Somebody must be doing something right because in sharp contrast to the previous week, sunny skies and almost summer-like conditions were the order of the day Sunday when the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture held its “On the Road Again” bus tour.
Sixty-two people—mostly moms and kids—piled into two buses at the Clover Valley Farmers’ Market here and headed off on a four-hour tour of some of the more interesting farms in the district.
The tour was organized in conjunction with Ontario Agriculture Week, which runs Oct. 6-12.
Tour guides Bernie Zimmerman and Betty Salchert provided a running commentary and detailed descriptions of the farms that were passed en route as the riders, who paid $2 apiece, first were taken to the Perusse buffalo farm on Wasaw Road.
Here, Dale Perusse runs 40 head of what are correctly called bison on his spread.
Perusse said bison are, in many ways, superior to cattle—both for the producer and the consumer.
For the producer, these hardy bovines are extremely low maintenance, requiring no shelter even in the coldest weather and they are highly-efficient grazers, making full use of whatever pasture is available.
For the consumer, the tourists learned bison meat is much higher in protein and lower in cholesterol than beef and is said to have a mild, sweet flavour.
Evidently his pitch was convincing as a number of people purchased steaks and hamburgers before the buses moved on.
The next stop was the Rainy River Elk Company near Devlin. Owned by Deb Cornell and Bill Darby, the elk ranch is one of four in the district and currently has 160 animals.
Cornell took the guests on a tour through the special barn used to catch and hold animals for tagging and vaccinations. She explained how elk are much different from cattle and must be handled differently.
For instance, it is useless to chase them because they are much too fast to catch, but they can be easily handled by simply making eye contact and bribing them with grain.
One of the animals—a female named “Jenny”—was a big hit as this tame animal not only didn’t shy away from the strangers, but actively sought out their attention in order to have her ears rubbed.
Cornell noted this single animal was hand-raised and bottle-fed from infancy and has become a sort of pet or mascot.
En route to the next stop, the group passed the “century” farm owned by Kim Cornell and Pat Clysdale-Cornell, who run between 400-600 head of purebred red Angus, purebred polled Herefords, and a number of replacement heifers.
The farm is designated a “century” one because it has been in the same family for more than 100 years, as it first was homesteaded in 1897 by Cornell’s great-grandfather, William Pope.
The next destination was Willow Mor Farms, owned by Tom and Shirley Morrish. This proved to be a huge hit with the youngsters as in addition to cattle and pigs, the farm was a virtual menagerie.
Ducks, chickens, turkeys, miniature horses, rabbits, kittens, and a precocious border collie named “Sandy” provided the delighted children with numerous new friends.
In fact, some were somewhat heartbroken when they left because they desperately wanted to take some of the bunnies and kittens home with them.
The Agricultural Research Station in Emo proved to be both informative and entertaining as research technician Kim Jo Bliss described the various projects underway there.
Henry Kornelsen showed the guests the bee colonies at the station and pointed out how the honey produced in Rainy River District is among the best in world.
It’s highly-prized worldwide because of the abundance of red clover and native wild flowers that make up the bulk of the nectar from which it is made.
Inside, several local farmers had booths set up, from which they sold samples of their wares. But the biggest hit was the huge pile of straw, which proved to be irresistible to the younger children, who spent most the time in or on it.
The last stop was the dairy farm of Arnold and Cindy Kaemingh near Devlin, where the couple maintains 40 Holsteins. The tour was conveniently timed to coincide with milking.
Kaemingh, with the help of three of his children, gave a real-time demonstration of how a modern dairy farm operates. And yes, there were more kittens and more broken hearts as the buses headed back to Fort Frances.
The “On the Road Again” tour was a prime opportunity for non-farmers to gain an appreciation for what goes into providing the best and cheapest food supply in the world.
As part of Agriculture Week, the tour was intended to help people see the human faces behind the products that wind up on our dinner plates.
Also in honour of Agriculture Week, the RRFA will be holding a special day at the Clover Valley Farmers’ Market on McIrvine Road here this Saturday (Oct. 11).
The theme is “Canadian Beef” and there will be various beef and beef-related products featured on that day, as well as apple cider. It also will provide an opportunity to meet some of the people who feed not only us, but many people around the world, as well.
Remember, if you eat, you’re involved in agriculture.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
