A Family Affair

So I am sure everyone is familiar with the term "Spring Cleaning".  Most of you probably cringe at the thought. But trust me, you don't have it that bad.  On the farm, we take "spring cleaning" to the next level.  The entire family gets involved.  Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Jessica and I, and our dogs even take a role.  Last year I got off easy and got to skip the cleaning extravaganza because I stayed in Edmonton at University to take a Spring Course.  I don't know what I was thinking when I didn't sign up for one this year, quite obviously I wasn't thinking at all.  My sister however conveniently had Volleyball Nationals this week so instead of helping out around the farm, she gets to hang with the team in British Columbia.  Unreal.

Grandpa, me and Dad after vaccinating the cattle!

I figure that the easiest way to fill you in on just what has to be done around this place come spring, is to make a list for you!

• Seeding our crops



Dad getting the Harrows ready to hit the field

• One of the first things that happens around the farm in the spring is the seeding of the crops.  Most of the calves are born by the beginning of May, so we then turn our attentions to the fields.  There are many steps involved in planting a crop, and it is actually quite a lengthy process. 
<-- This is my dad harrowing!
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• In the fall, after the harvest, some farmers cultivate their land.  Cultivating works the ground, breaking up the dead crop on the top of it and mixing up the soil, leaving clumps of dirt.  Some farmers on the other hand go with a zero till method.  These farmers leave their fields alone after harvest, and may spray a herbicide on the old crops a couple of weeks before seeding.  The idea of "no till" farming doesn't disturb the soil as much as a cultivator, thus preventing seeds from old weeds being brought to the surface, as well this leaves the topsoil - the six inches under the surface of the ground- from being disturbed.  Not disturbing the topsoil usually makes for a more efficient soil, with less erosion and more soil moisture.  Farmers that choose to use the "no till" method need to have an air seeder, which my family currently does not have, but has been seriously considering purchasing.  So until then we still cultivate our ground.
•   <-- cultivating
• Fertilizing- some farmers fertilize in the fall after harvest while others fertilize in the spring right before seeding.  My family fertilizes our fields in the spring before we seed.  This allows the fertilizer to be broken down in the ground over the entire growing year.  For farmers that fertilize their soil each year this method often works well because the fertilizer that is put on the field one spring, is broken down all summer, fall and winter, and will benefit the soil for the next spring.  Lime, phosphorous and sulfur often take longer to break down in the soil, so if it is your first time fertilizing the ground, it is wise to do these fertilizers in the winter so that the soil is ready for seed in the spring.  Nitrogen and pottasium don't take as long to breakdown in the soil so they can often be added in the spring before seeding.
• Harrowing- harrowing is used to spread out the dead plant matter, manure, and soil that has been left on a field.  If a field was cultivated in the fall, harrowing is used to smooth the topsoil and spread any of the previous year's crop around in preparation for the new seeding.  Harrows also help to smooth, remove weeds and aerate the soil.  Once we finish with the harrows, as seen in the video above, then we can get seeding.
• Seeding - to seed a field we use a drill.  We pour seeds into the top of the drill and this drops them into the ground as we drive over the soil.  My dad has installed GPS systems in our tractors.  These GPS systems steer the tractor, all we have to do is turn the wheel at the end of the field.  This system is a more efficient way of seeding because it prevents us from going over top of the parts that we already seeded, preventing us from wasting seed, and therefore saving money, time, and fuel.
• <-- Seed Drill
• Harrow Packing- Once we are finished seeding, we go over the soil with a harrow packer.  Pretty much the same thing as harrowing, in fact you use your harrows, just with an added piece.  We pack the ground and level it out after the seeds have been planted
• <- Harrow/Packers
• Grass Cutting
• What a thrill.  I am sure everyone knows how brutal cutting the grass the first time of the year is and it isn't fun.  The grass is always full of dust, and various branches and rocks that have blown onto the lawn during the winter.  What makes grass cutting even worse out on the farm is the fact that our lawn is a couple acres large, and we also take it upon ourselves to cut the ditch in front of our house.  Not the greatest time ever.  I personally don't mind cutting the grass because we have a nice, new ride-on lawn tractor, and since it takes a couple hours to cut the grass, I wear a bikini and get a nice tan!
• Raking of leaves and twigs



