Here we are; sales barn week. I could have been travelling to and from Guelph as we had a BFO board meeting today but I was able to join by zoom. Our meeting was long but when I logged out a 4 p.m. I wasn’t rushing to catch a plane and then drive home. One of our office girls is unable to make this sale so we have been busy trying to get a few others up to speed. I am thankful for those that have stepped up and am feeling confident we will get through this. Louis, our in-house Excel expert, has designed a great program for cataloguing the cattle that I think will really help us out in a few ways. The volunteer hours that go into making the Stratton Sales Barn is incredible. Thank you to all of you who show up and get all the jobs done, big and small. The last project is pretty much completed so even if you are not selling cattle you should stop in and see the upgrades and have lunch at our canteen! We are expecting a few hiccups this weekend but we know that it will get easier as we go. Just a quick reminder to the producers selling cattle, please bring along your completed Transport Record. If you need a copy let me know or search for it on the Beef Farmers of Ontario website.
Friday night I was able to get my cows all home for preg. checking on Sunday. The cows are suspicious at this time of the year because they know weaning time is approaching so I started early in case I had troubles. I moved a bunch of panels and worked on my handling facilities on Saturday. I used a can of WD-40 and a tube of grease on the headgate and all (plus shovelled out a bunch of dirt and grass) but I wanted things to work as I had two vets coming because of the extra work we were doing. My herd is enrolled in a health / productivity study and beside preg. checking they did blood testing and body condition scoring. Once again, the “girl team” got the jobs done! Dr. Stacey and Dr. Rebecca, Charlie the record keeper and chute door opener, my mom getting cattle into the tub and I worked the headgate and moved cows in. My cows are not fast movers but they cooperated quite well. Once that task was over, we boosterd the calves with their vaccine so they are ready to go to the sale on October 18. We did all that and commented how lucky we were that we didn’t get rained on. I jumped on the lawn mower later and I got poured on!
My mom and I attended the Lakers game on Saturday night. It was a great game. I encourage you to get out and support these young guys. It is great hockey and supporting our local teams is a great idea.
Kingsford Vet Services is hosting an info night on October 1, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the Emo Legion!
