Happy Earth Day--What we do to help everyday

Happy Earth Day, Canada!

I sometimes don't like the designation of Earth Day, because in my mind, Earth Day should be everyday.  We should always be conscious about our impact on the environment.  Here at the farm, not only are we conscious about our impact, but the environment is how we make our living.  If we mistreat the environment, it is not going to be around for generations.  As 5th generation farmers, we would like the legacy continue.

I thought I'd share with my readers how we strive to be environmentally friendly at the farm.  In the house, we recycle all plastics, paper, cardboard, glass, metal, and beverage containers.  All non-meat scraps are either fed to the chickens or composted.  Our farm has an Environmental Farm Plan.  Outside on the farmyard, all of the oil and filters from the tractors and vehicles are collected and recycled.  Fuel is stored in double-walled fuel tanks.  The net wrap, twine and bale wrapping from the hay and haylage is recycled.  Cattle needles are disposed of as "sharps".  Cattle manure is spread on crop land, and less synthetic fertilizer is needed.  The sloughs on our land provide habitat to waterfowl, and the slough where our cattle are wintered on is fenced out to protect the wetland.

On the crop side of things, we recycle all the herbicide containers and the cardboard boxes they come in.  We practice crop rotation to help prevent disease, control weeds, and manage nutrients.  Every year, all our fields are soil tested.  The soil is analyzed for remaining nutrients, and suggested fertilizer rates for the following years' crop is determined.  The fertilizer is banded (or tilled) into the ground to prevent nutrient loss.  We raise Roundup Ready Canola because it yields well, helps control a wide variety of weeds effectively with very little environmental impact, and using it in our crop rotation helps reduce the possibility of herbicide resistant weeds.

The Earth has been here for an extremely long time.  The time that we spend here is very short, in comparison.  Let's all take care of Mother Earth, treat her with respect, and ensure that our future generations will be able to treasure the things that we have.

Calving in Pictures--Days 12-23

Well, to say that I've been busy is an understatement.  From my last calving post until now, we are 1/3 of the way done calving.  Our first group that calves only has 7 left!  It's possible that they will be done before the other group even starts.

I've broken down the stats of the past 11 days (really? it's only been 11 days since I've blog about calving...time flies when you're having fun indeed!).  Here's when the calves showed up and how many on that day:

March: 26th-1, 28th-3, 29th-1, 31st-1

April: 1st-2, 2nd-4, 5th-2, 7th-4, 8th-1, 9th-2, 10th-1, 11th-1, 12th-2

Yes, we've have 25 calves in 11 days.  Thankfully everyone, cows and babies, have all been healthy.

So, now for your dose of cuteness...Calves in photos!

Calf just born

Even calves blink when they get their photo taken!

Techno-Cowgirl: iCalve app review

Hi, my name is Jill, and I'm an app-aholic!  Yes, I have so many apps on my iPhone that I can't do the latest update without temporarily deleting some.  My apps vary from photography (another hobby of mine), to games to keep the kids occupied if needed, to a great calving/herd management app.  This great app that I'm talking about is called iCalve created by an Alberta cattleman for cattlemen.

Main page of app

I began using it before calving season arrived, and instantly fell in love with it.  First off, I always have my phone on me, so being able to store my cattle records there is valuable.  The data entry is easy, as the dates pop up as "today's date" and the animal types are just a simple swipe to change.  The only challenge I found was entering the same animal for different treatment dates under the Doctor Records, but I just added dashes or spaces in the tag number to "trick" the program.

This winter, I was able to keep track of all our doctor records in one easy spot, which is crucial for Verified Beef Producers.

Doctor record for mass treatment of heifers

This winter we also culled (or sold) a cow, because she was old and not bred (pregnant).  In the iCalve app, there is a place to store this information too.

Cull cow entry

There is also a place to record any dead animals that you might have, along with the reason for dying.  I find this very crucial when we were dealing with a small outbreak of pneumonia in our herd, and tracking who had died from pneumonia.

Death loss entry

Now that calving has arrived, it's easy to input all the data into the app after the calves are born.

Individual calf entry

Summary of calving page

There is also a gestation calendar to figure out when your cows are going to calve after they have been turned in with the bull.  As well as a whole page dedicated to herd data to fill out for the year.

I feel that the iCalve app is well worth the $9.99 I paid for it on iTunes.  In addition to never having a wet, muddy, lost calving book and cow records, all of my data is backed up to Dropbox in an easy to read pdf.  Its great for all the Techo-Cowgirls and Cowboys and simple enough for those who don't consider themselves to be one.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, although I had prior approval from the creator of iCalve to write this post.  The views expressed are my own.

Calving in Pictures--Days 7, 10 & 11

Day 7

Unfortunately, cows don't calve every day, or on schedule.  We went almost a week without having a calf, and then on the first day of spring, during a blizzard, 312 decided it was her turn to calve.  I keep a good watch on the cows especially during inclement weather.  On Thurday, I was vigilant on checking the cows every 2 hours.  Wet and windy weather is the worst for newborn calves.  I went out at 2:30 in the afternoon and found 312 looking like she was going to calve really soon.  She ran into the catch pen, and I locked her in there so I could keep a closer eye on her.  She was very nervous, so I left her so she could calm down and have her calf.  I came out an hour later to check her and still no calf, but she was exhibiting signs that she had calved already, strange.  I left her, though, as she was very nervous and wasn't appreciating my presence.  I came back an hour later, and still no calf, so we ran her into the head catch where it's safe and easy to physically check if she has a calf in her that may be malpresented.  Both my husband & I palpated her to see if there was a calf inside and nothing.  We turned her back out, and later that evening we found her calf.  It was where she was all day in the catch pen, but it was dead.  We are still unsure what went wrong, but the signs she exhibited when I found her and when we palpated her all point to another stillborn calf.

