Budget-friendly foods that pack nutrition have been my focus for years now. There are many foods that are consumed out of habit that really do not help to stretch the grocery budget. Then there is the nasty problem of weaning children on to cheaper foods that are actually more nutritious while being economical. One of these […] Read more
Breakfast ideas for the new school year
Tips for managing milk fever
Back in the day when people farmed to feed themselves as well as make a living, everyone had a milk cow. As little as 20 years ago people were still shipping cream from as few as five cows to help with the monthly bills. Then big business got involved. Now the people with a burning […] Read more
From the Farm: Make family time a priority
The value of a father’s influence while growing up is often not apparent till the child starts to look back on their life. Usually that doesn’t occur till a separation of some kind, hopefully not a permanent one, and the child realizes how much their father is a part of them. For a lot of […] Read more
Anyone can start farming: Low-cost water system improves calf gain
Supplying water to animals on pasture can be costly. We ended the 2012 grazing season with very little water in our dugouts and virtually no slough water, but with the snow and slow melt we are very hopeful they will be full. If not though we have a few ideas for low-cost watering systems that […] Read more
Plan and prepare
Life on all farms is hectic. There is always something to do, which is why I loved it growing up. When all my city friends were bored on their summer vacations I was busy from sun-up to sundown. As an adult though, there are times that I find life a bit too busy and this […] Read more
A checklist for being ready for lambing
A successful lambing season is brought about by good preparation. Preparing for lambing actually starts at breeding time but for most of us that “window” is long gone. For us, the lambs are not far away. This morning, -38 C, my daughter announced the 40 ewes we had decided to breed for winter lambing have […] Read more
Controlling lice in cattle and goats
One of my most vivid memories from when we started farming was my first meeting with a cow louse. I had been checking cows for impending births, which involved giving all their tail heads a scratch so I could check the condition of their ligaments. It was a sunny February day so when my head […] Read more
Give a Love Box this year
Life is about change, but it is the continuity of the moments of life that stay the same from year to year that afford us mere humans a sense of security. Christmas is one of those moments in most people’s years that are steeped in tradition and pull us all back to the most highly […] Read more
Brix test may be guide to improve soil health
When we moved to the farm October 15, 1994 we had no idea how much we had to learn. Since we haven’t been able to meet our own hay requirements, although we have owned a fairly large land base since 1996, we have decided it is time to buckle down over the winter and figure […] Read more
Options for lowest-cost rations
Rising grain costs in Manitoba have made our family very glad our beef herd is grass based. The rest of our livestock still depends on grain for feed. When we realized our oat bin was getting low and oats were sitting at about $0.15 a pound, it was time to research some different ideas. One […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
