The children had a book entitled Old Farm, New Farm that we just loved. It was the story of the rejuvenation of a farm — something that we did as a family.
Never afraid of a challenge, I’ve purchased several farms to make new again. It was a great way to contribute to the world around us — and make money doing it!
This story is about farm No. 1 in the black soil zone of central Alberta west of Edmonton. The joke was that one only had to fall out of bed to make money with the deep black earth and moderate weather. But the perfect conditions also lent themselves to massive weed growth and lodging of long-stemmed annuals and perennials.
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As it is with healthy soil, the earth and sky want to be part of it and being in the flyway of waterfowl, including swans, complicated the problem. The nesting areas on our farm needed to be protected, too. This was in the ’80s when most everyone still continuously grazed and environmental activism had not yet found its following. Regardless, our mission was threefold:
- Without the use of chemical, we would control or eliminate the weeds.
- With the use of limited access, we would provide a nesting area for waterfowl.
- Without the use of fertilizer, we would more than double the carrying capacity on the farm.
This was a little farm that I made my living on as a single mom, with my small children as helpers. Although young, the children were grand in spirit and superior in ideas. Together we took the little farm that once held a few dozen cows on weak, weed-infested pasture to carrying 100 cows on clean pasture with glorious nesting areas alive with waterfowl.
In this area, Canada thistle was the main culprit and it was abundant. I had a tractor and borrowed a disk bine and just before the rains in the cool of the morning or evening, would go and top the thistle. The hollow nature of the root took in a lot of water and as the plant is not dormant at that time of day, they drowned out. It took a little patience, but in hindsight was an easy way to accomplish this seemingly massive task.
The pastures were tired, but we chose to leave a lot of the creeping red fescue alone, believing that it would flourish without the heavy competition. It did. As for the main flats, I added legumes so that we could fix nitrogen and have the land as dual purpose. I always used a lot of alfalfa in the mix and was comfortable grazing it providing that we engaged the animals at the right time.
In those days, the concept of electric fencing was totally different. There were low hot wires as well which we quickly ripped out once we saw the value of the cattle doing the gleaning under the fences. The gates were giant coiled wires which caused someone of my temperament no end of grief. But the concept of resting land was instilled in us and we soon saw the benefits.
On this farm we were brave and designed the fences according to the contour of the land. So it looked like an artist’s rendition of grazing 101. The bushes that were once part of the field were fenced off to allow for the many species of wild flowers and berries to grow.
The wetlands were also fenced off and were actually used by the cattle, if only for a short period of time, after the hatchlings were well on their way. This was a delicate task in timing as the cattle could be used to actually increase the variety around the water with hoof action if grazed at the right time. The idea was to stomp the seeds into the ground and yet still have some palatability in the plants. There is no playbook for this call. Just as on the rest of the farm, it was made on a day-to-day basis.
What started as a tired old farm soon began teeming with life. With the help of Dad and my brothers, handling facilities were built with close attention to how the cattle move. The children and I took our time in design because we knew that almost 100 per cent of the time, I would need to move, sort, work and load cattle alone. Simple was best and we took into account everything we learned from Temple Grandin, who was making her way around the country at the time.
The farm soon carried both a February and a June calving herd (so that I could spread my risk), adequate facilities, beautiful trees and flowers, grass and legumes to dare the most staunch of critics. We were nominated for an environmental stewardship award and hosted tours from many areas of Western Canada and from around the world.
Yes, we increased our grazing, protected the waterfowl and eliminated the weeds, but more importantly we grew as a little family and we loved doing it together. It nourished wonder and creativity in the children, and gave them a sense of ownership in the farm. It may have been a small farm, but it was our farm and we prided ourselves in making it new again.
This is the second article in a three-part series.
