A Touch Year for Many Manitoba Farmers
Parts of Manitoba are in rough shape this summer. North of Winnipeg, near Lake Manitoba, a state of emergency has been declared. Farmers in that area have only gotten about 25% of the hay crop they normally would. That’s a big deal, especially when livestock rely on hay to get through the winter.
To learn more, here’s a link to the CBC article:
Read it here
We’re Feeling Very Thankful
We’ve been lucky to get some much-needed rain in our area. We don’t grow our own hay—we just don’t have the time or all the equipment needed—so we buy our feed from other farmers.
With the drought hitting so many parts of the province, feed prices are expected to go up. That makes things harder for farms like ours.
Getting Creative with Hauling Feed
Buying feed isn’t just about the price—it also has to get to our farm. Thankfully, Kierstyn works for a great company that rents her the semi she drives for them. Our wonderful neighbors also rent us their trailer, so we can haul the bales ourselves. This saves us a lot of money on trucking.
Owning a semi and trailer would be a huge cost. Renting means we can keep our budget focused on repairs and small upgrades that really matter to keep things running.
Making It a Family Trip
We also made the most of the bale hauling trips! Blake came along for most of the rides and had a blast helping his mom. Bree came for an early morning drive while Blake stayed home to sleep in. Even our farm dog Boone got to tag along for some of the action!
Looking Ahead
There’s more rain in the forecast, which is great news for us. We’re also rotational grazing our pastures this summer—it’s been a game changer and really helped keep our grass healthy for the animals.
