Last fall we were able to disc 10 acres of our old hayfield that has been increasingly infested with water hemlock. Considering this has been a work in progress for about 10 years it felt magnificent to actually, finally, have the equipment, time, and weather all at once. After researching chemical control of water hemlock, cultivation […] Read more
Putting life back into tired soil
Productive soils should translate into more productive livestock
Hoping a simple PVC feeder saves money
Pipe feeder should help protect the minerals and take up less space
Over the years we have utilized many different delivery systems for feeding salt and mineral supplements to our small ruminants and feed to our poultry. The focus has always been on waste control and low investment cost for the device. Along with the level of waste by spillage there has always been an issue with […] Read more
Storing food for the winter — here’s what works for us
Our preferred methods are dehydrating the tomatoes and freezing the spaghetti squash
This past summer was definitely busy. We had the pleasure of hosting a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old boy from Alberta, and they helped watch our year-old grandson while his mom ran the post office. As I don’t like to use the water canner with young children underfoot, I used our dehydrator for the tomatoes. Really […] Read more
Got mud? Here’s some tips on coping with wet conditions on the farm
There appears to be no easy solution to manage mud
Alexander Pope must have been thinking of farmers in 1734 when he wrote “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blessed.” There is a deep abiding faith that this year will be better than last which seems to drive us all forward to battle our farming enemies from […] Read more
Pay attention to the risk of barn fires
A few simple precautions and change in practices can help prevent a disaster
Barn fires are to be respected. The financial, emotional and physical damage that barn fires cause is massive. According to the National Fire Prevention Association (their standards have been adopted in Ontario), defective or improperly used heating equipment is the No. 1 cause of barn and stable fires. During cold winter months, livestock producers may […] Read more
There is a fit for grass-finished beef
Some on-farm experimenting shows genetics plays a big part in tenderness
When we started raising grass-finished cattle, part of the decision was based on a reduction of input costs. We don’t grow grain and feeding it would involve a lot of infrastructure (troughs and equipment) as well as feeding labour. Since the cost of feed grains was increasing we were sure there had to be a […] Read more
Coping with stress
Whether it’s from calving season or exam time — here’s some tips
If there is one word that can strike terror into the hearts of people it is exams. Like any other stressful event in life, if a person takes some time for preparation they really aren’t all that bad. It is a matter of being able to meet the physical, mental and emotional challenge of the […] Read more
The fine balance of managing copper
Sheep and goats and cattle do not have the same copper needs
We have had several new producers this winter trying to convince us it just isn’t true that sheep cannot be fed copper. Apparently they are doing it without any problems. Since we are coming into lambing season it is a good time to address these ideas. It needs to be clear that sheep and goats […] Read more
Snow introduces a few seasons
For our family, the opening day of rifle hunting season means the cows are supposed to be home. This year we were a bit behind, lulled, just a bit, by the lovely fall weather. It had been cool but snow had stayed away until mid-November and it was still warm enough for the dugouts to […] Read more
Ram selection can really improve flock genetics
Fall is when sheep and goat farmers breed their flocks. This year we made sure we weren’t going to have lambs in February. We didn’t pick up our new ram until we were ready for him. Before shopping for a new ram we spent time deciding what we wanted to improve in our flock. The […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
