I was off to Dryden on Saturday to spend the night celebrating Linda Zimmerman’s surprise 40th birthday! Of course, after a lot of good weather it changed on us, and some had troubles getting to Dryden. For those who made it, a great time was had! We celebrated in the Oxdrift Hall and our supper was incredible. Linda won’t be 40 until the 20th of December so she has a few more day of being 39. Linda and Evan are doing a great job with their on-farm storm. Search ELD Farm and you can check out all they have to offer.
Once arriving home on Sunday, it was time to feed cows. They are always glad when you show up. This Saturday I am planning to run the group through the chute and deworm, booster their clostridial & scour bos. I have set aside the day only because they are not going to enjoy coming home on the frozen round that is rough from the wet days. My plan is to feed them close to home Wednesday, so they are closer to convince. The bulls will have to be done as well but usually they are cooperative because they always think there is a pasture of cows waiting for them.
Tomorrow, I have a three-hour audit of my farm. I am part of the Verified Beef + program. It is a quality assurance program for beef producers. Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) is a voluntary, market-oriented, producer managed forward-looking program enabling Canada’s beef industry to anticipate and meet emerging and growing demands for beef production systems throughout the Canadian beef value chain. VBP+ links the on-farm recording and auditing of animal care, biosecurity and environmental stewardship practices with the established Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reviewed on-farm food safety (VBP) program. VBP+ enables beef cattle producers to publicly demonstrate their commitment to responsible stewardship of both cattle and the environment. I have been busy making sure my records are up to date. The audit is every five years, and I will be happy to have it off the list.
I am planning to close shop this week. I am still working on the sunflowers from the Three Sisters’ project, but I am hoping to get them finished. I am off the Guelph on Sunday but planning to be on Christmas Holidays when I return. I am looking forward to down time. I am excited to have family and friends over for Christmas. I love it when there are so many shoes at the entrance that you never know if you are going to find the match.
No way am I ready for Christmas. I have cleaned out the area for my upstairs tree, but it is still empty. Once I have this audit over with that is my next job. That and finding some gifts. I am still using the theme of “you should be able to eat or drink it!” We are all fortunate to not want for too much.
