I checked the weather for the month of October. It really looked quite good, so I printed it off, and I am going to keep track of how close it is.
Despite being short of hay and pasture, the dry conditions this summer were so much more enjoyable than the damper conditions we are experiencing now. Absolutely, the rain benefits us now, but moisture in May and June is what sets us up for our hay and pasture.
I took the time on Saturday to vaccinate and deworm the bulls and move them so that I could move my butcher animals, since it was getting a bit too muddy for my liking as their butcher days are nearing and it is important to keep them clean.
I have to keep the butcher animals at a distance from the bulls since there are a few heifers and they are cycling every 21 days, and this is a big attraction to the bulls. Thankfully, the bulls behaved well and didn’t create a big fight. Usually, once you start to move them around, they decide it’s time for a fight.
I don’t like to put the bulls through the handling facility in case someone gets stuck, so I used my maternity pen. It is out of place, so it is not shutting properly, so I did a few things that I don’t recommend—but I did it, and I didn’t get hurt!
Next weekend I will be bringing in the cattle and weighing the calves. I have some young people coming from Dryden to look at heifers and steers. It would be much more enjoyable if it stayed dry. I have no control over that, but it is something that I would appreciate.
Despite the wet conditions, we had an exciting work week. Firstly, I had a friend spray our canola that continues to be too green to combine. In fact, we have some plants that are flowering. He sprayed it with a drone! It was amazing and only took him a few minutes. Crossing our fingers that we can get that job off the list this week.
Near the end of the week, I had another friend come in with a drone, and she flew the entire station and mapped out the plots and identified some of our troubled areas. She is going to upload it and provide us with that information. We are very excited about having that. Though we often find fault in technology, there are some pretty neat things out there that are very useful tools. Stay tuned; I will update you more once we have that information.
Just a quick reminder to get your tickets for the Friends of the Abattoir night on Oct. 24. Ticket sales are picking up, and you don’t want to miss out on a night of good food and fun. If you are a Facebook user, please follow the Rainy River District Regional Abattoir Inc. for updates and spotlights on this great event!
I hear lots of people talking about the cost of gas and fuel these days, and I understand why it is expensive, but a farmer the other day had figured out that cutting hay for a day would cost $750 for fuel alone! Yikes! Let’s hope that things start to change soon, or we will be losing farmers again.
