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A Bale Grazing Throwback

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I was looking through farm pictures today as I put together a presentation for Friday’s Celebrating Rural Ranching Women event in Maple Creek. I found these goldies from 2012 when we had a PILE of snow. We bale graze our cattle through the winter months. These bales of hay are left where they dropped from the baler, and only wrapped a couple of times with Sisal twine to hold them together. During the winter months, cattle are rotated through 80 acre paddocks of bales. We LOVE bale grazing – it not only saves a ton of work and labour, but it also leaves valuable soil nutrients (from manure and left over hay) out in the field where it belongs, rather than in the yard.

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You can see how hard the lead cows had to work every time they were moved into a new field. Those brave lead cows would strike a path to the next bale, and the rest of the herd would follow in her footsteps.  Most years we leave the calves on the cows through to February, but not that year! The cows had to work hard enough to get their meals, they did not need the added stress of producing milk for a calf as well.

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We also supplemented the cows with grain that year to keep them in good body shape. Just because mother nature throws you a curve-ball, doesn’t mean your animals should go hungry or lose weight.

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This winter has been especially mild, and we have less than a foot of snow. This would be the perfect bale grazing, or even swath grazing, year. Mother nature (again) had different plans for us. Because our spring and early summer were so dry, a large portion of our feed was oats that were silaged. This mean that (again) we weaned early. If you are hauling feed, it is much easier to feed calves in the yard. The cows have spent some time bale grazing, but we have also hauled silage out to them.

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I am glad we didn’t have to haul the feed out in 2012… We had to push a new road through the snow each time we went out to the cows!

Looking back reminds me yet again that just when you think you have things figured out on the farm, just when you think you have the perfect system down pat, Mother Nature, markets or just life will bring you down a notch!

This Morning I Jinxed Myself…. Ranch Wife Style

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This morning I woke up in a GREAT mood. I got the kids off to school, managed to remember to send them both with lunch, books, backpacks, and skates, helmets and hockey gloves for school skating. I was looking forward to a day of straightening up the house, tackling the mountain of laundry, and having uninterrupted time to tackle some computer/office needs. Apparently I was looking a little TOO forward to it, because I did that thing us ranch wives should NEVER DO – I not only said it out loud, I proclaimed it.

I am NOT leaving my yard today!

And wouldn’t you just know it, not 30 minutes later, isn’t Jake (our main Shop Man Extraordinaire) at the door with those dreaded words.

“What are you doing today?”

Followed by:

“Parts Run”

The worst part was that I had no one to blame but myself. I had irreversibly jinxed myself. Before I knew it, I went from looking at my shrinking “to-do” list to staring at this:

Followed by this:

 

Lesson of the day: You are 100% more likely to be given a speeding ticket when pulled over in a brand new Honda Pilot than an old junky craptacular Dodge Mini-Van.

To add injury to insult, once home, we realized half the parts they sent me home with were ones we had ordered 4 months ago. I am sure the parts guy will be shocked to learn that we have no need for swather parts in January.

Real Numbers for Beef’s Environtmental Footprint

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Last year on Earth Day (April 22nd), my local paper published an article on how to be more “green”. In it, they suggested going meatless for some of the time because of beef’s poor environmental footprint. I wrote an article to counter this idea, as I see every day what beef’s actual footprint looks like. Read that post here. 

While doing some research for that post, I spoke with Tracy Herbert from the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC). She pointed out that while there has been quite a lot of research done in this area, there had not yet been an effort to pull the data from all those studies together to come up with one over-all consensus, but that they were working on it. 

I am happy to report that the results from phase one of that study are in, (see it here), and things are looking very positive for the beef industry! Over all they have found that we are producing significantly MORE beef (32% more), while using significantly LESS resources (24% less land and 29% less breeding stock), and creating a significantly SMALLER environmental footprint (15% less greenhouse gasses). 

  
While I only have to look out my front window to see first hand what beef does to (or for) our environment, this study that puts exact numbers on what we do is very exciting. We can only improve if we know where we started, and every farmer I know only wants to improve how they farm. I can’t wait to see where we are in 10, 20 and 50 years from now! 

For more info, visit the BCRC’s website, here. Or read Real Agriculture’s article on the study here. 

  
 

Today’s View From My (Back) Ranch Porch

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One of the signs of healthy land that I am most proud about is the population of wildlife that cohabitats with our livestock on the ranch. Waterfowl, birds of prey, mule deer, moose, foxes, white tail deer (ok, maybe too many of those!) not only live on our land, but their populations are flourishing.

While these increasing populations are a great sign of a healthy ecosystem, sometimes it’s a little disconcerting to share your space with the wild! 

