recently, we have invested $80 in repair to the sickle bar on the mower as all 28 knife sections have to be replaced before it can be used. The repairs should be completed by July 5, 2010 with operations to commence shortly thereafter.
Total projected cost for haying $790.00
2) We need gravel for the steel quonset floor. When it was built many years ago, the steel quonset was simply erected on a cement foundation over bare prairie. The floor is merely a 3" layer of dust. We need to remove this top layer and haul in several truck loads of gravel to give a solid base. This shed will be used for hay storage as well as storing our mower, rake and tractor for the winter. Projected cost for the floor upgrade is $1700.00.
3) We need to remove the old corral from a farm East of us and rebuild it at The CHARM Farm. For this project, we need 6+ volunteers to assist in tearing down the old corral, 6+ volunteers to help rebuild it at its new location, and approximately $300.00 to cover the cost of new hardware (nails, gate hinges, etc.) and equipment rentals (post hole auger).
We presently have 212 Facebook Fans. If each were to donate the cost of 1 cup of coffee per week ($1.00) we could bring in $11,024.00 to help make life better for the animals we rescue. It would mean that we could replace ALL of the horrendous barbed wire fence with appropriate field fence, construct some proper feed bins, install a proper watering system, repair more of the barns and aquire tack as needed to assess animals' suitability for adoption. It would also mean that we could rescue more animals on a regular basis.
