Spring is my least favourite season

I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t get the amount of rain they’re currently predicting on my weather apps.
Thankfully there is still some frost so when you are feeding cows, you are not sinking out of sight—but that will happen soon enough.
I understand it is going to cool down again, and I don’t think many will argue the freezing at night will help dry up some of the mess we are dealing with currently.
I know many love spring but it is my least favourite time of the year. The calves are running around playing in the wet yard and seem to be enjoying themselves, but it is hard to keep everyone dry now.
Some cows seem to enjoy laying in a big wet, sloppy mess but I don’t like seeing their udders a mess when you have a little baby drinking there later.
As of press time, I’m still waiting on my last four calves and they seem to be taking their own sweet time!
In another month we will be waiting on lambs!
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Most of you know that we see twin calves quite frequently on our farms—and we even have had a few triplets born in Rainy River District.
But last week in Saskatchewan, a farmer with a Charolais cow had a set of quads!
The last I heard they were all doing well. That is simply amazing.
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This is Canadian Ag Safety Week, with this year’s theme being “Be an AgSafe Family!”
This year they are focusing on “Keeping Kids Safe!”
Here in Rainy River District, we are fortunate to have some privileges that others don’t deal with, like pests, weeds, etc. But we have seen some unfortunate farm accidents.
The best thing you can do is to take time and think about consequences. We tend to get in a rush because we always are up against some challenge that is mostly related to lack of time.
We all need to slow down and remember that life is short; it isn’t worth the rush! Stop and think about what if?
The best thing that I’ve learned, and it is likely from having students work with me at the Emo Agricultural Research Station, is the fact that people don’t always understand the task or the dangers of it if not carried out properly.
When you see a safety article or fact sheet, take the time to read it! The fact sheets and videos we have had to watch as a part of our safety training certainly have made me stop and think about things more than once.
I spent my entire life riding a horse without a helmet. But now with Maddie and Marlee around, I can see the helmet is a smart choice.
Take care of yourself and your family—not only this week but all year-round!
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NOFIA is a non-profit organization that works to advance agriculture in Northern Ontario.
It is creating a Northern Ontario Advisory Council to transfer information between NOFIA and northern districts, as well as to help establish research priorities and projects.
NOFIA is hosting an advisory council meeting to elect a representative from Rainy River District on March 31 at 12:15 p.m. at the Emo Inn.
I am counting on our agriculture organizations to send a couple of reps to this meeting!
The Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association has partnered with NOFIA, and we are bringing grazing expert Steve Kenyon here on November 7-9.
We wouldn’t have been able to do this without them!
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If you are interested in ordering semen from EastGen, get in touch with me by March 25.
We need to get a beef order in for the people who begin breeding in April.
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A reminder that the first cattle sale of the season is set for Saturday, April 24 at the Stratton sales barn.
If you are interested in purchasing banner advertising space at our sales barn, let me know! We charge $169.50 per year.
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Have a great safe March Break everyone!