Here we are, moving right into a cattle sale week. I had to do a quick run to the barn on Monday to do a quick scale check. They reinforced one of the doors so we wanted to make sure everything was working as it should, and it was. Wednesday will be the set up day, with cattle arriving on Thursday. We have had some calls from Thunder Bay producers and are expecting some cattle at our upcoming sales. I think our Sales Barn is such a great option for people in the northwest. With freight costs being so high, it seems like the best option. Katie is somewhere up over the 1,000 head mark now. She deserves a lot of credit for working on this while trying to prepare for a new baby. We are lucky to have some very dedicated staff at our barn. Sale time is 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and everyone is welcome to come and watch the sale and enjoy a treat at the Sales Barn canteen. The next sale is October 17 and the final sale of the year is November 7.
Just a reminder, the Friends of the Abattoir fundraising dinner and night out is booked for Saturday October 24 at the Stratton Millennium Hall. They are planning a prime rib and chicken dinner. An interesting fact is that the meal is all local food and all donated! They prepare what the good people of the Rainy River District donate! Please come and support the event! You can get tickets from Kerry 807-271-4316, Chantelle 807-276-6877 or Kelsey at 289-439-9933. Get a group of friends and join in on some fun, good food and keep the door of the abattoir open so we can continue to grow and share our local food.
Sunday was a busy farm day for us. I moved panels around and prepared for our preg checking day. I called for the cows and I got everyone in in one pass! That rarely happens. I let Stacey and Charlie know that I was good to go other than greasing the headgate. We really went quite fast. Charlie was pushing the animals in, Stacey doing the checking, I handled the headgate and the needling and Louise opened the side door and let them out. We had a dream team once again. We finished up in time for me to cut some grass though I didn’t finish before night time arrived. I was hoping the cows would head back to pasture and they did but when I arrived home form work on Monday many of them were back picking at the hay that I enticed them home with. I am very aware there isn’t much pasture but was hoping I could get a couple more weeks. The moisture certainly made the lawns grow!
The Beef Farmers of Ontario are planning on hosting a town hall meeting on Tuesday, October 27, in Emo from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. They are wanting to speak to all the members about what is going on in our industry and also hear from the producers on concerns, ideas or suggestions. I will share more details as things progress, but I am excited to host this event!
