The face of a farm is ever-changing. When I first moved onto
the farm, the pasture was dotted with fluffy white sheep as far as the eye
could see. The Farmer started with a dozen or so sheep in 1998 when he built
the farmhouse to accompany his newly purchased 200 acres and barn. Every year
he sold the male lambs after weaning and let the females stay to keep the ram
busy and build up the herd. Before long, he had a herd of 200 sheep. The farm
was quite well suited to sheep farming, but it didn’t start out that way.
A long while ago, The Fisher Farm was a mink farm. Then it
was a piggery for years. The feeders and pens were built low to the ground to
accommodate the pigs, so the Farmer didn’t have to renovate much to host his
sheep. Cattle are another story. We added two Hereford cows to our menagerie in
2008, and slowly started building that herd so we could move out of sheep
farming. Sheep are hard on your back. You are in a constant bent-over state,
trimming their hooves, shearing them, administering their monthly shots and
pulling them out of whatever mess they have managed to entangle themselves in.
I also found sheep farming extremely hard on my heart. With lambing season
happening at the tail end of winter, a freezing cold barn often meant a high
lamb mortality rate. Sheep are also adept at contracting all varieties of
disease, named in the most obvious of ways: Stiff Leg Disease; Hard Bag; Foot
Rot; Sore Mouth; Bent Leg; Frothy Bloat; and even Fuzzy Lamb Syndrome. Sheep
farming was never a very good money maker for us. We did it because we enjoyed
it, and as the Farmer says, it kept him busy.
Cattle farming was, for the most part, a much simpler
venture. The cows often give birth without any human intervention or help. We
have had at least one problem calf each year that requires bottle feeding or
other assistance at the start. But other than the first week or so where we
have to keep Mom and Babe inside the pen (which used to house sheep and is
constantly getting destroyed by cows), cattle farming has been pretty easy.
The cattle test our fences for us every year. If there is a
weak section of fence, they will find it. Then we get a call from a neighbour
about cows in the road, or in their backyard. That’s how the Farmer knows it is
time to reinforce the electric wiring.
Cattle farming has been fairly profitable for us over the
past few years, but last year’s drought was a real lesson in what can happen
when your meadows don’t replenish themselves. We had to dip into our winter hay
storage to feed our herd during the summer. This was expensive. When we
factored in how much we were getting for each calf sent to market, we realized
they weren’t exactly paying their room and board. It may be time for another
step in the evolution of the Fisher Farm.
“I think I’m slowing down a bit,” said the Farmer as we
sipped our drinks during the first afternoon patio-sit of the season. “I hate
to think of not being the Farmer anymore though…” and by that I knew he was
referring to his farming-as-a-hobby to keep him from getting bored in his
semi-retirement. How a real estate agent who is building a log cabin and
maintaining his own property has time to get bored is beyond me. But I know
farming is important to him as it keeps him healthy. With animals depending on
you making a trip to the barn each morning and night, you are getting out of
the house in all kinds of weather. I really think this is why he is never sick
– because he spends so much time out of doors. Then there is the shoveling of
their manure and pitching their hay. You save money on a gym membership.
We can rent out the rest of our pasture fields for cash
crops, but it would be nice to find something else to occupy the barns, and
keep the Farmer busy. I’m thinking about all that woodworking equipment he has
in the shed. I know several people who would really appreciate some handmade wood
furniture, including yours truly.
email: dianafisher1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment