Well, I think we were all happy to see the forecast was finally calling for a dry week and before I even got home from work Monday it rained. It wasn’t a crazy amount but plenty enough when you don’t need or want it. I am thinking there will be many acres of hay on the ground this week so I am really hoping Mother Nature will work with us for a few days. We have a lot on the ground and my week isn’t great for getting off work early with our Soil & Crop Tour and Open House on Thursday. I keep telling myself that “you can only do what you can only do!” I decided to only train three animals for the Fair. I just don’t have time, and with so much hay left to do I really don’t have time to take three, but I will give it my best effort. I haven’t even taken the time to look through the exhibition hall classes, but sadly the days are getting noticeably shorter so I will try get on that as well. It won’t be much but I really like to participate.
Last week I was in Belville, Ont., for most of the week. I really didn’t miss out on haying because the weather wasn’t suitable. It was extremely dry in Bellville and surrounding area. Our meeting was great and our farm visits were top-notch. Likely the my most favourite part of the entire week was visiting a farm that is using the “e-Shepard cow collars.” What this is, is virtual fencing for cattle. It is very similar to the underground fence that many people have for their dog but this works off of satellite. It is very impressive and it is something that I am going to investigate further this winter. The collars are solar powered. It is just the beginning of a really neat thing in our industry. The next update with the collars is heat detection and calving detection. The farm we toured explained how they received an update because the cattle were moving quickly and they thought possibly a predator was with them. It is really amazing! They are not cheap but neither is fencing or the time it takes to fence. One of my friends that is using them said that he feels they have paid for themselves already because of the gain he has had in pasture because his rotation is even better. The downer of my entire week was my much-delayed flight home, which then resulted in me crawling into my own bed at 3 a.m. and heading into work for 8 a.m. Ugh – that was a long day.
On Sunday our Emo – Devlin 4-H Beef Club held our Fun Day at the Caul – Chartier Farm. They are incredible kind to allow us to gather at their place and not only invade their barn but also their home for our pot-luck lunch. Our members brought their 4-H animals and we practised showmanship and judging. It is really great day for both the members and the animals. It was great we had so many family members around so the animals experienced this as well. Thank you to everyone – especially the Caul – Chartier family – it was a great day!
Just a reminder the Soil & Crop Tour starts on Thursday at 9 a.m. at Micha & Tina Gerber’s. Please reach out to me if you would like to join up later. If you call, I can let you know where we are! Our Open House at the Research Station will begin at 7 p.m. I realize it might be a tough week for people trying to make hay! I promise you can come see us any other time as well!
