134 more days until June 1. That is the date I aim to feed my cows until. January is a long month of feeding, but we are halfway through it. I was able to purchase a bit more hay and it could be arriving this week and it should put me in an o.k. position to make that date! I hope we never have to go through tight feeding like this again – it really makes for a long winter.
I boostered my first calf heifers with Scour Bos on Friday night. I have seven of them and all but one were right close to the barn so I thought it was a great chance. I went and got the other one and that job was crossed off the list. This is a vaccine to help prevent scours. There are many options for scour prevention, but I have been using this one for a few years now. The cows get an annual needle and your first calvers require two. I checked the calendar on when I let my bulls out and my calving date is February 15. I will keep my cows in the bush until that first week of February for sure. I enjoy my walk to check on them a couple times a day, and it is good for Lexi, though she still expects me to carry her through the cows and honestly, she is getting too heavy.
I was woken up early this a.m. with a phone call from the University of Guelph letting me know that because of the severe storm the University was closed today and that I didn’t have to go into work! It sounds like we might be getting a storm tonight and tomorrow so I might be closed again. I don’t go back into the Station until Mid-March, so I am just being funny.
Tis the season for Beef Farmers of Ontario Annual Meetings. Because I am on the board of directors for the Beef Farmers of Ontario, I have been sitting in on some of the other county/district meetings. I have enjoyed listening to what the other boards are doing across Ontario and I am doing it without jumping on an airplane and travelling across our big province. I am pleased to say that Rainy River runs a tight ship, and we should be proud of how much we tackle and how engaged our membership is. We have a lot of great support. This is the last week of these meetings and a reminder our own Cattlemen’s AGM is Thursday and I encourage you to join in! Reach out to me so I can register you and get you all the information.
I have darkened my yard by gathering up or turning off all my Christmas lights. I always find that the yard really looks like we live in the bush afterwards. I can say that the snow is much deeper than when I put my lights up! I am glad I picked up a bunch of them if we are really going to get another big dump of snow! Stay safe everyone.
