Happy Canada Day to everyone! I absolutely love Canada and proudly have a very Canadian home office. I have many trinkets and neat things that have been mainly gifted to me after people find out how proudly Canadian I am. It is looking like I will be spending the day in the hay field rather than celebrating with others but I think farming and making feed to take care of my cows for the winter is a very Canadian thing to do!
Last week was a busy one but we tackled many jobs at the Research Station. Weeds were pulled and laneways cut and many signs were installed. We have a canola trial that was shipped to us directly from a company. I reached out to the company to ask what herbicide I should be using on this trial and they told me what to use. I had a small amount of that chemical and was just the right amount to spray that trial. I was pleased because I had most of the trials all up to date with weed control. Later last week were told that we were given Monday, June 30, off so we could enjoy an extra long weekend provided we were caught up on tasks. I cut hay in our plots on Friday so I ventured out on the 30th to check the hay and to look for any heading dates on our cereal trials. I was very unhappy to see that the very chemical they told me to use on our canola was in fact killing it. I immediately sent an email but still have had no response. I am very unimpressed. It takes a lot of organizing and planning to get these trials in the ground to then be told something wrong by the very company that sent us the seed. Seems very strange to me. Because of the black clouds floating around and the chance of rain I left the hay and will make my way back out on July 1!
I did make a few bales at home on Sunday night but it was the same at home on Monday that I was afraid to rake and get rain so I left it. We did get rain in Emo but nothing to speak of at home. The hay will be ready to go for sure on July 1. So far what has been cut it looks to be a low yielding year. This is no surprise based on how dry we really started off. Even now it is not a problem driving through low holes.
So having this much time at home has really helped me tackle MANY jobs. It is a great feeling and honestly just being at home on a beautiful summer day feels quite amazing. The days that I get to spend at home the most it is usually winter!
We received some unfortunate news last week that Sunrise Meats are stopping taking domestic hanging carcasses at the end of July. We are very understanding of their reasons but this is not going to be good for our Abattoir. Just to break even the abattoir needs to do at minimum 10 beef a week and Rainy River Meats just doesn’t have the capacity to do that many. I keep telling myself that we have been here before and we will find a way out! Please, if you have any friends or family that have any interest or skill in the meat-cutting business, please send them our way!
