The south-facing solar panels that produce power for the water pump are mounted on the roof of a former grain bin now serving as a well house.

Grain bins make for a good well house for livestock watering

Repurposed materials worked well with solar-powered watering system

Water is an incredibly important part of life. As our drought in west-central Saskatchewan has continued over the last few years, we have had to stretch ourselves a bit and try to find a long-term solution to the water shortage. We’ve dug dugouts in the past, but even with the best dugout, you still rely […] Read more

As we headed out to find the horses that got out of their pasture, Joseph decided he wanted to come along. A halter was placed on a quiet gelding he was able to lead back into the pasture.

Time to build the ice fence

Eppich News: Horses find a frozen pathway across the slough

Sunday Nov. 13 turned out to be an interesting day. It had been quite cold and then it snowed. This combination was just perfect for our horses to walk across the frozen slough. At church a neighbour told us that he had seen some horses along the road. After church, Gregory took the truck to […] Read more


As winter arrived in early November the
calves were hauled to a sale in Provost while
the keeper heifers and the cows were
brought home.

A quick trip to the States to visit family

Quite a few chores were accomplished before winter arrived

After finishing harvest Oct. 8, we started making plans to travel to Idaho to see family and friends. A couple of days later we dug our potatoes with the help of the neighbours, Leon and Audrey. October 12 we had one of our Eppich Quarter Horse weanlings go to her new home. As soon as […] Read more

It didn't take much of a tumble for James to hurt his elbow, but it was a bit of process to get necessary repairs
made. It will take time to heal, but he is handling it well.

Harvest done in time for Thanksgiving

Dealing with health care was a matter of hurry up and wait

The end of September had a few bumps for us. After the rain on Sept. 19, it was too wet to combine for a few days. Instead, I baled some flax straw while Gregory and the neighbour, Leon, worked on John’s new well. Harvest started again Sept. 24. We worked on John’s oats for a […] Read more



Harvest got underway in late August, first with the peas to be combined and then (above) moving into harvest wheat. Except for one rainy day, so far the weather has been great.

Harvest season is well underway

Eppich News: Well water starts flowing to the garden, while it’s a challenge to keep combine air conditioning running

Early August was a busy combination of working summerfallow and beginning to cut hay in the ditches. On August 7 we had a fun family Sunday. In the afternoon we took the boys and John and Barb out to the pasture at Landis and we had a hot dog and marshmallow roast. It was a […] Read more


Wellen Boring and Well Drilling of Saskatoon is about to install the fibreglass casing on a new water well drilled on the Eppich farm.

Great success in drilling water wells

Eppich News: A busy month as old friends come to visit and haying gets underway

There is no rest for the wicked this summer. The old hayfield that we converted into a pasture this spring had been running short of water and so we were trying to figure out how to best manage our pastures and the low water situation. We were desperately wanting to take some bales off of […] Read more



Being a quiet old horse Juan the Sailor was an excellent first horse for
Joseph to get use to being in the saddle. Joseph always had good
balance and nothing but confidence around old Juan.

The little old horse who never stopped giving

Juan was a companion, a protector, a trainer and a joy

We first met Juan the Sailor in August 2017. He, his son Juan Peppy Sailor, and a few other horses were being sold at a farm auction in Wilkie, Sask. Juan was a 27-year-old skinny gelding. The rest of the horses were thin as well, but Juan looked the worst. We had decided to buy […] Read more

Three generations of the Eppich family take to the ice on a farm pond before the spring thaw arrives.

Foaling begins as calving season ends

There’s always some ups and downs, but fortunately more ‘ups’

March was a busy month for us with calving. It was still quite cold at night so we were doing night checks at two-hour intervals. Our first heifer calved March 6 and we had to pull the calf. That same afternoon the newest member of Eppich family, Ian, was baptized. It was a beautiful ceremony […] Read more