End of an Era

It's beginning to look like the end of an era across the western farming and ranching landscape. The old metal and wood windmill giants that have dotted the countryside for over a century are slowly but steadily being replaced with their modern counterparts, solar powered electric pumps. Solar powered pumps have been around for over twenty years but it's only recently that they've become durable enough and efficient enough to justify their cost. Also, in that amount of time the majority of traditional windmills have aged to the point where breakdowns occur more frequently and the cost of reoccurring repairs makes going solar more appealing to farmers and ranchers. All this though doesn't mean the iconic metal and wood windmills will be here one day and gone the next. There are still those that feel a loyalty and fondness for their metal windmills; plus for some there is the mindset that windmills have been on their farms or ranches for several generations, if it was good enough for our folks, its good enough for us. Mechanical windmills have served American farms and ranches well, but everything does have its own time and season.