Disclosure – This Pride of Producer post is written in partnership with Canadian Beef. All thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.People often ask us when the slow time on the farm is. To be honest, there really isn't a downtime on the farm. Each season has its various jobs that need to be completed on the farm. End of Harvest Season This time … [Read more...]
Sustainability on the Farm #MyCanadianBeef
Sustainability on the farm is of the utmost importance to farmers. After all, our farm is our livelihood, so it makes sense to have good practice on the farm. Disclosure – This post is written in partnership with Canadian Beef. All thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own. Some of the things we do on our farm to promote sustainability … [Read more...]
Close Encounters on the Farm
Close encounters on the farm. I haven't written a farm post on the blog in a while, but something happened today that scared the life out of me. It's calving season on our farm, and we have eleven calves on the ground and are expecting thirty new calves in total. The scary thing that happened to me didn't have anything to do with our farm animals though. It was … [Read more...]
Last days of summer #LetsLiveBig
It's hard to believe that we are nearing the last days of summer! I'm usually a "glass is half full" kind of person, but let's be honest. August is just flying by at warp speed and soon the kids will be back in school. What better way to cling onto savour the last days of summer than spend as much time out on the lake with our pets? When our precious canine baby, Chance … [Read more...]
Hard to Believe I Haven’t Done Groceries in Three Weeks
It may be lack of time or it may just be tightening our belts, but it's hard to believe I haven't done groceries in three weeks! Not having done groceries in three weeks has not been intentional. Life's been really busy with school starting again and having visitors, and being away for a wedding in Montreal. Although I enjoy a good challenge like Project Empty Out Your … [Read more...]
Chicken Farmers Don’t Just Farm #IHeartChickenFarmers
Having married a farmer, I can attest to the fact that farmers don't just farm. Farming takes up a huge chunk of a farmer's time, but many farmers make time to be active members of their communities. Farmers support their community Take care of your community and your community will take care of you." This is something my husband always says and something our family … [Read more...]
Farming is all about Defying the Odds
* "Farming is all about Defying the Odds" was written by my husband, Farmer John (aka @CanManFarm). Since he had a farm accident and is off his feet for the next 8-10 weeks, he'll be contributing a lot more to the farming section on this blog. * At a distance, farming seems like an easy job to do and to make money with. You just plant, grow, and cultivate, and then harvest … [Read more...]
How TELUS & BlackBerry Helped Save My Husband’s Life #ExpectMore #TeamTELUS
As incredible as it sounds, this is a tale of how TELUS and BlackBerry helped save my husband's life. Almost a decade ago, when Hubby and I were newly married, I urged him to get a cell phone. Oh, but farmers don't need cell phones. Cell phones are just an unnecessary added expense. Wrong. Over the years, Hubby quickly discovered just how valuable technology and … [Read more...]
When the farm must go on without the farmer
Most farming families talk about the "what ifs" in farming. What if something happens to one family member and they can no longer farm? What if there was an accident or even a death? What does one do when the farm must go on without the farmer? The past week has proven to be one filled with many challenges. On Valentine's Day, Hubby went out to the bush to cut fire wood, … [Read more...]
License to Farm
Photo credit: Peter Baumgarten, Creative Island Photography Exploring the truth behind common misconceptions of modern agriculture is an important part of our lives as a farming family. It's a conversation @CanManFarm and I have with people almost daily. We do extensive research on ways to best manage our farm when it comes to everything from soil and crop management to … [Read more...]
Chicken Dumpling Stew
On cold Winter days, Little One wants nothing but soups, stews and chili. In fact, our seven-year old is currently obsessed with chicken dumpling stew! If she had it her way, we'd have soup every night of the week! One of her favourites is my Dad's chicken dumpling stew. Grampy's stew is a Trinidadian Dumpling Stew (can use beef instead of chicken) and includes … [Read more...]
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Though time was not something I had much of this Summer, my garden was surprisingly prolific. We are still picking tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber and green beans halfway through October! I won't mask my feelings of shock. My garden pretty much went untended and we still had a bountiful harvest. I've been making chocolate zucchini brownies and chocolate zucchini cake since … [Read more...]
Keep Chicken Canadian: Support Your Canadian Chicken Farmers
We are a farming family. We raise cattle and grow grain (barley, soy, peas, and other grains), and we also raise chickens. I write this blog post not only from the viewpoint of a farming family, but also from the perspective of a consumer and as a Canadian. As a farming family, it is important for us to grow healthy food not only for our family, but for the public as … [Read more...]
Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake
We grow a lot of fruits and veggies on our farm. I usually plant enough to sustain our family through the Summer, Fall and Winter months. This year, I didn't freeze as much as I wanted to, because life just got really crazy busy. I was looking at the fruits and vegetables I have in my freezer and we're already down to our last bag of rhubarb and our last four bags of … [Read more...]
The Drought
The following post is written by contributor, Jill from Crooked Lake Farm. Jill shares stories of the real side of farming and life on a farm. To read more, follow her on her blog and engage with her on Twitter. This year in Western Canada, Mother Nature delivered dryer than average conditions across the region. These conditions brought a challenge for everyone, but … [Read more...]