OK, so today starts the official day that the holidays are over. No more putting things off and eating snacks and treats. I never get excited to de-Christmas here, but I’m feeling more ready this year since I have big plans to do a major de-clutter. I am still hosting a lot of stuff from the original farmhouse that belonged to my Great Grandparents and Great Aunts and Uncles. Obviously, some stuff will stay, but there are other things that need to go. I have a lot of craft supplies / projects from before the girls were teenagers and wanting to do these types of projects that I will clean up and share with others. I have high hopes of allocating my time between work, cleaning and the farm to be successful and still fit in nice long walks in the bush with Lexi.
With our fresh snow, it has certainly cleaned up the feeding areas, but it is still easy for everyone to get around. I think everything looks fresher now with a bit of the white stuff. With some cooler temperatures most of my cattle are making the trip home for fresh water. This means there are some great cow trails to walk on now. They likely make some of the best trails to follow. My new heifer that I purchased is now in with our young stock as I was nervous about adding her to the cow herd and causing a big fight with a bunch of pregnant animals. I will make that addition but at a later date.
To date I haven’t had any issues keeping fresh water available for my ducks because the temperatures have been decently mild. I haven’t been allowing a pool or anything but a pail with enough room for them to put their heads underwater. They loved to splash water all over even without access to a pool.
Just a reminder we are in the process of planning the Rainy River Cattlemen’s AGM. It is booked for Thursday January 18th, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Way School in Stratton. We have Evan Chaffe attending from Beef Farmers of Ontario. Evan is a policy advisor and though he is very young he has participated in some very significant Agriculture events in and outside of Canada. It is great for our members to hear from BFO since we all pay check-off at $5.50 per animal and the update will explain where these funds are used. Locally we want to discuss our commission rates, taxes of our facility and the potential phase 2 barn project. The barn is owned by the membership, and we are looking to have conversations around these areas, but we are very open to hearing other ideas or suggestions as well.
The coffee break will be sponsored by Stratton Service.
It is sounding like the abattoir is under booked for the month of February. If you have any animals that need to get booked in, please reach out to Bradley at 807-482-3028.
