Looking back...

The presents are open, the kids are happily enjoying their new toys, and the turkey left-overs are finished.  As the new year is rapidly approaching, I've been doing a lot of looking back over the past year.  It has been quite the year for me and my husband at the farm.

First it was our first full year of farming exclusively (no outside income).  It's been a challenge some days, but we have managed to survive.  Second, it's been a year since I've started direct marketing our beef and selling freezer beef.  I have to admit, I didn't think it would go as well as it did.  The demand far exceeded my expectations, and I'm excited to see what the coming year has to offer!  This definitely would not have been possible without my customers...THANK YOU!  Third, it's also been a year since I started blogging about farm life.  Although, I'm not an avid blogger, I'm looking forward to the coming year and growing in my writing and blogging ability.  I am also looking at being more regular at blogging (although at times this is difficult with the unpredictability that farm life brings!). 

I have had a request for more pictures from the farm, so I would like to honor and fulfill that request.  At times it is hard to snap pictures while loading and working cattle, but I've tried over the past two months to take some pictures while we are working around the farm to share.  Since I'm looking back, I will also look back at the past two months and via pictures, fill you in on what has been happening on the farm.  Enjoy and a blessed and prosperous 2014 to all!

November--Visited Agri-Trade to view the new innovation in Agriculture.  Really enjoyed the show & free passes from a Twitter contest.

In November we had an outbreak of pneumonia in our herd.  Since we only use antibiotics on the cattle when they are sick, I'm checking a calf's temperature to see if he has a fever or not to see if he needs treated.

All of our cattle supplies that we keep on hand to deal with sick or injured animals.  In addition, the day-to-day supplies that we need for our herd.

My help and a very friendly steer!

While checking cows, my horse thought he needed a little loving too.

Even the Kubota has cup holders!  Great for a cup of coffee on a cold morning checking cows!

My orphan calf.  His mom died on pasture this fall.  He had a touch of pneumonia, but with a little medication and TLC is better again.

The cows know when it's feeding time!

Pre-conditioning calves.  Vaccinating them before they are weaned.  We vaccinate our herd for common ailments in hopes of keeping them healthy.

It was a very cold November & December.  You know it's cold out when the cow waters are steaming!

My first egg in over 2 months.  My chickens decided on Friday (December) 13th to begin laying again.  

We've had so much snow that we had to shovel out the corrals with the skid-steer before we could use them to wean calves.

My helper on weaning day 

"Niki" showing me that she is a real cow dog and can get a calf in the corrals herself.

The yearling's, open heifers & open cows loaded an on their way to the auction.

"Larry" the Christmas Bull

The kids enjoying themselves in Montana.  Not as much snow & much warmer temperatures were better for the young ones.

A very peaceful panoramic view from my parent's ranch.

The kids in Montana at my parents ranch, checking out Papa's cows in the corral.

Happy Homecoming!

While many people are celebrating homecoming at their school or alma mater, homecoming here has a slightly different meaning.  Every year I look forward to the day the cows go out to pasture in the early summer and I look forward even more to the day that we go and round them up and bring them home from pasture, a cow homecoming, per say!  A few weeks ago we picked up our first group of cows that we pasture on a Provincial Grazing Reserve an hour west of us. It is an action packed a busy day that starts very early in the morning and usually doesn't end until early evening.  Because of the busyness of that day I was able to get only one photo.  Yesterday, though, we trailed our dry cow herd home, and since it was a small herd I was able to get some photos and my husband got a short video clip.  Enjoy!

The cows know it's time to come home, this video clip shows them getting ready to come to the gate:

The only picture I took at take-out on PGR pasture.  Our daughter "moo'd" at all the cows that were loading into trucks while she sat there & watched.

Heading home

Following the quads down the road

Done trailing

A quick ride with dad before the horse gets put away

It's Time to Get Together and Support One Another

The recent restaurant ads depicting the conventional agriculture industry as "bad" has spawned a lot of social media attention both good and bad.  I have been reading numerous blogs, tweets, and posts from folks in the agriculture industry slamming these ads and these restaurants because they aren't in support of conventional agriculture.  Being a producer who supplies cattle to one of the ranches who in turn supplies one of the big named fast food restaurants with one of these ads, I took offence to many of these slams.