This morning our visitor seemed content to make himself at home and stay awhile. I was just as happy to see him go…

  
   

My 5 New Year’s Resolutions for 2016

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Most years if I come up with New Year’s resolutions, they are pointed, direct and specific. For example I have resolved to stop eating fries, never yell at my kids, and be outside for at least an hour every day. The problem with these very specific resolutions, is that they are impossible to keep. Never again yell at my kids? Yeah right, until they are ripping each other’s hair out 10 minutes later. Fail. 

This year I decided to use my resolutions as broad areas that I can actually improve my life (and the lives of my family). It comes as no surprise that many of them revolve around the farm. None of them involve actually being a better mother or wife, although if they make me happy, I am sure that will follow through. So enough preamble. Here they are:

  

Riding has always been my hobby of choice. I dreadfully miss my years of competitive riding. I have been waiting for years (and years!) for the right time to buy myself a good horse. I plan on spending a good chunk of money, and have been very realistic that when I actually purchase said horse, I need to be able to spend enough time riding it to justify the dollars spent. 2016 is the year! 

This resolution also means I will spend more time reading (I love books!) and more time with good friends. My kids are finally old enough (8 and 10), that although they keep me busy with their activities, they are so much less needy. I resolve to make time for me!!

  

One of the greatest things I learned at University, was how to learn! We have always been pretty good here at the ranch to try new things and learn more every year, but there is always room for more. I also want to learn so much more about blogging, photography, editing and creating visuals (memes and infographics). So much to learn, so little time. My resolution is to be curious and learn more about more!

  

One of my greatest joys of 2015 was the creating of this blog. I have enjoyed every moment of writing here. My only regret is not writing more. When I first started out, my goal was to have one new post for each week. I failed miserably. This year I need to set aside 2 hours each week to write. Sometimes that may mean a post a week. Sometimes that will hopefully mean I have a collection of posts in my back pocket for the weeks that get too crazy to take time to write. I resolve to make this time to write!

 
We are so incredibly lucky to live in one of the honest to goodness most beautiful places in the world. Rolling hills, sparkling wetlands, miles and miles of vast grasslands filled with cohabiting wildlife and livestock. It is so very easy to forget to look up now and then and take that moment to appreciate what is around us. The picture above was just like any other day. Aaron and I were out feeding the heifers, and it barely even warranted a picture. The hoar frost has been unbelievable this year, and now we hardly even notice it. Can you imagine seeing that kind of beauty so often that it isn’t even noticeable. I resolve to look up more this year!

  

Aaron and I could not be more proud to be raising young ranchers. While they will have every chance to choose the farm life, or not, we are comfortable knowing that both Noelle and Cole are involved daily on the ranch operations. Their knowledge of our ranch and animal husbandry is better than some of our peers. To be honest, many days they know more about what is going on than I do. It is important to me that we continue to take the time to foster this love within both of them. 

For all of the people, young and old, who are not fortunate enough to grow up on a ranch like our kids, it is equally important for me to share our story with them. We don’t just play at ranching – we raise the actual food that is on people’s plate, and they deserve to know how it got there. They should know how much we sacrifice, how hard we work, and how much we care to make that food as safe, healthy and delicious as it is. I resolve to continue to share and foster our passion and love of the land, animals and agriculture! 

What Saskatchewan Farmers Need To Learn from Alberta (and Ontario)

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For anyone involved in Canadian agriculture, it’s pretty hard to miss the news of what is going on in Alberta with Bill 6 and the farmer uprising against it. Social and print media alike are on fire with farmer protests. If you are not up with what Bill 6 is all about, read more about it on Real Agriculture here, or how it directly effects Alberta farmers here on a post from Sarah Schultz of Nurse Loves Farmer (she does a much better job at explaining this than I could!) 

Last year saw similar farmer strife in Ontario surrounding their government Neonic insecticide ban. 
Those of us lucky enough to farm here in Saskatchewan are happily sitting back and rubbing our proverbially full tummies, proclaiming to the world how awesome we have it here.  I’ll admit it, I’ve sent my fair share of boastful tweets about how great farming in Saskatchewan is. 

  
But before we get too comfortable sitting back resting on our laurels, take a moment to rewind Alberta back 4 or so years. I am pretty darn sure they were in our spot then; pretty happy sitting back, looking at places like Ontario, with a “It can’t happen here, we have it great!” kinda attitude. 

After speaking with a handful of great farmers from both Alberta and Ontario, I have come up with a collection of advice that both they and I feel that the Saskatchewan agriculture industry needs to learn from their mistakes. 

1. Engage Our Politicians BEFORE we have a problem. Do you know what kind of constituents that politicians NEVER hear from? Happy ones!! They are so accustomed to only hearing from people with a beef, it must be increadibly wearing. These are the people driving policy that directly effects our business. This is who we need to connect with and forge relationships with long before there is a fire to be put out. Don’t just leave it up to our industry/commodity groups. It is up to each one of us to be the leader in this relationship. 

