I think most of us are still recovering from our Cattle Sale this past Saturday. We sold 1,580 head. We had one of the biggest receiving days on Thursday that we have seen in many years. We had over 1,000 head. The staff were exhausted and didn’t get a lunch break until nearly noon. We might have to look into some scheduled breaks going forward. You likely noticed that we were using some new delivery slips because we were hoping it would make it easier for receiving cattle and the office staff to prepare the catalogue. It caused some problems, but we hope we can continue to try and make things better all around. It was a frustrating sale, and it seemed as though what could go wrong, went wrong. We sold cattle until nearly midnight, and the office staff finished up between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. The best part of a tough cattle sale was the prices, and I think that the producers should be pleased. The 1,580 head generated $6,052,782.08. We have some work to do before fall, but we have a dedicated group of people that will get things on track for our fall sales.
I had made plans to head to Winnipeg Sunday with my friend and her grandson for grad suit shopping. My 3:30 a.m. bedtime made it a rough Sunday morning. In true farm fashion, we woke up to a lamb that couldn’t walk, and our last ewe was lambing. We are unsure what is up with the lamb, but we are trying to get her back on track. The ewe required help and she had a large lamb, a very small lamb and then a mummified lamb. The small lamb didn’t make it, and it is not looking great for her milk supply as well. Our ewes are too old, and we have kept them too long, so this is all our own fault. We are done lambing, but we are bottle feeding so that will continue until July likely.
The grad shopping was successful, and we had a great time. There are lots of young people getting excited for the spring grads and proms. Such a fun time in their lives.
I am looking forward to next week as my summer student is starting on Monday. We have lots of seeds to weigh and trials to organize. It makes a huge difference when you have two people working on what you accomplish in a day! Aynsley Teeple is a returning student so that is also a huge bonus because she knows exactly what to do. We have some safety training to get through in the first few days but again with Aynsley being a returning student she understands a lot of those requirements as well.
If anyone is looking to update or acquire a pesticide license, please reach out to me. There is a course booked for April 30, and then if you require version 5 of the Environmental Farm Plan that course will be run on the evenings of May 1 and 2. Again, let me know and I hook you up with registering.
