Welcome To The Farm

If I could find a plain burlap sack and get this printed on it, I would! Do you know what I just learned? That between the BC Cattlemen's Association (BCCA) and the government, they have decided on a "B.C. Beef Day." The third annual "Beef Day" was held on May 16, 2012 in Victoria. What an awesome day. This day was created in June 2010. An even better part about this day was that the beef was prepared by "House of Q," which if you've never heard of them is a locally based BBQ team out of Langley. Many of their products are available at Lepp Farm Market. Through their "Behind the Beef" program, ranchers are able to employ beef educators. Stores such as Save-On-Foods, Cooper's Foods, Safeway, and some IGA Marketplace locations are involved in bringing you the best, most up to date information about their beef products. Ranching in BC has quite the history, and it is an art. The amount of care and time put into all of their cows is incredible.

• BC ranchers occupy more than 2,023,400 hectares (which is about 5 million acres) of private land and have close to 21.5 million acres of  Crown land for grazing their herds on. 
• About 8,700 British Columbians are employed in the beef sector 
• Not to mention, BC producers are the primary leaders in areas such as animal health, food safety, traceability, and land stewardship! Way to go BC!! 

Check Out the Beef Here
Behind the Beef

This Is Country Music

Here's some country mid-week inspiration for everyone. Enjoy!









Summer nights,
everybody are you with me,
Let that Igloo cooler mark your piece of paradise......

Make hay while the sun shines, 

And dance all night in the moonlight....

Two bare feet on the dashboard,

Young love and an old Ford..........

Summer's just around the bend, 

Turn up the music loud, 

Take the t-tops out,

And let the chrome shine, 

Cruizin' 'long the riverside.....

 Cottonwood blowin' like snow in July....

I can take you for a ride on my big green tractor,

We can go slow, or make it go faster,

Down to the woods,

Or out to the pasture, 

As long as I'm with you it really don't matter,

Climb up in my lap,

And drive if you want to,

Girl you know you got me to hold onto,

We can go to town, but baby if you'd rather, 

I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor....

We laid a lot of memories down,

Like tattoos on this town...... 

I'm gonna live where the green grass grows, 

Watch my corn pop up in rows, 

Every night be tucked in close to you,

Raise our kids where the good Lord's blessed,

Point our rockin' chairs towards the west,

Plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows,

Where the green grass grows......

 

The sign said forty miles to Canada,

And my truck tore across Montana,

Ian Tyson sang a lonesome lullaby,

And so I cranked up the radio, 

'Cause there's just a little more to go,

Before I cross the border at that Sweet Grass sign,

I'm Alberta bound,

The piece of heaven that I've found, 

Rocky Mountains and black fertile ground,

Everything I need beneath that big, blue sky.......

Farming Statistics

Here's the dirt on farming in Canada:

• According to Agriculture Canada, the agri-business sector is one of Canada's top five industries, accounting for  8.5% of its Gross Domestic Product.
• Canada is a major producer and exporter of agricultural products, including wheat, coarse grains, and oilseeds.
• The average annual production of all types of wheat in Canada from 1997-2001 was around 24.5 million tonnes. 
• According to Statistics Canada, for the first time, operators in the age group of 55 and older made up the largest share of total farm operators. They made up 48.3% of the group, compared to 40.7% in 2006. 
• Farmer operators under 35 decreased from 9.1% to 8.2% in 2011. 
• The number of certified organic farms is on the rise in Canada. They have risen 4.4% since 2006
• Total land on farms dropped down 4.1% since 2006, but the average size of a Canadian farm increased from 728 acres to 778 acres, which is a growth of 6.9% 

Go To Stat's Canada

Go To USDA

Go To "The Daily" by Stat's Canada

The Farmer......

The Farmer

The king may rule o’er land and sea,

The lord may live right royally, 

The soldier ride in pomp and pride,

The sailor roam o’er the ocean wide

But this or that, What’er befall,

The farmer, he must feed them all. 

