by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

Hunger relief efforts by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank have been given a big boost by a group of farmers, who set a world record in the process.

Although there were several date changes due to the weather forecast, on October 5, 115 farmers combined a 160 acre soybean field simultaneously in Perth County, Ontario in an event called “Harvest 4 Hunger”.  The crop was harvested in 11 minutes and 43.9 seconds, according to the release sent by the organizers.  Although it was not fast enough to beat a Manitoba wheat harvest record as the fastest harvest ever, it was a great effort.

More importantly, though, it raised approximately $250,000 for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to use towards fighting hunger around the world, exceeding the $200,000 goal set by event organizers.

Following the harvest, an auction was held to sell the soybeans.  The release also states the first bushel sold to the public brought $1000, and the first two lots of 1,600 bushels sold for $36 per bushel to the grain trade, which is well above market value.  It is estimated the yield was 8,000 bushels.

In addition to the crowd of approximately 3,000 people who watched the event, there were also two fixed wing aircraft, three helicopters and many video cameras documenting the harvest. 

Once the final weights of grain are known, organizers will have a more accurate total for the amount of money raised.  On the day of the event, lunch was available by donation to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and the public can “donate a bushel” for $20 on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank website. 

The link for the website is: https://secure.peaceworks.ca/cfgb/donate/donation_make_form?notes=Donate%20a%20Bushel to donate a bushel.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of Christian churches and Christian-based agencies.  It is active in hunger relief efforts in developing countries.

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Posted by FFC on October 12th, 2011 :: Filed under Canada,Consumers,Education and public awareness,Farm life,Feeding the world,Food,Media,Sustainability of the family farm
Tags :: education, Farmers, food, technology

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 by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

Sometimes when an animal is born, it may need a little bit of extra care to get going, just like some babies need more care than others.  For whatever reason (they may have been born early, been a multiple birth, or been slow to nurse), they end up needing extra attention, and sometimes, extra warmth.

Since we had a mixture of dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and goats on our farm growing up, we also had a variety of experiences with these special animals.  During a barn check, we would go out, and occasionally notice a newborn animal that was weaker than the others.  Since the weak ones always seem to be born during cold weather, the barn that other newborn animals found comfortable was too cold for the weak newborns.

We had a system at our house to nurse these animals back to health.  During the late winter and early spring, we would create a special care area where we knew the small, young animals would be warm and watched very carefully.  As soon as we had one which we were worried about, we would wrap it in blankets, towels, our coats, or anything else that was handy, and off we would go.  To where?  The kitchen, of course!

Our house was divided years ago, and actually has two kitchens: one for Grandma and one for us.  Our kitchen had a wood stove which kept it nice and toasty warm, while Grandma’s kitchen was always warm from the oven and stove being on.  We would find a cardboard box in the basement which was the right size for our newest addition to the farm, and fill it with blankets and towels.  Then, we would dutifully place the box in one of the two kitchens, and the family would be notified about our house guest. 

Since Grandma was semi-retired and later then retired, she would take care of the animals while we were in the barn.  When we were in the house, all of us would take turns.  We kept colostrum in the freezer in different sized containers, so there was always some ready to be thawed and warmed.  Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mammary gland of a cow after calving. It is a rich source of nutrients, fats and antibodies. Feeding colostrum to the calf is critical in the first hours of life as it provides essential nutrients and infection-fighting antibodies to the newborn. If the animal was strong enough to drink on its own, we would feed it using a bottle.  If not, we used a syringe to squirt small amounts of milk at a time into the animal’s mouth. 

Besides feeding the animals milk, we would move them around in the box and rub them with blankets, towels, or our hands from time to time to make sure their circulation was okay.  It was a big job whenever one of these needy animals was born, but it had to be done, and we did not complain.  We would even set our alarms to go off in the middle of the night when the animals would need more milk.

At one time, I remember there being several lambs who were from multiple births and whose mothers did not have enough milk for and a tiny, premature calf in Grandma’s kitchen.  This was not a common thing…most of the animals born are healthy, and their mothers can care for them from the start.  Often there were no animals in the house at all.
We would always become quite attached to these animals, and they would become attached to us, too.  In most cases, within a few days they were strong enough to rejoin the herd.  Sometimes, the animals would not make it.  Whenever this happened, the whole family would try and think of what more we could have done.  We always hated those days.  We had tried as hard as we could, but that specific little one just was not strong enough.

Farming is full of good days and bad.  We never know what to expect when we wake up in the morning, but some of the best days are when you see the special nursing and attention given to an animal pay off, and a formerly sick animal become healthy again.

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Posted by FFC on June 24th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Animal health,Beef cattle,Canada,Dairy cattle,Farm life,Sheep,Weather
Tags :: animal care, animal welfare, animals, beef, dairy cattle, Farmers, sheep

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

Recalls happen either because a company finds a problem on its own or is informed of a problem by someone else, after the product has gone out the door. For farmers and food companies, prevention is the ticket to avoiding these events as well as the financial and public relations fallout associated with an outbreak of food-borne illness. To avoid food recalls means starting at the farm.

