Willow-Mor Farms, home to Tom and Shirley Morrish north of Devlin, will open for tours again next month.
“We farm 1,000 acres,” Shirley Morrish said. “The farm tours will start again in April.”
Willow-Mor hosts school trips, seniors’ tours, and family groups—and the couple juggles the tours with their many responsibilities.
She helps out on the farm, is actively involved with 4-H, including starting up a new fishing club, and writes for “Rural Voice” magazine.
He’s president of the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association and calving will start April 3.
Oh, and they have a large family—six children, 10 grandchildren, and 30 foster kids.
They keep a separate hobby farm near the house, complete with chickens, goats, sheep, a black stallion, and pig.
The farm’s revenue comes from the Galloway cows they keep across the road. Galloways have two layers of fur, making them a great breed for this climate.
It’s a very old Scottish breed, the oldest known British breed on record, and the oldest known polled beef breed in the world. They’re coloured black, dun, red, or white.
The couple names their cattle, and the letter of the alphabet used corresponds to the year they were born.
“Every spring we get the baby book out,” she said. “And we weigh and tag them soon after birth.”
They have a set of antique scales they bring out to the field to weigh the newborns.
Like Kim-Jo Bliss, they’re extremely busy but enjoy what they do.
After calving, a more than 30-year tradition will begin again when the first group arrives at Willow-Mor for a tour of the farm.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
