I cannot believe September is over! Time is flying by and I am afraid our summer weather is going to leave us. I ended up not feeling great last week but pushed my way through because we had a cattle sale. I had some good “personal assistants” that really made things much easier. I also was scheduled to head to Guelph on Sunday and I really wondered if I was going to make it at one point but I did. I am sitting in the Toronto airport waiting to get back home. I am sporting my orange shirt that the Beef Farmers of Ontario designed and there are many other designs in the airport tonight. Many of us were thinking and acknowledging this important Truth and Reconciliation Day. It is also my birthday and I am trying to get through all my birthday messages. The BFO Board had a little birthday party for me because they felt bad I wasn’t home. I let them know not to worry because I try to drag out the celebrations as long as I can!
We had another successful cattle sale on Saturday, though it was smaller than we expected. This beautiful weather and a summer that was difficult has everyone going hard doing the jobs that need to get done before the season changes. This could mean our last two sales are large but it could also mean that many of us are keeping heifers and our herds are going to be rebuilding again. We sold 672 head for a total of $1,581,994.77. I think the staff really appreciates these smaller sales as it is much nicer working a few less hours! I think the producers should have been pleased with their prices and we look forward to our last couple of sales. The next sale is October 19 and the final is November 2. I am just going to remind you again to please reach out to James if you are planning on selling so we have an idea on what to expect.
We had a Hops Specialist in last week and he took a good look at our yard and may have found a few other pests we will have to be on the lookout for next year. It sounds like it is something that all yards go through. He visited the other two yards in the District as well. I think it was encouraging for me to hear that others experience marketing issues. I feel one of the reasons we ventured into this was to fill a market that was needed and yet we struggle to find someone looking for our hops.
I am hoping that this week we will get our canola off. I am thinking with the hot, dry weather we have experienced that this should have helped dry out the green canola stems and I will get that completed and by then the soybeans should be close. I understand the weather is changing for us this week and it may be more seasonal.
By the time the paper arrives this week we will be nearing our Harvest Gala in support of the Abattoir. We have experienced amazing support and the event is going to be great! Thank you to all those who have bought tickets and offered us great auctions items and cash!