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Posted by FFC on June 20th, 2011 :: Filed under Canada,Consumers,eggs,Food safety,Meat/slaughter plants
Tags :: Consumers, diet, food safety, meat

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

Fact:  There is no such thing as “zero risk”.

Canadians, unlike other parts of the world, enjoy one of the safest, most abundant and diverse food supplies. We don’t know empty shelves or tapeworms.  But despite that, I think it is only reasonable to expect more food recalls in the future.

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Posted by FFC on June 13th, 2011 :: Filed under Canada,Consumers,Food safety
Tags :: agriculture, Canada, Consumers, food, food safety

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We think this Canadian student’s passion for farming and his willingness to talk openly to others is an inspiration. In the last few months, he has spoken to hundreds of students at a Woodstock-area high school about food and farming. Keep reading to hear Rudi’s story.

by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate.

When Rudi Spruit attended a recent conference of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario and saw a presentation about the misinformation consumers have about agriculture and food, he knew he wanted to do something to help spread the right information. “There are lots of misconceptions. Even teachers have some. I try to encourage others to learn,” says Spruit, a young farmer from Ontario.

What has evolved from an idea formed in March has turned into a 50 minute presentation made to various classes at Spruit’s school. So far, Spruit estimates he has presented to 300 students from his 850 student school. Spruit says there are a total of between 20 and 25 farmers attending the school.

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Posted by FFC on June 6th, 2011 :: Filed under Canada,Dairy cattle,Education and public awareness,Misconceptions,Pigs,Speaking out,Urban Myths
Tags :: Canada, Consumers, education, Farmers, misconceptions

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

I’ve never met Alice Stuart, but she isn’t unique to me. I’ve met lots of farmers who feel exactly the same way she does. And I would like to meet her too. Alice is from Edam, Saskatchewan and was one of many farmers and ranchers across Canada who submitted essays to the Farming Is My Life contest. The contest was an opportunity for farmers and ranchers to write about their profession and what drives them to choose the rewarding, yet often challenging, lifestyle of the farmer in Canada. Alice’s winning entry appeared in Cattlemen’s Magazine in January. Here it is in her own words…

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Posted by FFC on May 20th, 2011 :: Filed under Beef cattle,Canada,Farm life
Tags :: agriculture, animals, Canada, Farmers

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By Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate

A great man in agricultural education was given a much-deserved recognition by the Ontario Farm Animal Council at its annual general meeting on April 5.

Fred Cahill, owner of the Texas Longhorn Ranch and known to countless people simply as “Cowboy Fred” has joined an elite group of agricultural enthusiasts who have received the “Friend of OFAC” award over the last 12 years. 

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Posted by FFC on April 6th, 2011 :: Filed under Beef cattle,Canada,Education and public awareness,Farm life,Horses
Tags :: agriculture, animals, cattle, Consumers, education, farm tours, Farmers

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Guest Blog by Jeanine Moyer Jeanine was raised on a pig, beef cattle and crop farm in Ontario

Spring comes to our farm early. We don’t wait for the green grass or baby calves, the annual spring bull sale is enough for us. Each year a catalogue of potential sires is mailed out to our farm marking the onset of the spring season. Dad and Uncle spend hours pouring over the pictures, details and genetic makeup of each animal before settling on their select few they would like to purchase at the upcoming sale.

Sale day often dawns on a chilly Saturday and once chores are finished we pile into the farm pickup and head for Listowel, ON with trailer in tow. You’re never guaranteed to bring anything home but Dad always hitches up the trailer just in case. Any farm gathering, whether it be a local auction sale, farm tour or in this case, a bull sale offers donuts and coffee and as kids this was a great opportunity to eat our fill.

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Posted by FFC on April 4th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Auction sales,Beef cattle,Canada,Farm life,Transportation
Tags :: agriculture, beef, Farmers

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

In recent years, the term ‘factory farm’ has been used with growing frequency in both conventional and online/social media to signify anything and everything that is seen as bad in livestock and poultry production. The term is almost exclusively used to criticize animal farming. You rarely hear it used to describe greenhouse tomatoes for example.

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Posted by FFC on March 17th, 2011 :: Filed under Canada,Consumers,Education and public awareness,Family vs factory farming
Tags :: agriculture, Consumers, Farmers, Media

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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

Recent revelations about the circumstances behind a sled dog cull in Whistler B.C. has gotten world-wide attention and has spurred some of agriculture’s critics to capitalize on this attention.  One of several examples was a Vancouver Sun commentary in which the author surmises that the mass shooting of nearly 100 sled dogs is no different than what occurs in animal agriculture on an hourly basis.  Citing a number of activist references and websites, this regular columnist goes on to say that he finds “it curious that we’re justifiably disturbed by the unspeakable act at Whistler yet remain largely complacent about the cruel and completely unnecessary slaughter of other animals.” By misrepresenting  agricultural practices he paints a false picture that demanded a response. After all, if agriculture doesn’t speak-up for itself, who will?

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Posted by FFC on February 15th, 2011 :: Filed under Activism,Animal care,Animal cruelty,Canada,Letters to the Editor
Tags :: activists, agriculture, animal care, animal welfare, Canada, Farmers, misconceptions

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