While doing a history project, our family learned that the sailors on their ocean voyages used sauerkraut for a source of vitamin C to stop scurvy. Then we discovered that Tiberius (Roman emperor born 42 BC) was reported to carry a barrel of it on all his long voyages to the Middle East because the […] Read more
Try Making Sauerkraut
Make Your Own Wool-Packer Stand
Back view 72” 40” 77” 78” 94” Side view 59” It might be a bit early for shearing, but it is never too early to be prepared. One thing that we have struggled with over the years is getting a shearer out to shear our small flock of 40 Rambouillet/Suffolk ewes. We have that rectified […] Read more
Pearson Square Helps Set Rations
10% protein barley 32% protein distillers grains 16% ration 16 parts barley 6 parts distillers grains We use this Pearson Square to help us mix protein sources at the right amount to come up with our target — 16 per cent overall protein. This fall once again found us searching for feed due to excessive […] Read more
Don’t Forget The Animals This Christmas
When we first started farming, about 15 years ago, my husband stayed in the city for the weekdays and I stayed on the farm with the children. We were always doing projects to keep us busy and take our minds off of missing Daddy. One year we decided to surprise him by making Christmas treats […] Read more
WI Plants Trees In Manitoba
We chose a sunny day in July and with the help of husbands and community members got the job done. Since its inception in 1910 the Manitoba Women’s Institute members have always been involved in the betterment of their communities. It seems only fitting then, that celebrating their 100-year anniversary would involve planting trees to […] Read more
We save colostrum from our milking cows and goats to give young that don’t get enough of this essential immunity booster
The first step in insuring a decent crop of lambs, calves and kids is to make sure they get the best quality colostrum as soon after birth as possible. First we have to understand what colostrum is and how to produce the best we can. Colostrum is the first milk a mammal produces. It is […] Read more
Work together to set rules for machinery use. If teenagers know why the rule is important, they’ll be more likely to follow it and arrive home safely
When I think of farm safety, I think of keeping little children from getting run over by tractors. I think of men too tired to work machinery and making errors in judgment that cause them to get hurt. What I didn’t used to think of was the “teenagers know better than Mom and Dad factor” […] Read more
Steps To Prevent Floppy Kids
Although there is little research to substantiate why FKS occurs, we are convinced it was because of our feed. With kidding and lambing seasons quickly approaching, this is a good time to reevaluate the feed our animals are consuming. Many areas had less than optimum growing conditions last haying season and that means livestock could […] Read more
We built this milk stand so we could milk our goats, but it’s also useful for holding calves while they get vaccinated, castrated and dehorned
During the fall run this year, a cow seriously injured a friend of ours. He works at a local auction mart moving the cattle onto the scale. At the last second the cow turned on him and mashed him into the boards. We all know that accidents happen but in this case what struck me […] Read more
Our animals had three strikes against them this year when it came to selenium/vitamin E deficiency
All the wet weather we had last summer caused major amounts of stress for our livestock, particularly our goats and sheep. We saw parasites, respiratory issues, and many other unexplainable and seemingly unrelated symptoms. Our vet suggested that we had an underlying stressor that was suppressing our live-stock’s immune system, but what was it? It […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