2. Never forget the power of consumer popular opinion. The driving force behind the Neonic ban in Ontario didn’t come from well meaning (but clueless) politicians. An outcry from urban consumers alarmed about the seemingly imminent “Beepocalypse” is what drove such unscientific policy. Ontario farmers have lamented that they did not move quickly enough to bridge the disconnect between viral social media hysteria in consumers, and what the real issues are on farms. 

3. Never underestimate the power of banding together. I think every farmer out there can see how difficult it can be to get a consensus (on any given subject) with a large group of other farmers. We can be judgemental of each other and can have a real hard time holding our tongues and opinions in. Of what has been happening in Alberta, I think there is one thing most Alta farmers can agree on. They are incredibly proud of the way they have banded together. Even the Hutterites, who the government offered to exempt from bill 6, have stuck by their fellow farmers and demanded that the government hear the farmers collective voice. Moving forward, whatever complex issues and problems are thrown at the Sask Ag industry this is a lesson we must remember. There is power in numbers and a united voice.  

Every election year brings new faces in power, whether there is a change in government or not. As we look to our own provincial election this spring, how comfortable are we with the outcome? How comfortable are we with the relationship we have with Canadian consumers? How skilled are we at supporting our fellow farmers? 

We are so very blessed to be lucky enough to be farming in Saskatchewan (and not just for the low land prices!). Are we ready to look outside of our neat, straight borders and see what the future could hold for us? Are we ready? 

Cattlemen’s Young Leaders – Angela Kumlin

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As I mentioned in a previous post here, Aaron and I are currently acting as mentors to a young agricultural professional, Angela Kumlin, as part of the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program. As part of our journey together, I have asked Angela to write a guest blog post about her experience thus far. Take a moment to read her story below, and welcome her to the vast (and amazing) world of the beef industry!!

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Hello there!

My name is Angela Kumlin and I am participating in the 2015/2016 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Program (hereafter referred to CYL). Through this program I have been matched up with Adrienne and Aaron Ivey as my mentors, so Adrienne asked me to do a guest blog post to tell you all about CYL.

I heard about CYL through some friends who had been involved in the program. They had nothing but good things to say about it, although they did seem to have trouble putting into words what was so awesome about it. “It’s just…awesome. You should do it.” I heard this several times, so in January of 2015 I sent in my application! I hope I can articulate it well enough to justify how awesome this program really is.

The application process was quite simple, although took some hard thinking on my part. “Describe your involvement in the cattle industry” – easy enough, but then throw in some doozies like “In 250 words or less describe your goals in the cattle industry.” 250 words! If you haven’t figured it out already, my thesis prof described me as “quite verbose”, so I had trouble keeping my thoughts concise.

Shortly after applications were sent in, 26 applicants out of about 70 were chosen for the final selections process in March in Saskatoon. When I arrived I knew a few people already, as several of last year’s mentees were there for their CYL graduation. There were lots that I didn’t know though, and we spent the next two days meeting and learning from one another, competing at round table discussions to vie for a spot in the program, and becoming a great group of friends. The round table discussions were challenging but very interesting, and I learned a lot just from listening to the perspectives of the other applicants. We also had a guest speaker panel one evening where we could ask questions of some prominent figures in agriculture, such as Marty Seymour [CEO of Agribition].

One day after returning home from selections, a friend in the program texted and said, “You’re in, congrats! I made it too!” So we all waited eagerly to hear who our mentors would be. When I first called Adrienne to introduce myself, we spent a half hour on the phone learning about each other’s backgrounds. When my husband came home that evening I told him about Adrienne and Aaron’s ranch and their business and lifestyle. His first comment was “That’s crazy – they picked people who are exactly who we want to be in ten years!”

This became even more evident when we went to visit Aaron and Adrienne in September to meet in person and tour their ranch. Not only do they have an operation similar to what we would love to run someday, but they are great people. I don’t say this lightly – they really are! Gracious hosts, great senses of humour, awesome kids, and a real zest for life, agriculture, beef, and trying new things. We were extremely impressed. We had some great discussions around their kitchen table that have had us scratching our heads, crunching numbers, and throwing ideas around since we left.

As a part of the mentorship within CYL, we are also allowed a travel budget to participate in some educational experiences. Since Aaron and Adrienne were the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmer’s last year, they have invited me to go to that conference this year in Edmonton, which I am really looking forward to. Adrienne and I are also hoping to go to Altech’s Rebelation conference in Kentucky next spring.

Some of my goals with my mentorship this year were to learn about risk management within a ranching business, succession planning, social license and talking to the public about agriculture, grazing management, and employee management. Aaron, Adrienne, and I have set goals and steps for me to learn something about each of these topics over the course of the year. I am looking forward to spending more time on each of these topics! I truly appreciate the time they are spending with us to give us a leg up in this industry. It is a big time commitment and they are busy people, so it means even more when they take the time out of their day to call and chat about what’s going on in the beef industry.

