Today I was honoured to receive the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (SK) for service in agriculture. It was an honour to be among so many I look up to and have learned from, including writers, fellow farmers, professors and industry leaders.
The slowest thing in the world is a baby calf walking toward your goal destination.
The fastest thing? The same baby calf booking it in the exact opposite direction.
🙃
During a drought, the most precious resource isn’t feed, or bushels or even rain. The most important thing that will pull us through are people. Take care of yourselves and your neighbors. ❤️
We have enjoyed 1.2” rain at Ponteix, SK over the past two days and are grateful for every drop. It does not solve the drought but it smoothes the edges on the hard situation and more importantly, it lightens our hearts and minds. 🙏
#letitrain
I don’t want to brag, but I created this temporary solution to a permanent problem. 💁♀️
Follow me for this, and other RancHER McGyvering tips. Actually, you probably shouldn’t.
Fact: Brand new fence puts a smile on my face.
Lord knows a fence doesn’t need to be new to function. It doesn’t need to be barbed wire. We’ve made many a sketch fence work just fine.
But… I’m pretty happy with this particular shiny stretch.
Kid wisdom: “why do things with “cow” in them cost so much? Cowboy boots, cowboy hat, cow medicine, cow chutes… but the cow itself isn’t worth that much. Why is that?”
😳😬🤯
#truthbomb
#farmkids
Prairie, PJs, popcorn, Perseids. I hauled everyone out to a pasture to watch the meteor shower last night.
Our kids are easily entertained. Their summer highlight reel is a new batch of kittens, bonfires, cousin time, gathering cattle and stacking squares. It’s what we do.
Summer came to a close and with the older 3 kids back to school, I’m left with just one boss at home. Has he always been this chatty? Or does it just seem that way because I’m the only pair of ears left to hear him?
Day 4 - Today’s reason to celebrate
@Agribition
is TEAMWORK! It takes a team of organizers, volunteers & sponsors to make
#CWA23
happen. It takes a team to prep & show and it takes a supportive team at home to keep things rolling when we’re away!
#gelbvieh
#westcdnag
#cdnbeef
If you’ve ever tried to explain your potential mutual connection to someone as “I think we may have drank out of the same boot at a wedding,” you might be from Saskatchewan...
#truth
I was just presented a “Christmas list” (apparently we do those, I guess...?). Seems straight forward, an erasable pen, a cure for COVID, a set of allen wrenches +27 other assorted things or experiences.
#parenting
#kids
There is no child so parched…
No child so hungry…
No child so afflicted with a stubby, dull pencil…
No child so itchy…
As a child in the drive to the finish line for their 4H record books.
From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! I wish you (and, frankly, me) abundant precipitation! Here are some real life outtakes that are probably better than the “perfect” card photos…
There is nothing more heartwarming than attending a branding where everyone - young and old- is handy, hard-working, and willing to pitch in. Days like these are good for the soul and a good reminder that we can never stop advocating for our rural ranch communities.
This barn.
It’s why we live where we do.
It’s worth every effort to patch it, even though it will always be imperfect.
It’s old, but has good bones.
It’s messy, but can be cleaned.
It’s comforting for animals and people, but it can be scary too.
I’m grateful for this old barn.
No internet today but no worries! Thanks to the wind, I can type a note, toss it out the window and it should arrive in Regina by 10am, Ontario by 2pm, and be in eastern Canada by close of business. Seems like a made-in-Saskatchewan solution.🤯
Each fall we combine herds and move groups together, like this herd of commercial
#Gelbvieh
cows with heifer calves. We work toward making the best use of our water and grass resources, with the goal of improving land, water, and soils over time.
#ranching
#lovecdnbeef
#cdnag
I’m incredibly disappointed by the poor science and click-bait nature of this. Plant-based food sources, while important for a balanced diet, require a lot of energy/inputs to produce. Beef is the ultimate plant-based protein. Here’s some science:
Our
#Hutterite
neighbours are some of the most generous people I know. They help us when we need it and I hope they can say the same thing about us.
Discrimination is not ok. 💙
Our May edition of
#FacesofFarming
takes us to Ponteix, Sask., where we join Tara Davidson of Lonesome Dove Ranch. Watch below to hear Tara's perspective on the cattle industry and women working in agriculture.
Parenting is complicated. On one hand “You’re 10, are you really old enough stay home alone yet?” On the other hand “go jingle horses, saddle up and be ready to ride at 6:45am. We aren’t going with you. You’ll figure out the job when you get there. Pack a water bottle.”
This dry mixed grass prairie needs 1+ year of rest to produce. It sequesters C, filters water, is a source of biodiversity, habitat, life.
This ground brought zero financial revenue this year. In a historical drought. But to graze it would leave zero grass for next year. 🤯🤯🤯
A critical tv remote has been missing for the past couple days. Three highly motivated kids (aged 5-8) and two far less motivated adults have investigated thoroughly, to no avail.
The baby just casually sauntered by, carrying it in his grubby hand.
Here’s a tip for the menfolk out there... blasting the air horn when your wife is walking in front of the semi to open the gate for you is NOT considered a romantic gesture.
#ranching
#happywifehappylife
A FB memory that reminds me why I get requests for my insight on grazing management but receive virtually no requests for my strategies on how to parent.
