If you want something done, just ask a busy person, as the saying goes.
Well, Kim-Jo Bliss seems to do everything remotely related to agriculture in the district. She serves on the board of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture, volunteers for 4-H, is involved with “Ag Days,” and handles artificial insemination orders for local cattle farmers.
And come April 1, or when the OPSEU strike is over, Bliss will be running the Emo Research Station once again—all while looking after her grandmother’s farm.
A lot of responsibility for someone who’s just 32 years old.
After spending a week in British Columbia visiting relatives, she will hit the ground running when she returns.
“I will never not be busy or caught up!” she said, but it’s obvious she wouldn’t have it any other way. Farming is in her blood and she loves what she does.
“Grandma’s always been a farmer,” Bliss said, adding that she herself finds it almost therapeutic to work with cattle. “When you see them chewing their cud, you have to ask ‘Why worry?’”
Bliss was still awaiting the birth of four calves. Her grandmother, Gladys Smith, names them.
“This year there’s a lot of Olympic names,” Bliss laughed as she walked by Goldie and Canada. An older cow named Nagano placidly chewed cud nearby.
Bliss remembers them by number more easily.
Around calving season, it’s more difficult to keep count of the total head of cattle on the farm.
“We have three bulls, 37 calves in total. . . . [Counting] cows that are going to calve and yearlings . . . it’s in the 40s,” Bliss estimated.
Last week, they had to deliver one of the calves by Caesarean section—the first time they’ve ever had to do that.
Actually, Bliss considers working on the farm a vacation from her job.
“[The research station] is closed from Dec. 1-April 1 and [I spend] two months of that doing chores and calving,” she noted.
The research station once again will be concentrating on hybrid poplars this year. The testing is ongoing—as is Bliss’ schedule.