The writer thinks, the poet sings,

The craftsman follows wondrous things,

The doctor heals, the lawyer pleads, 

The Miner follows precious leads,

But this or that what’er befall, 

The farmer, he must feed them all. 

The merchant, he may buy or sell,

The teacher do his duty well,

The men may toil through busy days,

Or men may stroll through pleasant ways, 

From king to beggar, what’er befall,

The farmer, he must feed them all. 

The farmer’s trade is one of worth, 

His pasture with the sky and earth,

His pasture with the sun and rain,

And no man loses for his gain,

And men may rise and men may fall, 

But the farmer, he must feed them all.

God bless the man who sows the wheat,

Who finds us milk, and fruit and meat, 

May his purse be heavy, his heart be light,

His cattle and corn and all go right, 

God bless the seed his and let fall

For the farmer, he must feed us all...

Unknown

The Sun Can't Shine Every Day

 Today is a rainy day. It's also my glorious day off. I used to love rainy days down at the farm. The horses would be all cozy in their stalls, contentedly munching on their hay, the tin roof on the garage would echo each raindrop, the house would be warm, and coffee would always be on. The house would be loud, since all of the kids are cooped up inside. Soup would be the typical hot lunch for a rainy day. You would hurry to get all of your outside chores done. Typically, I would steal a barn jacket from my dad, put on my Muckboots and do my chores. This is what my rainy day looks like now that I live in town: 

The kittens love the sound of the rain

Rainy days in town consist of being inside, watching tv, tidying up the house, and maybe running some errands, and settling in with a good book. It's also a day to find some primitive inspiration:

A lovely barred rock hen

Old barns are the best inspiration

Chillin' on a dirt road 

Someday, I will own a piece of property with an old barn on it

Gorgeous old farm house. This place must have housed
many a farm worker, and has such an amazing story hidden
in its walls.

I also discovered this awesome, and incredibly talented lady through her Facebook page. Her name is Erin Ehnle. I love all of her work. Check it out here: 

http://www.erinehnle.com/proofing/photos.php?pageid=39&gid=38#false

Down to My Last Dollar

After a very long day of being up early, having a tutoring session for math, running some errands, doing some more math, stopping by the farm, and going to work, I still had to fuel up my car. It is 9:00 at night and I don't feel like it. My week has been busy. My husband has been working hard. The absolute last thing that I want to do on my way home from work is to stop at the Esso gas station that's on the corner of my block (that's so weird for a country girl to even fathom!) stand outside and fuel up my car. But I have to. I have to work all weekend (try Tuesday through Sunday shifts...they're fun!) I wouldn't normally say yes to covering extra shifts this weekend, but one of my co-workers really needs the time off more than I do.

So I debate: to fuel up, or not to fuel up. Before I know it, I'm in the Esso parking lot, pulling out my debit card, and purchasing $40 worth of fuel. Nothing more, nothing less. But somehow, I ended up with more. Five cents more to be exact. And I was fascinated by what I discovered on my receipt:




FORGIVEN: $0.05
INTERAC: $40.00



Forgiven. The word forgiven. Nowhere on the receipt did it say the words like, still owing, pending, added to, obligated to pay, or outstanding. Simply forgiven. A sweet moment of grace. Knowing that I was forgiven of this simple five cents humbled me right there on the spot. If anyone could have seen into my heart this week, they wouldn't have wanted to forgive me for some of the things that I've harboured up inside. Things like distrust, moments of uncertainty and doubt. Jealousy may have snuck its way in for a time or two. All things that make it seem like I owe more. I need to do more. I need to become better. I owe people my time. People owe me their time. But I am forgiven. I was bought at a price (for definitely more than five cents!) and I am free. All because of someone's solitary choice to cover it for me.

Absolved. Clear. Bearing no malice. Not owing a single thing. Free, whole, loved, redeemed.








Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Luke 7:48

Where The Green Grass Grows

Now, someone please tell me: how can you not fall in love with days like this?