Last weekend’s rain allowed us to catch up on some inside jobs at the Research Station. I was very behind in my field notes and since Monday was a P.D. Day, we had two staff so there were all kinds of odd jobs getting crossed off the list! As you may have noticed if you have driven past, we have been doing some painting again. It always seems like a great idea until you get started and keep finding other areas that need to be done. We spent some more time in the hop yard this time pulling out some weeds but we have been keeping a closer eye on them this year because of the insect that nearly destroyed the crop last year. Some of them have took off very well but not all. Since the soil was a bit less hard, we worked on a canola / alfalfa trial that we are doing with RAIN from Algoma. They asked us to pull 15 plants of each canola and alfalfa and do measurements of shoots and roots. We were able to pull canola but the alfalfa plant is so tiny that we were not successful. The trial is looking at yield as well, so I am not completely sold we should be pulling plants our of small plot that we will be looking at yield. There are many other things they are requesting from us but some of the ideas are not very realistic so we will be re-visiting with the team.
Our 4-H Beef club met at my place and we had a great night discussing vaccines and treatments in cattle and the various ways we are using vaccines and meds. They are not all given by needle anymore, some are drench, pour on’s and even inter-nasal. We have a keen bunch of kids so as leaders we have to be on our toes and they are smart kids that are ready to learn! We do have a couple of new members so we took some time to discuss showmanship and we will continue to build on that so we are all ready for the Fair!
I ended up with a head cold last week and was kind of dragging myself around. I really would have loved to stay home for a day but there was spraying to be done at work and with it still being just the two of us working most days, there is plenty of work to do. I do not know how I ended up with this cold but it has not been fun. I thought after having pneumonia/bronchitis this winter that I should be good for a while.
I had a busy weekend. I sorted off a few more cows to go to pasture and finished needling the dewormer to the last of the calves and yearlings. I then combined the last few cows at home with the yearlings so now I am down to only three groups of cattle. It seems like less chores! It will get better once the bulls are pulled. Next weekend we will be hosting the sheep shearer so they will finally get to go to grass and they will be very happy! I must say I am impressed how well they have been behaving! My mom was away so the lambs have now been weaned to only two bottles a day. She would always come at lunch but now they are just getting morning and night!
I am off to the Beef Cattle Research Council meeting in Winnipeg and I am not feeling great so here I go again, wondering if I should be going! Like I always say, it is never easy for me to leave.