As a farmer that raises Grass-Fed, Hormone and Antibiotic-Free beef in a sustainable and holistic way, I don't see anything wrong with what we do.  We raise our beef this way because we believe it is more of a historic way for an ungulate (cow) to be raised.  This doesn't mean that we think conventional methods are bad; the way we raise our beef fits our lifestyle.

In my opinion, nothing is bad about conventional agriculture.  If we (the agriculture industry) are going to feed a very hungry planet of 7,183,057,300 and counting, we are going to need to rely on conventional agriculture practices to meet demand.  All the while, the consumer is demanding more choices.  Choices like organic, hormone-free, free-range, certified humane, antibiotic free, etc.  The agriculture industry is stepping up and meeting this demand.  As farmers, regardless of what consumer demand area we are filling, we all share one common theme, WE ARE FARMERS, and we are providing food that people eat.  We should not be slamming each others choices of how we raise our crops or livestock, but sticking up for each other because we are all in this together and producing the worlds' food.

Eulogy to a Cow

Now that harvest is over, I thought I am finally able to relax and take my time eating breakfast. Yesterday, though, our neighbor phoned and informed us that we had a cow that died overnight.  Our neighbor was very worked up over the dead cow, and I decided to go calm her down.  We went out to see the old cow, and something didn't seem quite right; it looked like there was a bit of a struggle when she died.  I called our local Fish and Wildlife office to have an officer come investigate.  It turns out that she was dead prior to the coyotes finding her, and it was probably young coyotes that started feeding on her after she died, which was why I thought she was taken down by a predator.  Our vet came out also to make sure it wasn't a disease she died of.  After spending a lot of time around this cow yesterday, and getting more request for blog posts (I'll spare you of pictures on this one, trust me!), I wanted to write a short but sweet eulogy for her.

Eulogy to a Cow

As you lay down and close your eyes 

Forever dreaming of green grass and blue skies.

You were tagged 108 and were a large Simmental.

We didn't know much about your past. 

We spared you an early ending as a young cow when we

bought you from the auction market.

For many years

We provided you with lots of green grass in the summer, 

Hay in the winter.

In exchange you gave us a calf every year, and for that we are forever grateful to you.

Rest in peace old gal, 

Forever grazing on the green grass under the blue skies.

Harvest in Pictures Day 16

Well, finally, at last, the time as come!  Another harvest in the books bins.  Last night at 6 pm the last swath of canola went through the combine!  Our harvest is complete.  We are very grateful that the weather held.  We had a few rain showers over the weekend and earlier this week, but nothing significant enough to shut us down.  It might have been slow going with only one combine, but the old saying, "Slow and steady wins the race" really applied.

Yesterday, I worked more on the last of my garden harvest.  I have 24 tomato plants in my garden, and I'm slowly but steadily working on harvesting them, too.  With our frosty mornings, I had to find a different fix for covering them, the small blue tarps were not working anymore.  Fortunately we had an old bale tarp lying around, so that will more than do the job.

This project was fun and now that it's over it's bittersweet.  After today, I probably won't be posting every day.  This got me into the habit of blogging more frequently, though.  I am going to continue with the picture format, as a picture is truly worth a thousand works, but move on to weekly posts as we prep for winter here on the farm.

To everyone who read and viewed our Harvest in Pictures, THANK YOU!  Here are the photos from our final day of harvest, enjoy!

Old Faithful unloading into the truck

The last few swaths going into the combine

Last field harvested

Canola is a very small seed

Last of the canola being augured

Shoving the last of the canola into the bin

Tomatoes harvested from our garden--this is just from 2 plants!

Harvest in Pictures Day 15

We are still at work on the canola, but there is light at the end of the long, dark, tunnel!  Last night my father-in-law figured he only had 4-5 hours left today and then we'd be done.  Having one combine instead of two, has really made for a long, drawn out harvest for the canola.