Outside of the mentor aspect of CYL, the program offers a lot of other opportunities to CYL participants. There are competitions within the program to go on trips, such as to the Five Nations Beef Alliance which is being held in Mexico this year. There are also forums every few months where we all get together and go through some training (ex. negotiations training and leadership training), hear fantastic guest speakers, network with prominent figures in the beef industry as well as one another and our mentors, and volunteer to give back to our industry. Several of us will be volunteering at booths during Agribition. If you are interested in the program, be sure to stop one of us to say hi and ask about how to get involved! Applications for 2016 will be accepted between Jan 1st and March 31st 2016. If you are looking for more information on CYL, you can visit their website at http://www.cattlemensyoungleaders.com/.

Funding for the CYL program is made available through its foundation partners: UFA Co-operative Ltd., the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), Cargill, and MNP. The program also receives support from gold sponsors Farm Credit Canada and New Holland. The CYL Spring Forum in 2015 was sponsored by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Cattlemen’s Young Leaders 

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This summer I was contacted by the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) committee asking if I would be interested in acting as a mentor in their program. This is an amazing program that aims to create leaders in our top young cattle producers through training, experiences and mentorship.

Although I did not know who my Mentee would be, I was given a list of her goals and objectives to get out of the program, and I was struck by how closely they followed the issues and obstacles that Aaron and I had overcome over the past 15 years on the ranch. Grazing plans, agvocacy, succession planning, and the process of building a cow herd from the ground up were all topics we have spent the past decade focusing the better part of our brains on.

Aaron and I already spend a significant amount of time volunteering for both local organizations and provincial Ag associations, so our first reaction to the mentor request was, “how can we possibly fit this in as well?” But we saw the value in passing along not only our successes, but maybe more importantly, our failures. Although we had a strong network of peers, and were extremely fortunate in coming from incredible farming families whom we learnt a lot from, we never had formal mentors. We see the value in mentorship to the Canadian Beef Industry. In our eyes, the communication of knowledge is one of the greatest barriers within our industry. So without knowing a lot about the program, we took the plunge and took on the challenge.

  
Our Mentee, Angela Kumlin, has impressed us with her intelligence and drive. Our time spent with her has been extremely productive and rewarding. I won’t give away too much of her journey, as I have asked her to write a guest post for this blog. Read about her experience here.

For more info on the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program look here, or follow them on Twitter at @CYLProgram

Our Thanksgiving Message: Thank You for Choosing Canadian Beef This Year. 

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These is one absolute truth here on the ranch:

We love raising beef!!

We are incredibly fortunate to be able to make a living doing what we love every day of our lives. 

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, so I though it more than appropriate to share our message  of giving thanks to all of you who chose Canadian beef. 

View our Thanksgiving message HERE. 

Thank you!!! 

  
  

If McDonalds and A&W, Costco and Walmart can work together, why can’t we as farmers?

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This week I had the amazing experience of acting as tour guide for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef AGM Tour. The CRSB is an unprecedented initiative where stakeholders from the entire food chain have come together to define and improve beef sustainability in Canada. Stakeholders that have dedicated their time, effort and funds to this include Costco and Walmart, McDonalds and A&W, Producer Groups (Canadian Cattlemen’s Assn), wildlife groups (World Wildlife Federation) and packers (Cargill). It is an incredibly diverse group of people with diverse, and sometimes even divergent goals. 

 

             A common thread
As I chatted amongst these high level thinkers within competing industries I was struck by one overwhelming common thread. Each person there, each organization, was there for the sole purpose of making the beef industry (from the beginning, middle to end) not perfect, but BETTER. With so many opinions, and so many end goals, reaching each groups perfect goal is impossible. They each understand this fact, but it does not stop them from working together to make things BETTER. BETTER is not perfect, and it may never be, but it IS with working for. 

  What farmers can learn from this

My time recently spent on social media has been disparaging to the point of causing me to actively avoid Twitter. Agricultural in-fighting feels like it is at an all time high. Organic vs conventional, supply management vs export markets, big farms vs the little guy. It feels as though every sector of agriculture has backed itself into a protectionist corner, spitting mad and firing uncalled for shots at anyone that dares question them. 

So what would happen if we chose instead to put down the word cannons and focus on making things BETTER? Instead of ripping each other apart, we asked questions? What if we chose to stop the strive for perfection in our own section, and switched our focus to making all of Ag BETTER? Surely if McDonalds can work with A&W, then beef and dairy, organic and conventional, large and small can chose the same path. BETTER sounds good to me. Is BETTER enough for you?