Grandma's pile explosion right after the match got tossed in

• My family's yard and my grandparent's yard are only separated by a small group of trees and a ravine, so every year we help them out by picking up the twigs that fall from their large trees onto their grass as well as sometimes cutting the grass for them.  Just yesterday my Grandma decided it was a good day to rake the dead branches and leaves off of her grass.  So my mother, father, grandma and I worked diligently to pick up the old vegetation.  This is always an interesting process.  As soon as there is a pile placed on the driveway, my grandma takes it upon herself to light the pile.  This year the twigs just weren't dry enough to start the pile, so she added a small dose of gasoline.  Small is an understatement.  When my mom threw the match on the pile we had a slight pyrotechnic show, once again.  I desperately wanted to roast marshmallows, but apparently I still had ten million more hours of work to do so my mother wouldn't let me. 
• Corral Cleaning 
• With  a couple hundred head of cattle moving through the corrals quite frequently, it is important that they are cleaned out so that manure and other dirt or bedding doesn't pile up in them.  A manure hauling company is hired for a day to remove the piles of manure in corrals that my grandfather has pushed with the loader tractor.  This year, once the snow melted and everything started to dry, my grandfather was busy at work, even in the pastures, fixing ruts in the dirt which were the cause of a very long and snowy winter.  We want to make sure that all of our corrals and pastures are clean and safe for cattle to live in.  We love our animals, and we work hard for their protection and healthy living.
• Cattle Vaccinations, Brandings & Castrations
Lady (the Border Collie) working. Notice how my father and our neighbor, Lorne, never really touch the animals or get to close, they try to let Lady do all the work.  By staying calm and not getting impatient, Lorne and Dad can keep the cattle slightly less stressed, which also creates less problems for them!
• All three of these things happen in the spring, and it often takes the family and a couple of neighbors to get it all done!  If you check out my "All Things Agriculture" link you can learn all about castration.  My family hasn't had our branding/castrating yet so stay tuned for a story on that.  Just yesterday we did however give all of our cows shots.  After the cows calve, we treat them all for IBR, to prevent the disease from affecting the herd.  IBR - Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis - is a disease which occurs in the air passages of the head and the windpipe and can cause inflammation of the vulva and vagina, and can cause abortion in cattle.  If a cow is vaccinated while she is pregnant, it will also increase the chance of her aborting.  Because of the chance of abortion, we vaccinate all of our cattle with IBR in the spring, after they have calved and before we let the bulls out to decrease the chance of the cattle aborting.
• When you bring the cattle into the corral to vaccinate, you have to first separate the cows from the calves.  This is probably one of the hardest parts about vaccinating because no mommy's ever want to leave their babies.  So, while one person opens and closes the gates, usually two other people work in the mix of the cattle, sending the mama cows to the gate and keeping the baby calves back.  Once the cows are separated from the calves, we split the cows into smaller groups, and send them down the runway where they line up head to tail.  This is where the cows are given their shots.  Just a quick shot in the neck.  It is fast when you have four or five in the run at once because you can just walk down the line and give them all their needles effectively.  My job is to bring four more cattle up each time one of the lines gets done.  I have to work the gates and make sure that there are always four ready to be put in the cattle run so that we can work as quickly as possible.  Cows kick.  Everyone knows this and everyone wants to avoid it.  This is why I find that being calm with the animals, and just trying to direct them using your body motion and the way you walk towards them is the best way of handling cattle.  When the cows are treated stress free, the process often moves quicker and the moms can be more quickly reunited with their babies!  
• Our dog Lady plays a big role in the operation each and every time that we sort cattle.  Lady is our Border Collie, and being with the cattle is her life.  With her help we can always quickly bring cattle up to somewhere we want them to be.  Lady loves to ride in the tractor with Grandpa.  When Grandpa opens the gate and honks the horn of the tractor, Lady knows to move the cows away from the gate.  She then lies by the gate and makes sure that nothing leaves the field until Grandpa is out of the field with the tractor and is able to close the gate.  Check out the video above of Lady at work!!
• Garden and Flower Beds



Grandpa and Grandma, working in the garden

• My mother and Grandma share a MASSIVE garden.  I can't really complain, because I do love the fresh vegetables and fresh raspberries, but I don't particularly like working in the garden.  With spring, the garden and the flower beds need to be cleaned out and planted in preparation for the summer.  With the garden, my grandpa always has to rotatill it the soil to prepare it for the seeding.  This breaks up the dirt and whatever dead plant matter may be on the surface.  As well, this works to get rid of some of the weeds.  The weeds growing in the flower beds need to be pulled out and new flowers put in their place.  And then comes the seeding of the garden.  Grandma, the garden supervisor, is always very proud of her garden and her plants, so she takes her time deciding what should be planted where.  Sometimes it takes quite a few hours to get the entire garden planted! If you want a garden and live in the city, it is still possible!  Why not have a raised bed garden in your backyard, or try one of the community gardens! If you want some tips on planting a garden, or if you're from the city and want to know how you can have a garden, check out this site - Canadian Gardening

So there you have it folks.  Just a little idea of just what we on the farm do for spring cleaning.  It's quite a lot, and the work can be long and hard, but I wouldn't give it up for the world.  I love where I live, I love what we do, and nothing could change that!


Thanks for checkin' in!!


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