Spring 2015
Just this last week King Richard III was interred at the Leicester cathedral by the archbishop of Canterbury. Richard is said to have killed his own nephews which he had locked up in the tower of London and was in turn killed by a mob led by his cousin in law Henry the VII at the battle of Bosworth. An old anecdote says that family and business do not mix, however, whether you are part of the royal family or a humble family farm sometimes we do not have a choice about who we get to work with. Stresses on and off the farm can pull families apart instead of bringing them together in spite of our best intentions and, unlike normal business partners, everyone sits around the family table in the evening. I am grateful that my family does not treat me like the children of King Henry II whose family chased him out of the country on his deathbed. The motto beneath our coat of arms is, Familia Aeterna Est which is Latin for, families are forever. I’m sure that my wife and kids feel sometimes like they’re trapped on this enterprise which is lasting forever. Then we have success and good times and the sun shines on our happy farm again.
Farm News
Poultry
Hyrum’s pheasants have begun laying eggs we are all very excited to see how many pheasants we can get. Nothing yet from the Guinea Fowl. Hyrum has ordered his first 300 chickens and Townsend is hoping to be at the Ste. Norbert’s farmers market on Wednesdays this spring and summer. Hyrum’s chickens will be able to be found at Cramptons market in Winnipeg and at Natures Farms in Steinbach.
Lamb
Sophia has almost finished lambing for the year (only 3 more left to go) and we have a bunch of rambunctious lambs running around the back yard. We have only barely enough lambs to fill our orders and so Sophia is planning on increasing the size of her herd. A special thanks to Tyler and John who worked the night shift and during the days while Sophia was at school. The two helped Sophia during the hectic lambing period.
Pigs
Our two large black pigs have farrowed and we now have 11 piglets running around the barn. They will be weaned off their moms and then put out to pasture we’re looking for some great pork in December.
Dawn
Dawn will transport our new chicks from Russell to Townsend April 9th. She is currently arranging for the farm to participate in the Ste. Norbert farmers market this year.