I've been busy with our two kids.  This morning it was booster shots for our daughter and when I got home with her, I had to run to our son's school and help serve their monthly hot lunch.  If anyone told me a year ago when I quit my career that I would be busier now than when I was working, I would of told them they were full of it!  There are some days I don't leave the yard, and it's still a challenge to get supper on the table.  I don't know how I did it when I worked!  To all you working parents out there, that still find time to volunteer and take your kids to activities, my hat is off to you!

Yesterday I put my husband in charge of photos, so here is some pictures from yesterday, from the farmers' perspective, enjoy!

Plugged air filter to the combine.  One of the reasons it had to go to the shop

The last canola field

The combine working on the last field

The trucks waiting for loads to take back to the bins

Harvest in Pictures Day 14

Yesterday the guys continued on the canola.  It is still very slow going.

During harvest, the geese begin to make their southern migration.  The fields around here are inundated with geese gathering and eating the chaff from the harvested field.  Last night, the honks from the geese was deafening.  We had over 100 gathered in the field next to our house.  I wasn't quick enough to capture them in the field, but I was able to capture some of them after they took flight over our house and farmyard, enjoy!

Harvest in Pictures Day 13

Yesterday we were still working on the canola...still...  It seems that the last field (or crop in this case) always takes the longest.  If the one combine wasn't broke down we would be done.  Hopefully tomorrow our main combine will be fixed, and then in the next day or two we can be done.  Hopefully!

Our son's birthday was yesterday; eight years old now!  I still remember the night I had him.  My husband was moving an auger and I told him that we should probably go to the hospital.  He asked me if I could wait until he got the auger moved!  Fortunately, his mom was out helping and made him leave!  We have a good laugh over it now.  We celebrated with family & even the combine stopped for his birthday!


Today has been a whirlwind.  My family was here from Montana, I had yoga, and our son woke up with a cold.  I've finally found some time to share pictures with you of yesterday.  I had to climb the bin the other day, and the view was spectacular, but I didn't have my camera.  So last night I climbed it again, and snapped a few pictures, enjoy!

View from the top of the bin

"Aerial" view of our yard

Unloading in the morning.  I love the lighting

Volunteer canola plant I found growing under the bins

Harvest in Pictures Day 12

Yesterday we were able to finish our one field of canola.  Only one more field to go!  We had a little storm blow through last night, too.  My father-in-law commented that was the first time he's ever combined with the windshield wipers on.

We celebrated our son's birthday with his friends yesterday.  I was a very brave soul according to my father; taking 3 boys ages 6-8 to West Edmonton Mall mini-golfing and then out to pizza.  Everyone was very well behaved and they had a blast.  Today is his actual birthday which we will celebrate with family.  In his honour today I'm posting a few photos of him around the farm and of his golf day.  Enjoy!

Unloading at night

Combining at night

He loves crawling up in the Big Top of the combine

Our "Ag-Proud" future farmer

Birthday boy golfing

Our son's almost hole in one!

Harvest in Pictures Day 11

With only one combine, it's slow going.  Yesterday the guys made good progress on the one field of canola.  They should be done with it today if all goes well, and then it's just one field left!  

My husband thought I was boring everyone who has been reading the blog with photos of combines, grain trucks, and augers.  Today, I'm showing some behind the scenes shots.  We have the ability here to moisture test our crops, so last night I took a few shots while we were checking the canola moisture.  With canola, we also have to check the percentage of greens or unripe seeds.  This is done by crushing the seeds and counting the number of green seeds.

Also with harvest comes the appropriate Harvest Moon.  Yesterday morning at sunrise the moon was still up and last night the moon was big and bright.  I've included some photos of that as well, enjoy!

Moon at sunrise

Moon at night

Weighing the canola to do the moisture test

Taking temperature of canola to do the moisture test

Moisture test--our canola was so dry it wouldn't read on the test

Getting ready to do the crush test 

Canola crushed and checked for greens.  No greens present!