by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong dairy farmer and agricultural advocate

I always found, growing up, one of the hardest questions to answer was “what’s your favourite season?”  I loved them all!  As each change in the seasons came, I would look forward to the change with anticipation. 

Spring, to me, meant a time for new life.  Not only in the barn, either.  Dairy cows have calves year round, which is why we have a steady supply of milk in the grocery stores.  Other animals, like beef cows, sheep and meat goats, have most of their young during the late winter and spring months.  I have always loved driving down the road in the spring, and seeing the young animals out on pasture.  It is a sight that will make me smile every time, no matter how often I see it.

---

Posted by FFC on March 25th, 2011 :: Filed under Crops,Dairy cattle,Farm life,Other livestock,spring,Weather
Tags :: dairy cattle, farm, Farmers

---

by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

Being on a farm is a great experience and has many benefits.  Anyone living on, working on, or visiting a farm though should remember the dangers that can exist.

---

Posted by FFC on March 21st, 2011 :: Filed under Farm life,Farm Safety
Tags :: animal care, animals, Canada, Farm Safety, Farmers

---

 by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

Although it seems there is not much to do in the winter on a farm, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work which people don’t think about.  Many people realize the animals still need to be cared for…that is a given.  But, as winter draws to a close, it is the start of calving season for many beef farmers, kidding season for goat farmers, and lambing season for sheep farmers.  Winter days in the barn can bring some extra jobs, as well.  Water bowls can freeze, straw can become wet even faster than normal because of the snow and animals that graze at other times during the year need supplemental feed.

---

Posted by FFC on March 15th, 2011 :: Filed under Family vs factory farming,Farm life,Weather,winter
Tags :: animal care, animals, Canada, Farmers

---

Vet tech turned pig farmer in the 2011 Faces of Farming calendar

By Patricia Grotenhuis

Pigs have captured the interest of Katherine Zurczak, a registered Veterinary Technician and city girl turned farmer.

Zurczak had her first encounter with pigs while studying to be a veterinary technician at Ridgetown College.  She was quickly fascinated by her work with the animals, and after graduating in June of 2009, began working at Hog-Wild Farms Ltd. in Ontario.

---

Posted by FFC on March 8th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Education and public awareness,Faces of Farming,Family vs factory farming,Farm life,Misconceptions,Pigs,Pork
Tags :: agriculture, animal care, Farmers, pigs, Pork

---

For more than a decade now, there’s been a movement across Canada with a goal of empowering farmers to take a chance, Speak Up, and share their passion for farming with the public - most of whom have no direct connection with food or farming. And we’re happy to report that movement appears to be growing. We’re seeing farmers start blogs, tweet from their tractors, write letters to the editor on topics of importance to them and take a chance on doing more media interviews when we know that they’d much rather be working in their barns or in their fields. Michele Payn-Knoper of Indiana is a farmer and an agricultural advocate who works tireless to champion the farmers’ cause. We especially like this blog post, posted at www.causematters.com earlier this year and reprinted here with permission from her. Michele’s cited a number of the “excuses” she’s heard for farners not speaking up about agriculture - if you have any more, feel free to comment on the blog post below! -  OFAC

 The new year typically starts with motivational tips, hype about resolutions and pressure to make promises of how we’re going to do things differently. Not me. I’m bringing an entirely different perspective on advocacy – a highly sarcastic view on why we SHOULD NOT tell agriculture’s story. Several ag folks from across the U.S. and Canada added to the list on Twitter and Facebook – you’re welcome to post your own comment in the spirit of some fun.
Shhh, there’s no need to tell your story!

15.  Agriculture has little economic contribution – and the American economy is thriving.  After all, 80%+ of the economy isn’t reliant on the agrifood system – and surely your community doesn’t benefit from property taxes and jobs paid by farms.

14. “It’s embarrassing to have people thank you for producing their food. I don’t want people to think I am a corporate shill (every farmer who speaks out is one, right?) says sheep and daughter raiser Venessa in her own Spartan sarcasm.

13. “Who needs consumers anyway? I can still farm without people to buy my grain and animals that eat my grain. I like grain storage.  Those big shiny bins are SO pretty and cheap…” was a heavily sarcastic comment from Sarah Bedgar Wilson, a young farmer in North Dakota (the cold made her do it, I’m sure).

---

Posted by FFC on March 4th, 2011 :: Filed under Consumers,Education and public awareness,Farm life,HSUS,Misconceptions,Speaking out,Uncategorized,Urban Myths
Tags :: activists, Farmers, HSUS, Media, misconceptions, sustainability

---

By Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

It’s a hot, sunny summer day, and pigs are all out wallowing in the mud, happy as could be.  Or are they? 

Pigs, when housed outdoors, will use mud to keep cool if necessary.  They lack sweat glands (making it impossible to “sweat like a pig”), so the only way they can cool themselves is by getting moisture on their skin which can than evaporate and create a cooling effect.  Mud would work for this cooling effect, as does water.

Although pigs are normally associated with messes (“your room is a pig sty” probably being the most common example), they actually like clean environments to live in.  Pigs are quite comfortable living in a clean, dry barn with adequate supplies of food and water.

---

Posted by FFC on March 1st, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,Housing,Pigs,Pork,Urban Myths,Weather
Tags :: animals, environment, Farmers, pigs

---