Calf snuggled up in the windbreaks and straw during the blizzard

Cows gathered on the bed pack behind the windbreaks during the blizzard

Day 10

I came home from my weekend in Calgary for the Cattlemen's Young Leaders semi-finals, and went out to the cows immediately.  While I was gone, my husband and the kids kept a close eye on the cows, but no one decided to calve.  I drove around and a few exhibited signs of calving: swollen vulva, mucus, and engorged udders, but no calves.  I went out a few hours later and V31 had calved a nice big red bull (boy that has not been neutered) calf.  I was happy as he was up and nursing his mom.

V31 licking her calf and bonding with him

Day 11

Again, my morning checks have been disappointing, as in no calves overnight.  I noticed that S1Q was looking like she was getting close, and I was right.  At my mid-morning check she had birthed a nice black heifer calf.  The calf was very spry, up nursing, and already trying to buck and run.  New calf coordination isn't the greatest, so she was pretty funny to watch!

S1Q baby came up to check me out

Calving in Pictures Day 1 & 2

Day 1

Calving officially arrived on the afternoon of March 14 here at the farm.  Unfortunately, our first cow (R44) had a stillborn calf.  She was an older cow--9 years old, and the days leading up to her calving she had shown signs that there was something "not right" with the calf.  She did not form a large udder (a cows milk usually comes into the udder a few days prior to calving) until after she calved.  We did not throughly investigate the stillborn calf, as the cow was older, which could be a cause, and she would not let us near the calf.  This is normal for the cow to stay with her dead calf and "mourn" for a few days.

Cow mourning calf

Day 2

On Saturday we woke up and checked the cows and one heifer (female cow before she has had her first calf ) numbered Z02 had a nice healthy, alive heifer calf.  This really lifted my spirits.  I know there was not anything I could have done for R44 but my mind always thinks "what if I would of been out here earlier"  I usually check the cows every 2-3 hours during the day, so I took the kids out with me at 10:30 am to show them the new baby.  The kids always get excited during calving season and love seeing the new babies.  There wasn't anyone showing any signs of calving, so we went back in.

 Z02 Heifer with her calf

We carried on with our morning and had lunch.  After lunch I went back out because I wanted to make sure the new little one was up and mom was letting her nurse.  A calf has to have the mothers first milk called colostrum to give the calf antibodies to the environment around it as they receive no antibodies from the placenta.  When first born, the calf's stomach is porous, allowing proteins from the colostrum to be absorbed.  As time goes on after birth, the pores in the stomach wall slowly close up.  For maximum antibody protection the colostrum needs to be consumed within the first 6 hours of birth.  When I went back out, I found another heifer (Z21) that had just had her calf.  The calf was still wet, but her mom was licking her off.  After the calf is born, the cow licks it off, this not only stimulates and warms the new calf.  It also helps the mom bond with her baby, transfer her scent to it, and helps her recognize the features of the new calf that identify it as hers.  I left the new mom and baby alone to bond.  I continued to check every 2-3 hours on our two new pairs.  Everyone was doing well and we did our last check at 9:30 pm when we got home from supper at our local community hall.

Z21 waiting for her calf to catch up to her

Agvocate or Educate? The Great Debate

Advocate: (v) to speak or write in favour of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly

Educate: (v) give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to (someone, esp. a child), typically at a school or university.

If you follow any agriculture social media you might be familiar with the term "agvocate".  If you haven't heard of the term before, to "agvocate" is to be a advocate for agriculture.  There has been some debate lately whether we as farmers should "agvocate".  I did an interview recently while I was at FarmTech and one of the questions was how do I feel about agvocating.  I initially said that I do it, but it's not for everyone.  As time wore on, I began thinking, do I actually advocate for agriculture, or am I trying to educate people?

My main goal of my blog is to do the latter--provide information (educate) to people about what we do. More and more I'm having a hard time with the word "Agvocate", especially when I think of being an advocate as someone who urges by argument.  We as farmers shouldn't be urging people into information about agriculture by arguing with them.  However, I find on social media this is what seems to take place too often, whether it is intended or not.

We need to be quiet and listen to what the person is saying.  If they are asking questions, answer them.  If myths are being stated, provide the person with data that dispels the myth.  If we don't know the answer to their question, point them in the direction of someone who might.  We need to keep people from "Googling" answers because I feel that is how myths and misinformation gets spread.  These are just a few simple tips that we can use to help educate people about agriculture.

Not everyone is meant to be an agvocate, but we can all educate.

The Felfie Bandwagon--Hop aboard y'all!

What started out as teenage girls taking selfies and posting them on Facebook has morphed into a whole new trend.  Enter the #felfie!  What is a "felfie" you might ask?  It's a farmer taking a selfie. What started as a photo contest with the Irish Farmers Journal for Ireland's greatest farmer selfie, then exploded around the world.

I think all farmers who engage in social media should join the felfie trend.  Why?  It's good for the industry. It shows consumers that farmers care for their food.  It is putting a face to the farm and making the connection to their food more personal.  If you're a farmer and reading this and would like to put your #felfie out there, email it to me and I will post it!

To read other's posts about felfies click here and here