28 The Business of Ontario Agriculture Better Farming | January 2024 help to having the farm take the back seat if I have a child that needs me more can be challenging. Each day is different. Starting every morning with a mindset that I will help but not necessarily be the driving force sets the day up for a positive outlook no matter what comes my way. Navigating the daily routine while asking for lots of help reminds me that I’m grateful for our community. It’s beautiful slowing down and seeing the small wonders of a farm through a child’s eyes. I have learned there is beauty in every season, and I know these are the days to remember. How do you use social media on the farm? I love to share our farm and day-today tasks to help consumers build a relationship with the farmer. Your milk comes from healthy cows and they’re treated with respect. Once the consumer sees that, they can trust the dairy products and where they come from. Why is consumer engagement important? Consumer engagement is important because there’s so much misinformation out there that they get confused by. Just because you grew up rural doesn’t necessarily mean you know how a farm operates or how food gets from the farm to the table. What do you do in your time off? We enjoy cottaging and fishing. I enjoy cooking. Serving a meal to my family or friends makes me happy. Food is a love language to any farmer’s heart. What’s your goal for the farm? We want to keep expanding. And we also want to make some improvements to our heifer raising. Our current age of calving for heifers is 24 months, but we want to decrease that to 22 months. We built more feed storage this year. This allowing us to also feed the heifers TMR instead of bales, which has led us to see an increase in daily gain. We hope with better nutrition over time it allows us to calve our heifers at our goal of 22 months while maintaining the same production we have currently. How do you see the dairy industry changing? A big change that I have seen and think we will continue to see is more automation as labour is harder to find and keep. BF UP CLOSE Visit your local ECHO Dealer for more information: Ancaster, Crossroads Equipment .................... 905-648-8001 Ayr, Ayr Turf & Trac ............................................ 519-632-9901 Barrie, McGill Equipment ................................. 705-503-7732 Blenheim, Southwest Small Engine Sales ...... 519-676-8938 Brant County, Town & Country Sales & Service.. 519-484-2901 Brantford, Antler Services Inc ......................... 519-753-6433 Brodhagen, B&K Tire and Battery ................... 519-345-2248 Burgessville, G.J.’s Harvest Centre Inc. .......... 519-424-9374 Cambridge, Vincent Lawn & Garden Equip. .... 519-621-7805 Castleton, Doug’s Small Engines .................... 905-349-3027 Chesley, Robert’s Farm Equipment ................. 519-363-3192 Dundas, WPE Landscape Equipment .............. 905-628-3055 Grimsby, Ag & Turf Power Service ................... 905-945-4848 Hamilton, Outdoor Supplies & Equipment ...... 905-578-2411 Ingersoll, Ken’s Small Engines ....................... 519-425-4466 Meaford, Robert’s Farm Equipment ................ 519-538-1660 Millbank, Zehr’s Sales & Manufacturing .......... 519-595-7579 Milverton, G.J.’s Harvest Centre Inc. ................ 519-603-8374 Mississauga, WPE Landscape Equipment ..... 905-569-2055 New Dundee, Coleman Equipment ................. 519-696-2213 North Bay, Hamelin’s Outdoor Power Equipment .. 705-497-8676 Orillia, Allan Byers Equipment ......................... 705-325-2746 Owen Sound, Bobcat of Grey Bruce ............... 519-372-9100 Pembroke, AJ’s Power Products .................... 613-735-6788 Rockwood, Connect Equipment ..................... 519-856-9512 Stirling, McIntosh Motors ................................ 613-395-3757 Vars, M.R. Blais Sales & Service ...................... 613-443-1230 Walton, Robert’s Farm Equipment .................. 519-887-6365 Windsor, Vehicle Venture ................................. 519-966-8642 POWER & PERFORMANCE. EVEN THE MOST DEMANDING JOBS ARE NO MATCH FOR THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL BACKPACK BLOWER! ECHO CHAINSAWS PROVIDE THE POWER AND DURABILITY TO MAKE LIGHT WORK OF THE TOUGHEST JOBS. CS-4920 CS-590 CS-7310P 50.2 CC 59.8 CC 73.5 CC Available in 16”, 18” & 20” bar lengths Available in 18”, 20” & 24” bar lengths Available in 20”, 24”, 28” & 32” bar lengths ECHO.CA PB-9010 79.9 CC 48N Blowing force Hip or tube throttle available DEBRIS DOESN’T STAND A CHANCE. MSRP STARTING AT $61995 MSRP STARTING AT $69995 MSRP STARTING AT $1,72995 MSRP FOR ONLY $94995 Any favourite parts of your fave farm magazine? What do you want more of? Less of? Email to let us know. Paul.Nolan@Farms.com WHAT ARE YOU READING?
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3