Happy
#CdnAgDay
! I’m a proud Canadian and Saskatchewan farmer who grows food for other families.
But here’s some real talk - agriculture is hard. It takes strategy. It’s incredibly high risk. It takes guts. Also faith. And work. Plus luck.
It’s worthwhile. But it’s not easy.
When you just want a nice, normal family photo but that doesn’t fit with your family’s esthetic and your preschooler decides today is the day to trial a new, super casual smile…
#BeyondMeat
is beyond me.
Is it healthier? No.
Better for the environment? Also no.
I like several proteins (um, hi there, hummus!) but if my family is looking for something that smells, tastes, looks, and feels like beef - it’s going to be beef!
Saskatchewan Sunrises. And programmable plug-ins for Christmas lights that work in spite of my total confusion.
These are giving me all the feels this morning.
My husband worked hard to keep things rolling while I was away at
#cdnbeefconf
this week.
He made sure our 4 young kids were well cared for.
He hauled in 100’s of bales from 200+ km away.
He grew an epic trucker beard.
2/3 ain’t bad.
#MerryChristmas
from our outfit to yours. I truly appreciate the tips, humour, encouragement and friendship from everyone on this weird little app. I hold many of my Twitter friends close even if I haven’t seen you in 3D yet!
Merry Christmas to you all, from our outfit to yours!
I appreciate the conversation, insight, tips, and debate that Twitter provides throughout the year. I hope you all have something that brings you joy this season and wish good things on the horizon for you in 2021!
Most of our days are spent under a fire ban. Many winters we don’t get snow. In our part of the world, “Fire” usually means fear, based on our own hard, extensive experiences.
But…the kids are showing an interest and respect for safe fire and I’m enjoying my morning coffee.
Thanks to good neighbours and child labour we got our bales stacked in the loft. So if you’ve been avoiding us (and our large, stack of idiot cubes), it’s now safe to stop, this job is done😂
This is
#AgMonth19
and
#OurFoodHasAStory
! We set up our ranch on an abandoned farmstead 15 years ago. We moved an older house into a pasture and put a hotwire up to keep the cows out (it almost worked😉).
#wevecomealittleways
My toddler rationalized very eloquently why he can’t use the potty because cattle, horses, dogs and kittens don’t and I’m humbly reminded that you can have four children and have literally no idea what to do with them.
#parenting
Sometimes people are like, “you’ve got lots of kids, what is your top parenting tip?”
Here it is - invest in a really good toilet plunger. That’s it. Everything else, you can wing it. But when the going gets tough, you’re going to be happy you paid the extra $ for a good plunger.
Just to recap, compared to ‘21, we are:
Drier
Feed $ have ⬆️
Interest rates are ⬆️
Grasshoppers & gophers have ⬆️
Grassland/forage acres are ⬇️
BRM/insurance programs have not net tangible assistance
How ‘bout you? Did I miss anything?
#forage
#beef
One of life’s simple pleasures is watching a herd of calves buck around in joy and seeing their mothers lose their freaking minds trying to get them under control.
I identify with this on a lot of different levels…
#gelbvieh
Our 5 year old is seeing a decent runoff for the first time in his life & his joy and excitement is so endearing. I hope we all enjoy a year of growing season grace. We need it.
I sincerely value the opportunity I had to talk about beef, forage and grasslands as a panelist this morning. This sector is critical to our economy, our environment, and our families and I’m always happy to tackle this topic.
#cdnbeef
#ranchlife
#prairie
Panellists from the
#CdnAg
sector gave presentations on their ideas to support sustainable agriculture and the opportunities at hand.
Thank you for your contribution to the conversation.
Prepping for the custom silage crew to roll in and chop our sweet clover. In 15 years I’ve never seen a clover crop like this so I’m gonna enjoy it and make you enjoy it too, dammit!
#chopchop
#silage
#forage
#cdnagwestcdnag
Baby calf poo:
If you don’t kneel in it, step in then track it into your porch
OR
get it on your glove then door handle, followed by steering wheel & finally gear shift,
are you even ranching, bruh?
#calving19
#ranchlife
These 2 pictures were shot 10 years apart, same pasture. It’s not a plant comparison, but a people comparison. In 2012, the younger subject was a bump in my belly, but today she’s very much at peace on horseback, loping over the range, just like dad.
#cdnag
#ranchlife
#gelbvieh
I’ll add my pair of pennies...
I love Canada Post. For rural Canada, they have been the ONLY reliable delivery service from my humble start at Box 96 to my current burgeoning mailbox. And trust me, I’ve tried ‘em all. Our local PO staff go above and beyond.
Guess who’s back?
Back again?
Shrikes are back.
Tell a friend.
Shrikes are back, shrikes are back, shrikes are back, doo doo doo doo…
#loggerheadshrikes
Today, a beautiful space at the Cadillac Tavern was dedicated in memory of a friend. If you’re ever traveling south on Hwy 4, stop in! Great food, great people.
#Cadillac
#southwestSK
A serious reminder to everyone in orange - if you open the gate, shut the gate. It makes everyone’s life - ranchers and hunters - easier and safer.
#Saskatchewan
#huntingseason
🤦♀️
Does public shaming work if my target isn’t on social media?
Wait, am I a cyber bully?
Is there a supportive therapy I can use that encourages gate-closing?